BFM Explores cineDESK in Zurich
A cineDESK workshop took place in Zurich from 8 to 15 June, focusing on the use of virtual production tools in filmmaking.
BFM alumnus and film director Tanel Toom and Associate Professor of Film Editing Madli Lääne-Metsalu took part in a cineDESK workshop at Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), where students and lecturers from the FilmEU network explored the possibilities of virtual previsualisation and film directing. Held from 8 to 15 June, the workshop focused on how virtual production tools can be used in film education and practical filmmaking.
cineDESK is a virtual previsualisation tool developed at ZHdK that allows filmmakers to stage and explore a scene in a 3D environment before arriving on set. Filmmakers can experiment with character and camera movements, camera angles, framing and lighting, and then assemble the resulting shots into a simple edit. The aim of the tool is to enable filmmakers to quickly test creative solutions and discuss them with the team already during the pre-production stage.
“cineDESK is a bit like a flight simulator for a filmmaker – you can play through a scene on a virtual set before the actual shoot, try out different camera angles and solutions, and even edit the material together. For students, the most valuable aspect is the opportunity to experiment, make mistakes and try again, because on a virtual set, a bad idea is simply a bad idea – whereas on a real set, a bad idea can also be an expensive one,” said Tanel Toom.
FilmEU is a European university alliance bringing together higher education institutions specialising in film and media, with Tallinn University among its members. ZHdK is an associate partner of FilmEU, participating in the alliance’s wider network of collaboration. cineDESK is one of the areas through which ZHdK collaborates with FilmEU.
This was not BFM’s first encounter with cineDESK. BFM Associate Professor of Film Elen Lotman and Production Manager Toomas Sääs have previously visited ZHdK in Zurich to explore the tool in greater depth.
