Swedish film-maker Jimmy Olsson reflects on the power of music in his new short NOTES.
Film And TV Now spoke with the film-maker about the short.
FILM AND TV NOW: The film reflects on heartbreak and the healing power of music. How important is music in your life?
JIMMY OLSSON: Music is very important in my life. It inspires me when I write and as a storytelling tool it’s a great medium.
I listen to a lot of Classical and Neo-Classical music and it soothes me. I work a lot better creatively when I have music around. When I was a kid I listened to a lot of electronic music and also punk rock but since 10 years I listen almost only to instrumental music. But sometimes you discover old songs in a different light when you get older.
Just recently I listened a lot to an 80´s song from Sweden and the lyrics really got to me so I broke them down and created four stories around the song and I’m now developing a mini series out of that song. So yeah, music is very important. If I were to reboot my life I would have been focusing a lot more on making music.
FTVN: What was the start-off point for the short?
JO: I saw a clip on Facebook that went viral.
A clip posted by Giorgio Lo Porto and it was about him playing the piano with his neighbour through the wall and it was so heartwarming so I felt I had to write something about that. I quickly wrote down a treatment of the story. That took an hour and since the story is so simple it just all came to place quickly.
I knew from the start that I wanted to make the music the main conversation in the film so I focused on finding the right music for it and Beethoven´s 5th piano concert has always meant a lot to me and it is so dynamic and you can easily see a conversation in that piece so I decided that I wanted to use that one as the main conversation.
FTVN: Tell us about your cast.
JO: The day after I saw that clip Philip Oros´s face came to mind.
I have worked with him once before when he had a super small role in my previous short Alive. He has a certain quality that I knew fitted this story, so I called him the next day and asked him if he wanted to play the lead and he agreed. He had to learn how to play the piano, so he watched tutorials for a month and had to rely on his body memory. It was a challenge for him, but I was never worried. I knew it was going to work.
Moa Silén who is the woman in the beginning was someone that I was recommended to contact. We didn´t know each other but she was a delight to work with. She came in and did her scene perfectly.
Richard Ssweruwagi who plays the neighbour is a man I have wanted to work with for a long time and he was supposed to play a big part in the feature I was preparing, a film based on a short I did, called 2nd Class but that film never got funded sadly so I had to let that go, for now. Richard has an impressive presence and even though he is only in the film for a short time he brings a heartwarming performance.
The woman on the phone is Philip Oros real girlfriend and I asked Philip if she would like to try and she agreed. She is not an actor but her scene with Philip is really really good. I took a chance but I was never worried. I had a feeling it was going to work out.
FTVN: Tell us about your production team.
JO: Emil Klang is the DOP and I have done a few things with him before. He is very talented and thorough. I sent him the viral clip and asked if he wanted to make a short based on that clip and he answered: 100 % yes.
Him and I have the same reference library you could say. We like the same things and we work well together. I have worked with a lot of DOPs during the years but I am in a place now where I want to have a longer relationship with a DOP and I hope to work a lot more with Emil.
Fraser A. Campbell is a composer who contacted me after having seen some of my films I believe and he asked if I had a project going and luckily I had so I asked him if he wanted to score this film. He scored all the pieces together with his colleague and he even played the piece Philip plays, copying his hands. It was tough but fun to make it work.
Emil Axing is the sound designer. I have done a couple of projects with him now and I called him and said I have a project focusing a lot on sound and music and he was very keen. He has been extremely helpful making this film as good as it is.
Per Sandberg was the production manager and he has helped me a lot making the schedule and finding the location and making sure everything went as smoothly as it did.
Erik Dalström is the editor of the film. He has mostly done tv, and reality but wants to do more drama so I asked him if he wanted to cut it and he said yes immediately. He has asked me earlier on other projects and Im glad he could edit this one.
Mimmi Muskos is the colorist and through the production company that reps me in commercials I got in contact with her. She and Emil created the quite bold look on the film and she was a huge help in this project.
FTVN: Where did you shoot and for how long?
JO: We shot in a guest apartment in Stockholm. Per Sandberg found this sparse apartment and I went and had a look. It is small but perfect for the film. Emil Klang wasn’t delighted because of all the white walls and the lack of colour overall but he managed to make it work. We wanted to give out the feeling of loneliness and I think we succeeded.
We shot for one long day and after the first cut I sent it out to a few people for feedback and I decided that we need a half a day more of material, so we went back and shot three more scenes and after that it was done. So it took roughly 18 hours to shoot.
FTVN: How did you raise finance for the short?
JO: I financed it myself. With a small crew I could pay the technical team on set but the others they have done their part for free as of now. If the film is successful they will have a cut of the profits. The total costs are about 3000 dollars
FTVN: You are somebody who believes in the power of cinema as a heart-warming tool. Who are your key cinematic influences in this area?
JO: When I was a kid I watched a lot of movies and a lot of Spielberg and Zemeckis to name a few in the 80´s & 90´s but when I got to my 20´s I started to watch a lot of art house films.
Ingmar Bergman, Andrei Tarkovsky, Haneke, Ken Loach and The Dardenne Brothers and they all have very different styles obviously but in the recent years I like to try to pick different bits from all of the film makers I like. This film is the most “experimental” I have done to date and I think its close, tone wise to the films I want to make in the future.
Alive also had a certain tone I think that is close to this one. I´m a firm believer in drama and emotions, even in a short film. We need to feel something watching it and me as a film-maker has to provide the right tools to reach that.
FTVN: Are there any feature scripts scheduled to go at present?
JO: I’m working on several projects. Both series and features. It is so hard to finance features but I’m trying. Right now I’m writing two features, one heavy drama piece and one rom-com. I have recently shot a pilot for another feature I wrote last year. My ideas and scripts don’t tend to be super commercial, on paper that is but it is those kinds of stories I want to tell so I am going to keep on writing the stories I want to see myself.
FTVN: How are the other shorts in your filmography doing overall at present?
JO: They are alive and well most of them.
2nd Class got some kind of revival recently. After almost four years on tour it was picked by the Vimeo curator team as a staff pick and shortly thereafter it was picked up by Short of the week and Omeleto on YouTube. Alive is still doing really well on festivals. I’m hoping for a successful tour on the circuit for Notes as well.
FTVN: Do you see this film as a continuation or variation on your previous work?
JO: Both. Mostly a variation I´d say. Tone wise, a continuation but story wise, a variation. In the future I want to make stories with more music involved but I am also going to continue making stories that aren’t too fast paced. I like to rest on the shots.
FTVN: Given that we appear to be emerging from the events of the last year, what are you most looking forward to achieving cinematically with your work?
JO: I am hoping for a strong festival journey. I am hoping that we are allowed to visit festivals soon again. I have missed it so much.
I have done a lot of shorts now in a short period of time and I want the festival world to know that I am capable of putting out quality films constantly and I am hoping to get an agent in the UK and/or USA that in the long run will allow me to get the chance to make more projects
FTVN: Finally, what are you most proud of about this short film?
JO: I am proud that I made a film that I am very pleased with in such a short time, that everything went so smoothly. With the help of a lot of good friends and colleagues we made a story from scratch, from the end of March to a finished product in 2 months. That is really cool. And I hope that a lot of people will get the chance to see it.
SOCIAL MEDIA:
Instagram:
@notes.shortfilm
@regissorjimmy
Twitter:
@regissorjimmy
Team:
@emilklang
@emilaxing.mp3
@fraseracampbell
@mimmimuskos
@philiporos
