Constraints in Film Making Processes Offer an Exercise to the Imagination

Abstract

What does the use of constraints offer filmmakers? A screenwriter from The National Film School of Denmark suggests: “I love constraints [..]. I think that’s a great relief, because it offers an exercise to your imagination” (Philipsen 2005: 211). This article hopes to illuminate methods for fostering creativity based on two case studies from The National Film School of Denmark and The Video Clip Cup 2007. In scrutinising these studies I intend to describe what seems to best facilitate flow experiences in film making, and I reflect upon what "individual, team, and institutional scaffolding" can offer a creative film making process as educational techniques. I will outline elements essential to getting into the flow of the film process through the help of constraints and collaboration. Moreover, I focus on the consequences of authorial action. And finally my findings are applied to the work of two professional Danish film makers, Lars von Trier and Jørgen Leth.