BASTIAN AND HIS 21 YEAR LONG DANCE WITH THE BEAR

Hi Basti, you are the master of the Berlinale trailer. How did you actually get into it?

I moved to Berlin in 2001 and started my training as a film and video editor. My training company was just starting work on a brand new trailer for the Berlinale. At that time, of course, I had no idea that this - my first big project - would also stay with me for the longest time. I worked on the trailer together with two other artists and was responsible for the animation of the spark particles.
Under the direction of Ulli M Schueppel, we spent many hours together in front of the computer and pushed it to the limit of what was technically possible.
In the following years I took over more and more parts of the trailer adaptations. Whether as an apprentice, freelancer or nowadays as an employee at PHAROS... the Berlinale remained true to me and I, to the Berlinale and the trailer.
So the trailer became part of our sponsorship contract with the Berlinale.

In 2014 there was a big remake of the official trailer. How did that come about?

In order to meet current and future technical and visual requirements, the idea of a trailer remake was born. This is how the trailer as we know it today came into being. In 4K, HighFramerate and Stereo 3D.
Ulli was also involved in this remake and even shot material on 16mm film, which later became the red, billowing background of the trailer.

Do you work directly with the Berlinale team?

Yes, every year I look forward to a reunion with my "Berlinale family" and the friendly and trusting cooperation that has existed for years.
Since the trailer is not only the signet of the Berlinale, but also the stage for its sponsors, I work very closely with the Berlinale's sponsorship department.
We are sometimes so well timed that we know what our opposite number needs next before we have even picked up the phone ????.
I often look in the project folder of last year's Berlinale and realise that I did certain editing steps - to the day - the year before.

How long do you spend on the project each year?

I usually start preparing in mid-November. The project then accompanies me in various phases until the start of the Berlinale in February.
But January is clearly the month we like to call "crunch time" here.

What is the biggest challenge of the project?

Perhaps the biggest challenge is keeping track of the many versions. We produce about 105 trailer DCPs in 4K. Each film at the Berlinale receives the trailer in exactly the screening format of the film itself. So we create different trailers in 9 formats from 1.33 to Scope 2.39. The Berlinale has 11 sections like Competition, Classics.... etc. Each section gets an individual end of the trailer. This results in 99 different versions. In addition, there are 4-6 versions in Dolby Atmos, which are also produced individually.
In addition to the trailer, we also create all media assets in which elements of the trailer are used - inserts for the opening and award ceremony, both for the stage programme and the live broadcast by ZDF and RBB, individualised trailer versions for social media and the Berlinale sponsors, through to 35mm film prints.
This year we delivered around 230 media assets to the Berlinale and its partners.
That's enough to make you break out in a sweat.

Click here for the official festival trailer of the Berlinale 2023.