Storytelling for Film — Xaver Walser

Xaver Walser — Swiss Alps Director www.movidiam.com

Switzerland based, South African born Xaver Walser is a creative storyteller, director and DOP specialising in narrative based commercial films. He’s worked all across the world with brands like Samsung and Cartier and closer to home has made several films for Tina Turner’s charity. His energetic and refreshingly enthusiastic attitude to life is reflected in everything that he creates. In this first interview featuring the filmmakers behind the Movidiam promo we speak to Xaver about some of the challenges filmmakers face today and how he feels Movidiam will help solve them.

Movidiam: How did you break into the industry?

Xaver: I started working for a small independent London based company called Morogo films. Their BBC cameraman Philip Darley told me all the basic conservative rules of composition. He was a true mentor and remains a great friend to this day.

Movidiam: You describe yourself as a storyteller. How important is storytelling in commercial film production?

Xaver: It’s really everything and that does not just count for me but should be everyone’s first priority. Keeping it simple is however my challenge.

Movidiam: How did you approach the Vivobarefoot shoot?

Xaver: It was a great honour to be part of this production and to be one of four directors taking on the challenge. Since high frame rates are so wildly accessible I believed that shooting it at 25fps would give me a differential point and help with giving a real feel to it.

Movidiam: How do you balance your onscreen production budget?

Xaver: I have a strange business model of pumping all my energy back onto the screen, however the theory must be working since after ten years I am still in business.

Movidiam: How do you intend to use Movidiam?

Xaver: Recently I shot for the first time in Paris on a personal short film. I had to organise a crew of 10 with permission to block three streets in Central Paris. It was a huge undertaking to find a reliable driven team of dedicated filmmakers. With the help of Movidiam I can now list this team of professionals and hopefully save other production companies the hassle and find first time the right people.

Movidiam: What aspects particularly excites you about Movidiam?

Xaver: To be part of a film community and learn from others in the field. I have always been a keen believer in sharing experiences via my blog [http://xaverwalser.blogspot.com] and therefore feel this is an even bigger opportunity to spread the knowledge.

Movidiam: How do you feel technology has changed the industry.

Xaver: Yes sure, technology has made things way more accessible for the average Joe on the street. What has not changed is that it does not guarantee you a good film. You need to still use all the old school toys to make great films but implement the technology like Movidiam to make your life easier.

Movidiam: The industry is constantly changing, where do you see it going over the next 5 years?

Xaver: Less Indie Cinema, even worse TV, but better and better internet broadcasting.

Movidiam: What’s been your biggest challenges in filmmaking and how do you think Movidiam will solve them?

Xaver: My biggest challenge is finding good reliable people to work with. Spending days to look for the right makeup artist is just wrong.

Xaver Walser runs subgraviti a production company in Zurich. http://www.subgraviti.com