Students Gain As Sachtler Backs Short Film Project

A top name in broadcasting, Sachtler, a Vitec Group brand, has provided students from St. Benno High School in Dresden with a Soom XL tripod system with a FSB 8 fluid head.
Filmmaker Marco Prill, art educator Barbara Kley and Tanja Mette assisted the tenth graders. The result was Max and Greta got lost in the forest, a 20-minute short film.
In an intensive process, the young people became acquainted with all of the different jobs involved in a professional film shoot: everything from the script to camera operation, editing, and the film music, which they composed themselves. Of course, they also worked in front of the cameras as actors.
The students' jobs also included the acquisition of creative as well as technical resources.
"The students were full of ideas and energy. When it came to the technical realization, they were very curious and eager to learn," said Marco Prill.
"Many of them were particularly interested in camera work and the camera equipment."
Together with Marco Prill, the team made their way to a variety of shooting locations. Filming took place in and around Dresden – indoors as well as outside in the forest and on church towers.
"Using Sachtler equipment is child's play. This immediately gave the students a sense of achievement," says Prill, who has worked with Sachtler camera support since the beginning of his career.
He also emphasizes: "For the students, working with the tripod system was a great experience because they were able to learn how easy and self-explanatory using precise technology can be. Although they didn't have a lot of practice, we got smooth and steady camera pans. A further advantage was that the tripod system was stable but still easy to transport."
"Working with young people in a very heterogeneous group also turned out to be an extremely educational experience for me. It was an intense time," says Prill when summing up the project.
(BMcC/GK)