Director’s Masterclass: Werner Herzog

Werner Herzog is a German documentary/full-length filmmaker who escaped the Nazis and whose family fled to Bavaria during WWII. He is self-taught, never went to film school and studied as an understudy with any great filmmaker. He did not know that cinema existed until his was eleven years old.

Werner recommends watching lots of films to understand the elements of filmmaking. He recommends learning how to create suspense, how to follow a character, sometime loose a character but still have him in the back of your mind. Also, how to "analyze" the flow of a picture and the technical means with which it was made.

Today, young filmmakers, especially those that go to the more prestigious schools, have very little knowledge of the films that were created during the early film era. He recommends watching films (sometimes over and again) and try to figure out how they were made - technically - internally - particularly in terms of the "flow" of a story.

One of Werner's favorite films is Marlon Brando in "Viva Zapata." He believes that the way the leading character is introduced is superbly crafted. “It is important to craft the introduction of the leading character is such a way that the audience is taken by him/her and follows them throughout the film.” Werner points out that when people watch a film, a parallel story is going on inside of their heads. One in which they immediately recognize who the leading character is and how powerful he may or may not be. The audience begins to think about how the film will develop in their own minds.

The audience must be given an opportunity to "breathe" before the rest of the story begins. As the story develops, it catches up with the audiences pre-imagined versions and begins to twist and turn to take them on a voyage. There are very simple universal rules for making films that are applied whether one makes a film in the U.S., India, or Brasil. These standarized rules must be learned.

Werner says you must learn to read a lot because reading helps to develop a sense of storytelling. You develop a sense of flow. Things come to life when reading. Many students that attend film school do not read and it makes it difficult for them to produce exceptional work without this skill. Poetry and short storiescan act as a good source for developing scenes in a film. For example, you see a person knocking at a door. The audience do not need to see the person climbing three flights of stairs. The scene next they appear at the door of an apartment in the building without having to see the character climb the steps.

What it teaches is the intensity and passion in which a particular segment of the world is viewed with a deep attachment and "visionary" language. The book is important because it teaches how to see the world, experience the world, and "morph" into the world and becoming a "single element" with the world. WH is talking about a way of "seeing" the world in its every small, little detail. And, how to "merge" with that which is the subject of the story. This teaches storytelling in a personal, involved way. This is very similar to Clifford Geertz’s concept of “thick description.”

When asked how Werner found his voice in his documentaries, he states that as filmmakers we do not really need to do this. He states that commentary does not really require your own voice. He states that there is a certain "authenticity" when you use your own voice particularly in documentaries.

EPISODE 2:

Writing a Script

Werner Herzog believes that the 3-Act thematic structure taught in film schools is ridiculous. Sometimes his films have 5 or 6 acts. These types of films are very predictable. One of the methods he uses to prepare himself to write a film script is to read high-caliber poetry. Prose poetry written in the Icelandic or Etta style. Sometimes Tung poetry from 9th or 10th Century China. Also, he listens to Beethoven – usually the symphonies. The dynamic, powerful symphonies that Beethoven composed.

Also, uses these techniques to push him along. He also writes in a fast, urgent, high-level style of writing. But always with a very clear version in mind of the type of film he wants to write. He explains that ultimately each writer must find their own method for preparing themselves to write. The filmmaker when envisioning the script must try to get a sense for the type of film they want to write.


Use the Screeplay to Set the Tone

This type of "sensing" the film must be translated to the cinematographer, the music composer, and the actors. When this is accomplished, and entire film can be created regardless of the length. Sometimes dialogue can sound very good when reading but when actual acting takes place, it can sound like "paper." The filmmaker/writer must be able to re-write on the spot within minutes in order not to interrupt the shoot.


Write With Urgency

Werner Herzog believes that by writing with urgency, it helps the filmmaker to throw out all the unessential things and go straight for the central themes of the film. Sometimes when writing a script, small, individual elements present themselves. At other times, just single phrases. It doesn't matter whether these elements end up in the film or not. What is important is to get the idea down. Sometimes Werner writes without corrections or restructuring of phrases. The urgency lies in getting it down on paper.