Artists often talk about starting with a precise vision of the finished work, or at least the intent of the work. But sometimes serendipity plays the key role as we see in Giordano Cagnin’s  “Opening the Door.” In the interview (below) Giordano, who lives and works in Rome, reveals how several events led him to create an experimental travelogue  that was honored in this year’s FiLMiC Pro competition.

Interview

MMM: How did you develop your skills as a filmmaker?

Giordano:  I am a dancer but I’ve always been in love with movies, since I was a child. I started to learn by myself, watching tons of tutorials on youtube and experimenting with a Canon 7D I bought several years ago. I also read many books about movies. After obtaining a degree in film history,  I attended NYU-Tisch School of the Arts where I earned the Certificate in Filmmaking in 2013.

MMM: Would you say that going to film school is valuable?

Giordano: There are many theories on that subject. In depends on you, on the way you are. For me, Tisch made the difference. I had a professor that encouraged us to  pursue our vision, learning from the great masters of the past. At the same time we were divided in groups of five, and we shot something like 15 shorts in 6 weeks. For every short film we changed our roles: director, DP, sound recorder, producer, post production, and so on. I worked a lot with other filmmakers, even though, right now, I usually work by myself.

MMM: Do you prefer working alone?

Giordano: It does bring about limitations, but for small projects, it gives you the chance to work faster and to be able to connect with yourself and the way you want to tell your story.

MMM: So could you sum up your thoughts on  developing as a filmmaker?

Giordano: I’d say watch movies, a LOT of great movies from the past (especially the silent ones);  learn from them; go out and shoot your movie; make mistakes; learn from them; turn obstacles into opportunities; go out again with your camera until you feel confident with the tools you are using. Then you’ll start to find your voice.

MMM: What gave you the idea and the motivation to make “Opening the Door”?

Giordano: I was in Cuba all by myself for the first time.  I came from a long period of great suffering and it seemed there was no way out for me. I needed and wanted to stay alone, so I choose a country where there’s almost no internet connection and everything tends to happen moment by moment; a country which is, somehow, suspended in time. I only booked the first night from Italy and didn’t know anything about what could happen later. I felt  that I had to make this leap in the dark. My iPhone 7s became my best friend, so I started using it, trusting my inner feelings.

MMM: How long did you spend shooting.

Giordano: Two weeks during which I shot a lot of material around the island. I worked without additional lenses.

MMM: Why use a phone instead of a traditional camera?

Giordano: The main advantage is this: I see something interesting, I take my phone out of my pocket, I point it on the subject, done. Of course you can do it also with other cameras but the process is much slower. Furthermore, even though you loose quality (in terms of Dynamic range, f-stops and Compression), if you set the right shot and the right values (Filmic Pro is fundamental) for certain projects you can achieve stunning shots, even in the low light.

MMM: What other gear did you use?

Giordano: I used a DJI Osmo for almost all shots. I edited with FCPX and colored with Osiris by Color Grading Central.

MMM: Could you describe the advantages of using the FiLMiC Pro app as opposed to the built-in camera app?

Giordano: Filmic Pro turns your iPhone into a little movie camera. Period. It has tons of settings and tools you can play with. My favorites are the choice among different aspect ratios,  the internal color correction, the zebra assistant, the focus peak, and the way you can set the focus and the exposition by rotating the wheels.

MMM: What was the next step after shooting?

Giordano: When I came back to Italy, I felt that something inside of me had changed, that I stepped into another level of my life. I  “opened a door.” Even though I didn’t know what to do with the material. I just felt I didn’t want to make a  classical holiday movie, so I let the clips “settle” in the hard drive. Months later, I was on YouTube and came across Obama’s speech. I immediately felt a connection with those words. He changed a situation that was apparently unchangeable and he started to build a bridge of dialogue towards the future and, of course, with me. I immediately started to organize the material. I edited the speech and made the short.

MMM: Could you describe your approach to editing?

Giordano: I try to make  simple, clear and strong shots and, once in the editing room, I use them as if they were LEGO pieces to build something that makes sense. I play with those “bricks”, cutting and moving  them back and forward. It’s in that moment that something magic starts to happen. It’s like seeing something coming to life. It’s magical. It’s the moment I mostly love of all the process.

MMM: Do you have any advice for someone just starting out making mobile movies?

Giordano: Just go out and make movies with your smartphone, edit them, see if they work, then go outside and shoot again.

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To learn more about Giordano’s work, visit his YouTube channel.

“Opening the Door,” took second prize in the experimental category of the 2018 FiLMiC Pro competition. The film was also chosen by the editors of MobileMovieMaking as a Mobile Movie of the Week.