After five successful editions of the PROFilm Days conference, the Croatian film industry and the video game industry are ‘blending’ to create a new platform for discussions on current topics – Blender: Film & Games. The conference will take place on October 4, 2024, at Algebra University. All panels and workshops are free for all interested, with prior registration.
With the most relevant Croatian, regional, and international speakers, discussions will address current issues and inform participants about new technologies and innovations that have become essential in this industry worldwide. In the foyer of Algebra University, there will also be stands with representatives from the University for audiovisual education, as well as gaming industry stands informing interested participants about career opportunities in the audiovisual industry.
Highlights from the program include the following topics: • Film promotion on the Roblox gaming platform • Film criticism in the age of social media • Virtual production: using game engines in the production of feature films, series, and TV shows • Crossmedia and Transmedia: from film to video games and from video games to film • World-renowned location managers and their experiences creating sets we love • Stage 32 – a platform connecting film professionals worldwide • Education for a career in the audiovisual industry • Not even 30 yet! – showcasing young talents in the AV industry • Animation – Similarities and differences in film and video game animation • From Westeros to Middle Earth: Art and research in 3D set design and many more.
In a dedicated room, scriptwriting workshops will be held with internationally successful mentors: The ‘Film Script’ workshop, lasting 3.5 hours, will be led by Branko Ružić, a writer born in Split, now living and working between London and Singapore. His works include 14 TV series and three feature films; his theater plays have been translated into seven languages, and he is a multi-award-winning author. ‘Video Game Scripts’ are far from ordinary text, as they also serve as technical documents containing hundreds of pages of visual descriptions, flowcharts, branching dialogues, and scenes. A 3.5-hour video game script workshop will be led by Siniša Bahun, an academic dramaturge who has been intensively working in the domestic video game industry for the last ten years. In the third workshop, the magic of turning a simple 2D illustration or photograph into a dynamic 3D space will be explained by Ivan Šivak, an external lecturer at Algebra University and collaborator on the Game Development study program, as well as a multimedia artist. Using simple techniques, Šivak will share his long-standing experience in comics, illustration, and animation with participants and explain how to enrich a static image and create an impressive 3D world. At the end of the process, by adding a camera and animating its path, workshop participants will create a stunning 3D effect and bring the photograph to life.
Famous location managers as conference guests This year, representatives of the conference’s partner, the world’s location managers organization (LMGI), will participate in the program again. They are key players in finding filming locations and thus know the economic and promotional impact of the film industry. Naomi Liston from the UK and Klaus Grosse Darrelmann from Germany are attending the conference. This year’s guests selected filming locations for some of the biggest film hits such as Avengers: Endgame, Game of Thrones: The Last Watch, Game of Thrones, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, and Red Sparrow. After the conference, Naomi and Klaus will tour Croatia in search of new filming locations for their future projects.
Westeros and Middle Earth are iconic locations from series known to everyone, and Predrag Šuka, head of the Multimedia Production undergraduate program, will introduce interested attendees to the creation of castles from these popular series and films – from The Lord of the Rings to Game of Thrones and historical locations like the Republic of Dubrovnik. The lecture will showcase the process of constructing a castle for a shot where actors move and where that castle occupies most of the space. Through the symbiosis of existing and created elements, various artistic directions, narrative creation, and atmosphere with the addition of effects, the lecture focuses on post-production and the process of connecting elements into a seamless production process.
The panel “Virtual Production: Using Game Engines in the Production of Feature Films, Series, and TV Shows” will feature Antonio Nuić, Jurica Šimunković, Hrvoje Boljkovac, and Armin Konjalić, moderated by Marin Pavelić.
The panel “Film Criticism in the Age of Social Media” promises to be very interesting with Nina Kovačić, Milena Zajović, Josip Jurčić, and Marko Stojiljković from Slovenia, moderated by Boško Picula.
The Blender conference is organized by the Zagreb Film Office and the Croatian Audiovisual Center, whose project Games Croatia aims to promote and further develop the Croatian video game industry at the national, European, and global levels, with the goal of growing this rapidly expanding sector through promotion at international fairs and conferences. The conference is also supported by partners Algebra University, the Ministry of Culture and Media, the City Office for Culture and Civil Society, the Zagreb Tourist Board, and with the support of film and gaming associations.
Admission to the conference is free with registration, which is open until October 3 at 6:00 PM at this link. All conference updates can be followed on Instagram and Facebook pages.
