| DW: Did you go specially to make a film?
BZ: Yes, it was my intention to make a film when I went to the Expo.
We planned the day accordingly so that Barbara and I would go up there and
make a film. Originally we went for only one day, but because it was so crowded
everywhere, it turned out that in order to get the scenes and say what I
wanted to say, I had to go there again. |
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DW: When did you decide on the fast cutting style - at the shooting
or editing stage?
BZ: I would say both. |
| Of course I set out to make the film using such a style in
a filmic way and then to effect it while editing: for example, during a long
track along the walkways where you have those kinds of (cutaway) shots. Besides
there were also a lot of things I didn't know about - that I didn't know
were in the exhibition. So I just shot material and afterwards thought about
how to use it. |
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DW: How long did it take you to edit the film?
BZ: That is hard to say. It was quite a time, but on the other hand
not so long once the concept became clear. Once you have the idea clear,
it goes fairly quickly. I have a Casablanca editor. |
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DW: Music is important in your films. When did you choose
the music?
BZ: That was a consideration beforehand - what kind of music to choose
- would that piece of music fit? I tried to find pictures accordingly. Sometimes
you have an album and you wonder if this or that track might be suitable
- and sometimes you deviate from that - that happens too. The fine tuning
happens during the editing process. |
| DW: Were you using a tripod?
BZ: No. I had to work quickly because the exhibition halls were crowded,
so I had to find the pictures quickly. I had to decide on the spot, will
I do this or do that. Another problem is that it was very dark in the rooms. |
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DW: You featured brightly lit signs - was that automatic or manual
exposure?
BZ: Mostly auto and on the second visit to the Expo I looked for special
things that I missed the first time. |
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DW: How many awards has it won so far?
BZ: Not that many - though it has been quite successful - there haven't
been many opportunities to show it. And it is fairly new. |
| DW: It took British audiences some time to realise what
you were showing them...
BZ: I believe you get drawn into the topic. The film begins, perhaps,
loose in structure and then focuses more and more on environmentalism. I
was also influenced by the themes that were covered at the Expo ... |
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DW: Your films often have a strong purpose, a message.
BZ: True the messages are important. The most interesting exhibition
hall was called Planet of Visions. We had to wait two to three hours to get
in. But while we waited ... we got shots of people passing. That was not
planned - it just happened. Then in the Japanese pavilion they had an ecological
theme and the whole pavilion was built of paper. |
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DW: Do you sometimes want to add a commentary?
BZ: That's always a question - but I decided to do it without words
and try to explain things through pictures. |
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| DW: Did you think of it as a frightening view of the
future?
BZ: The future was the overall theme of the Expo. That was in the
foreground and you always saw it when you come to the exhibition halls. Another
theme was the various nations and how they describe themselves - that was
another possibility (for a film) but I did not choose that. That could have
been about a meeting point for all nations and a travel around the earth
in one day perhaps. |
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