It’s 2019 and technology is all around us, in ways that were probably thought impossible just a decade ago. And because of that, industries of all kinds are changing very rapidly, including Film and TV. With that in mind, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Werner Herzog thinks the old ways that aspiring storytellers break into the business are antiquated.
In a new interview with The Verge, Herzog talks technology’s place in filmmaking and how it makes the typical film school curriculum obsolete. At least, he hopes technology does away with traditional film school.
“Because today it’s fairly easy; you can make a film with a very high caliber camera that’s not expensive anymore,” said the filmmaker. “You can record sound on your cell phone if you add a good microphone and you can edit your film on your laptop.”
He continued, “In other words, you can make a feature film for $10,000 or under. And that’s what I keep telling the students or those who watch the MasterClass: don’t wait for the system to accept you. You create your own system, create your own [budget] and make your own first feature film or your first own documentary.
Herzog is someone that has embraced the future of online teaching, with his own class being offered at MasterClass. When asked if he felt the future of film school is in jeopardy with the proliferation of affordable film technology and distribution outlets, Herzog said, “No, unfortunately, they are not going to go completely extinct; I wish they would. I wish everybody would come out of nowhere and be self-taught by life itself, by the world itself.”
Interestingly (and perhaps oddly), the conversation changes subjects as the interviewer attempts to illustrate a point by talking about the popular smartphone game Pokémon Go. As you might be surprised to learn, the 76-year-old filmmaker isn’t familiar with the game. Nevertheless, Pokémon Go becomes the topic of conversation.
Herzog is fascinated, but also very confused by the game, asking questions such as, “When two persons in search of a pokémon clash at the corner of Sunset and San Vicente is there violence? Is there murder?” and “Do they bite each other’s hands? Do they punch each other?”
After trying to make heads or tails of Pokémon Go, Herzog concluded, “You’d have to give me a cell phone, which I’m not going to use anyway, and I have no clue what’s going on there, but I don’t need to play the game.”
And with that, it’s clear that Herzog is a complicated man. He’s all for the future of technology and its effect on Hollywood and the world at large. However, don’t expect him to wait in line for the next iPhone or join up with your Pokémon Go group (do those still exist?).