Swiss filmmaker Samir and Swiss indie game studio Blindflug Studios collaborate
to combine Unreal Engine game technology and traditional filmmaking.
Zurich, Switzerland, November 16th, 2022 – Blindflug Studios and Dschoint Ventschr are proud to announce that they are collaborating on the latest film project by Swiss filmmaker Samir titled THE MIRACULOUS TRANSFORMATION OF THE WORKING CLASS INTO FOREIGNERS.
A teaser trailer is available here.
Additional press material can be downloaded here.
For his new documentary movie, Samir uses animated sequences that represent his memories of growing up in the working-class milieu in Switzerland. But instead of going the traditional animation route, these sequences are being produced inside Unreal Engine.
With this technology, the scenes do not get animated frame by frame as would be the case in typical animation. Instead, the filmmaker can use the camera freely in a “virtual set”. The scenes get prepared in the game engine with all the needed 3D models, backgrounds, and effects, and the animation for the human characters gets realized thanks to motion capturing.
When all the assets and animated characters are prepared for the virtual set in the game engine, the filmmaker can choose the light source, camera position, and framing in real time however they like. This whole process is quicker, more flexible, and cheaper than traditional 2D or 3D animation. The goal is to create a modern audiovisual experience and to use the new design possibilities of game technology, which allow a mixture of photorealistic and fantastical representations.
“With the successful docu-animation film CHRIS THE SWISS, I gained extensive experience as a producer in the possibilities of incorporating animation into documentary film work. I have always liked the fact that animated sequences in documentary films also allow for a ‘liberation’ of the classic documentary narration,” explains Samir, the director of the movie. “Based on these experiences, I would like to delve into these new possibilities of documentary animation in my documentary essay project THE MIRACULOUS TRANSFORMATION OF THE WORKING CLASS INTO FOREIGNERS. In particular, I have been drawn to the new technological possibilities created in the game industry for quite some time. It was a stroke of luck that the professional game specialists at Blindflug Studios in Zurich were willing to cooperate. I’m happy that we’re both moving into new territory and creating a bridge with this work in the two previously separate fields of ‘audio vision’.”
“I have always been very interested in producing cinema and games from a single mold and merging the two media. With this project, we’re one step closer to this great goal,” adds Moritz Zumbühl, president of Blindflug Studios.
For more information about THE MIRACULOUS TRANSFORMATION OF THE WORKING CLASS INTO FOREIGNERS: www.working-class.ch
Find more behind-the-scenes material in this blog post by Blindflug Studios: https://www.blindflugstudios.
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About Dschoint Ventschr
Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion develops, produces, and sells films that are primarily concerned with aspects of cross-culture, politics, and society: feature and documentary films that have the meeting of various cultures as their theme. Dschoint Ventschr works consistently on the continuing development of a modern cinematic pictorial language and utilizes the creative possibilities of new technologies. Since 1994, they have produced more than 100 dedicated long documentary and cinema feature films – mostly international co-productions with Germany, France, Austria, England, and Canada.
About Blindflug
We are an indie game studio founded in 2014 by Jeremy Spillmann and Moritz Zumbühl, based in Zürich, Switzerland, and Poznań, Poland. Our mission is simple: We want to create beautiful, imaginative, and incredibly fun games, that center around real-world dilemmas. We believe that games are an incredible medium for allowing players to experience the most complex of problems while being hugely entertaining too! Our first title First Strike, a nuclear war RTS game, has been played by more than eleven million players so far. It was followed up by the highly critically acclaimed Cloud Chasers which explores the topic of migration, the dieselpunk action game Airheart and the Apple Arcade launch title Stellar Commanders. With over 50 nominations and prizes at international awards and festivals, like the Best GDC Pitch and German Developer Innovation Prize, Blindflug is one of the standout indie game studios in Europe.
Please direct press inquiries to Nuria Massó: nuria@blindflugstudios.com.
