FAMU | Czech Republic

On June 1968, a medical team led by the surgeon Karol Šiška performed the first human to human heart transplant in Czechoslovakia and it became the first successful operation in the Eastern bloc.

The aim of the assignment is to create a non-linear narrative in such a way that it will support and enhance both the characters and the story. Deconstruct the linear time in order to achieve emotional resonance and connections throughout the footage. First, choose one of the characters to focus on or a theme or emotion that you want to express. Then find out what’s going to be your ending and identify the scenes for the main throughline which will build up to it. This will serve as “the present time” layer. In the next step choose the scenes for the other time layers, it might be just one extra layer, but it could be more. In the main throughline choose the entry and exit points for the flashbacks/or flashforwards and follow the process until you achieve an organic shape where the transitions support the emotion of the characters and story beats come in order which supports the narrative. Enhance with the sound design. When things look well, you might challenge yourself by deciding whether the woman survives or not at the end and changing the cut accordingly. The result should still be a narrative sequence even if you decide to reduce certain story points. We estimate the average duration of the final edit between three and seven minutes.

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