jangled nerves has created an elaborate film in Munich for the Haus der Bayrischen Geschichte (House of Bavarian History) in collaboration with the Bavarian satirist and cabaret artist, Christoph Süß. Featuring a star-studded cast and some very special film technology.
The film »Waiting room – Bavaria in the 1920s« brings the 1920s in the Free State of Bavaria to life – a time of waiting, confusion and prodigious technical innovation. A time that has a great deal in common with today.
In addition to Christoph Süß, who also wrote the script, many well-known actors were involved: Max Uthoff and Luise Kinseher, Christian Springer and Helmut Schleich. Marc Schleiss (jangled nerves) directed the film.
The twenty-minute film opens in September 2020 as a prelude to a new special exhibition entitled »Tempo, Tempo – Bavaria in the 1920s« in the Haus der Bayrischen Geschichte in Regensburg. Its aim is to enable visitors to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of this politically and socially incendiary era. Moreover, the museum wishes to inspire remote target groups for this critical period between the world wars.
The clever and ironic script by Christoph Süß takes an inspiring approach in conjunction with an unusual cinematic concept: the camera accompanies Süß as the wise-cracking narrator through artificial scenes, which serve as »virtual showcases«, providing insights into various scenarios of the time in Bavaria.
The scenic design was created as a hybrid of a real set and a digital set extension on a large LED wall. The digital set was generated and integrated live during the shoot using the Unreal game engine. Thanks to tracking optimized by jangled nerves, the camera was able to move freely. The actors thus acted directly in the virtual set. Depending on the camera position, the perspective of the background image of a scene adapts perfectly to the viewing angle.
This was the first time that jangled nerves did not employ a green screen shoot with elaborate post-production for such a concept, but instead shot a »what-you-see-is-what-you-get« film. This way of filming has a lot in common with 1920s cinema – only using today’s technology.
The film conceptionally combines several genres – a bit of theatre, a bit of film and a smidgen of documentary. And always taking centre stage: the narrator, Christoph Süß. He accompanies the viewer through this wild decade, introducing us to the zeitgeist and the people of Bavaria and Munich in the 1920s. Sometimes comical, sometimes tragical, but always with a twinkle in the eye.
From September 2020, the film »Waiting room« will introduce both remote and actual visitors to the historical museum in Regensburg to great cinema.