jantje friese interview
The triquetra and things coming in three is one of them. And basically just concentrate on what we want to do and what we want to tell. Most people dont understand, that, because theyve never used it. And what I just found so interesting about that, or what became even more clear to me, is that through language youre actually expressing culture. So for all the fans out there: Sorry, there wont be any characters fromDarksuddenly appearing on the ship. The 50 greatest TV and movie detectives of all time. For Louis, being on set and shes entering the room with his jacket, the first reaction was like, Give me back my jacket! That was a challenge I really loved. Proceed with caution. Then its really a lot of bouncing back and forth between the two of us at the beginning, throwing in random ideas in the beginning and trying to figure out what ideas actually stick. We spoke to Dark co-creators Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese about saying farewell to the series, the spiritual and mythological influences they crammed into the third season's eight episodes,. But the people creating the show needed more elaborate tracking methods. Jantje Friese: What we really liked about 1899, not 1898 or 1897, is that its on a threshold. Friese: I dont know. I makes it very difficult.. Chris Emil Janssen/Action Press/Shutterstock, Bo and I met in film school and since Day One, we were convinced that it was possible to tell local stories coming out of Germany that could hit an audience anywhere, Friese said. Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar, who also created the streamer's hit 'Dark, are back with another meta mystery, this time set on a migrant steamer at the turn of 19th century. How can I get over always reacting in the same patterns to certain situations? How did the actors react to working in this new virtual space? It gives this other world a huge chance. Its a new kind of thinking for filmmaking: You have to think in layers and how you combine those layers. How difficult was it to interact with the actors when youre performing in a language you dont understand? Immediately, I had the idea that this might be a migrant on a ship. I used the wrong hand! (Laughs.) But also hard because you have to rethink how youre used to shooting stuff. Berlin, Germany - May 3rd, 2021 -- Today Netflix and DARK WAYS, the newly set-up production company helmed by Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar, announced the start of production for their highly anticipated new Netflix original mystery-series 1899. It felt like unified Europe was slowly breaking apart, like every country was doing its own thing. The reoccurring triangle symbol itself represents the element earth. But were not going to solve every riddle because sometimes its funnier [that way]. this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. The Creators of '1899' Reveal (Some of) the Secrets Behind the New Netflix Mystery Series Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar, who also created the streamer's hit 'Dark,' are back with another meta. Wheres he going? 2023 Emmys Predictions: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie, We actually mirrored all the images that take place in a mirrored world, which means you mirror the sets. "We've dedicated our past years to deciphering human behavior and trying to find out why people also do very bad things. What were some of the bad ideas that got tossed out? When we got to the second season, we changed it again. Where to Watch This Week's New Movies, from 'Are You There God? The passengers of the Kerberos encounter the biggest mystery of their lives. What were some of the touchstones you used when designing the series? Of course, thats just a tiny part of the hook of Season 3s new alternate reality, one in which Marthas younger brother never travels back in time and never becomes Jonas father. ", It's kind of funny, given that it's basically a quantum theory lesson told entirely in German, that the show has become so popular. We planted it everywhere, but no one saw it yet. You can do a lot of things with it. There are some stories that live on when there are still questions left open. Its really weird and interesting technology, but its very helpful for the actors. In the next phase I actually put it in pen. With1899, because were on a ship, and its constantly moving, the camera is too. Baran bo Odar: As we have so many different timelines and characters, we would figure out things like, if we use a certain color in this decade, we wont use it in another one. Fortunately the similarities between some of the older and younger actors are so uncanny that often other clues arent necessary, and occasionally, some viewers are convinced that one actor has just been aged up using makeup and prosthetics such as in the case of Adult Ulrich (Oliver Masucci) and Elderly Ulrich (Winfried Glatzeder). Those visual changes are built on the foundation of a braided narrative that stretches out across all three seasons of Dark. Ideas planted early in the series run return as the show moves toward its poignant ending. We're way closer to America than we are actually to India. Make sure to check outEW's Fall TV Preview cover story as well as all of our2022 Fall TV Preview content, releasing over 22 days through Sept. 29. Is that aMatrixreference? Making a splash: A deep dive into the live-action Little Mermaid with a new generation's Ariel. And then the pandemic happens, the show was supposed to be shot in a very traditional way, where we would have gone to a water tank and we would have built ship set pieces and traveled to other countries to shoot scenes there and stuff like that," he says. The former show, after all, spawned a worldwide cult following of fans eager to untangle Dark's knots, and the idea for 1899 first sprung up after Dark's first season. Theres just an underrepresentation of the different European cultures, the different narratives from around the world. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. (Laughs.) Michael (Sebastian Rudolph) is Michael. Thats the fun of it. Its the same with Blade Runner, and how there are still people thinking Harrison Ford is not a replicant; where Im thinking, How can you think hes not a replicant? Thats the beauty of that story, that theres a question amrk. What resonates with a lot of viewers is this feeling that we also sometimes have: do we matter? We love symbolism and we believe you have to be true to the symbols you lay out. Jantje Friese: They think they know how this works but they don't. They are still human. We said from the start that1899should not look likeTitanic. In Season 3, the seventh episode is where we basically fill in all those last puzzle pieces. 2023 The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. "We started in Season 2 to outsource my brain, so to say," Friese explained in a Zoom interview. Old Ines (Angela Winkler) in actual life has a mole, so you put that on younger Ines when you tried to make them match.. For example, on Dark, the idea of the parallel universe was always planned to be in the second season. As for fans of. It's really awkward for us, this huge success, we always question it. That's how we laid it out as a plan, and let's see if the world agrees.". When Jantje Frieseand her partner Baran bo Odar created their German-language science fiction series "Dark" for Netflix, they had no idea that it would become an international hit. Its just a nice nuance with which to end. Then, of course, just like in Dark, we have a big philosophical theme at the center of it all about perception and reality. Odar revealed on his Instagram in a behind-the-scenes featurette that filming for the series took place in a newly custom built virtual production stage known as the Volume. In the middle, there may be some ideas that are more loosely thrown in. So I think its really fascinating because this is just the start. "We hate green screen, always did. The ultimate example of that is Season 2s epic revelation that police chief Charlottes (Karoline Eichhorn) mother is actually her daughter Elisabeth (Carlotta von Falkenhayn) through more time travel shenanigans. It was so easy for them to just react. 2023 IndieWire Media, LLC. What did you learn using the new tech? Netflix took over that idea and build another Volume set in Mexico using a turntable tool. And they love that show! ", Friese says she was bothered by this for the first few months actively working on the scripts for 1899, but, "At some point, we just said, 'Let's shake it off.' Its all heady stuff, but one that adds an extra layer to the shows mysteries. Its been quite a process getting to here. I love that theres so much fan fiction out there. I think what was the most surprising thing was that there are actually some words that you cannot translate into certain languages, or they have a different feeling or nuance to it. In the present, hes now Jonas father, who coexists in the same time period with young Mikkel. I went out with my large format camera and I was taking pictures of those locations like a fan. You have to change the titles on them and mirror them. You dont need to see it on screen. After that, it goes straight to the computer. How composer Ben Frost creates dream-like sound design. Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar, who also created the streamer's hit 'Dark,' are back with another meta mystery, this time set on a migrant steamer at the turn of 19th century. "I don't know if that's a German thing. ", Someone at Netflix mentioned the volume tech, and Odar and Friese were very impressed by how it looked. When you write, how do you plot things out? The entire script was in English, but everything was dual dialogue. Everything happens constantly in loops. bo Odar: We dont have bad ideas. This Article is related to: Television and tagged Dark, Jantje Friese, Netflix, TV Interviews. That was the biggest structural issue: when do we reveal what? When we started with the show, obviously we werent sure whether we were going to get any audience because its just such an unusual narrative, said Friese. This Article is related to: Television and tagged Baran bo Odar, Dark, Jantje Friese, Netflix. Thats crazy because that like, usually you have to look for for nose [physiology] because thats the most [obvious] pointing thing.. WithDark, the story is really so much about time, about using something linear and then making lots of knots, throwing it at the audience and getting them to figure out how to untangle it back into a more linear logic. Get The Latest IndieWire Alerts And Newsletters Delivered Directly To Your Inbox. If seeing an entire reality flipped in the last season of Dark seemed jarring, know that it felt just as dissonant to the people helping to bring it to life. [1] Work [ edit] Jantje Friese studied production and media management at the University of Television and Film Munich. Usually, the foreground is the actor and then the background is what you have on the LED volume screen. Its nice that this is built upon something that we created and someone else will come up with a new idea and so on. Its over, Odar said. I cant tell you exactly at what point; it wasnt in the first rough concept, but I think it was during the writers room on the first draft in Season 1, said Friese. Obviously, a pyramid already gives you so much mysterious context. I was like, Wow, its such a cool concept. There are also a lot of things in Season 1 hinting to Season 3. One was we didnt want to do it and we were kind of pressured into it. Friese: Yes. Creators Baran bo Odar Jantje Friese Stars Emily Beecham Aneurin Barnard Andreas Pietschmann See production, box office & company info Watch on Netflix S1 with subscription Add to Watchlist ' Odar said in a recent interview with IndieWire. Brexit happened. I went back three days after the end of shooting because I was really not feeling well, to be honest. Odar and Friese both speak English and German, with a smattering of Spanish (him) and French (her), but the scripts called for everything from English to Cantonese to Danish, and more. It isnt just a big green screen where you have to imagine a ship in your head, but you actually see the waves, you actually see the ship. Doubtlessly, you have questions on your mind, about the two new worlds introduced in the final season, how the Dark production team put the parallel universe into reality, what Jonas and Marthas final sacrifice meant, the logic behind the final dinner scene, and most importantly this: is there more to the story? In a time where new genre television content feels rare and must be savored at all costs, one specific rabid fandom has a show to sell you on: Dark, Netflixs German time travel thriller from creators Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese. Others were like: This has so many more complicated puzzle pieces, what are you guys doing? It feels quite right and satisfactory. Whats the fundament of it all? "We always think we have. "I gave that to a couple of actors and they all had the same experience. Sometimes on set, the actors would deliver a really great performance, but they used the wrong hand. "We always work with symbols and objects, and we always have usually one specific object that is tied to one character. [Friese laughs] I played weird music the entire day and it became this very weird experience for everyone. [This story contains major spoilers for the final season of Netflixs Dark.]. In terms of how long 1899 might run, Friese says the pair are trying their best to make it a multi-season show, but notes that "it depends on the viewers", as well as Netflix. Having watched the first six episodes [of1899], it appears to be a bit less complicated thanDark. Once you rewatch it, its obviously great fun to find all of those little things. We know people will be going insane about it, but we always knew this would be our answer: we dont have an answer, because we do not know if theres a god or not. "It's structured again as a three-season mystery puzzle just like Dark," Friese explains. And thus, fans of this science fiction series can be found discussing Nietzsche and other philosophers, trying to unlock the shows themes of free will and fate, alongside the physics of time travel. Was it always your intention to introduce multiple worlds from the outset? Related Its also an interesting time because there were such extreme points of view back then. We thought it better to shift the puzzle pieces around. You have to open doors with your left hand. Sometimes its just a table or a column in the dining room, or in a landscape, maybe a hill, to create depth. We already have ideas for a second and third season on 1899, and it gets complicated. Friese: Kerberos, for example, is a computer authentication protocol. Friese knows the reason for his injury and eye patch, but wouldnt reveal what happened. I personally feel that a lot of very great philosophers came out of from German history. [Note: The following interview discusses Season 3 of the Netflix series Dark.]. "There was a huge pressure because, first of all, we never expected that kind of success, and then it grew season for season," Friese tells EW. In every season there is what I always call a bridge episode, because to me its like the bridge in a song Friese said. Friese says she was bothered by this for the first few months actively working on the scripts for 1899, but, "At some point, we just said, 'Let's shake it off.' That's what we tried to do. It's really bad. With that being said, is there still a story to tell in the universe of Dark, or do you feel closed at this point? Need help finding something to watch? Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. A lot went down between the lifelong friends like, a lot. You can only stand here. Andreas Pietschmann plays Captain Eye Larsen in 1899. The idea of the three worlds is constantly shown in the second season, through the picture in the book young Elisabeth is reading. Sign up here for our weekly Streamail newsletter to get streaming recommendations delivered straight to your inbox. ', John Mulaney's New Netflix Special Is a Critical Reminder About Celebrity, 2023 Emmys Predictions: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie. The series ends with a dinner party in the origin world. In Season 1, one of the biggest revelations once time travel is introduced is that teenager Jonas (Louis Hofmann) realizes that the young boy Mikkel (Daan Lennard Liebrenz) who disappears from Winden in 2019, has actually gone back in time to 1986 where he then met and eventually married Jonas mother. Get The Latest IndieWire Alerts And Newsletters Delivered Directly To Your Inbox. Stuff like that always happens. But you can create huge worlds with it." 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Originally there had been considerations to convert the material into a film. Was that deliberate? Then they were: No, no, we love it.. All these hints subconsciously or consciously trigger something in your head. So it was obviously challenging and not possible to do it in a traditional way. "Because there are so many layers of science philosophy and metaphysics and spiritual stuff, and it was quite interesting to see that they are all actually talking about the same thing, just from different angles. You can change anything. Do you feel you have said all there is to say about these characters and this world? Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Your past is always pushing you into the direction you're going, while at the same time the future is pulling you. No, we just forget them immediately. She was last seen stealing a time machine, traveling to the past to taunt her old lover, and then taking off on her own. Its a very long and also very complicated process. Some said: Oh, it felt more at ease, like it was easier to comprehend. (!!!!). Why dont we have that?. That was the initial plan. We always knew we wanted to save Regina. I always liked the idea that there are two components who are opponents, fighting each other all of the time, actually having to realize that they are not important. We spoke to Dark co-creators Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese about saying farewell to the series, the spiritual and mythological influences they crammed into the third season's eight episodes, and how in the world they managed to keep everything straight. You can never give a satisfying answer. Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter. No one is just evil because they want to be; everyone is reacting to their own hurts and wounds. It was such an interesting time, that, unfortunately, was the build-up for a lot of terrible things that happened afterwards: With the First World War and then the Second World War, as people entered a new century, there was a lot of hope, but also a lot of fear, regarding new ideas and older ideas the old world versus the new world. We always think we have to answer everything. At first, you think everything is possible, but its not. So, but Im not going to tell you whether were going to or not.. The Hollywood Reporter is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Friese compared it to the Season 1 episode that first travels to the 1950s and the Season 2 episode that revisits the day of Michael's death. From the creators of Dark, the mystery-thriller will melt your mind. Because Im a very traditional filmmaker; I like to give the actors a lot of space and not limit them by saying, We just have this angle. There are different sections in there in the beginning, I just put Post-its in so I can still rip them out again. She is a writer and producer, known for Dark (2017), Who Am I (2014) and 1899 (2022). Thats where we basically put the groundwork, going for deterministic time travel rules. They have something almost like emoticons at the end of every sentence, in order to understand how that sentence is meant. Through three seasons of Dark very little made. And he's not just talking major landscapes, but also more intimate set pieces, too. That was the initial plan. We really wanted to get every culture, all the languages, right and not have people speaking in clichs. So its really that in going through the makeup process and trying to find out what you do with the hair and face. Related It's all rooted in one core idea. How much room do you give for people trying to figure it out and when do you push them into the right direction? First time filming in new cutting edge LED-Volume at Babelsberg Studios. "We do love challenges," Odar says with a laugh. Did you learn anything surprising working across so many different languages? [Editors Note: The following contains spoilers for Seasons 1 and 2 of Dark.]. By the end of Season 2, we're dealing with a number of different time periods spanning more than 100 years but we're also introduced, in the last seconds of the finale, to the possibility of an entirely new and potentially identical dimension. "We're always very, very interested in why people do the things they do, and how they came to be the person they are," Friese explained. It was one of those pictures youre drawn to, where you immediately start asking questions: What did he do with that hammer? Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar discuss what they kept from set and the difficulty of letting go once filming on the series ended. Friese: Its a good thing because it helps you see who you are yourself. It's a lot to keep track of, and a feat of brilliance that Odar and Friese have made it work so seamlessly, especially since the show never shies away from introducing the actual quantum theory behind parallel universes and God particles. Do Ellis Dragons Unstable Inventions Exist in Real Life? Because if you cannot express certain emotions through your language then theyre almost non-existent in that culture. And then we try to find a world of symbols that all ties into our theme," she says. One must watch it. One reference we did not use, and not because we dont like the film, because we loved it when it came out, wasTitanic. The other thing was really, What is German? What can we put out in the world apart from the Second World War which I still think is also in Dark, even though were not in the timeline. And Prometheus, obviously, is also a little wink to the ending of Season 1. Entertainment Weekly is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation All Rights Reserved. Published Jan 26, 2023 There was much more to untangled in the criminally cancelled show. We added a glitch to it. You really had a problem letting go, I think, Friese added., Yes. Thats already in minute 10, 11. Wrapping up the Dark story next season hasnt been an easy process, even though filming is already underway. So where does the show go in Season 3? ", But amid all the symbology and references to religion and philosophical theory, there is one very simple concept that unites it all: the notion of an immutable past that, quite literally, in this case, always catches up to the present, and in so doing, informs the future. But you can only read it once you see how it ends. A scene from Netflixs 1899 in the Dark Bay LED Volume studio at Studio Babelsberg, Willie Nelson Turns 90: Keith Richards Joins Hollywood Bowl Bash, R.M.N. 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Your Burning Firefly Lane Questions Answered. In the Eliott Sumner version we use in the title sequence, the line that features so prominently is feed your head. That was such an important phrase for the entire show that it felt like the absolute right fit. That was the thing Claudia wanted to achieve. Some of the stuff we decided that you kind of figure it out yourself. Even 24 frames per second, creating motion from still frames, thats the first illusion you create as a filmmaker. But it also means props-wise, you have to change a lot of things like books and bookshelves. And the rest is just virtual in it, even with digital extras, which we used for the first time, which they didn't on Mandalorian. I just felt that was such a multilayered story. 1899 Cast: Set Sail for Multilingual Mystery, 1899 Poster Hints at Series Big Mystery, All Aboard: The Mysterious 1899 Trailer Is Here, The 1899 Teaser Will Rock the Boat and Your World, 1899 Star Andreas Pietschmann Reveals the Series Visionary Stage Tech, How Emily Beecham Untangled the Mystery of 1899, How Composer Ben Frost Conjured the 1899 Score in the Belly of an Actual Ship, The Opening Sequence of 1899 Charts a Course for Mystery, New Thriller 1899 Sets Sail in November, So, What *Did* Tully Do to Kate? Mysteries about characters allegiances or motives are hard to separate from their ties to family fates. See how the filmmakers used Volume to create a story at sea. Thats what triggered the process. Were going to see a bit more about grown Ulrich, she said. They always knew where it would go, but they recently watched the last episode in the cinema and they were like, oh my God!, Odar: We dont play with the audience and treat them as fools and idiots; rather, the opposite. But I dont want to fill those gaps. And we're just waiting for the moment where someone shows up and says, 'April Fool's! Friese knows the reason for his injury and eye patch, but wouldn't reveal what happened. Interviews with leading film and TV creators about their process and craft.