Timur Bekmambetov: Crafting New Filmmaking Tools via Screenlife

what he calls screen Life. Features. In these movies, all the action revolves around the screen activity of unseen characters. Timore explains why he thinks this is a way of the future for filmmaking, and he also offers his intriguing thoughts on the new Cold War between the US and his homeland. Welcome timur bekmm bed Off. Thank you so much for stopping by here with us today. You for

inviting me. You are in town in part to talk to people about your You have a new film technology that you are trying to spread the word on and train filmmakers to use, called screen Life, and it is it is an effort to capture our sort of daily lives as we live it on social media and multiple screens and multiple devices. Tell me about it and how you came to develop it. It's perfect. It's perfect presentation.

By the way, I think it's sent not technology. I think it's more like a language and new film language because because we we are recording screens, our computer screens or our screens of our devices. Because today, in today's world, most important events of our life happen happening not in physical space but on screens, like we're falling in love, losing friends, betraying sometimes uh, making money, losing money, and most important for storytelling, we're making moral choices today and

it's happening on screen. And there's no way you can capture this this uh, this events with the traditional film camera because uh, it's it's just two kids sitting with the iPhones in the in the in the cafeteria and talking to each other without even looking to each other. And it's very emotional, it could be very emotional, it could be very dramatic, and the camera will just capture boring two silhouettes again the window. Yes, but if you will, if you'll, if you will uh catch their screens, you

will understand how dramatic. Maybe it's our man Juliet, Maybe it's uh, I don't know, bony glide planning to to to to to rob the bank. And even the robbing the bank today is different like in today. And it's very funny when we see when we see in the cinema, when we see the movies about rubbing the bank today. I don't know why people's filmmakers keep producing making movies about the same thing, like a four guys and who's with the rifles breaking the door and screaming give me cash.

It's absurd. It's a retro because there's no more cash. Theists are done with zeros and ones. Yes, because it's because it's just the stereotype, and it's just a lack of lack of a sense of reality. And today's world, the hacking the banks maybe two kids sitting in cafeteria with the iPhones and and and sneaking into the bank system to to to to move money from somewhere in New Zealand. But how do you make that visually compelling out? How it can make it visually compelling without screen life?

And and that's what we what we decided like five years ago that we should focus on it because how it's happened. I was on Skype with my partner, with my colleague. Her name is Olga. She was in Russia. I was in Los Angeles and during the Skype I asked you to share her screen because Skype just released the function share a screen, and she did it, and she's found the button pushed and she did it, and

we discussed some poster of the movie. And then when we finished, she forgot to unshare the screen, and for a few minutes I saw what's happened on her screen. How she because she didn't pay attention to think that I don't see it anymore. And she sent messages to her mom, bought some very intimate stuff and just there was something personal, but we were still talking about some business issues. But it's this moment I suddenly understood. Then of course I said, sorry, sorry, I see a screen

you should you should share. But at this moment it was short, but it's moment I understood that I was inside her. And there's no tool in traditional filmmaking allowing me to do to have the same effect of intimacy of engagement or I saw and I saw every move of her whatever mind you know, it's like it's like a window into somebody's mind if you can see what they do online. It's a good version of voiceover, you know,

like usually traditional filmmaking we have. He I was thinking about how I will Maybe I will, I should send him email, maybe not, maybe I should keep it secret. This is what voice over doing. But in in in screen life, I see how she tries to send she types the text to send her friend. Then suddenly she decided to to change your mind and deleted and send something different. And I and and if I see it, I totally understand what's happening inside the inside the character.

And and I decided that we should make a movies we should make we should use this to make movies about today's world and today's heroes. And the first the first case, the first movie we made was Unfriended. It's a Nelson Grieves. It's when he was my colleague assistant at that time. And I asked him to write the script. Ah, and he did because he was young enough to believe, to believe my crazy idea. UH. And then I asked

my friend Leo Gabrieze to direct this movie. And uh, and we made a movie called called Unfriended, and UM, nobody believed that it's it's serious, honestly because I I screened this movie for studios, for agencies, for distributers, and people said, who will Nobody will go to see UH, to stare on the computer screen in the cinema and pay money. And and I was trying to explain that the logic that we live on screens today, it's our

where our life is. And people said, yeah, maybe, but maybe people doesn't stay so busy with this in the in everyday life. Staring at the screen they don't want to go to see this in the theater is not entertaining enough. What how we can cut the trailer what we're going to show. It's it's it's it's very logical, it's very logical observations. But I think the logic is wrong.

It's logical because we because there is no because what's happened after UH shows that I was right because every movie we made, but we made seven movies since then, seven screen life movies and one web web series called It's released by BuzzFeed, and and every movie we made and every festival, we we we we we showed the movie We're getting the same price, which is audience a word. And it's not not jury, not critics, but audience. It shows me that that that the right It was the

right concept. Audience wants to have stories about the reality, about the life that we live in. Yeah, and uh and uh and it just a question. It was then it was just a question for me how we can make this movie because nobody made it before. It's a totally new language. So you have no traditional live action elements in the it's all screen. You see in the screen, screen to screen, so you see the perspective of characters comes through their screens. Yes, uh, we have we don't

have cameras. Of course, we have production designer because if if I am front of computer in the room, somebody should figure out the background. And and we need production designer.

But our production designer designer must design not only the background behind the room where the character with the computer uh we will place, but also to design the screen, to design the folders, like what kind of folders, what kind of images, what kind of logos on the screen, what kind of And it's a it's a new it's very new for for for for the business. Uh and uh. And it's about everything that the whole language is different

because the sound is different. In screen life movies, it's very different strategy you because in traditional movies, the screen it's like a window into another world. And the sound sound coming from the screen because of the reality we're talking about, is on behind the screen, except maybe some stereo movies when it's a little bit a little bit,

a few few feets in front of the screen. But but in screenlight movies, the reality is front of the screen, not behind the screen, because the character is sitting front of the screen, and the screen in the cinema it just a computer screen and and there's nothing behind the wall, and the sound is around you, and we use for profile, we used very very tricky atmos atmos sound to create the environment to give you a sense of take sense of that you are the character sitting in front of

the screen. Are these so you're distributing these movies around the world? Are they profitable? Are you able to make

money off of them? Do you know what? I think you should check because what I heard from the Universal that The Unfriended First Unfriended was one of the twenty twenty most profitable movies ever made in the history because because it was because it was a million dollar budget had made no, it made sixty four sixty five theatrically and and uh and it's and there's no risk because the way how we make this movie is very specific because we spent we don't spend one million even we

spent I don't know, hundred thousand dollars to make to do the to shoot it uh and shooting period is uh ten days. Uh. And then you can cut, resemble it, cut, see the see the what you have and then you can continue to the production or you can stop, or you can change. You know, it's it's it's slightly different the risks. You don't need to commit hundred million dollars budget. You're committing only hundred southand a little budget. And then you can have we have a chance to to analyze

what you've got and then continue. And in terms of you know, capturing this imagery, do you have is there do you have some kind of as you say, a technology or a language that is yes, it's what we what we what we discovered immediately after unfriended during their friend that there's no tools because cinema exists four hundreds year,

for hundreds of years and UH. And there's a lot of tools like a tripods, cameras, lights and a lot of stuff like lenses and but but for for screen life movies, we don't have it because this business exists only five years when we started. And the biggest problem is when you're recording this screen of your character. You recording five years ago ago, we recorded only the flat screen flex just video and there was no way to manipulate with this image because it was just flat baked

video of the screen. And and for for for me as a director, I want to be able to change things. I want to be able to change the timing, to change the composition, to change the elements, and I couldn't. Then I decided, what if it will make a new recorder recording not the image, but recording the programming code like the code UH computer generates to create the image. Then if we're recording the code, then we can use any element and change it. And you know, because it's

more it's more flexible this type of the file. And we spent two and a half years now two and we've got we received two patents invented the new recorder allowing you to record UH your screencast as a as a code with the consequences which are which are First of all, I can target the movie like for example, you will see you will watch one movie in New York and if you will go, if you will fly to l A, you will watch different movie because computer

can understand where you are and change the elements for example, banners or something. I mean, I'm not talking about the whole movie, but I can adjust and if if you I'm the movie I'm watching, a movie you're watching will be different movies because I can make a movie when we will understand who's watching and adjust the the slightly, just the elements to the story and the story. But this is for somebody watching in a streaming or yes, yes,

of course there story different, not in cinema. So you have patents, So do you have It's a great idea. It could be even in a cinema because with like mended reality, because if you will put the glass like mended reality glasses, then everyone can can just different different meals. They do it in sports right now, in sports right now. So you have a couple of patents, Do you have a kind of proprietary software to use this and or

is this is this a business for you. Are you trying to license this to other filmmakers and other companies around the world. Yes, it's what we do now we uh in September, we will release it because now we're testing ourselves and we're using to produce our movies. Uh and uh and now we we will license from September for a few months, we will licenses to different like colleagues, whatever businesses uh. Uh and then uh from from December, it will be free for everyone to use, like people

can just record themselves. We will release it for free for millions of people. Because because I believe that about in today's world, So what I said, because our most important events of our life happening on screen, why we take pictures, why we make photos, is putting it on Instagram because it's not where we leave today, you know. I mean, of course, I'm I'm sorry, I'm a little

bit more. I'm trying to radicalize the problem. But I'm saying that, like if half of my life is on screen today, that half of the images on in Instagram should be screencasts. You know, it should be about how I got a message from my girlfriend, or how I learned that I lost a lot of money, because the release of the movie was not successful, and it's a very important events and and it's it's what I should remember and it should share with my friends and uh,

and it's what we're trying to promote. Please pay attention what's happening on your screens, Remember it and share with with share with your friends, with your whatever enemies, if you want to to to to pull somebody, it's it's what what This is an interesting perspective on our visual lives from from a director. But I can, uh, I can. We can do one step forward, which is what's the mission? Why we do it? Why we do this movie? Not because we want to make a lot of money, it's not.

It's not the case their passion projects it is. It is it is kind of what we intuitively, I feel that it's important, and I try to understand why. Uh. And one of the explanations for myself I found, as we we leave, we're entering the different, different universe like

reality now. Because it's what I said, If we leave on screens, if we if we sending messages each other like I love you digitally as an SMS, it's happening on screen, and it means we live in different reality now with with entering different reality within the reality of social networks and messengers and and like many browsers and games, and it's a different reality. And we spend our life in this world more and more. But we don't know. We don't have a trust yet, you know, we never

because it's so new civilization. We all like human beings. We don't have a trust yet. We don't know what does it mean? Death? For for example, my friend died two years ago, still sending me happy birthday messages and and we don't know. I don't know how to react. It's scary, you know, it's really scary. And and we don't know what what what does mean family in internet? Like if wife cannot excess access the information of her husband or not or kids for example, like the movie

calls Searching we're releasing in August. It's a story about the father uh suddenly discovered the world his daughter lived in, shocked, And it's what every problem and and and and and I and what we don't have this realization. What's the mission for us now? How we can together create the trust what this world is for us? And how we should live in this world? And as we know there's only one way to to to create this virtual document or like a rules or let's called trust. Yeah, to

tell stories. It's how it's happened thousands years ago, when when our ancestors told first fair tales and myths and legends, and then novels and and Leo Tolstoy a route word peace. It was the whole culture was about creating this trust to like it, to create the rules how we should behave and uh and and the screen life movies. It's a way for us now to explore this world, to learn who we are, to express ourselves, and to tell

stories about our lives and how they're very interesting. My question for you now, if you're going to try to license in September but give it away for free in December, why would anybody pay you? Because there's a there's a few there are a few versions of there's a professional. When you have more tools, you can change things. You can you can even re like you can record one website. You can change the content, move things around. Oh, there

is a very simple recorder for for for broad audience. Interesting. Do you do you have a sense do you think you'll have some takers? Yes, I'm sure because we tested it. We tested it and uh, we've got we've got an unbelievable number. If you know what its means CTR click through rate, it's a CULTI merry engagement. Now usually it's a one percent. It's it's a good number, like one percent of people clicking. We have FI average it could

be eighty. It means our our, our recording provokes people to click because you see somebody's else life and and you want to participate. You want to co co exist, coexist, you know, you want to how to say this connect connect? Yeah, you want to be inside somebody's else life and we

can we can provide it. I mean if when I was when I was yes, when I was fourteen, if somebody will give me this tool, I will talk to my friends and girls and flirt and I will do it because it's I'm recording my uh my life, recording like thirty second one minute of my life and sharing with with my friend. And my friend can enter my life. Can you can explore my piece of my life. It's something very uh game. It's a game changer, I think, a right interesting. Now through your company, you have a

you have a Moscow based production company, baselofs ye. If I said that, right, and you do your you do a range of material and a lot of you know, more traditional live action live action features, buzzle lifts exist for twenty five years. It's how old we are. Uh and uh, it's a tough time for independent filmmakers and distributors. How are you guys faring in the new world order? We're looking for? Easy answer is very very simple. We are not. We're not ducing traditional stuff. We are because

it's a company driven by creators, not managers. It's why every project we make we produce. Uh. It's it's something new and unpredictable. Like I can give you some examples of like we made a night Watch and they watched. It was first fantasy movie in Russia. It was very h new for Russia. And at the same time it was very new, very unusual, very innovative for uh, for the fantasy for for the American fantasy movies, because it

was first out rated. You know, I think it was one of the first out rated edgy tonally graphic novel type of the movies. And and also then we made A nine with the Tim Burton, it's animation, animated movie about for Edgy dark post epiccalyptic, uh uh cartoon. And we made Hardcore Henry. It's a first person movie. Crazy movie, very talented director Gianna Ruler. Short in Russia was released by STS. We made now seven screen life movies. I mean every every movie we we make, we're trying to

surprise ourselves. And it's not only about the esthetics. Usually in my mind, usually business ideas provokes you to figure out the new language, new new esthetic, and in opposite, like if you need something like now, for example, I'm working on the project, cooking the project, working developing the project where the artificial intellect creates images and uh and and it's very very exactly it's it's not it's it's

a very early stage, but it works. And I think we tested it and I saw a computer generating images not not um, I'm not talking about generating images. I mean, uh, serialistic images. But what what a computer with think if it was it's like like like for example, people said, oh, there's a visionary director and I use this idea and just developed the software. When it's a visionary, how is

it not director of visionaries software? Whatever, it's it's a it's a it's an interesting it's because it's it's why we don't have competitors. We can fail. We can fail because sometimes sometimes idea could be not you cannot reach your audience. But but but usually we we we have a good result because it's a cost effective because there's no there's no competitors yet in the world. We uh in the project we producing and uh and it's exciting. And distributors they like movies we make because we do

something new. Have you done anything in television content and any TV series or only in Russia? We uh we we produced the TV show it's quite it was this was quite traditional. It was a really good story a long time ago. And and now we produced web series. It's released by by BuzzFeed. It's a project calls sorry, it's a it's a web serious screen life, web serious entertainment because the story of of presented in today's uh,

in today's reality. Like so like if you can imagine that there was a there was a Instagram and Facebook and and it looks like so the events the incredible events of ninety six Martin Luther King, Rob Kennedy getting killed,

but as if they were today. Yeah, it's like fifty years like the same week, but fifty years ago, and it's every week we released, were releasing a new episode about the same week fifty years ago, and very very very exciting and very relatable because suddenly you understand the history because it's because it's uh, it's very relatable. What is um? I think the Russian media market for even for a lot of US media firms, still seems very opaque.

What do you find? Is it a vibrant market? Do you is there are there buyers for TV content and digital content in Russia? Sponsorship? Is that? Uh? Is it as vibrant as it as it is here for for digital content in Russians they think that it's impossible to understand what Russia it means. It's like it's it's it's in our mentality, you know, in our mentality. We we

believe that nobody can understand us. I don't know, it's a bullshit probably, but it's what we it's what we think that Russian soul we've always heard about, Yes, it's something like Russian soul or because it's absurdity, it's idealistic, it's uh, sometimes it's very bad organ you know, the organized world. But sometimes it's unbelievably focused, like a war like world What two was one of the examples. And we think we're special. I mean, I don't like this concert,

but it's what what what? What's what people believe in. But the same with the with the movies. Uh. For many years during Soviet era, Russia had its own film industry, very very solid, and it was one of the one of the most profitable industries in Soviet Union. After saying I think product vodka production and uh and and then when Prettystroca happened, and and but yes, it was all state owned. It was all state controlled during Soviet time

and very well organized. It was like monopolized because it was development, production, distribution. Everything was in one hands. And these were the movies that you probably saw it. Yes, yeah, yeah. There was a two types of movies. There was a Russian Soviet movies, Soviet Union movies, and some little bit of Eastern European movies, and a lot of French and

Italian movies. I don't know why the communists they were in love with with French and Italian Uh, like a Buzzolini feeliny or like a French French directors, like like comics is Fantamas was one of one of my uh kids, huge events. And I have I have a conspiracy sory y because I think they bought these movies and used this, uh these cases to finance communist parties in Western world.

I mean it's a it's conspiracy theory. But but mostly it was Soviet in then in nineties, suddenly the whole industry collapsed and thousands of thousands of theaters like it was the same as United like a twenty thousand screens or thirty thousand screens. It disappeared in during like a few years. And uh, and there was it was uh, there was like a furnishing stores and in the theaters and then all ninety there was no there was no industry and uh you think because the state collapsed, so

that went away and then it was just chaos. There was no Yeah, there was no money too. There was no money to rebuild theaters because the theaters were old

fashioned and not Dolby. You know, it was like old fashioned theaters mostly and uh and and and there and uh somehow, no, there was no money to invest to produce new movies, and American movies were not so so they were okay and and v chs of destroy this because there was every everyone had its VHS player and could watch movies for free, and the pirate pirated movies

and uh. And then only the end of the nineties there was the first theaters were resurrected started to come back back, and uh and uh and then and for next then we in two thousand four we released Night Voich and it it became a hit, like a biggest It put you on the map there and over here. Yes, yeah, and and uh and I believe that there was only one way for a filmmaker to to be recognized. It's just to make to be successful in your own uh culture, and then you can travel. I mean, that's what I

believe in. Then then for many years the Russian movies were like a fifteen twenty percent of the market and eight percent we're American movies because the old investors came from the United States rebuild the theater's invest money and and there was a there was enough products came from US to to support the theaters, and and the whole generation grew up watching American movies. And this is what

what's people think about movies in Russian. But then a little by a little Russian two Russian filmmakers too of the market. And and it was fifteen twenty up to two years ago, like one two years ago, and now it's like forty. And so there's financing, there is support for Russian based Yes, first of all government supports because we have subsidies and the government financing eight nine like a major productions supporting every year and Minister of Cultures

supporting also some some projects and uh. And it's how they try to re reboard the industry. And it was not really successful until a few years ago, mean successful but not there was nothing magical magical h But now it's unbelievable, twist happened, Uh suddenly Uh last year, the last two years Russian movies to the market. You move between East and West frequently as a filmmaker and as a businessman. It's obviously we are at a very heightened

time of tension between the countries. The Cold War seems to be back in something maybe not so cold? What is what is your person? That's very scary what you just said, Well, maybe not so cold, because it's as if it will be. If it's a cold, it's okay. If it's a hot it's it's it's scary, let's hope, let's hope not But what what is your perspective on what is what is fueling this? It seems like we do have a sort of fundamental class of cultures at

a time of nationalism for both countries. Uh. Yes, you just answered your Christian yourself because there's no conflict. I feel there's no conflict between countries, there is no conflict between people. I think both countries divided, you know, in both countries. That's true about this country. It's the same in Russia the post both countries divided in the world, divided, not geographically, not politically, not not between countries, not geo politically,

but inside societies. And every society like breed in England, Russians, yea, and France and Germany, every society has a has a has a divided in two different ideas. And I think because I made movie calls night Watch, and I can use the terminology of this fantasy movie. There is a freedom and responsibility and and there are two big ideas like either about freedom free choice or about safety and response about and it's how the society, every society divided today.

And uh, and I think, and I think people who believes in freedom and this and importance of freedom in Russia or the United States, they understand each other perfectly, but in the same way as the other their opponents. They understand each other perfectly. And I don't see the confrontation between societies. I see more like I think. I think confrontation inside Russia or inside the United States, confrontation between two ideologists much stronger than confrontation between two countries.

Thank you so much for stopping by. This has been an interesting conversation. Thank you, Thank you very much. Thanks for listening. To be sure to join us next week for another episode of Strictly Business.