POINTS EAST: COMMERCIAL CREATIVITY IN CROATIA
By Eric Rudolph


When New York-based cinematographer Predrag Dubravcic was vacationing in his homeland of Croatia two years ago he looked up film school friend Kras Gancev, and was pleasantly surprised to find his classmate directing award-winning commercials for the nascent Croatian television advertising industry. This casual school tie meeting led to a strong creative bond and then to a new world of opportunities for Dubravcic, who now travels to Croatia monthly to photograph commercials meant to dazzle the eye.

Dubravcic had been busy in New York, shooting high-profile spots for HBO, Apple, Weight Watchers and CVS. But when he saw what his friend was doing in Eastern Europe he wanted in. Gancev’s reel struck him as “ambitious and uncompromising,” and the work promised to be regular and reliable, something Dubravcic wasn’t finding in the tumultuous U.S. market. It is also exciting and creatively fulfilling, he adds. So far Dubravcic has shot more than two-dozen spots in Croatia and other Eastern European countries, and says that several have won local advertising awards.

The work is visually adventurous, featuring unorthodox camera work, lighting and staging. In fact, the Croatian spots have taken over Dubravcic’s U.S. reel. And even though 70 percent of that reel is now in a foreign language, Dubravcic says that stateside interest in his services has increased significantly.

While only the largest and most image-conscious companies advertise on Croatian television, more marketers see the business-building effect of spots that gain notice; so encouraged, they strive to produce extravagant and exciting work, Dubravcic explains. (Croatia, a country slightly smaller than West Virginia, declared its independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991, and has a population of about 5 million. The film industry there produces about 100 commercials and four features annually. Budgets for Croatian commercials are about one-quarter of U.S. allocations, Dubravcic explains.)

A good example of Dubravcic’s vibrant, colorful work is the Helios Fund spot he filmed in a 16th Century castle, in which twelve Croatian celebrities tell the old tale of the grasshopper and the ant, one sentence and one elaborate mise en scène at a time. (Dubravcic’s Croatian and American spots can be viewed at his Web site, www.predrag.net).

Each Helios Fund scene utilizes unusual photographic and/or lighting techniques. For the opening shot of a princess framed in purple, blossoming branches, different color gels were affixed to a 6 x 6 piece of 216 frost as a 6K HMI was panned through; thus the soft wrapping light changed position and color at the same time. To tame the sky in forest vista scenes Dubravcic eschewed graduated filters, choosing to lace edges of the matte box with leaves and branches, which at full aperture created subtle combinations of forms, colors and textures. For a nanny scene they had the child minder dollied in sideways, old-school horror movie style, as an electrician holding an Open Eye Baby shook the light while dimming it up and down to simulate dramatic, low-angle candle light.

Dubravcic’s favorite scene, which he calls “The Drowned Girl,” shows an actress running away from the camera through an elaborate castle corridor as falling leaves blow around her. The key light was a 6K Fresnel gelled with CTO and minus-green magenta (so the scene would retain the warmth of the CTO after a green cast was added in post). This light was then bounced off a mirror placed in a water-filled 2 x 3-lab tray; an electrician panned and rocked the tray to produce waves, throwing dappled light and creating the suggestion of being underwater.

Additionally, Dubravcic knew that some of the back and fill HMIs were not flicker free. With this in mind he changed the camera’s frame rate but left the aperture and shutter angle fixed. The variety of HMI flicker, combined with the speed change, induced a brightness variation that looked like “some strange form of lightning. We added a delicate amount of lens shake, David Lynch style, for an unsettled feeling,” Dubravcic notes.

Other recent spots include one featuring an actress on a flying rig, sinuously air dancing about a large set; one shot totally underwater with local celebrity talent and another photographed in a remote and unspoiled Croatian lake region where high winds nearly capsized the camera and lighting rafts.

Dubravcic clearly benefits from Eastern Europe’s long tradition of excellence in filmmaking; many of the crewmembers he favors came up working on major international co-productions and A-level European features. On his most recent commercial shoot he used many crewmembers who had worked on Gladiator and Back Hawk Down.

The lighting gear available in Croatia is much like that found elsewhere. Small tungsten units are plentiful, along with a healthy supply of Kino Flos and Arriflex HMIs. Until recently 6Ks were the largest HMIs Dubravcic could obtain locally; some 18Ks have since become available. He has also used 1950s-1960s-era Fresnels and carbon–arc lights he believes may have come from Italy’s legendary Cinecitta film complex. Anything not available locally can be ordered from either neighboring Slovenia or Germany.

Dubravcic says that studio facilities are excellent, with Jadran Film in the Croatian capital of Zagreb offering large spaces and a water tank. Dramatic locations abound, from the high mountains to the Adriatic seashore; old, atmospheric architecture is also abundant, such as the aforementioned 16th Century castle and an ancient coliseum, where Dubravcic notes that Julie Taymor’s Titus was filmed.

While gear and facilities are more than adequate, improvisation remains the key. “We often end up with less equipment than hoped for, and you have to make it work. That is sometimes a blessing; we are pushed along paths that might not have been considered otherwise,” often leading to greater creativity, he explains.

Dubravcic utilizes Kodak stock, mainly Vision 250D 5246 and 200 (T) 5274. He favors the 5246 because of its low grain, speed, wide latitude and what he calls “an appearance of juicy contrast in the middle of the curve.” He also likes its warmth, especially the “nice browns that never go too orange, as well as the beautiful skin tones and whites that remain white.” Stocks are rarely force processed, and high-speed stocks and alternative processes are, so far, anathema. “A certain formal perfection and sleekness are imperatives of this market, which is still in the early stages. Grain is unwelcome here,” the cinematographer notes.

Cameras are mostly Arriflex 435 and 535 units, fitted with Cooke S4 and Arri Ultra Prime lenses. Dubravcic favors the Cookes for their ability to tame flare, as he often includes the sun or other light sources in the frame. Older Zeiss prime lenses are readily available as well; they haven’t yet been pushed from the rental shelves by newer glass. He uses the older optics for a softer look, or to increase flare. Dubravcic has also used an old Mitchell camera for high-speed filming.

Dubravcic’s favorite thing about filming in Eastern Europe is the “all-involving enthusiasm of everyone on the crew. These are some highly talented people who are passionate about their work. They are used to expecting the unexpected and every new shoot is a challenge and adventure. We inspire each other and celebrate our achievements together.”


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