A young specialist of Belarusfilm told how work goes behind the scenes and why to buy AI in the cinema

About the profession of a producer, many people think that this is a person who invests in a film. In fact, it is he who is responsible for ensuring that the drawings of artists come to life, and the deadlines do not burn. A graduate of the Academy of Arts, who went to go to directing, and was in the production group, told the correspondent of the agency “Minsk-Novosti”, how the animated film industry is arranged from the inside and why to buy artificial intelligence.

Turned away

Evgenia Khavlina is 21 years old and for the second month she works as a line producer at the Belarusfilm film studio. Here, in the animation shop, she came by distribution. The girl is from Gomel. She came to Minsk for higher education and stayed here to work – for a specialist with a cinematic education it is a great luck.

- I came to apply for “directing film and television”. I was confident: a good portfolio, already worked as a TV presenter from the journalism club, even wrote a script, she said. - I'm going to the reception desk. There was a man next to him, I said, “I want to apply for directing.” He listened to me selflessly saying that I would be the best director, looked through my portfolio and said: Eugene, I see in you leadership qualities and strong organizational abilities. Would you like to join me in the production group

She remembers the entrance exams with a smile. At a written review, she got a Soviet feature film based on the story of the same name by Mikhail Sholokhov “The Fate of Man” for analysis. On the oral failed: there was a biography of actor Mikhail Chekhov, and Eugene confidently began to tell about the writer Anton Pavlovich. At a film history trial that everyone feared, she was asked about her favorite franchise. The conversation about Pirates of the Caribbean so captivated one of the commissioners that strict colleagues even had to stop him. So "by pure chance." Evgenia was in the specialty “Art studies, organization of film television production”. By diploma she is a producer-manager and film critic.

Paper marathon

Many people misrepresent Eugene’s profession.

- People think that the producer is the one who gives money for the film. In fact, the producer is engaged in the organization of the entire shooting process, she explained.

At the studio, Evgenia is working on an animated film directed by Elena Turova with the working title “The Mystery of Alexandria” – a fantasy story about a magical school. In film production, a hierarchy is built: general producer, executive and linear. Linear is responsible for the entire documentary side of the picture: contracts with screenwriters, employees, voice actors. The first word is always for the director.

- Working on the script, Elena Turova already approximately imagines who she would like to hear in a particular role: she remembered the voice of the artist at the play, caught the right timbre, character. This is the part that you can not trust: to connect the idea with how the character eventually “sounds”, you can only feel – hearing and heart, explained Evgenia.

And then begins Eugenia's work: to find the right person and organize voice. With famous artists, everything is simple – many were castings at the studio, their contacts are already there. The hardest part is when an actor doesn’t have social media: it can take a long time to do that. Children and cartoons are voiced, most often from theater schools. The process itself goes in two stages: first check whether the voice is suitable, and then record a clean version, which will be included in the finished film.

Assistant, not author

Today, neural networks are increasingly penetrating animation: with their help they create entire cartoons. Is AI being used at Belarusfilm?

- At the stage of character development, it is impossible to use neural networks: the film should have a single style, the characters should look like residents of the same universe. And the neural network does everything in its own way, she explained.

In the case of AI enters already in the filming period, when the characters and locations are ready: its task is to make move what the artists drew. This is where the technology saves power, because manual animation is a long work: 24 frames per second.

- But there are a lot of requirements: this is a full-length national animated film, there is no right to make a mistake. Artificial intelligence, for example, can under-draw a character’s finger, so everything is carefully checked manually, said Evgenia.

Getting into the profession

The main discovery for yesterday’s student was the amount of paper work.

- Even a folder, pencils and paper for artists must be purchased through an official procedure. For example, I was engaged in the purchase of artificial intelligence for the picture, this is also a service, said Evgenia. From the first time, such a volume of documents is unrealistic. I've been running around with paperwork in departments, everyone making their own edits. I can easily walk 10,000 steps a day on Belarusfilm. In two months, a whole package of A4 paper was gone.

Separately, Evgenia noted the attitude of senior colleagues. Her curator was the head of the studio of animated films Anna Egorushkina, and the mentor on the film was executive producer Tatiana Mikhailovskaya.

- They were very loyal to me: they gave me duties gradually. For a young specialist, especially in a leadership position, it can be very difficult at first, and this support helped me a lot, she said.

Young staff specialists at the studio are also attracted to cultural life. According to A. Egorushkina, the guys were still at the distribution at the Animaevka animation festival, and Evgenia herself was sent to the Young Specialists Forum.

A pleasant surprise for yesterday’s student was his own private office. Evgenia lives with pleasure in her workplace. Most of all, the girl wants to one day see her own name in the credits of the project she was working on.

Photo by Diane Shabala