Dogma/Dogme 95

[Jipsi Kinnear]

I'm curious as to why the Dogma 95 hype died out. With the advent of digital tech today one would think serious or soon to be serious story tellers would jump back on the movement. I got to thinking about it recently while playing around with a 5D Mark II, which would seem for the most part a perfect fit in regards to shooting a Dogma 95 feature. I would think this is a perfect time to get back to the true bare necessities/essentials of filmmaking. The basic simplicity of story telling instead of bogging oneself down with cheap fx and such. I'm not opposed to big budget films but surely with all the distribution avenues available today you would think there's room for both types of movies. It shouldn't always be about remake after remake after reboot etc. Just my 2 cents, any thoughts?



For those not familiar with the movement: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogme_95

[Brian Drysdale]

I suspect because there were also quite a few poor films made under the label. Films do get made using minimum resources, but the key is good actors who can hold a film together, these are harder to find than the camera and usually more expensive.

[Sareesh Sudhakaran]

Speaking as a director of films -
To me, it's like saying you want to paint the Mona Lisa but all you've got is one red crayon. The most important thing in film is the story and the characters that make up the story. That decides what tools need to be used.

The limits imposed by Dogme were groundless. What was it based on? Unfortunately the writers who put down the rules didn't know how to justify its utility through their own films. They were not helping the movies they were making. It was all about style...and styles go out of fashion. Good movies remain.

[Chris Hurd]

It's from 1995... more than fifteen years ago. I'd say it had a pretty good run.

[Rainer Listing]

There were some Dogme disasters but it can be done and still is being done successfully today. Have a look at "Fish Tank" which won the Jury Prize at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival and the 2010 BAFTA for Best British Film. The film doesn't advertise itself as Dogme, but ticks all the Dogme boxes. Yes, Dogme (with some variation, like to allow for 16:9) can be a very good model for DSLR filmmaking.

[Brian Drysdale]

Seems "Fish Tank" was shot on 35mm film. Fish Tank (2009) - Technical specifications

The minimalist approach has been around for many years. You can either use digital or film. How well it works really depends on the story you're telling.

You can also create extremely natural looking lighting with lights.

[Jipsi Kinnear]

Thanks for the replies. I guess a little background is in order in regards to me, I too am in the biz and have been successfully for 20+ yrs.. well the bills are paid and the kids are fed so I guess that could be defined as 'success'. Anywho, the reason I was asking is this, I see a lot of new filmmakers and/or up and comers struggling to get noticed, most of the time trying to do too much and getting overwhelmed by it all. On the other hand, old dogs like me, at least in my circles have always wanted to make our 'mark' as well after toiling away for the man. For me, I've exhausted pretty much every job capacity short of being a director thus far, on the production side at least because I'm far from being a tech type. The reason I thought about the old Dogma movement was really about the economics first and the challenge second. The economic side of it is that I can cover the costs with no real trouble or burden, I'm not saying a 7 figure budget but something healthy with a lot of favours thrown into the mix. The challenge side is to adhere to a set of guidelines and not sway from them, I've worked on enough free for all, throw caution to the wind crap over the years, while that's fun when you're playing with other peoples money, I'd prefer not to bankrupt myself for the sake of 'art' which is of course subjective anyways. In regards to the second post, I believe it was Brian, if I'm wrong, my apologies, it's been my experience that actors will do anything if the story and concept are there. It's not always about money, there's plenty of 'pay cheques' out there if that's what someone is looking for.

Now I fully realize that Dogma itself can be debated as to it being a real movement or just a marketing ploy. Lars Von Trier, Thomas Vinterberg and Harmony Korine have freely admitted to bending the rules laid out in the 'Vows of Chastity'. But where's the harm in resurecting something for the betterment of the biz, so to speak. Instead of the kids popping on to their Macs, cutting away in FCP and using every plugin known to mankind, why not try and bring back the true essence of what movie making really is, the STORY. Anybody with a little practice and determination can sit in front of a computer and come up with the next cool 'bullet time' effect but can they tell a story in a simple three act structure. That's why I think it would be nice to see the Dogma type movement come back into play and why my friends and I are going to shoot a feature in a few weeks sticking to the 10 rules as best we can. It's all for fun, not trying to change history, if you read to this point I salute and applaud you.

Sincerely: J.S. Kinnear

PS: been a long time member of this site, and have always been blown away by the sheer brilliance of what some of you come up with...thank you for that.


Edit: As Marshall McLuhan said, "The medium is the message".

[Erik Norgaard]

Hi:

Did it die out? The founding directors broke from dogma95 in 2005, claiming that they never intended to continue the experiment for more than 10 years. By that time numerous directors and filmmakers had taken the ideas and created their own "dogma-style" movies, they claimed that dogma95 had made its influence:

Now, today nobody really adheres religiously to the 10 rules, but it has put the script in the center and inspired a generation of upcoming directors showing that good movies can be created without all the high tech fx etc. It may have gone out of style to label movies dogma95, but the concepts have been adopted widely I think.

As such dogma95 lives on, and there's nothing that hinders you from creating your own "dogma-style" movie with your Canon 5D MkII, although that would violate rule 9.

BR, Erik

[Jipsi Kinnear]

For a good laugh, enjoy.

McSweeney’s Internet Tendency: My Dogme95 Confession.



EDIT: link looks wonky but it works...