Cooperation between all seven studios across all years and disciplines. We’re going to film a series! Why not?F rom the beginning, the aim was not to make a significant contribution to the celebrations of the school’s founding (which, let it be said, is celebrating its 140th anniversary), but above all to bring together students from all studios. The department is split between two buildings, we are still in the midst of moving and changing, and it is difficult to keep track of where to place the individual faces you encounter in the corridors. We know very well that one of the main benefits of UMPRUM has been, is, and will continue to be the personal connections that students form during their studies.
I wish you could swim
Like the dolphins, like dolphins can swim
Though nothing, nothing will keep us together
We can beat them forever and ever
Oh, we can be heroes, just for one day
David Bowie, Heroes
𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝟭𝟳 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗮𝘁 𝟮𝟬:𝟬𝟬, 𝟰𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗿
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗵𝗶𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝟭𝟴 𝘁𝗼 𝟮𝟭 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿, 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝟭𝟬:𝟬𝟬–𝟭𝟴:𝟬𝟬
𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻: 𝗖𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗮 𝟯𝟬𝟳, 𝟰𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗿, 𝗧𝗬𝗣𝗢 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼
Series
Docu-mystery from the Graphics studio
A. K. A. Grant project 75 years of the UMPRUM Graphics Department
This year is exceptional in every way, just like all the other years we have had the opportunity to experience. Among the extraordinary things that characterize this year is the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Graphics Department—which, of course, was not founded on its own, but together with all the other departments.
We are a colossus, seven studios, seven different crafts (at least), dozens of different people, and thousands (at least) of different visions. We, all of us, our studios, our visions, create it. We try.
We have decided to do something that has perhaps never been done before in the history of the department, but which we have been discussing for a long time. It was just over a year ago that we sat down for drinks after a department meeting and lamented that we see each other less and collaborate even less.
Let’s do it.
Cooperation between all seven studios across all years and disciplines. We’re going to film a series! Why? Because at our department, posters for the Brno trade fairs are no longer hung up, they are no longer coated with tempera, and the state-issued white paint is quietly drying in a desk drawer. We are intermedia, we are digital, everything moves, everything flashes. Speed, laser. And of course — slowness, thoughtfulness, thoroughness, meticulousness, tradition, and analog are also present. We are all of these things and we are all of them together, however disjointed that may sound. So why not?
From the beginning, the aim was not to make a significant contribution to the celebrations of the school’s founding (which, let it be said, is celebrating its 140th anniversary), but above all to bring together students from all studios. The department is split between two buildings, we are still in the midst of moving and changing, and it is difficult to keep track of where to place the individual faces you encounter in the corridors.
We know very well that one of the main benefits of UMPRUM has been, is, and will continue to be the personal connections that students form during their studies. We kicked off the festive season with a colossal outdoor event by the Sázava River, amid smoke, fires, incredible cuisine, and warm-up tasks. The teams were formed by lottery, fairly and according to Jirka’s AI mastermind classification based on the answers in the student questionnaire.
Then things took off. Every two weeks, we reviewed all the projects at the cinema, the KG film club, and a series of lectures. Marek Grajciar introduced us to screenwriting, and Damián Vondrášek to directing. Petr Marek immersed us in the mysterious waters of Trier’s The Kingdom, and there was also a tour of the bizarre. Jakub Kudláč introduced us to film music, while Honza Netušil and Marek Cimbálník introduced us to motion design and animated typography. Lukáš Grygar diverted us to games and series, Pavel Rajčan introduced us to the art of film posters in his collection, and Jakub Bachorík dazzled us with his knowledge of African posters.
Why consult in the usual way? There were some changes, the usual studio leadership tandems split up, and consultations took place in unprecedented combinations. And what is the result? Over two hours of audiovisual content, one game, a series of posters, accompanying printed materials, cartoon reports, a band, the website serial.umprum.cz, and much more, often invisible. The individual parts of the series are connected not only by the character of the maintenance man in blue overalls, Klára’s jingle and its variations, a live band, etc. They form a rich whole that looks at UMPRUM in a fantastical, critical, analytical, socially sensitive, completely serious, and even humorous way.
So, was this monstrous event a good idea? Yes.
We know each other a little better now, and that makes us better people. There are more people greeting each other with smiles in the school corridors, and the friendships that were formed during the series will last.
Adéla, Anna, Attila, Darek, Eva, Greta, Iris, Jozef, Adéla, Adrian, Anna, Anna, Anna, Daniel, Filip, Jasmine, Julie, Mikuláš, David, Jana, Mario, Sidney, Sofie, Sofiya, Štěpán, Adéla, Ella, Jana, Jaroslav, Julie, Kristian, Kristian, Kristýna, Vojtěch, Adam, Barbora, David, Emma, Finn, Jakub, Kristýna, Martin, Mikoláš, Prokop, Kilizi, Marek, Mario, Martin, Rebecca, Štěpán, Vanessa, Vavřinec, Alex, Anna, David, Emma, Jakub, Karla, Klára, Matěj, Anna, Anna, Barbora, Eliáš, Emma, Matěj, Zuzana, Anna, Marie, Natálie, Šimon, Tereza, Anežka, Petr — and of course also Barbora, Barbora, Nikola, Mario, Konrád, Ondřej, Jana, Terezie, Vladyslav — thank you, hats off to you!
Jan & Michaela
visual Terezie Puršlová & Jan Diviš
