My name is Gabriele Fabbro. I was born in Milan, Italy in 1996. I’m a young director currently finishing the BFA program of filmmaking at the New York Film Academy (Los Angeles). Since 2010, I wrote, produced and directed over 20 projects.
indieactivity: How would you describe your work as a director?
Gabriele: I TELL THE STORY OF MUSIC. I’m trying to explore the relationship between images and music. I believe a score is not just an accompaniment to the visual. As a director I’m fighting against this stereotypical conception. Each composition carries its own sincere story to tell. My job is to translate those notes into a script.
indieactivity: How did you get into directing?
Gabriele: I was used to draw a lot when I was a kid. One day I draw a short sequence from a movie, frame by frame. I filmed each drawing with my tape camera, making sound effects with my voice. I edited the footage in iMovie and I showed the final result to my parents. That first approach to “filmmaking” brought me a personal satisfaction that I never experienced before. Therefore, I started filming more.
indieactivity: How do you choose a project to direct?
Gabriele: I always like to have different treatments or ideas on the table. At the end it’s always the curiosity that decides. It’s really easy to lose your curiosity when you have to spend one or more years thinking about the same story all over again. So, Its vital to find that idea that keeps your curiosity up. Another fact to keep in mind is the budget. Hollywood is expensive, but money don’t always make the “best picture”. Crafting high quality products out of the lowest budget possible is a fun challenge I always love to take
indieactivity: Do you take courses to increase you craft?
Gabriele: NYFA offers a lot of intensive hands-on courses that allow me to physically practice my craft. Directing, Cinematography and Producing courses have been the most useful so far.
indieactivity: What books do you read?
Gabriele: Novels and plays are usually what strikes me the most. I recently got inspired by Milan Kundera’s “The Book of Laughter and Forgetting”. A collection of psychological short stories with strong themes, point of views and suppressed emotions.
indieactivity: Why will you choose an actor, writer or producer. What do you look for?
Gabriele: As a visual storyteller, heavily driven by actions, I’m looking for writers with a strong understanding of dialogue. In an actor, I look for specificity. They need to have the courage to fight stereotypes and be sincere in front of the camera. I also look for actors that listen and that are aware of their surroundings while performing. As far as producers, finding the perfect match to “share your baby” is always taught. You need to find a person of your trust that is willing to leave his ego aside to stand beside your ideas.
indieactivity: When you are offered a project, what thing do you put in place to deliver a good job?
Gabriele: First, I always make sure I relate to the script. As much as I would love to direct everything, I can’t direct a story that I don’t understand. Then, I start thinking about the production. How much creative freedom can I have? Are there enough challenges to incite my curiosity?
indieactivity: Briefly explain your latest work?
Gabriele: I had two major productions this year. “The Waltz of the Monsters”, a fantasy short film, and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”, a music video. I’ll pass on the short film which has been a huge journey to produce and to shoot. For the music video I wanted to restrain myself around a simple romance shot in 4 long steadicam shots, a cinematic technique I’ve been trying to refine for a long time
indieactivity: What challenges did you encounter on you latest film?
Gabriele: As a director, timing the actors to the music beats was taught to pull off, especially when you have lots of extras and camera cues. We had different problems with the steadicam and the focus which forced us to repeat each shot for more than 30 takes. It was really hard for the actors to keep the momentum. We managed to finish the shoot in 2 days. Rehearsal the scenes with the leads prior filming was a lot helpful.
indieactivity: What thing or situation helps you during production?
Gabriele: On set is fundamental that your crew understands your vision. If everybody is on the same page, the shoot runs way smoother and allows time to experiment. 1st AD and DPs are my right and left wings. The AD worries about the logistics of the set. The DP builds the picture. With their help I can completely focus on actor’s performances. This work distribution always brought the best results.
indieactivity: Explain a creative choice you took on set on a recent production?
Gabriele: We were shooting “The Waltz of the Monsters” in Malibu. During one of the scenes we saw a storm of birds running by the shore. Instinctively we rushed to film them. As I saw their tiny legs spurting across the shore I immediately thought about shooting close ups of the actor’s feet chasing each other by the shore. In the edit I knew I would have intercut the two footages together to make a funny comparison between the characters and the birds. That sequence is now one of the funniest one of the film. It’s something that wasn’t plan at all during pre-production.
indieactivity: How can filmmakers finance projects?
Gabriele: It really depends on the type of production. For shorts, the usual way to go is crowdfunding. Since there isn’t a really successful market for shorts, not many people are willing to invest in them. Most of the investors are interested in feature ideas, where a successful distribution is possible. I still have to produce my first feature so I can’t say much on that. For shorts I usually do crowdfunding or ask friends and relatives to help out. I always kept my budget below $10,000 though. For higher budgets I suggest to pitch your ideas to producers that work in the industry. Since you’re pitching a short, you’re most likely going to find people investing in you rather than in the idea.
indieactivity: Who is your favorite director?
Gabriele: It’s always hard to say. Lately I found myself fascinated by Truffaut’s craft.
indieactivity: Why this director?
Gabriele: With the french new wave film “400 Blows”, Truffaut teaches us the fine art of balancing the contrasts. According to the director, no matter how heavy is its content, a story should always be told in a the most light and concise way. This balance is one of the hardest one to achieve and one of the most emotional tool of cinema. I’m trying to study this balance with my films
indieactivity: Briefly write about your career?
Gabriele: WIn high school I had the pleasure to take multimedia classes with Natalia Mazzoleni, a teacher that re-defined and expanded my conception of cinema. Her words still have a huge effect on my craft. In college I was lucky to surround myself with the most talented filmmakers I ever met in my life. Since the first year, I started working with Brandon Lattman. We always love to DP each other’s projects. He became my eye and I became his. It’s a strong partnership we want to keep.
The same happened with Ydalie Turk, one of the best actress I worked with so far. During this 3 years of collage I had the opportunity to produce and direct more than 20 shorts and to work on various projects as DP and Gaffer. Thanks to my award winning shorts “Two Steps Away” and “The Waltz of The Monsters”, I had the opportunity to intensify my networking experience by meeting passionate storytellers from all over the globe. I come from a small town in north of Italy where I was dreaming to make movies. With all the improvements I gained during this years I can finally prepare for the next step: direct my first feature.
