Dude Film Spotlight

Today’s film spotlight focuses on the short film Dude directed by Marco Jorger, Tokay Yotimo and Konstantin Rosshoff.

What is the title of your film and what inspired said title?

The title of our film is Dude. The title came up as we were working on the dialogue. We had quit some trouble to get the right tone. At one point we just asked ourself how we would react if someone throws a car key at you head. And we were just like dude…. So we checked if all the dialogue could be replaced with the word Dude. There was quite a big argument about the inclusion of subtitles that are showing what they actually mean. In the end kept the subtitles as a comic relief.

Tell us a little bit about the story and origins of your film.

There is Sören and Melchior, a moose, who got lost in the woods. While Melchior is enjoying the ride into the wilderness, Sören is desperately looking for a way out on his map. At a remote gas station they get into a heated argument so that Melchior leaves. Sören is now on his own in the frightening nature. Through an exhilarating ride he finds back to himself.

The first thing we had in mind was the gas station. So we kinda built the whole story around the gas station. Because it was a graduation project we were quite limited with resources, especially time. What in the beginning was super crazy and way over the top began to take shape after we stripped it down to the essentials. Some teachers said it’s still way over the top but honestly I wouldn’t know where to strip it down even further.

Any films or filmmakers that inspired this film?

Films that inspired us were Fight Club, Pombo loves you and Fantastic Mr Fox. Wes Anderson, Quentin Tarantino.

What is the goal of the film for you?

We wanted to make a film that is fun to watch and visually striking. Even though you could call it a road movie I don’t think that it fits in any classical genre. It’s a mix of different themes and moods.

What has the journey been like getting the film into production?

There was a ton of preproduction and planning. We needed more time for the story development than was originally planned. So it was clear early on that we had not enough time to finish the production in time.

One thing you learned from this project?

We definitely learned that 5 minutes of stop motion film is a LOT of work and needs massive dedication from everyone involved.

How can folks find you and your film online?

We have an instagram account which is called Dude Stop Motion. We post some behind the scenes where you can see how we build all the sets, puppets and the props. The film is still in commission for festivals so it’s still gonna be about a year till it’s online. But you can already watch a trailer.

Any last pieces of advice for fellow filmmakers?

First thing you need to do is get the story straight. Know what you want to tell and what the message is. Because we wrote the story together in a team of three people it was a back and forth which cost us a lot of energy which we would have needed in the production phase of the film.

Also the story got a bit messy and we always had difficulties to summarize the story to someone who asked what the film was about.

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