Written by Olivia Charis, (Yale University), Student Correspondent for CET Film Production at FAMU, Spring 2024
It has officially been a month since we arrived in Prague, and it honestly feels like we’ve already been here for four. Since my last post the final film groups were decided, and now each crew is moving into pre-production. At the beginning of this month, we took our first of two program trips to Český Krumlov, and most recently, class schedules have now been finalized with the addition of electives to our course loads this week.
In retrospect, while the pitching process last month was stressful, it has made working in groups now much easier. Everyone got to practice being comfortable sharing their ideas and actively listening to others do the same, which has proven the bulk of pre-production thus far. This weekend each group is working on location scouting and a mise-en-scene assignment.
Location Scouting
My group wrote a short script between our travels to various locations, which we later filmed in a café near some of our apartments. It’s fun to see all our classmates get resourceful with these little assignments, using our local cafes, wardrobes, and each other as a part of our films. It also helps us practice working together on lower-stakes projects as we prepare for shooting in April.
My group is one of the few whose film will be shot entirely in an exterior location. So— rather than scrolling on Airbnb this weekend—we enjoyed a day-long adventure through Sedlec, a suburb of Prague, searching for potential scenic areas to shoot. A local ferry brought us to a quiet nook overlooking a lake that may end up being our shooting location. Our location hunt also took us to Bohnický ústavní hřbitov, also known as the Cemetery of Fools. After a ten-minute hike up the side of a mountain at sunset, we trudged through the ominous gates into what felt like the set of a gothic horror film. In the end, it was so nice taking a break from the bustle of the city for the day and spending time bonding with my crew.
Český Krumlov
Like our unexpected walk through the cemetery, our trip to Český Krumlov earlier this month also felt like something out of a movie. Český is a medieval town in the South Bohemia region of the Czech Republic. The tiny town was almost all tourists as most of its citizens reside outside of the city center. The quiet cobblestone streets filled with preserved buildings since medieval times made the whole place slightly unsettling. Still, the architecture, particularly of the state castle, was stunning.
Elective Classes
Another exciting development this month was the elective classes that we will now be taking at FAMU main alongside other international students in various programs. Shopping electives was a bit stressful this past week because it meant shopping classes from 6-9PM after our core courses from 9-5. Still, the electives I got to attend were worth the long hours. Some of my favorites were Acting Theories and Filming the Unfilmable. So far, I’ve loved learning about the history and methodology behind various popular theories used by actors both on stage and on screen. I also look forward to adapting poetry and short stories to the screen in another one of our electives.
Looking Forward to What’s To Come…
Next week, we will be assigned our Production Managers and our official shooting dates as we continue to wade the waters of pre-production. The week after next, each group will have to pitch to FAMU faculty for a final time before getting the final green light to move into production. We’ll be working hard to finalize our major logistical and creative approaches to the challenges of our respective films.
I’m so excited to start officially writing our scripts this week and to finally have a slightly better handle on my course schedule. I am definitely missing home a lot these days, but being so busy forces me to focus on the tasks at hand. Time moves so fast here, and I hope that by my next blog post, I will have found a more consistent rhythm balancing personal creative projects, schoolwork, and life here in Prague.