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Can’t attend the physical Signals Festival event at Catalyst this Friday the 15th and Saturday 16th of October? Here’s our rundown of which live performances and dialogues we’re live streaming and where to watch them.

Are art and technology leading us towards a utopia or a dystopia? Our future-focused community roster of performers, installation artists, filmmakers, panellists and workshop leaders invite you to explore this fascinating topic with them this Friday 15th and Saturday the 16th of October at Signals Festival.

Can’t make it to the physical event at the Funkhaus? Below, we’ve prepared a live stream programme just for you. Scroll down to enjoy the eclectic full lineup of live music and visual performances from both days of the festival. Plus, tune into our collaborative dialogue with Music Pool Berlin on Friday and our 'Videophilia' filmmaking dialogue on Saturday.

Signals Festival /// Live Performances FRIDAY

Gina Lo & Felipe Vareschi present 'A Temple in Space'

Signals Festival /// Live Performances SATURDAY

Richard Scott & Eliad Vagner (modular live)

Imaginaria + Alessandro Adriani present 'IGNES FATUI'

Friday Dialogue: Signals x Music Pool Berlin

Signals x Music Pool Berlin /// What does a music community built on sustainable practice look like?

What does a music community built on sustainable practice look like? Join our moderated  panel discussion and conversation with you - the music community - as we look for meaningful ways to achieve a supportive and productive, but sustainable, future for the music industry.

Saturday Dialogue: Conspiracies, psychedelia and the virtual end-times

Signals x Videophilia - conspiracies, psychedelia and the virtual end-times

Dive into the world of contemporary storytelling, where cybersex,  conspiracies, psychedelia and digital viruses are all too real. Join filmmakers Juan Daniel F. Molero and María Gisèle Royo as they discuss  Juan Daniel's award winning film Videophilia, contemporary filmmaking  practices and storytelling in our (apocalyptic?) times.

Watch Signals Festival 2021 live music and visual performances and panel discussions online on the 15th and 16th of October.

Signals Festival: Live Stream Performances & Dialogues

Signals Festival: Live Stream Our Performances and Dialogues 

For the second year running, Catalyst joined forces with fellow renowned audio production school, Spirit Studios, to facilitate an exciting multidisciplinary collaboration between four pairs of our students. Learn all about Interface 2.0 and the resulting projects, one of which will be presented at Signals Festival this October. 

Two of Europe’s most progressive musical cities. Two renowned audio production institutes. Two unique creative perspectives. Connect these things and not only do you get a convergence of ideas, but an explosion of creative possibilities. 

Catalyst and Manchester’s Spirit Studios joined forces to launch the Interface Project in 2020. We gave a group of students from each of our schools the opportunity to pair up and remotely collaborate for 12 weeks on a project of their choice – be that creating a film score or shooting a music video. The goal: to creatively cross-pollinate and mutually push for innovation, despite the limitations of the COVID lockdown situation. 

The project was such a success that this summer, we went for another round: Interface 2.0. This year’s point of creative exploration was the dichotomy between the utopia and the dystopia, which as you’ll soon find out, resulted in some absolutely stunning work. 

Just like last year, the four selected pairs were competing for a slot to exhibit their work at our annual community showcase, Signals Festival – taking place on the 15th to the 16th of October, 2021 – plus additional support to realise their project in the real world. The two students who won second prize would each receive a piece of tech relevant to their course. Catalyst’s Charlie Baldwin and Spirit Studios’ Damion O’Brien, both electronic music production tutors, mentored the students throughout the project.

First-year VFX and Digital Arts student Ethan Ho brought his 3D skills to his collaboration with chiptune extraordinaire Matthew Creighton, aka Copilot Claude, to create a deep sea-inspired audiovisual piece. Second-year Creative Audio Production & Sound Engineering student Olívia Mamberti, whose talents include singing and songwriting, film composing and video making, teamed up with vocalist, composer and sound designer Maya Rain on an immersive audiovisual experience. First-year Creative Audio Production & Sound Engineering student Freddy Corazzini collaborated with fellow musician David Pani on a ‘90s inspired, percussive synth track and accompanying skateboarding video which, in keeping with their pre-internet concept, were processed and recorded on cassette. First-year Creative Audio Production & Sound Engineering student Anton Líni Hreiðarsson combined his soulful vocals with Ana-Maria Chipaila's EDM elements to create an upbeat pop song, accompanied by nostalgic video clips from their journey together. 

Above: Spirit Studios team at Interface 2.0 Zoom presentation

“Everyone really impressed us,” says Catalyst events and student experience lead and Signals Festival co-creator Hannah Deans. “They all had quite amazing learning curves and seem to have gotten a lot out of it, not to mention future collaborative partners.” 

Keri and Nyree, who coordinated the project at Spirit Studios say that being a part of Interface 2.0 was fantastic: “Each student brought something unique and memorable to the table, and the final projects were all astounding! Thank you to every student who put their heart and soul into this project, you have made this year one to remember!” Keep an eye out on the Spirit Studios blog for their upcoming podcast with the participants.

All four pairs created such a high standard of work that it was tough to choose a winner. In the end, one of the deciding factors was a crystal-clear communication and execution of the brief and vision, making Olívia and Maya’s piece a brilliant fit for an installation at Signals Festival. Ethan and Matthew came a close second and were awarded with a Leap Motion Controller and an Arturia MiniLab MKII respectively. 

Ready to be amazed? Watch all of the pieces below and find out more about the students’ creative processes.

Oneiro Hiraeth - An Audiovisual Project by Maya Rain and Olívia Mamberti | INTERFACE 2.0 WINNER

“The project that I worked on with Maya for this year’s Interface edition was inspired by our intent to originate an art piece that would depict the dichotomy between utopia and dystopia, which are the themes for Signals Festival this year,” Olívia explains. “The summer months we spent working together completely remotely on Oneiro-Hiraeth consisted of a lot of meetings and sending material back and forth to each other. I’d go to the studios one day and record short ideas with improvised vocal harmonies and melodies and then Maya would develop them into longer songs with sampling and vocal processing, which were essential to evoke the whole audio identity of our project.

The name is a combination of the Greek word Oneiro (meaning “relating to dreams or dreaming”) and the Welsh word Hiraeth (meaning “homesickness for a home which you can’t return to or never was”). Therefore, putting those words together it translates to Oneiro Hiraeth: “Dreaming of a home that never was,” which is the main nostalgic feeling we wanted to encapsulate with the installation.

Regarding the visuals, I got my younger brother, Joaquim Mamberti, involved in the project to do the graphic design, illustration and visual character development for the videos we did for each chapter of the narrative, which then were used by me to be animated and distorted through experimental video editing, syncopated with the music for each chapter of the story.

Winning Interface 2.0. means a lot for both of us and having the opportunity to present our work on Signals made all the effort and hard work we both put into it feel beyond worth it.”

An Apocalypse Humdrum Among Long-Dead Cetacea

“Matthew, my partner for the project, and I decided very early on that we wanted to dive deep into the weird stuff and create something special,” Ethan tells us. “And we quite literally dove deep by deciding to revolve our project around whale fall and other creatures at the bottom of the ocean. 

Personally, this was a huge challenge as I had to create a 3D environment, model sea creatures, animate them etc. all in a couple of months. This pushed me to come up with new ways to streamline my production pipeline and achieve something that would normally take me at least half a year to do. We broke down our idea into sections and tackled them one at a time with Matthew leading the way with music and me following up soon after with accompanying visuals. We took it one step at a time and gathered all the pieces we needed before putting them together and the result is something we are very proud of.

From this collaboration, I learned that just because I’ve been doing something a certain way for so long, doesn’t mean I have to stick with it, I can push myself to grow still and step out of my comfort zone.”

Scanning with My Eyes Closed

“From the beginning of the project, me and David really hit it off. We realised we were into the same music and shared a lot of similar references,” Freddy explained during the project presentation. “So we started throwing ideas back and forth and, once a week, we would call each other and see what we were up to. Then, at one point, I got a grasp of this idea on the road and recorded that. So the whole thing started progressing from there. I did a drum track and then David added drum machines to it and bassline, then we did effects with synths and a bunch of other stuff. It was really nice and smooth. I’m super happy with the final project and I think David is too.”

Anniverse feat. Anton Líni - Feel

“We decided to go for a pop song and make a video that shows behind the scenes,” Anton said during the project presentation. “We started with Ana making a house beat and then we thought how we could make the vocals explain the utopia and dystopia theme. The vocals are composed to be more uplifting and happy. Midway through, it’s like ‘don’t change your mind.’ It’s trying to stay positive through hard times… [For the video] we decided to film the whole process about how we made the song. We could also translate it to utopia/dystopia with the idea of performing from inside the studio. And by recording our Zoom sessions, we could show that we were working from different countries in these hard times.”

Read about our audio production institutes' collaborative student audiovisual projects and who won a slot at Signals Festival 2021.

We Collaborate With Spirit Studios Manchester on Interface 2.0

Interface 2.0: We Announce the Winners of Our Collab With Spirit Studios

Everything you need to know about applying for a BA or MA course at Catalyst if you’re from Sweden, Iceland, Norway or The Netherlands.

Are you a resident of Sweden, Iceland, Norway or The Netherlands looking to enrol in a  BA or MA course at Catalyst in 2022? We recommend that you apply to our school early in spring, in order for our admissions team to support you in facilitating the  necessary funding or visa documentation on time.

Fun fact: over 50  of our current students are from these Nordic countries, bringing their  famously out-of-the-box thinking to our wildly international creative  community.

If you’re umming and ahhing about how the current  health crisis might affect your application, never fear.  Life in Berlin is returning to normal and all of our courses are currently running onsite with distancing and hygiene protocols in place. For more information, check out our COVID-19 FAQ.

Our next recruitment round opens in November 2021. No matter where you’re from, our Priority Application Deadline for the 2022 course year is the 29th of April. Apply by this date and we guarantee you’ll get a place on the course, providing your application meets our entry requirements. If you are from Sweden, Iceland, Norway or The Netherlands, we recommend submitting your application by then to allow you plenty of time to apply for a visa or funding. 

The standard application deadline is the 1st of July. Please be aware that after the 29th of April, course places will be available on a first come, first serve  basis.

The following organisations can provide financial support for BA or MA study at Catalyst: CSN in Sweden, Lín in Iceland,  Lånekassen in Norway and DUO in The Netherlands.

Be  sure to check with your relevant organisation about its response to the  coronavirus. We know, for example, that Sweden’s CSN has arranged for  students to be granted additional financial support if their programmes  are suspended due to the crisis.

If you’d like to apply for one of  our Higher Education Certificate or Diploma courses, you may not be  eligible for funding. To research possible grants and scholarships, we  recommend checking out third-party sites such as education.com.  Top tip from our admissions team: If you are currently working in a  relevant industry to your desired Catalyst course, it may also be  worth checking if your employer could fund your training.

As always, our admissions team is happy to support your application process. Contact us by email at admissions@catalyst-berlin.com or by phone at +49 30 2900 9052.

Want to get a taste of our school from the comfort of your home? You’re invited to our next Virtual Open Day on the 9th of November, 2021: a live tour of our spaces and facilities combined with programme-specific group sessions with our tutors and students. And in the meantime, feel free to check out our spaces in our 360-degree virtual tour.

Interested in applying to Catalyst? Here's what Sweden, Iceland, Norway and Netherlands residents need to know about applications and funding.

Sweden, Iceland, Norway, Netherlands Funding Information

Application & Funding Information For Sweden, Iceland, Norway & The Netherlands

From this year’s twist on art and technology to exciting lineup announcements, here’s what to expect from Signals Festival 2021, taking place at Catalyst’s Funkhaus location from the 15th to the 16th of October.

Signals Festival 2021

Art and technology. Two of the greatest products of the human imagination, inextricably linked to inspire and challenge each other. When combined, they can lead to innovation which defines the human direction. It begs the question: in a world in which ideas spread like viruses and a spread virus can trigger transformative ideas, which way are we going? Signals Festival 2021 – taking place at Catalyst’s Funkhaus campus from the 15th to the 16th of October – asks whether we are heading for a utopia or a dystopia, and explores how art and technology can determine that direction.

Signals Festival is our annual showcase of our emerging and diverse creative communities: a non-profit, public, educational event packed with live performances, audio and visual installations, film screenings, workshops and in-depth dialogue. It’s the perfect place to discover next-gen music producers, sound artists, filmmakers, actors and VFX and digital artists from around the globe who have honed their talent in our vibrant corner of Berlin, and who are actively shaping what’s next in the creative industries. 

Plus, if you are interested in studying at Catalyst, you’ll have the opportunity to take a guided tour of our facilities, where you’ll find out firsthand what makes our community so special.

Last year saw the Signals Festival organisers, Hannah Deans and Suzana Benesova, triumphantly present a stimulating in-person and online programme to meet COVID restrictions. As we continue to adapt to a changing world, the 2021 event will once again operate in this hybrid format. For those of you who would like to join us IRL at the Funkhaus (limited tickets available), we are a 2G event, which means that you must show proof of full vaccination or recovery in order to gain entry. 

Ready for a taste of the future? Scroll down to discover some of the artists to look forward to, and be sure to follow Signals Festival on Facebook, Instagram and Resident Advisor for updates and further lineup announcements.

Performing and streaming live from the Funkhaus, we present an eclectic selection of musical talent.

Site-specific, immersive audiovisual installations to stimulate your senses.

Bringing together our own and our partner educators for specialist, collaborative masterclasses.

Telling stories in film from a diverse range of voices, genres and styles.

Opening up conversation on the trends, issues and challenges that creators face with special guests from the Berlin and global creative industries.

Signals Festival 2021 takes place at Catalyst Berlin's Funkhaus campus from the 15th to the 16th of October. Find out more and view the lineup.

What to Expect From Signals Festival 2021

Coming Soon to Catalyst: What to Expect From Signals Festival 2021

The second edition of our collectible cassette series, Volume One, documenting an unprecedented year of music production at Catalyst, is out now. Check out the featured student artists and learn more about their tracks. 

If you didn’t own a walkman last year when we released Volume Zero of our Catalyst cassette compilation, we’re betting that you – or one of your friends – does now. Though it seemed the world was ending for the humble cassette tape at the turn of the millennium, 20 years later, the nostalgic medium has made a surprising comeback. The pandemic definitely had something to do with it – and not only because the time stuck inside had us digging through our attics. Back in 2019, cassettes were just trendy. In 2020 and 2021, the compact collectibles allowed artists to delight their fans with something tangible and profitable while gigs and concerts were a no-go.

This summer, as the popularity of the cassette continues to soar, and as Berlin baby-steps back to normality, we’re excited to unmask the second edition of our own collectible series: Volume One. While the inaugural Volume Zero celebrated our school’s transition from dBs Berlin to Catalyst, Volume One documents an unprecedented year of music production. Whether you choose to load it into your tape deck or listen online, this remarkable and eclectic selection of tracks created by our students during the pandemic will fill your ears with the sound of creative triumph. 

We’re thrilled to unmask the second edition of our collectible cassette series, Volume One, which documents an unprecedented year of music production at Catalyst. 

Whether you choose to load it into your tape deck or listen online, this remarkable and eclectic selection of tracks created by our students during the pandemic will fill your ears with the sound of creative triumph.

Tracklist:

Side A

Neublau / Your Turn to Run (By Malaria!)
@darkatthree / Heathen
@naviekk / Rackt 4
@parallel_processing ft. Duhne / Tĕta-Lenvers
@daniel-rudolf-418711152 / Outbreak
@schwarzbild_condition / Introspection
@jackstripmusic / Psysolation
@misterbloo / The Others 
Luvz @user-3775345 / Misplaced Ace

Side B

@loud-lemons / Dub’s On My Team (dub)
@misterbloo & Luvz @user-3775345 / Golazo
@morelmusiq / Floyd Von Waak
@harianthe-theohare / Back & Fill
@mo_e & @critical_p / Slasher Flic
@reynadeyna / Heavy
@pondermars / About The Boy Who Woke Up In a Forest
@nicolozilocchi / Quantize
@egillgun / Far Heimur Far Sæll
@burnside-music / Strangers (Alone Mix)

Read more about the individual tracks on the blog: https://catalyst-berlin.com/stories/catalyst-cassette-volume-one

Tracks mastered by Eve Tera(soundbetter.com/profiles/341877-eve-tera)
Artwork designed by Victor Yrigoyen (yrigoyen.me)
Berlin, summer 2021

Catalyst Volume One / Unmask an Unprecedented Year of Music Production by Etikett Radio

You can get your hands on Catalyst Cassette Volume One at our Funkhaus campus. Or, if you’d like to ‘collect’ this edition among your liked SoundCloud tracks, listen to the compilation in full above. Want to dig further? Scroll down to browse the featured artists and to learn more about their tracks. 

The 2nd edition of our collectible cassette series is out on tape and SoundCloud. Read about the release and the featured student tracks.

Catalyst Cassette Volume One is Out Now

Ready Your Walkmans! Catalyst Cassette Volume One is Out Now

As part of our recent series of Film Production BA workshops on the business of the cinema industry, TV screenwriters Ava Tramer, of Central Park, and Daniel McLellan, of Lost in Space, joined their good friend, programme lead Malachi Rempen, and his students for a live Q&A. Here’s how they climbed the career ladder. 

TV Screenwriters Ava Tramer & Daniel McLellan Share Their Success Secrets

Want to be a TV screenwriter? Then be prepared to climb the career ladder – unless you’ve got great connections, a shining portfolio or, like Mickey Fisher, your first-time script is so remarkable that it fast-tracks you from competition entrant to Steven Spielberg collaborator. “If you have the stomach for a lot of gruelling assistant work, that is still the most reliable path in,” argues Daniel McLellan, writer on the epic sci-fi adventure Netflix series Lost in Space. He and wife Ava Tramer, comedy writer on such animated series as Central Park and Duncanville, recently joined our Film Production Bachelor students for an insightful Q&A session, where they shared just how they rose to the high rungs. 

Hosted by programme lead Malachi Rempen – one of Dan’s film school roommates – the session was part of ‘The Biz’, a series of 12 workshops which introduced our students to the wider business of the cinema industry, emerging and ancillary technologies, and the peripheral worlds of new media and video art – all the while initiating invaluable professional connections.

Ava’s internship on the wildly popular American sitcom The Office, which she initially saw as nothing more than a fun college summer job, was where she had her epiphany moment. Though she subsequently graduated from sociology and went on to work at a yoghurt company, the culture of the writers’ room was hard to shelf. “I realised you could get paid to sit around and play make believe and make jokes with friends,” she recalls of one of the hottest writers’ rooms of the era.

“To work in this industry, you have to be hopeful, you have to have that blind hope that someday this is going to be worth it.”

As it turned out, cute notes, perpetually sharp pencils and neatly hung laundry were Ava’s tickets to getting noticed. At age 20, she was welcomed back to The Office as a personal assistant, where she traded her extra-mile attitude for the privilege of getting her creative voice heard. When a writer’s assistant role opened up, she was immediately recommended, and thus began her ascent to script coordinator and beyond on a number of acclaimed shows. “To work in this industry, you have to be hopeful,” she said, “you have to have that blind hope that someday this is going to be worth it.”

After film school, Dan worked his way up the production ladder at Fox. Yet, just when he was about to get his name on the door, he realised that the ladder was resting on the wrong wall – a wall that, although much shorter, would never lead him to the peak of his creative potential. His leap of faith to an assistant role at another company paid off: his impressive work acumen and dedication to building relationships earned him a promotion to writer’s assistant, despite not having any relevant experience.

“If you prove yourself as a hard worker at your assistant job and you have a creative mind, eventually you can start pitching ideas verbally, in the [writers’] room, and contributing to the discussion,” Dan explained. “Then if those go over well, a lot of times you will be given the opportunity to write freelance.” In fact, that’s exactly how it panned out for Dan. A freelance opportunity to write one episode of Lost in Space (season two, episode seven) led to his recruitment as a staff writer.

Robot saves Gypsy | Lost in Space - 2x07

One of the many traits Ava and Dan share is an excellent ability to read the room – sensing when it’s appropriate to put forth ideas to their superiors and when it’s best to zip it. One stellar piece of advice they shared is to never show an unfinished or unpolished script. “Never show a script unless you’re happy with it,” Ava advised. “Opinions are formed so early.” Dan added that “you only get a first read once and you have to protect people’s unvarnished opinion.” He also stressed that you should focus on being the best at your job before you even think about stepping outside of your lane or asking for a promotion. Being the perfect writer’s assistant is not just about being a good writer or a fast note-taker. It’s about taking the initiative to offer an ear to the writers and, above all, making life as easy as possible for the showrunner.

“I wish I had known earlier that the things you don’t get make you available for the things you were meant to get.”

It took each of them a good decade to clamber up to their current positions. Naturally, our students were eager to discover any “cheat codes” that might help them skip a few rungs – or at least make for a smoother ascent. Dan made the point that viewing culture, and culture as a whole, have changed greatly over those ten years. As a result, both the career progression and the challenges encountered may be different. One advantage: toxic behaviour in the film and TV industries is on its way out. One potential drawback: TV shows are more plentiful but do not continue for as many series, meaning writers always have to have their eyes on the next gig.

Dan also shared some brilliant advice that he would give to his younger self. “I wish I had known earlier that the things you don’t get make you available for the things you were meant to get. So much of this job is getting rejected,” he revealed. “You need to navigate rejection and not let it bring you down. A lot of what this job is is finding the right fit for you. Secondly, get good at taking notes and hearing feedback in a positive and productive way and don’t push back against people who are giving you constructive criticism. There is no such thing as a bad or false note...all you can do is either chalk it up to taste or you can take the note and...try to address it…You want to be able to hear it and graciously take it.”

Above: Still from the Central Park episode ‘A Decent Proposal,’ co-written by Ava Tramer

Ava would tell her younger self not to compare herself to other people. “Don’t feel bad and beat yourself up about what other people are doing...the main path is working harder than everyone else.” According to Ava, it really is the difference between hanging up the dry cleaning and leaving the laundry bag on the floor; simply checking a script for errors or offering polite suggestions.

Screen Acting tutor Ariane Mason, who sat in on the discussion, asked the duo for their outlook on the future of the industry: “What do you think are going to be the big trends? What are we going to be watching in five years’ time?” Ava suggested that, due to the pandemic, we can expect more uplifting content for the next couple of years, and that the popularity of movie theatres may continue to decline since ‘Netflix and chill’ became the new normal. 

“I think we’re seeing a return to a mid-level, lower budget, lower IP [intellectual property] original feature,” Dan suggested. “If you’re comfortable in that space, you might have a better shot at making an original film. If your goal is to get your work out there and you don’t care about it being a conversation piece [part of an existing movie franchise], it’s a good time for a lot of people.”

Read our round up from screenwriters Ava Tramer & Daniel McLellan's Q&A on the TV writing career ladder with Catalyst Film Production students.

Ava Tramer & Daniel McLellan's TV Screenwriting Success Secrets

The Biz /// TV Screenwriters Ava Tramer & Daniel McLellan Share Their Success Secrets

Sonic storyteller and Electronic Music Production & Performance Bachelor student Marcelo Mantilla, aka Ponder Mars, gives us a window into his creative philosophy and how he has developed as an artist since joining Catalyst. Photography by our recent intern: designer, photographer and filmmaker Aurélie Nydegger.

I am subject to feelings. For example, when I was creating my song, ‘The Boy in the Forest’ (yet to be released), I liked the idea of a boy waking up in the middle of the forest and bringing order to the chaos. I imagined this kind of forest where you can hear voices, birds, owls, water, wind and this melody that carries the whole context of the environment forward and I realised that I was creating a story.

I really wanted to create a story about a boy who has his head in the clouds, wakes up in the forest, something happens, then there are some relationships, then he runs into something, kind of like in the song, and I thought I just wanted to start somewhere with the simple base: Where am I? And if something happens, then the song unfolds with a climax inside. It's really up to me to figure out what it is and then I like this idea that people make their own stories out of my music. That's what makes me happy, that's what I create in my albums. The song ends up coming out in a feeling. It's your job as an artist to represent that feeling as honestly as possible. What is a feeling?

"I love sharing and playing my music to people. Every time it's something special, everyone imagines different stories"

I love sharing and playing my music to people. Every time it's something special, everyone imagines different stories and shares them. When Aurélie told me that my music reminds her of Miyazaki movies, for example, it's so cool to see if I can really spark the imagination and literally create inspiration for people. That makes me really happy. I create the base line and the context to help people imagine. Okay, it's a boy in the forest. Then it's up to you. You can create a context for them and yeah, I like to inspire people by doing that.

Everything I've learned as an artist I can apply as a musician; I can make amazing music and educate myself. It's also the opportunity to gain experience in programming and bring my programming to the music. It's an experience I could never have had without this school. I'm just a good musician at a lot of things, so after that I'm just going to feed myself a lot of inspiration and understand what I'm really putting together in my music. I think it will come together to create a more complex artistic expression, where I can just stick to the music.

The Mars Museum

"Thanks to this school, I took the time to develop my expression and therefore my personality.... Catalyst gave me a lot of space to discover through my artistic expression who I am."

I joined Catalyst when it was called dBs Berlin. I had a choice between business school and music. I wanted to go to music college and I looked around, all the colleges in America and Canada were very expensive. I came across Catalyst, which was pretty affordable and complete in terms of what I was looking for. Thanks to this school, I took the time to develop my expression and therefore my personality. I think a lot of people who are in the music business and programming have discovered who they are with time and the right environment. Catalyst gave me a lot of space to discover through my artistic expression who I am. Through my artistic expression I have become a rather complex, but positive and optimistic individual. I have discovered interesting things, and I feel much better prepared to face my life.

Catalyst Berlin Electronic Music Production & Performance student Marcelo Mantilla aka Ponder Mars shares his creative philosophy.

Aurélie Nydegger Photographs Music Production Student Ponder Mars

A Snapshot of Sonic Storyteller Ponder Mars by Aurélie Nydegger

As part of our recent series of Film Production BA workshops on the business of the cinema industry, director and producer Waheed AlQawasmi  joined tutor Jon-Carlos Evans and his students for a live Q&A. Read our round-up. 

'Jacir' Director Waheed AlQawasmi Shares His Advice to Aspiring Producers

Is filmmaking a chance to live many lifetimes? Or is life a chance to make many films? Emmy award-winning director and producer Waheed AlQawasmi would probably agree with the latter, having invested the past four years of his life working tirelessly on his labour of love, his first indie feature film Jacir, alongside running his production company.

“Everyone expects Mike Tyson to train when he wants to win the world championship, but for some reason they don’t want to apply that to art.”

“Everyone expects Mike Tyson to train when he wants to win the world championship, but for some reason they don’t want to apply that to art,” the former Fox Television creative director told our Film Production Bachelor students in a recent online Q&A session. “It’s like, no, I want to win… You have to put two, three years of working 18-hour days on something you love, to build [something] that’s your own, that no one can take away from you.”

Hosted by tutor Jon-Carlos Evans, the session was part of ‘The Biz’, a series of 12 workshops which introduced our students to the wider business of the cinema industry, emerging and ancillary technologies, and the peripheral worlds of new media and video art – all the while initiating invaluable professional connections.

Jacir explores the unlikely friendship developed between its eponymous protagonist, an orphaned Syrian refugee who settles in Memphis, Tennessee – the city to which Waheed himself emigrated as a teenager – and Meryl, a reclusive opioid addict who is fearful of the local immigrants. Meryl is played by Lorraine Bracco, the Oscar-nominated supporting actress of Goodfellas – one of the movies Waheed grew up watching in his native Jordan in the formative years of his filmmaking interest. 

How did he go from watching Bracco to directing her 20 years later? It would be tempting to talk of fate. Yet, what we learnt in our two hours with the creative powerhouse is that his shining career is built of solid graft, painted with passion and glazed with luck. The Jacir project began with a promising script. What Waheed didn’t anticipate were the many obstacles that lay ahead on his journey to realising it.

“If I’d have known it would take four years to make that film, I’m not sure I would have gone down that road,” he revealed. Taking on the production and securing the funding was only the beginning of an uphill struggle. Waheed scheduled the shooting to begin in May 2020. When the pandemic hit, he decided to employ his logistics mastery to keep on pushing. That included staggering the schedule of the cast and crew and rethinking entire scenes to eliminate mask-wearing crowds and to comply with hygiene regulations – a huge addition to the workload and to the budget. Jacir is currently in post-production, which Waheed and his team are aiming to complete in under six months. “There are five original songs in the movie that two of the characters sing,” he shared. “That’s a lot of work. That’s like producing an album in addition to a movie, that you have to merge into that world of the movie.”

Above: Jacir starring actress Lorraine Bracco with director Waheed AlQawasmi. Photo from the Jacir Instagram.

“Don’t forget, even if it is your first time as a director, that person still chose to do the project with you… they are already coming to you with respect for who you are, so now you have to earn that respect. And sometimes you earn it by collaborating, and I like to collaborate.”

Just like Jon-Carlos, Waheed has worked in nearly every role on set, allowing him to lead in his various roles with a great deal of empathy and humility. Valuing the experience of his collaborators, he is not afraid to work with their feedback. “Lorraine gives the gift of having worked with directors who shaped the whole industry, so she helps you change that hat,” he said. “It’s really about the people that are around you. If you can function in different capacities and it’s hard to do it all at once on the same day, it’s about the people around you and how they know to get your attention, because they come in with things to solve, not problems, with solutions...I wasn’t intimidated directing Lorraine because, at the end of the day, what I know is this: we’re all human. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve seen someone on TV or how big of an idol they are...Don’t forget, even if it is your first time as a director, that person still chose to do the project with you… they are already coming to you with respect for who you are, so now you have to earn that respect. And sometimes you earn it by collaborating, and I like to collaborate.”

What was Waheed’s biggest advice to aspiring producers? “You have to put it in your head that you’re there for the movie, and you’re there for everyone else there,” he explained. “You’re the person that builds the table that everyone else is going to stand on... The most crucial part in producing – especially if you’re a creative producer, meaning you really have good creative ideas – is learning how to manage creatives. It’s called herding cats. Herding creative cats? Super hard… And go learn budgeting. Budgeting is very important. You have to be honest with yourself about the numbers. You have to be honest about the capabilities. If you hear a crazy idea, you’ve got to steer and shepherd that whole thing away…”

“That’s my best advice for producing: learn math and learn how to handle different people’s personalities.” He also stressed that having fun with whatever you are doing should be a priority. “When I’m not having fun, I’m not as effective,” he said, revealing that it is by applying his director’s creativity to even the most unexciting production tasks that he gets the most enjoyment out of his work.

When Jon-Carlos opened up the Q&A to the students, Jonah asked what everyone was thinking: how does Waheed juggle so many projects within his marathon workdays without getting overly stressed? Honest communication is key. “As long as you’re calm, everyone else around you will be calm,” he said. It’s something he’s learnt from being on sets – the learning by doing we value above all at Catalyst. “It’s just doing it over and over. It becomes a part of you; it’s like breathing. And you don’t think about breathing.”

Read our round up from Jacir director and producer Waheed AlQawasmi's Q&A on the cinema industry with Catalyst Film Production students.

‘Jacir’ Director Waheed AlQawasmi Shares His Filmmaking Advice in Q&A

The Biz /// ‘Jacir’ Director Waheed AlQawasmi Shares His Filmmaking Wisdom in Q&A

Our second-year VFX & Digital Arts students present their end-of-year projects: an exciting array of interactive installations which explored one of the most exciting emergent applications of VFX technology.

VFX19 - Second Year Final Projects

Want to become a visual artist tomorrow? Then it’s essential to master the digital tools of today. Fluency in cutting-edge software and cross-media technology not only exponentially expands the palette of creative expression, but it places creators in the optimal position to contribute to the design of future realities. That’s why our VFX & Digital Arts courses give powerful insight into diverse subject areas – including filmmaking, post-production, motion design, matte painting, 3D animation, digital compositing, visual effects supervising, creative coding, installation and interactive art – all the while fostering the independence, open-mindedness and awareness to become an exceptional artist. 

Our second-year students’ recent exhibition of their interactive installation projects demonstrated one of the most exciting creative applications of VFX technology. Blurring the boundaries between the artwork and the experiencer, such installations focus on active play and experimentation rather than passive spectation – the perfect way to make an impact on today’s engagement-hungry world. 

Though all of the students began their project from the same foundation – taught by programme lead Matthieu Schmit and tutor Paulina Greta – it was thrilling to see where their unique interpretations led them. Diego SanJuan Villanueva combined a laser grid with motion capture technology and sound to explore how the movement of the different participants affected the visuals and frequencies. Leander Blaschke adeptly employed an assortment of cutting-edge software to create a striking VR space game. Freddy Gutierrez beautifully combined laser light sensors with cymatics. And Margarita Govedarska encouraged her participants to guide their projected external bodies with the feelings induced by the dynamic frequencies in their ears. In short, the exhibition was emergent storytelling at its finest.

"This experience was one of the most exhausting and challenging, but first and foremost creatively and emotionally fulfilling, projects I've ever worked on."

"This experience was one of the most exhausting and challenging, but first and foremost creatively and emotionally fulfilling, projects I've ever worked on," says Leander Blaschke about his VR project. "I not only learned so much about efficiency, patience, software and, of course, working with people and their feedback. I was also able to professionally dive into a field that I, as an artist as well as a consumer, have genuinely loved and enjoyed since I was a child. All the  knowledge about myself and the pipeline that I was able to gather makes me very confident going forward on the path as a creative person. And in the end, seeing people's enjoyment playing this small demo of mine made all the work worth it. I really want to keep on working on this project in the future and integrating the feedback I received so I can maybe properly launch it as a game at some point."

Second-year Catalyst Berlin VFX & Digital Arts students present their interactive visual art installations in this video.

Creating Visual Art Installations with VFX Technology

Step Inside Our Second-Year VFX & Digital Arts Students’ Interactive Visual Installations

VFX & Digital Arts student Tommaso Capruzzi shares what he loves about learning his craft at Catalyst. Photography by our recent intern: designer, photographer and filmmaker Aurélie Nydegger.

What I love about Visual Effects is the absolute freedom. You can create things that exist only in your imagination. You can create stories that you can't tell, you can't see. You have the greatest freedom of imagination and you can create whatever you want. There really are infinite possibilities. 

The first year at Catalyst was an introduction to the craft and art of VFX. In the first semester, we started with the basics of everything, like filmmaking in general, production, directing, post production, flash colours, how the camera works, compositing a set. We are a bit like cinematographers. We don't spend all day in front of a computer building our world in 3D. There are several stages before that.

When a project starts, we meet before we set up and it's always different, unless it's all CGI, like in advertising for example. On a film shoot, I have to be part of the crew to supervise and make sure that everything – camera, shot, lights and all the little electrical things – are in place. It's important for my VFX production that everything is perfectly placed, so that I don't have any problems with realism or perspective when I start editing and special effects on my computer.

 "It's a group effort, you'll never work alone in a VFX production."

In VFX we learn to use 2D and 3D Photoshop, After Effects, and also the various editing software. We also have to learn how to analyse film footage in order to optimise our work, because in essence we are creating a virtual film, like a video game. Throughout the year we make small projects, both personal and in collaboration with other sections of Catalyst, such as the film and music students, not to mention the actors. It's a group effort, you'll never work alone in a VFX production.

Photographer Aurelie Nydegger presents her portrait of Catalyst Berlin VFX & Digital Arts student Tommaso Capruzzi.

Aurélie Nydegger Photographs VFX student Tommaso Capruzzi

A Snapshot of VFX & Digital Arts Student Tommaso Capruzzi by Aurélie Nydegger 

Our recent intern, designer, photographer and filmmaker Aurélie Nydegger photographs Creative Film Production MA student Leonardo Greco and asks him to chat about his work.

Leonardo Greco was born and raised in Catania, Italy. While studying in “Liceo Scientifico” (scientific high school) he got closer to the arts, with special regard to cinema. After graduating, he decided to follow his passion by enrolling in Catalyst’s Film Production Bachelor. He’s now continuing his journey with us as a Master’s student in Creative Production.  Besides his commitment to school, he has had the chance to work as a freelancer on side projects such as commercials, music videos for local artists and short films. His latest film, You Don’t Know Them, which he wrote and directed, was awarded Best Short Film at the Mexico International Film Festival. Leonardo is currently working on two short films and the script of his first feature film. I asked him to tell us more about his work.

I decided to make films because it makes me happy. It's the thing in the world that makes me smile. We live in a world where you exist through your work. Imagine not being happy when you go to work. I tried a few activities when I was a kid, and film was always the feeling that brought me the most passion, the most joy. So I thought, why not write stories, do something about it, create? I tried it and then I loved it. Every day I'm more excited to go to work. There are a lot of challenges, but it makes me feel alive. It's a way to express myself and make my dreams come true.

For me, film is about telling a story. When we tell it, we decide to mix images and sounds, and we choose the format, the shots, and the actors to tell our story. The story can be anything, because cinema has a lot of freedom, no limitations. You can express your dreams with a film. It's like writing a book but bringing to life what you saw in your head. It's really free as an expression, without limits. It's a new art, without many rules. Before I was a filmmaker, I was a cinephile. I watched a film to lose myself in the story, to feel something. If it was an action film, I was excited, a horror film I was scared, if it was a drama I felt the emotion of the character. When I make a film, I want others to feel what cinema made me feel as a child. Maybe my subconscious wants to send a message through my film.

An example is the story I'm working on. At one moment, two characters meet who were not supposed to. This creates interest and suspense. I like that moment of anticipation when I'm telling and seeing a story, because you didn't expect it and what happens next. I like people's reaction as well as my own. Stories that surprise you and bring you new things, things you didn't expect. That's why I particularly like the writing stage. I write while waiting for a response from the audience. It's always a surprise for me to see the reaction of others to one of my films. I never get tired of it.

"How can we aim for a better future if nobody is leading the way?"

This short film is something I am personally attached to because four years ago I left my home town, Catania, Italy, to come to Berlin to study. After a long time abroad I, for the first time, felt I didn’t belong anywhere. I felt out of place in Berlin, just like I did when I was in Catania. If you don’t have a home, you have nothing, and if you have nothing, what’s left? You. And here we have the big question: who am I? Or worse, who am I expected to be? In my case, the answer seems to be ‘a man’, but what does it mean to be a man? Do I have to be strong? Do I have to be powerful? Do I need to have a lot of women? Am I allowed to have feelings? I’m a bit confused, who could I look up to? Some successful men, like Berlusconi? Weinstein? James Bond? Dirty Harry? It is becoming clear that we are living in a moment where masculinity is having its worst crisis and society is not offering any solutions. Toxic men are hunted down, the idols that have fallen are not replaced, leaving all the boys, myself included, without a hero anymore. How can we aim for a better future if nobody is leading the way? 

Dante, the main character of the short, finds himself in a similar place: he doesn’t have a home, he doesn’t have anybody, he is left alone with his quest, to find where he belongs. What he doesn’t know yet is that first he needs to find himself. I truly believe that who we are is defined by our actions and with whom we decide to do them. I think this is something worth telling, something worth sharing. 

Photographer Aurelie Nydegger presents her portrait of Creative Film Production MA student and freelance filmmaker Leonardo Greco.

Aurélie Nydegger Photographs Film MA Student Leonardo Greco

A Snapshot of Film MA Student Leonardo Greco by Aurélie Nydegger 

Designer, photographer and filmmaker Aurélie Nydegger recently joined us for an internship to shine a light on our students with her stunning photographic content. Read all about her experience and what fuels her creativity.

If human consciousness were a pen, it would never run out of ink. The stories we tell mould us, teach us, inspire us and drive us until the notebook of life is complete. Visual storytelling, a fast-track to the visceral, is arguably the most impactful, and it is in this realm in which Aurélie Nydegger crystallises her dreams. The Swiss designer, photographer and filmmaker’s Instagram handle, philosophique portatif (portable philosophical), encapsulates her deeply narrative approach to her creative media – an approach that stays with the viewer like a negative afterimage on the retina. 

We recently had the pleasure of hosting Aurélie’s outstanding creativity when she joined us for an internship. Creating a striking portfolio of photographic content, she shone a light on our music, film, acting and VFX students. We will be sharing it all over the coming weeks on our social media – so be sure to follow our music and film/VFX/acting Instagram accounts!

Now that Aurélie has returned home to complete her photography degree, we asked her to reflect on her experience and to tell us more about her vision. 

I'm 22 years old and I'm originally from the French side of Switzerland. I started my career with a five-year apprenticeship as a designer, specializing in communication, videography, photography and marketing. I quickly found that I was missing an artistic aspect in my job; working with companies doesn't always leave us the freedom to realize our own personal projects. I wanted to develop my skills via my own visual creations and projects, so I decided to study photography as an artist photographer in the CEPV of Vevey where I experimented for two years on documentary, experimental and social photography as an artist. The training courses were quite complementary and finally a logical continuation in my professional evolution. 

What have you been up to at Catalyst recently?

I had the pleasure of collaborating with Catalyst to produce photographic projects for each section of the school – Acting, Film, VFX and Music – to expand visual communication and offer new opportunities for Catalyst’s networks with documentary projects about individual students, mixing photography and interviews. 

“I really liked the school, I liked the atmosphere and the learning methods, not to mention the artistic universe and open-minded approach.”

Why did you reach out to Catalyst in the first place?

I had the ambition to come and do a bachelor's degree in Film Production at your school this coming year, because I really liked the school, I liked the atmosphere and the learning methods, not to mention the artistic universe and open-minded approach. So I thought why not offer my services, develop as a freelancer and artist inside a school and also see how Catalyst works from the inside. There is nothing more immersive than working for a structure to understand it.

You are a multi-talented creative, with a stunning portfolio of photography, graphic design and film. What would you say is the style or approach which unites all of your work?

For me photography and film are two very similar mediums. The difference is that in one medium we have moving images and in the other we have still images. When I create a photographic project I make it from A to Z like a film. The images make up a story accompanied by narrative or descriptive text in the same way as a storyboard and a script. The design and artistic production is very similar, except that I work alone with my models without a film crew behind me. Photography is an incredible medium for storytelling in the same way as film. These two mediums meet later in the conception into the design graphic part where I compose a photographic book. I put the script and the visuals in order to compose the storytelling.

“It's like a piece of music; it's always composed from the same notes, it's simply their placement that will change the nature of the project.”

How were you able to put your knowledge and skills into practice throughout the different shoots you organised with our students? 

I like to relate people's stories through photography, to show their personalities and mine in a simple portrait or landscape. My approach as an artist photographer is very documentary. I organised meetings with each student and we created a world together by simply sharing thoughts or small anecdotes. Then the machine started and we followed our instinct to make the project. Everyone invested personally to create a common magic. For me, my knowledge and skills are a medium, a working process in itself, which I repeat for each of my projects. It's like a piece of music; it's always composed from the same notes, it's simply their placement that will change the nature of the project. It was quite natural for me to mix scriptwriting, photography, communication and art together. 

How were you able to overcome the challenges set by Covid?

To be honest, Covid was not an obstacle for me. On the contrary, I have never done as many projects and travelled than during the Covid period. You just have to know how to adapt to the technical or political problem. I'm also used to it because with my school I have to carry out projects at a distance, which gives me more time to organise them and think them through properly. The covid period has given me more time and strangely more opportunity.

The constant diversity in my photoshoots, the variety and different inspiration from the students which allowed a multitude of ideas and compositions. The school environment was also very inspiring and full of places to capture! I also particularly liked the trust they gave me. During this month I was really independent. The kindness of the Catalyst team and their advice and caring was really important to me. I think especially of Christina who was adorable and with whom I shared a matcha before my departure!  

L'Apogée is a biopic film project about the German Chancellor Adolf Hitler.

In an new cinematographic project, discover or rediscover the hidden stories of the general public under the apogee of the future Chancellor of Germany.

Drama | Biopic | Cinematographic project
Swiss - German Production |

Production: Aurélie Giovannoni - Laurent Mohr - Andreas Reuther ( French - German)

Distribution:
Adolf Hitler: John Ludwig
Geli Raubal: Aurélie Giovannoni

Director of photography: Andreas Reuther
Gimbal operator: Kevin Bose

Light engineer: Daniel Errey - Adrian Angehrn
Sound engineer: Thomas Young

Photographer: Anastasia Chernykh
BTS Photographer: Yanina Isla - Kinwah Lok

Makeup artist: Jade Turrian
Making - of: Nicolas Turrain

Editor: Joe Marmy

Light assistant: Jan Merchant

Partners: Studio 25 am Holzmarkt - Epic Militaria - Soldier of fortune

Music: Archive.org - Museopen.org
The Requiem Mass in D minor (K.626) - I. Introistus Requiem aeternam - Mozart (Herbet von Karajan, Berliner Philharmoniker) from archive.org. // 

Social networks:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lapogeefilm

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lapogeefilm

L'Apogée - Short Film

We were totally impressed by your 2020 short film L'Apogée, a biopic about the young Adolf Hitler. It was your first experience as a director and a producer, and you also performed in it. How did you navigate such a controversial figure and what was your creative process in all of these roles?

In my approach and my artistic career, I am interested in the problems of collective memory. My projects retrace the memory of places, of people in their frozen temporal state. This setting of time is expressed by a duality mixing nostalgia, social and conceptual documentary, investigation, fiction and history. I am particularly interested in scabrous historical figures, as well as forgotten and controversial men and women of our society, working on different periods to question time and space.

I had been studying the Second World War for some years now and particularly Hitler as a man and not just as a politician. I found so many fascinating stories that were never mentioned once in the history books and that explained a lot of the public history that we know. I'm thinking in particular of the relationship he had with Emil Maurice and or Geli Raubal, his niece whom I play in this film. She is undoubtedly a person with whom I identify myself a lot, as strange as it may seem... I would add that this theme is also important on a personal level. Since I was young, I have been concerned by the tormented past of this war. Although I did not experience it personally, I experienced it through my family, through third parties, through testimonies, through collective history and my own, forging who I am today.

“At that time I had learnt filmmaking through my first training course and I thought why not try it. It was cheeky, but it could work. We learn by doing and not only through theory, right?”

The initial project was not about Hitler and was a photographic project that I did with John Ludwig, a German actor from Berlin. After the first version which was about a simple German soldier. I wanted to make a short film, however, without any bad puns, John had something special that made him appear as Hitler in the picture. At that time I had learnt filmmaking through my first training course and I thought why not try it. It was cheeky, but it could work. We learn by doing and not only through theory, right?

This project is my first film as an independent writer and director. I organised and financed this film from start to finish in only three months to be able to shoot in April 2019.  L'Apogée is a short film about the psychoses of Chancellor Adolf Hitler. This film project was co-produced with Andreas Reuther, a Berlin-based cinematographer and John Ludwig,  who plays the lead role. The filming, carried out on a small budget of 3,000 Swiss francs and involving a reunion between history lovers. I would say that my training helped me to organise all this. I had as much the foundations of a producer than of a filmmaker, which made me very independent at its creation. I think that this common passion for history is what made this project happen. Without this passion the result would probably not be the same! 

Who or what are your greatest inspirations?

I find a lot of inspiration in music and not so much in my peers. I think in particular of Woodkid for the Apogee project, otherwise I listen mainly to film soundtracks and classical music when I create. They are what forge my work. By listening to music, I invent a mental world for myself and all the rest is simply built without any effort: the scenario, the images, the characters... Each piece of music has a scene and all the music creates the film or the photographic project. 

As an inspiration, I would say that I identify myself with Virginie Rebetez, who is also a Swiss photographer, or Elina Brotherus whom I admire a lot for her audacity. In the classical field, Bertolt Brecht or Sophie Calle.

Now that you’re back in Switzerland, what’s next on your journey?

I plan to graduate as a photographer at the CEPV and then go on to study for a bachelor's degree in visual arts at the HEAD in Geneva, where I will develop my documentary and experimental projects on the memory of war and also make a new short historical film on the same subject. This is the idea for the next three years. 

Designer, photographer and filmmaker Aurelie Nydegger recently joined Catalyst Berlin's community as an intern. Learn about her creative vision.

Interview With Swiss Visual Artist Aurélie Nydegger

We Chat to Visual Artist Aurélie Nydegger About Her Striking Creative Vision

We speak to our Creative Production Masters Degree programme lead, synthesist Richard Scott, about his fascinating collaborative release with trumpet player Axel Dörner. Recorded in Prenzlauer Berg’s emblematic water tower, A Journal of Elasticity is a two-sided reservoir of creative brilliance. 

We interview synthesist and Catalyst Berlin MA lead Richard Scott about his record with trumpet player Axel Dörner, recorded in an old water tank.

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