What did you see as the main purpose of the film? What effect do you expect after the release of the first part?
Tatyana:
The first results are already visible. At first, this film was seen by 28 thousand viewers in offline screenings in 71 regions of the country, which is quite a lot for documentary films. And then online - already over 4.4 million viewers. Someone saw the picture on the Odnoklassniki social network, someone on VKontakte, Fb, some of the views were on the project's website and on the Okko multimedia service. A large number of viewers watched the movie on YouTube. First of all, it was important for us to show the film to young people, to inspire them for self-realization, and it doesn't matter in what areas. Everyone has his own path. By the way, few people tell us that the film is about digital technologies, although the main characters, of course, are associated with them, in the first place. The main thing is that our project tells about guys who already at school age understand what they want to do and develop their first projects.
By their example, they seem to say to the young people like them that there is no need to waste time in vain. It can be seen that for them - doing what they like is a great pleasure. Does the film have an inspiring impact on young viewers - definitely yes! We measured the impact of our film project on the audience through very large-scale research. Recently, we have often used similar technologies in our documentary projects. Over 5,000 participants took part in the anonymous digital questionnaire "before" and "after" watching the film. The indicators are very unexpected - the film literally "went off scale": 95% of teenagers and children like it, 90% consider it inspiring, motivating, making them think about the future. It is especially interesting to read the conclusions of the guys, where, after one - the answers: "I wanted to become someone" or "I wanted to do something important in life."This is exactly the effect, the result that we most wanted to get. And, apparently, at least for some of the schoolchildren in our country, we managed to do something useful.
As it turned out, the teachers and parents liked the film even more. In general, the film has a very wide and loyal audience: there are also viewers aged 7-8, there are even those who are already 60-70 years old. Everyone finds something interesting for themselves in this project. Of course, there are those who do not like the film and cause a sharp emotional reaction. These, as a rule, "grown-up guys" still often write in their comments that they consider our country "hopeless", the authorities are "wrong", the conditions are "unacceptable", they think that we are "showing what is not there", etc. ... But we are happy about that too, because it means that we managed to make a film that one way or another attracts many, and speaks of what is important for people.
Why did you decide to tackle this particular topic?
Mikhail:
We are interested in bringing benefits to people with our projects. We have been making motivational documentaries for the last 6-7 years. And in fiction films we try to talk with the audience on serious topics. And, if we talk about this specific project, then on the basis of the School of Cinema of the Sverdlovsk Film Studio, a new direction "Portal to the Future" was first born, where young guys are looking, including in contact with cinema, what they can do in the future - in adult life. They try to do projects in teams, develop, as it is now customary to call "soft skills".
And we are talking not only about cinema or creative industries, but in general about any areas. And our director of film production, Elena, offered to create a documentary film with a similar title - "Professions of the Future". And that's how it all began. As always, you start doing something, and then something else appears on the same basis. We immediately planned to make the film in such a way that it was definitely useful, would help young viewers to self-determine, touch upon the issues that worry them, talk about professions that are now in trend and are most in demand. On the other hand, it is important for us that any of our films also carry an educational function, which, in our opinion, is very necessary, especially now.
What were the criteria for selecting projects for the film? Who defined them? Who was the scientific and technical consultant for the film? Was this person involved in defining the criteria?
Tatyana:
Our task was not to create a competition and select the best projects in Russia based on some criteria. This is a film about living heroes who live their own lives. Here we are not talking about the best guys in the country, but just about the guys, specific, who study and in parallel, to the best of their ability, are engaged in their projects. They did not prepare for the film in any way, they did not do anything specifically for “our order”. We found the characters in completely different places, and they immediately became participants in the filming. Often, we already actively filmed them, and later they found out that they were participating in the film and gave their consent to continue this experiment. And when all the heroes ended up together in the Far East, on Russky Island - at the NTI University intensive at 20.35, many of them did not think to see us there, and we could not even come close to suggesting that they would all come together,moreover, they will participate in one competition of projects.
Everything was built by life itself. We can say that the film was in many ways created intuitively, we guessed something, but we nevertheless correctly predicted something. This is not a popular science film, it was important for us to keep the way the guys think, as they say, even if something may confuse an expert in a particular field. Nevertheless, before its release, the film was, of course, watched by experts in the field of technological entrepreneurship, and in the field of pedagogy, psychology, and sociology. We went through many of these special screenings at the very beginning of the project's release. By the way, thanks to such first participation of experts, the line about Elon Musk was completed, about which there are also a lot of discussions in the film's social networks. We, together with experts, decided to leave this "sharpness" and "peppercorn" in the film both for promotion, and in order toso that adults and smart viewers have something to think about after watching. Experts insisted that this would "add ratings", then a possible release of the film on a federal TV channel was discussed.
What was the main difficulty for the director? How close are you to the topic of innovation, is there a professional or other background?
Mikhail:
Our team definitely has an innovative spirit of search and research. Like all the characters in the film. Yes, this film project itself is, in fact, a startup. As for the difficulty for a director to work with a technological and entrepreneurial topic, by her first education Tatyana is a physicist, engineer, and an engineer in the field of biophysics and medicine. In addition, she also has other higher educations. Including in the field of business. And she herself registered as an individual entrepreneur, at the age of 18, it seems. In general, any film largely reflects the director himself. If he is not close to the director, then he simply will not work.
Tatyana:
It's like that. As for the difficulties in creating this project, there were many of them. Like our heroes in life, we also went through skepticism many times, potential partners refused to participate in the film, waited a very long time and achieved any important contacts, and then faced the problem of how to convey the film to the audience. And we continue to fight all this. This is truly a startup that is just beginning its journey. Much of what we do in the project is unique and we have to be pioneers.
The picture is peculiarly structured for documentary films and rather resembles a long clip. Is this a purely artistic directorial technique or does it have some semantic significance?
Tatiana:
How old are you yourself? Teenagers don't usually tell us that. Maybe you start to lag behind their way of quickly, "clip" reading information - pay attention to this. I'm kidding, of course. But if you answer seriously: the world is changing, speeds are changing, and it would probably be wrong to insist on the classical form of presenting information. Although the film also contains classical techniques. And the film also holds a different age of viewers from beginning to end. Yes, some do not keep up with the graphics, but they write to us that they are happy to watch the film again. Children have time for everything. So, yes, consider it - this is a meaningful artistic device in order to speak with a modern viewer.
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Tatiana:
As we have already said, our goal is to inspire many children across the country, in various regions, and especially in small towns and villages, where children often lack such examples, such content and information. A detailed examination of a specific case with all the technical features might have been liked by the readers of Habr, but a wide audience of guys, especially those who may not be predisposed to these specific technologies, would hardly have watched it with such enthusiasm. We agree with you that such films with specific cases and details are also needed. And we will try to find resources and opportunities for them. We just had other goals and objectives.
Michael:
This film is a tool for pedagogical educational activities in schools or at home - in a family, with the help of which adults can discuss important issues with adolescents, talk about the future, about their dreams, about the country, such as peers in the film, who are more and more more in the regions of Russia, about the opportunities, and to inspire the children themselves for self-realization. We plan to continue developing just such a format.
In the film, a lot of time is devoted to the interaction of schoolchildren with mentors and employing companies, what is this connected with?
Mikhail:
We often hear skeptical comments - “but the country doesn't need such guys, they won't be in demand here”. In the film, we have already shown how the leading companies respond to such young specialists. They are all interested in smart young talents. We know many examples when schoolchildren cooperate with large companies such as Mail, Sberbank. And it seemed to us important to convey this information to other young viewers so that they see the perspective, understand what knowledge and competencies are needed and developed.
Judging by the chosen means of expression, presentation and the amount of time allotted to the problem of brain drain, the creators believe that it is better for young scientists, developers and startups to stay in Russia, rather than try their hand in other countries. Can this be considered the main position of the filmmakers?
Michael:
If you watch the film carefully, you will see completely different life paths - the “scenarios” of our heroes. There is no universal solution, everyone has their own path and everyone needs to feel and make a decision himself - what is useful and functional in a particular period of life for you. One of the heroes of the film, quantum physicist Alexei Fedorov, leaves, finishes his postgraduate studies in France and returns to Russia. And he tells in the film why and what advantages he sees for himself in this. At the same time, his foreign experience was also very useful for him. And we ourselves do not sit in the Urals all the time. Both we and our fellow specialists have done projects both in Russia and abroad. And this experience gives a lot, broadens one's horizons, teaches the relativity of things. Helps to better understand others. However, the film discusses the question - what can move a young man,when he dreams or decides to leave, not live in Russia.
Can he be influenced by some kind of information, competent PR of another country, films, bright positioning of any international entrepreneurs, or is he consciously making the best choice for himself at the moment? Christina, the heroine of the film, who left for the USA, recently shared with us her feelings about the decision. She dreamed of doing space and entered the field of space engineering, but in fact it turned out that there was no such specialization, there were no opportunities to get the competencies that she wanted. She can put together a course for herself from various elements, but in fact the university does not have these competencies and even technical capabilities. But they have a good promo, which is somewhat different from reality. As a result, she studies MBA and Big Data, which is what the university of her choice is strong in.Christina is a real fighter and a great clever, and we believe that she will take the maximum for herself and go further. But, nevertheless, I invited her to Baumanka, and I even talked about it with the head of one of the missile departments, that when she was in Moscow, we would go there on an excursion. By the way, it was this professor from the Bauman Moscow State Technical University who told us that students from leading American universities every year fly to Russia to Baumanka for a summer school. Once one of the Russian leaders in the Kremlin told me sincerely: "Where else can an intelligent person live in the world today, if not in Russia?" And I - completely agree with him. And the other, the head of a leading scientific institute, added during our detailed conversation about the future of our science and about the guys who want to leave: "The smart ones will stay." And it's hard to disagree with that.But we still have problems with PR. We are not systematically fighting for our “smart heads”. We are literally piecemeal - one or two a year with the Ministry of Culture and partners, doing projects like the Professions of the Future. Or they could produce a dozen or two annually, and even with a distributed team across regions. And we also raise this question in the film.
What, in your opinion, are the advantages of Russia as a country for the development of innovations? What conditions should be created for young scientists to develop their projects to the level of a successful business or a full-fledged product? What problem does the film help to solve in this case?
Michael:
First of all, it is necessary to work with the attitude of the people themselves to their capabilities and the strengths of their country. The problem is when the guys think that there are no opportunities, have already given up beforehand or simply do not know how to live their life and what to do. There are always opportunities, especially in our country. This is reality, not what is written on the Internet. And many entrepreneurs will tell you that there is something to do here, and the conditions are more favorable. It is much more interesting to work where not all niches are occupied yet. There are more chances for success, more unsolved problems. The enterprising mind is always directed towards solving problems; it does not go where there are no problems. And Russia is developing very rapidly now. Everything that has been done - done - in 20 years, of course on the basis of the foundation,but before that there were almost 15-20 years of stagnation and crisis ... It's just necessary to see how many bridges, roads, modern enterprises and other facilities have been built in our country. The same new cosmodrome is worth something. As our hero, Natalya Kasperskaya, says - we just do not value this our own. There are problems, but they exist in every country. You can solve a lot, each in his place.
Tatyana:
The film helps to give the first impetus, motivation to young guys, they see, sometimes for the first time, that it is possible to develop in different directions already at a young age. Of course, a push is not enough. There must be a system, much depends on teachers, mentors, parents, local adults. It is very great that various circle movements, new educational projects are appearing in Russia, the number of interesting schools is growing, and not only those made by large companies, but also by innovative teachers. When we were filming this film, we also saw the problem of not discussing fundamental important issues with the guys. They raise personnel, so to speak, not for themselves, but for other countries. As Natalya Kasperskaya says, they are not engaged in moral education and upbringing. But it seems, based on the latest news, and this issue will begin to be resolved. It seems to us that this is fundamentally important forso that young scientists and successful businesses are born. It is important to shape the person. This will help overcome all the difficulties on the way. By understanding himself, his motivation, goals and what is needed for happiness and development, a person will find the rest of the competencies, the right people, mentors, partners. Especially nowadays, when information is available.
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Mikhail:
It's interesting that some viewers don't seem to see another hero - when the film moves to the Russian Quantum Center. So, there we have a special hero - a young scientist from Oxford, who came to Russia for competencies and the implementation of their ideas. In principle, we like to use such high-tech objects in projects, but when we also manage to tell the stories of such heroes along the way, this is, of course, good luck. In the end, it is these little things, details that make up a successful film project that is interesting to the viewer. And of course, we especially like to be with the team where smart entrepreneurial people begin to act, a special environment immediately begins to form there, and ideas for new films are born by themselves.
The film focuses the viewer's attention on some generational conflict and differences in idols and ideals. In particular, an attempt was made to debunk Musk with the help of an interview with Natalia Kasperskaya, appealing to Gagarin, Korolev and Chkalov. For example, she states that "Musk is a PR man" and "has nothing to do with development." At the same time, it is known that Musk is the chief engineer of SpaceX and does not directly direct the PR of his projects. How relevant is this opinion after SpaceX's first private flight into space (and the successful return of the first stage)? Is Kaspersky's opinion on Musk's professional competencies with distorted facts a fact-checking error or the position of the filmmakers?
Tatyana:
Natalya Kasperskaya touches upon a very important topic: we often trust any information without rechecking or delving into the issue. It is written in social networks, on the Internet - it means it is true. In the film, teenagers replied that their idol Elon Musk, because he is an outstanding inventor and does what others consider impossible. In modern times, it is important to learn not to stay on superficial knowledge. Especially considering that any information can now be found easily and simply, and young people often stop delving into the essence of things and researching the issue on their own. In the process of creating a project, we encountered different opinions and decided not to leave only one thing. An alternative point of view in the film just allows you to look at this or that fact from different angles, think, decide for yourself. At least,young viewers will become more attentive to external information, they will want to explore what is important to them.
Natalya Kasperskaya is one of the strongest experts in the field of cybersecurity and knows deeply from the inside how the ideas of the guys are formed. She voices important problems that we have in our country. In particular, that we ourselves do not promote our own success stories of our entrepreneurs, specialists, engineers, and industries. For us, this is an extremely relevant topic. After all, we have written hundreds of letters to Russian companies and no one yet understands that it is necessary to participate in such projects, talk about ourselves, and inspire young people. As a result, young people dream of living outside of Russia and do not seek to work in these companies. Unfortunately, there is a very large percentage of such people dreaming of leaving - from 7% in the country as a whole, to 10% in some regions. We see these figures, as we show the film in schools in the format of our special development, if you want innovation,startup - Motivating digital lessons, where a mandatory component is anonymous filling out of questionnaires by children before and after viewing.
The questionnaires allow children to think, start thinking about important moments in their life, about the future. But we, in turn, work with big data from almost all regions of Russia and very clearly see all the problems that were voiced by Natalya Kasperskaya in her interview and in the film. It is surprising that we are criticized on the Internet (and by the way, children themselves are not criticized in schools) for the fact that this block in the film is overly patriotic, even “propaganda”. But for us, he is the other way around - he speaks openly about painful issues, highlights problems, weaknesses of our society, and not strengths. By the way, we have released a full interview with Natalya Kasperskaya and with the help of it, perhaps those who are skeptical will be able to better understand what is at stake.
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Mikhail:
In the next episode we will show the other side of the coin. After all, our heroes became students and it turned out that during their student days, such breakthroughs as they had in school are no longer so easy to make, because all their free time is spent studying the sciences. But we also found new amazing heroes. But it is definitely not necessary to scare and discourage the children to engage in projects, to develop their startups. We have seen with our own eyes how capable and talented guys lose their enthusiasm in life when faced with such an approach. And at the same time, persistent, purposeful - continued to go towards their goal. Therefore, my advice: both talents must be developed in every child, and the will to win must be brought up.
It is possible through projects, through competition for investments, or, at first, through sports and creativity. Each nature has an opportunity to be realized and become a winner in its field of activity. We need to help the guys to identify their strengths, to look and find their way. The best thing is to teach responsibility, independence, without hiding the difficulties and tricks that await. And for those who want to become a “Mask”, it is important to understand what this path really is. He - Musk - is an entrepreneur who knows how not only to "catch the hype", but also to create a bright shell around his projects. You can learn from him.
Real engineering knowledge can be obtained in Russia. It is our engineering school that is considered the best in the world. In the first film, we set ourselves the task of inspiring the children to “wake up”, see that life is in full swing, and it is already possible to live and act, realizing their abilities, developing qualities and competencies for future success. The second one will be about how you can save time during your studies in order to have time to master in addition to school knowledge something else that will be useful later in life.
As a conclusion
I would be grateful for comments with impressions of the reading.