Where will Swiss film be in 10 years?

I'm just putting this question out there for you guys to weigh in: Where do you think Swiss film and visual effects will be 10 years from now? What are your thoughts?

That's a big question !!

I think that the situation could only get better !!
There's no real film industry yet but the interest from the Confederation for the swiss postprod business is a good sign. And I think (hope ?) that before 10 years, the things will changed.

There's so many talented swiss artist outside the country that are interested to come back but the problem is that there is no real VFX project for them. CARGO directed by Ivan Engler should be the start of it. A really big VFX and Sci-Fi movie !!! I think that others directors will follow.

To have bigger projects in Switzerland we need also more experimented vfx artists !!
There's a lot of talented artist in Zurich with international experience but in the French part of Switzerland it isn't the case (for what I can see) We have to prove the swiss production company that we know how to do great VFX so they won't go to London or Paris to get the job !!

finally, I can say that I'm confident that in the next 10 years there will be some great projects for vfx artist !!

sorry to sound negative. I am worried that it wont be much further in 10 years that it is now.

hi raffael,

why did you think that ??

- switzerland is a very expensive place to produce films thats not going to change, it would mean that wages are lower than in other countries, switzerland is a rich country and wages are very high compared to other countries.

- swiss market is much too small. unless you produced a movie that had appeal for the entire world its a very small market that cant justify a serious production budget

- swiss mentality is risk adverse in a broad generalization. making a big movie is a big risk that might pay off or might not. not many sponsors, companies or filmmakers might take that risk or get the chance to do it.

I dont see how any of those three important factors will change anytime soon, if ever.

I agree. Making a swiss movie in switzerland has a lot of drawbacks like money. everyone wants to get as much as possible, which is natural. but sometimes you have to sacrefice and step back with your expectations.

not sure if the "CARGO" is in English, but making a movie in German is simply nonsense. It's not even a swiss language. feels so german.
And the viewer count gets cut down. like the makers do not want to make other people watch it. But maybe there was a reason...

anyways, what I think is very possible, is that studios in CH will get longer and more important sequences on bigger projects. but it takes time. And another thing it takes is what raffael said. people taking a risk. Most of the studios over there accept jobs they never did before and sometimes also they do not have tools for it. so they learn by doing. it is a risk. but most of the time, you get the job done if you really want to. at least this is my experience from the last project.

You guys have a point. I could see Swiss production within an international frame, rather than a Swiss/German frame, where the appeal is limited. I think the real problem lies within the mentality that existed 14 years ago, when I left, and still might (and I can only speak for the Swiss-German part, as I perceive the Romands a little more open but I could be wrong). Nobody really collaborated and a few guys ran the show without letting anyone talented in. The scene bristled with pride and exclusiveness, and knowledge wasn't shared. Of course all this is partly due to the size of the marketplace, but it has to be overcome, as film and visual effects are highly collaborative environments. But I think this is going to change over time (in the next ten years:)). There are a lot of "exiled" creatives out there that would love to be part of a future Swiss film scene...

good point max .-) I agree.

we still need to meet for a drink in LA one of these days. I livein WeHo now, cant be too far.

cheers

Just thought the same! I'll be out of town 'til Wednesday, but we have to meet - finally. I'll hit you back next week, and we can have drinks at Rush Street, or in my yard, or --

-max