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Friese: Yes. But of course, movies likeThe ShiningorAlien, where you have a contained situation like a ship or hotel where people are stuck and they cant escape it, that creepy feeling of corridors and how much you can see or not see, that was definitely a major influence visually. Friese: There was supposed to be a scene in season two that got cut out. 'Dark' final season: here's what happens at the end of the Netflix time travel thriller. First time filming in new cutting edge LED-Volume at Babelsberg Studios. Then its really a lot of bouncing back and forth between the two of us at the beginning, throwing in random ideas in the beginning and trying to figure out what ideas actually stick. I was so miserable because somehow youre really more prepared for failure then success I guess. The entire first season was filmed at the Dark Bay LED studio on the Studio Babelsberg lot outside Berlin. Thirty-three years, the number [if you flip the first three around] is, combined, an eight. Im in there with a recording of violins theres also some guy using an arc welder in the next cabin.. You were really, like, lovesick after filming was done. So where does the show go in Season 3? And what I just found so interesting about that, or what became even more clear to me, is that through language youre actually expressing culture. Some said: Oh, it felt more at ease, like it was easier to comprehend. And yes, Martha and Jonas, thats the big centerpiece of it all.. It definitely has a new look: Not like green screen but also not the same as a classic set, something very much its own thing. ", Odar mentioned that it was a children's book on quantum physics that finally made it all make sense to him sort of. Robot, earned critical acclaim and three German movie awards, Netflix approached the duo to adapt the film into a series. How did the idea come about for 1899? Then you start putting characters into that idea, but they might feel a bit one-dimensional, so you get some ideas for the plot and you work it in. As with every character in Dark, when youre sure you know who the villain is or whos doing the bad thing, you should be open for what made them that way because. "We do love challenges," Odar says with a laugh. Some of the stuff we decided that you kind of figure it out yourself. I think thats awesome. In other [projects] weve done before, we dont like to end on a dot. When women turn 40, their career dies down unfortunately. The other thing was really, What is German? What can we put out in the world apart from the Second World War which I still think is also in Dark, even though were not in the timeline. Thats where we basically put the groundwork, going for deterministic time travel rules. Its been quite a process getting to here. The series ends with a dinner party in the origin world. Get The Latest IndieWire Alerts And Newsletters Delivered Directly To Your Inbox. When Jantje Friese and her partner Baran bo Odar created their German-language science fiction series Dark for Netflix, they had no idea that it would become an international hit. So you didnt have to really change the way that youre shooting; you can do the shot and the reverse shot in one day, which was really helpful. How does it feel to be almost in a prison, because you cant get out of yourself? Making a splash: A deep dive into the live-action, A strange mystery sets sail in beguiling sneak peek at, showrunner discusses the Netflix adaptation's story changes, The best crime movies on Netflix right now. 2023 The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. The passengers of the Kerberos encounter the biggest mystery of their lives. In constructing the visual representation of that Season 3 idea, Odar wanted to flip things literally, too. Friese: Its a good thing because it helps you see who you are yourself. Season 1 was tricky enough, but midway through the second season you may find yourself needing to construct a character yarn board on your wall to remember everything that's happened, who the various actors are depicting at various intervals along the timeline, and when any given scene is taking place. Dark couldnt cast people who were too distinct though, in the interests of the mystery. There are so many ideas and concepts out in the world, said Friese. Others will take more time because they might think its about the Bermuda Triangle or whatever. Odar: I definitely view it as a happy ending, though you can also interpret it as a suicide mission, of course. What were some of the touchstones you used when designing the series? "To create worlds you need to create patterns, and the best way to create patterns is by using symbols," he said. She also doesn't want viewers to expect to learn everything when the show ends. The Hollywood Reporter is a part of Penske Media Corporation. It was so easy for them to just react. Friese: I think there is a lot to tell. The entire script was in English, but everything was dual dialogue. In terms of the working process, what was good for us was to talk to the people who worked onThe Mandalorian and find out how they did it. Friese and Odar said that they were able to keep the raincoat, the St. Christopher necklace, and the recreation of the Rubens painting The Fall of the Damned thats the centerpiece of Adams Sic Mundus hall. You can do a lot of things with it. [The German meaning is closer to unlikely to succeed.] When we got the notes back from Netflix on Dark, they said: Such an ambitious project. We thought they hated it. We thought it better to shift the puzzle pieces around. Dark is a show that certainly invites a certain kind of theorizing. That was the biggest structural issue: when do we reveal what? Studios, is getting another shot at an adaptation from Netflix. To achieve this, Odar says Friese initially wrote the scripts in English, and then writers and translators from all over the world advised on the parts that needed to be in other languages. Menu. Most people dont understand, that, because theyve never used it. "And it helped us see that we can trust our instincts, and there are people out there that are actually interested in our voice and what we have to say and how [we] tell stories.". It's really awkward for us, this huge success, we always question it. To mirror the world we know, we could either do that by rebuilding all of the sets. By the end of Season 2, we're dealing with a number of different time periods spanning more than 100 years but we're also introduced, in the last seconds of the finale, to the possibility of an entirely new and potentially identical dimension. But were not going to solve every riddle because sometimes its funnier [that way]. "And then after the third season of Dark, there was this huge pressure on our shoulders, because everyone has expectations, and everyone kind of either wants to go on the same ride or kind of the same ride. Baran bo Odar: As we have so many different timelines and characters, we would figure out things like, if we use a certain color in this decade, we wont use it in another one. They said the most complicated thing was actually the logistics, scheduling when you can shoot what, how to get sets in and out and the reverse shots, all those sorts of things. Interviews with leading film and TV creators about their process and craft. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. You will never know the answer. When Jantje Frieseand her partner Baran bo Odar created their German-language science fiction series "Dark" for Netflix, they had no idea that it would become an international hit. Writing is really about going back and forth between all three of them. It was one of those pictures youre drawn to, where you immediately start asking questions: What did he do with that hammer? We were doing research for something completely different, I actually dont even remember what the research was for. She also doesnt want viewers to expect to learn everything when the show ends. The two resulting timelines are more than just metaphorical reflections of each other. Michael (Sebastian Rudolph) is Michael. Its really mind-opening and I personally still read stuff and Im really blown away. We thought that was would be easier. Its nice that this is built upon something that we created and someone else will come up with a new idea and so on. By the end of the second season, the timeline of Dark has become more of a time-web, with certain characters now able to hop back and forth through time without adhering to the 33-years rule, while other characters discover that certain people they meet are actually their own future selves. But we stumbled upon a picture of a man in a white shirt covered in blood, with a hammer in his hand and a really weird look on his face, standing on top of what looked like an old boat. We said, this is a determined world, or it's based on determinism. There are some stories that live on when there are still questions left open. Letting all of that go, for me, feels very satisfying. For fans who are still trying to figure out season three of Dark who was Noahs dad again? ', John Mulaney's New Netflix Special Is a Critical Reminder About Celebrity, 2023 Emmys Predictions: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie. Friese:Our scripts look like Frankenstein monsters. What other Easter eggs did you plant throughout the season? But also hard because you have to rethink how youre used to shooting stuff. It's Me, Margaret' to 'R.M.N. Thats crazy because that like, usually you have to look for for nose [physiology] because thats the most [obvious] pointing thing.. 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So with every project we did, we, we always had that in mind that one day we want to reach a global audience., After the 2014 film Who Am I No System Is Safe, a techno thriller thats been compared to Fight Club and Mr. We always knew we wanted to save Regina. Its a very long and also very complicated process. But in the end, it turned out to be way easier than we thought, because theres a sort of universal language, without words, going on while youre communicating with someone. Odar says there were two reasons why they opted to use this new technology, which has been used previously on shows such as Disney+'s The Mandalorian. Today, in 2022, we are still there. That was the initial plan. You have to open doors with your left hand. The actors had to act like they are in a mirrored world. Thats the beauty of storytelling. Then you have the world of origin in the middle. Friese laughed and added, "'For a short moment in time, you visited a parallel world where you actually had success!'". Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Then at some point, when I feel stronger or happier with whats there, I put it down in pencil. Sign up for our Email Newsletters here. (Seriously, if someone can please step in and explain the Elisabeth / Charlotte Doppler effect, slide in right here.). Hannah reveals shes thinking about Jonas as a name for her unborn child. If you dont know where youre going, you can just write whatever. But if you know where you want to end, it is even harder to then lay out the structure for the episodes to get there. Youre crossing into a new century, stepping from something that feels old school to something new the future. Is the final season truly the final season, or will the cycle continue, as it does ad infinitum within the context of the story? And Prometheus, obviously, is also a little wink to the ending of Season 1. The international cast worked on one of the biggest virtual stages in the world. It was a very magical moment. Did you learn anything surprising working across so many different languages? Honestly, the most difficult people to find were women [older than middle age]. Do you first have the themes and then drop in characters and develop the mystery out of that or do you have the puzzle first and then see how the characters and themes fit into that? "There was a huge pressure because, first of all, we never expected that kind of success, and then it grew season for season," Friese tells EW. And even though the culture is different all around the world, there are certain things that are everywhere. Odar:Every episode [when] someone wakes up, you hear almost like a computer voice. "When I read it, I was like, 'I finally got it!' Friese: Also, we love objects that have multiple meanings. Odar:Thats the purest geometrical form you use to create all the other forms. Still, there are enough locations that do exist, exteriors that even when dismantled were the site of many memories for those who worked on Dark. Its understandable that even Odar didnt want to give up the show right away. You will have something very personal toward the story. Every step they are doing, they're doing one after the other. Odar revealed on his Instagram in a behind-the-scenes featurette that filming for the series took place in a newly custom built virtual production stage known as the Volume. Do you have a huge board on the wall with red yarn linking up various elements? Because if you cannot express certain emotions through your language then theyre almost non-existent in that culture. Some of it was something that we developed throughout the process. In Season 3, the seventh episode is where we basically fill in all those last puzzle pieces. It creates such a powerful illusion that, in the beginning, the crew and actors were actually getting seasick because the horizon was moving on the volume screen. The largest LED "Volume" of its kind in Europe, it unlocks the ability to capture a significant amount of complex visual effects shots in-camera through virtual sets and locations created with game engine technology, as opposed to a traditional green screen. It was a really awkward feeling that day, Odar said. Im obsessed with history, seeing how everything is related to each other, seeing the reasons for things. Finally we could do whatever we wanted with them. Whats the space in which youre telling your story? Do you wish there were more than three seasons to explore the story? So I think its really fascinating because this is just the start. Baran bo Odar Definitely. How much room do you give for people trying to figure it out and when do you push them into the right direction? In terms of diversity, thats actually really one big thing that when you have people crossbreeding through different timelines you really cant just throw in something because then otherwise you would kind of know whos is whose child, said Friese. The German creators of the cult mystery-thriller Dark forced their viewers to trust them. Friese said, That was the centerpiece of it all. If a door was on the left side, it would then be on the right side in the other world. All Rights Reserved. That, for us, is a metaphor. How composer Ben Frost creates dream-like sound design. We thought it better to shift. The song White Rabbit plays over the opening credits. Jantje Friese Actually, the idea and the spark for it happened years ago. Weve talked to a lot of people whove had the opportunity to see the first six episodes, and its kind of half and half. To be honest, we had them all in these pods; they couldnt move. We wanted it to be something that everyone can relate to: dinner with family and friends. Were going to see a bit more about grown Ulrich, she said. Interviews with leading film and TV creators about their process and craft. Thats where plot structure goes. You can try that for a day, and its really awkward to do if youre not left-handed. In the series, a boy goes missing in the small German town of Winden, and as the series unspools, viewers learn that secrets, time travel, and a metaphysical battle between good and evil are behind that mystery. That was the big question. Related [1] Work [ edit] Jantje Friese studied production and media management at the University of Television and Film Munich. I think what was the most surprising thing was that there are actually some words that you cannot translate into certain languages, or they have a different feeling or nuance to it. Could bruiseless avocados, sugarcane plastic and carbon-capturing concrete actually exist in real life? Its the same word in English and German. Like if one stone starts to roll, and hits another and that ends up leading to the First World War. Why dont we have that?. I always liked the idea that there are two components who are opponents, fighting each other all of the time, actually having to realize that they are not important. We added a glitch to it. Season 3 picks up almost immediate with what happened in the last moments of the second season finale, after a character named Adam (who is purportedly a much older version of Jonas) shoots Martha, Jonas' love interest (and, as he learns, also his aunt), and a Martha doppelgnger suddenly arrives, a la Doc Brown at the end of Back to the Future, to whisk him away. She was last seen stealing a time machine, traveling to the past to taunt her old lover, and then taking off on her own.