Om Group to develop Dogma-95-style films
By Chad Fasca
The Om Group, a new film ensemble based on the principles of the Danish film movement Dogma 95, is looking for actors interested in working collaboratively on short and feature length films.
According to the ensemble’s founder, Alok Bhardwaj, the Om Group is interested in those performers who "believe in cinema as art," which is especially important because the group’s work will not be particularly commercial in nature.
"At present, no pay is involved," Bhardwaj says. "But we do have filmmakers, writers, photographers, and editors ready to work."
So what exactly constitutes Dogma-95-style filmmaking?
The Dogma (Dogme, if you are Danish) movement began in 1995 when Danish filmmakers Thomas Vinterberg and Lars von Trier drew up a set of rules to keep production costs down and to keep the focus on contemporary subjects. The two then made a pact swearing to adhere to these rules, mostly, and the "(Dogma) Brotherhood," as Vinterberg likes to call it, was formed. Each director went on to make a Dogma film ("The Celebration," Vinterberg; "The Idiots," von Trier), followed by their teacher, Soren Kragh-Jacobsen, "Mifune." According to Dogma's own Web site, 18 official films have been made to date.
"Dogma filmmaking is an anti-Hollywood filmmaking aesthetic for narrative filmmaking," Bhardwaj says.
His statement summarizes the movement, but to truly understand how orthodox Dogma 95 is in its unorthodoxy, you must know the rules that govern Dogma filmmaking, the so-called "Vow of Chastity."
- Shooting must be done on location. Props and sets must not be brought in (if a particular prop is necessary for the story, a location must be chosen where this prop is to be found.)
- The sound must never be produced apart from the images or vice versa. (Music must not be used unless it occurs where the scene is being shot.)
- The camera must be hand-held. Any movement or immobility attainable in the hand is permitted. (The film must not take place where the camera is standing; shooting must take place where the film takes place.)
- The film must be in color. Special lighting is not acceptable. (If there is too little light for exposure, the scene must be cut or a single lamp be attached to the camera.)
- Optical work and filters are forbidden.
- The film must not contain superficial action. (Murders, weapons, etc. must not occur.)
- Temporal and geographical alienation are forbidden. (That is to say that the film takes place here and now.)
- Genre movies are not acceptable.
- The film format must be Academy 35mm.
- The director must not be credited.
Furthermore I swear as a director to refrain from personal taste! I am no longer an artist. I swear to refrain from creating a "work," as I regard the instant as more important than the whole. My supreme goal is to force the truth out of my characters and settings. I swear to do so by all the means available and at the cost of any good taste and any aesthetic considerations.
Thus I make my Vow of Chastity.
Source: Dogma Film Collective
Strict may be an understatement when describing these rules, but they provide the set of quills necessary to thwart any attempt from Hollywood to swallow the movement whole.
Of course rules are made to be broken--we learn that in first grade English--and Dogma is apparently no different.
"Generally speaking, I would say that basically every film that has been submitted has broken the Dogma rules to a certain extent," Bhardwaj says.
Even Vinterberg, one of the founders, admits to a few lapses and loopholes.
Bhardwaj acknowledges that meeting all of the rules would be difficult in most circumstances. For his own part, he plans to experiment with the rules "a little bit," while working within its overall aesthetic. But experimentation aside, the strict rules, in an odd way, manage to open new doors in contemporary filmmaking.
"Requiring filmmakers to use only existing lighting is probably the most revolutionary of the Dogma rules," says Alok Bhardwaj. "Lighting a scene no longer takes hours, but rather a flip of the switch."
"Film is not as sensitive as video for shooting existing light," he adds, "so the rule forcing you to use existing light really forces you to shoot on video."
The result is an emphasis on simplified cinema. To a certain extent, Dogma bears some resemblance to the Polish theatre director Jerzy Grotowski’s concept of a "Poor Theatre," in which everything "superfluous," such as sets, costumes, makeup, theatres, is eliminated until what remained are "detailed investigations of the actor-audience relationship."
In essence, Dogma filmmaking reduces cinema to an investigation of the actor-camera relationship by de-emphasizing the rest, including director credits, sound and lighting effects, complex storylines or timelines.
For Bhardwaj, the idea just makes sense. A couple of years ago, he saw his first Dogma film (the very first Dogma film), "The Celebration (Festen)" by Vinterberg and became inspired.
Vinterberg wanted to make a statement that you did not need all the expensive bells and whistles to make a decent film. And though the filmmaker had a million-dollar budget to work with, he limited the use of these funds to the essentials. One, he shot it on a consumer DV camera, eventually blowing it up to 35mm. Two, he used existing lights on almost all of the shots, Bhardwaj says.
"Obviously, with his budget, he could afford a professional DV camera, but he had a statement to make," Bhardwaj says.
What Bhardwaj saw at work in "The Celebration" impressed him. How extraordinary the film looked amazed him as well. He became more than just hooked by the concept, he was "a little desperate to shoot something." Up until then, Bhardwaj had worked primarily in post-production, so he lacked most of the required contacts with actors and directors to pull off a project; nevertheless, he managed to come up with an idea that he could tackle himself.
While shooting this short, the seed planted by "Celebration" took root. At the same time, he realized that working as a "lone gunman" would not be very productive. Consequently, he decided to form a company that would pool the talents of others interested in this type of cinema. Perhaps surprisingly, he has attracted a group of crew people, photographers and editors who are inclined to Dogma filmmaking. He has just begun reaching out to actors as well.
The goal of the Om group is to bring together a group of actors and other creative people who will work collectively to realize ideas.
"Ideally, we will realize our ideas quickly, in a half-scripted, half-improvised fashion and with little rehearsal," Bhardwaj says.
He already has a couple of character-driven feature length concepts in mind for the group; though, he won’t know if they are doable until the Om Group is fully assembled.
"I have a couple that are almost ready to go. They have been written for this format. Very few characters and locations so that they can be made fairly simply," he says.
But the catch is that the composition of the group will really dictate what gets done. His concepts call for specific types of characters, such as a 60-year-old male. If there is no 60-year-old male actor in the group, then he would have to cast outside the collective’s talent pool, something he would prefer not having to do.
He’d rather have a solid group of committed performers than a cast selected on a project/role basis, partly because he wants them to contribute more to the group that inhabiting a character.
"It would be great if I could bring scripts and other people could bring scripts and we could realize them," he adds. "Or it could certainly be someone coming in with an idea and then we brainstorm what could be done."
How to Join the Om Group
Those interested in joining the group, should send personal statements in lieu of resumes and headshots to omgroup@magicaldesk.com. Your personal statements should include such things as background, training/studies, favorite films/plays, favorite actors/filmmakers/artists, work to date, goals, and artistic interests. Resumes are acceptable, but only to augment your statement.
After he receives the personal statements, Alok will set up a time for an audition.
"Not really an audition, more like a meeting," he says.
Once the "auditions" are complete, a group will be formed and a planning meeting will be held. He hopes to get started in a month.
Dogma Links
