Cristian Fetter and Ahri — expertise filmed in action
Business Story / professional documentary
A film about canine training, communication and expertise demonstrated in action, built around the relationship between Cristian Fetter and Ahri.
About the film with Cristian Fetter and Ahri
The project begins with canine training, but its visual value comes from the fact that expertise can be observed directly. The relationship, reactions and way of working are part of the story, not simply background for an interview.
The film stays faithful to its real subject — communication between human and dog — and uses it to show a professional through what he actually does.
For a Business Story or professional portrait, action can explain more than a speech. Here, the practical demonstration supports the credibility of the person on screen.
- Location
- Planeta Ham Ham.
- Duration
- A few hours of filming.
- Movement
- Ronin.
- Sound
- Lavalier microphones, followed by substantial cleanup in post-production.
- Filming
- No rehearsal; almost everything was spontaneous.
The easiest “actor” I ever worked with had four legs.
I have known Cristian for a very long time and I consider him an exceptional dog trainer. I already knew Ahri before the shoot as well. She was his dog, a female he loved enormously, and during filming we joked that she was “remote-controlled”. She was so obedient that she seemed to have a secret button. :))
We did not rehearse. Almost everything was spontaneous, and that is exactly why the film works for me. The relationship between Cristian and Ahri did not need to be demonstrated separately. It was already there, and the camera simply had to pay enough attention.
The sun helped. The ambulance, less so.
We filmed for a few hours at Planeta Ham Ham, using a Ronin for movement and lavalier microphones for sound. The natural light that day was exceptionally beautiful. We had less luck with the audio: wind and noise from nearby ambulances. That meant a fair amount of cleanup in post-production.
We filmed two pieces on the same day. Both involve dogs, but they are not the same story. I preferred to keep them separate because the things I was looking for in each one were different.
“I’ve known Mugur for many years, so during the shoot I didn’t feel I had to prove anything or play a role for the camera. I simply worked the way I normally work with Ahri, while he moved around us and captured things as they happened. I think that’s exactly why the film represents me: it doesn’t try to turn what I do into a show; it simply lets the real relationship between me, the dog and my work come through. And honestly, Ahri was much more disciplined than either of us. :))”