Tabloid Witch on Horror Film Aesthetics

Tabloid Witch on Horror Film Aesthetics

@TabloidWitch

Jun 11

In 2008, when #Vadata won the Tabloid Witch Award for Best Dramatic Horror Short Film, I interviewed director Manuel Lebelt, which I reprint below: A stranger leaves a puzzle piece outside a writer's door. More pieces follow. The writer never learns who's leaving the pieces, but foolishly, he completes the puzzle. Whereupon, a strange and supernatural event occurs. Vadata (11 minutes) is a German film, though it isn't evident because its simple tale has no dialogue. It's what some critics call "pure cinema," relying solely on visuals and sounds to tell a story. Filmmaker #ManuelLebelt creates an eerie and menacing atmosphere -- through photography, lighting, art direction, and sound effects -- that is thick enough to convince viewers in his tale's malevolent supernatural powers. Every noise, from a ticking clock to outside street traffic, is an integral part of the story. As with Rubinstein's images, Lebelt's sound effects build up to an atmosphere of impending and inevitable supernatural doom. Lebelt explains that "Vadata" comes from "Vadatajs," a type of Latvian demon. "The #Vadatajs make people lose their way, or take the wrong direction on crossroads, and as they do, their souls lose their way too. 'Vadatajs' means something like 'leading to nowhere,' which is what happens to the writer in the film. "I wanted to do an old school, mystery horror kind of thing. To abandon the guts 'n gore of many horror films. Which doesn't mean I don't like that kind of movie. But there doesn't have to be a huge, greedy monster, a maniac on the loose, or hordes of rotten zombies lusting for human brains to have a nice, fantastic plot. Quiet ways can scare as well. Sometimes even better. "And I didn't want dialogue. I wanted to create suspense without direct interaction between actors. So the lonely writer came about. The spiral staircase is a symbol for infinity, the central theme in Vadata. The writer seems to be lonely since the first day of his life, endlessly typing on his old typewriter. The series of envelopes on his threshold seems to have no end. The staircase leads further and further. Nobody knows when the 'bad guy,' dressed clichéd in black, began his evil work, and when he will end. He simply goes upstairs and upstairs, while his victims go down. Lebelt cast his film using German online casting portals. Then his first choice was injured doing stuntwork on another production, so Lebelt recruited his second pick, André Ebert. "Retrospectively, AndréEbert was perfect for the character," says Lebelt. "I love the closeups of his face. He was very companionable, very insightful." Vadata is Lebelt's directorial debut, and his "diploma project" at #OffenburgUniversity of Applied Sciences in Germany. The set for the writer's apartment was built in a studio at the university. "The spiral staircase was in a castle ruin," says Lebelt. "It felt like we visited thousands of ruins during the search. Luckily, the commune granted access and was very accommodating." Vadata was shot by DP #FabianZenker on a DVCProHD. "At college we didn't have access to film cameras," Lebelt explains, "but we had a Panasonic HVX200, so we tried the DVCProHD and the P2 Memory Card. The camera's chip needs much light -- which we didn't always have -- so some pictures are a bit noisy. Apart from that, I'm thrilled with what we, and especially Fabian, got out of it. "Post-production was made with FinalCutPro for editing, After Effects for the FX, and ProTools for sound design." Screened at nearly 50 international film festivals, Vadata won Best Photography at #Orvietocortofest in Orvieto, Italy. It also won Best Film, Best Photography, and the Audience Award at #Bornshorts in Gudhjem, Denmark. A German pay TV channel, "13th Street," licensed Vadata for their "Shocking Shorts" film program. Prof. Dr. #HeinerBehring was Vadata's supervising professor. Lebelt graduated in 2007. He is an assistant digital colorist at #Scanwerk, a post-production company in Munich. -- written by Thomas M. Sipos #HorrorFilmContest #HorrorFilmContests #HorrorFilmAward #HorrorFilmAwards #HorrorFilmFestival #HorrorFilmFestivals #GermanHorror #GermanHorrorMovies #GermanHorrorFilms

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