“World War I” is a docudrama about war’s impact on the nations of Russian Empire, directed by Oleksii Fedosov. In 2015 it received Special Jury Award in WorldFest Houston Film Festival in “TV series-Documentary” category. We were lucky to catch up with Oliksii recently.
Each genre has its own aspects whether it is a documentary or a feature film based on the true story. There are essentials in every genre, which should be strictly followed. Oleksii Fedosov shared with us the most important details of creating a historical movie.
“It’s undeniable that the main characters and an actual story are most important in any film; no production tools can save the movie that has a bad story. But, as I learned for myself, the realism and historical accuracy are also very important to the audience.
The period dictates the style… In some eras there were no roads, tanks and airplanes neither chronicle footage to be used. Also, the period may dictate the style of graphic design, editing style, and frame length. If the viewer decides that something is not authentic, the entire experience of the storytelling may collapse.”
Before starting making a historical movie you need to remember:
1.When we know the genre of the movie, we understand what tools we can use, think through the structure of the movie ahead of time. If we are talking about a documentary drama as my movie “World War I,” then tools would be, a reenactment of the real events, chronicle footage, and infographics. All of these tools can be combined together. I think that in feature films infographics and chronicle footage may be used at a minimum or not at all.
2. In the “World War I,” we had to show the events that took place in the various countries; therefore, all locations had to look different. You need to study in details the architecture of that time and place. In addition, you may face the fact that some of the cities you have to show are no longer on the map, simply because they ceased to exist or were renamed.
Going back to the authenticity: a little over 100 years ago, there was neither asphalt nor concrete poles; and you need to remember that. Think about lighting at the location, find out what sources of light could exist at that time. In the interior, pay attention to the floor, walls, light, ceiling height, windows (certainly they were not made out of metal or plastic). Also, trenches for the various military troops had different lengths; some had the entire underground cities, while others could have none.
3. When I started my career, I was fixating on the authenticity of the looks for the main characters; although it turned out to be important, it was not crucial. Gait, posture, manners and choice of words – all of these are fundamental. Most likely, you would have to change dialog many times taking into account the period of the piece. It is essential to think about characters’ personality, including secondary roles. Think about their height, whether they have to be clean shaved or with a mustache, what skills should they have. For instance, if he has to ride a horse or would have to swim in the cold lake, your casting would be more specific.
There is a very common mistake associated with the soldiers in trenches. They are always shown dirty and unshaved to exaggerate the pain and suffering during those times. However, very often during the war, soldiers were sitting in the trenches for months doing nothing; so according to the standards of that time they were taking a good care of themselves. Therefore, everything depends on circumstances.
4. When we read the script, we do not even think about the cost for the historical costumes. This is a very common mistake. On one hand, why would we think about it? Let the producers deal with it. On the other hand, this particular element can take up the biggest part of your budget. Find out even on the pre-production stage what costumes you have and how many costumes would you be able to buy/rent/create more. I will be honest; sometimes, it was cheaper to build the entire scene with the graphics and chronicle footage rather than sew one costume.
At the time of the design, pay attention to details of the costume like buttons. Sometimes, they might have to be custom-made. A military visor cap, for instance, it could not have been made out of plastic. The gloves are the wrong color, or your character is serving in one branch of the military forces and then is transferred to another; and you suddenly realize that all the costumes have to be changed.
5. Weapons must comply with the time and type of military forces. It is very difficult task to find the right weapon or its got to be custom-made. Whether it is a knife, a handgun, a machine gun or artillery. Think about how much it will cost to recreate the artillery battery. I will tell you an interesting fact about our movie. First, we were shooting scenes with Russian artillery weapons; then shooting different scenes with the same weapons just painted and modified as Austrian. Let a specialist teach your actors how to handle the firearms correctly.
6. You will need many small props to fill the space. For me, the arrangement inside of the solders’ trenches was fascinating: signs, shelves for personal belongings, teacups, dishes, bathrooms and everything else. Not all battalions have the same cases for the weapons; and these cases are not vital only if they are far and out of focus. Also, think about watches, monocles and everything else that compliments your character and helps an actor to work with their props.
7.Historian-consultant and military reenactor. These people are very important for the production. Historian-consultant is the person whose advice you will be ignoring very often because historically correct does not always mean cinematic. The Motion picture is often different from the reality. Nevertheless, it is the historian-consultant who will teach you better than anyone else about one or another era. He will explain every detail, and will reveal many interesting materials and facts that most likely you would not find on your own.
Military reenactors are people who learn about a particular period of time and sometimes engage in the war reenactment in real life. They are not professional actors but are very useful on the set. Some of them can be given small roles, some could be used as extras; however, their greatest significance would be in the scene of mass battles. They know how to behave and can help your actors. The greatest benefit is that most of the reenactors have their own clothing complementing the historical time, various seasons and weather condition, and, most likely, they have their own weapons, which will be useful for you.
Also, right before shooting the scene, Oleksii Fedosov suggests taking a look around one more time. To check whether everything is realistic. Such as no Coke bottles in the frame, no actor has a holster in the wrong place, no actors have their rings and watches on, and remember no soldier in the trenches have a perfect manicure.