Beginning Middle End Productions Presents...

My viewing of the films was interrupted due to a family matter and this was one of two finalists that I did not see. Tonight I finally got to screen A WORK OF ART and I absolutely loved it. As an artist I loved the story and especially the execution. You've got some great figure drawing and sketch work in this film Mike.

Opening camera work is marvelous and when you cut to the first scene with the doctor I really appreciated the glow effect. Little touches like the ink on his fingers and the detailing of the studio are to die for. Speaking of art direction, Jeremy Cisneros is nothing short of incredible. Jeremy was production designer on our Iraqi war picture and he just helped us out on the MIGGS music video we shot this past week and the guy is amazing. It shows in your film and I hope others here recognize that art direction is right up there with sound design in terms of making the difference in how a film is received. The studio set has all the elements of a working space including the imperfections and litter that adds authenticity and realness.

I simply can't say enough about Jeremy. We needed to create a somewhat funky medical lab from scratch for the MIGGS video and had a very short amount of time to pull it off. Jeremy went to AlphaMedicalProps and picked out a few items that would give us the most bang for buck on a very tight budget. He raided Luis's office and then scouted for junk at the warehouse we rented. Somehow in just a few hours he had a set with real character ready to shoot. Our good friend Matty G. shot Jeremy's set with a RED using anamorphic lenses and the results were stunning:
JeremySet.jpg


Ok, back to my review of this beautiful film. ... The production values are consistently maintained throughout and the story never feels rushed nor easily predictable.

Sebastian Stenhoj is perfect for this part. Great work directing him, Mike. He really conveys the tortured soul necessary to sell the piece. Mara is beautiful and a perfect counterpoint for the piece. My only critique would be the relatively weak (in my opinion) work depicting "her" images of Arthur, given that she is purportedly a featured artist in a gallery.

That score by Daniel Walter is killer. Simply killer! Whoa!

What a wonderful work of art you yourself have crafted. Top drawer. Absolutely spot-on and a beautiful depiction of what can be done with six minutes. Bravo.
 
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Wow thanks Mark! I'm glad you liked it so much!
Yeah Jeremy does good work.. I think your the first to have commented on some of the subtleties of the film (ie.. the ink on Arthur's fingers and the clutter of the studio). There was definitely a lot of hardwork put into to all that (and a lot of stress for me and my girlfriend...as that set is our apartment!)
I agree with what you're saying about the gallery art.. there's a crazy story behind that actually. We originally had a different actor cast for the role of Arthur... and he dropped out 2 weeks before production - after Morgan had already done like 10 pictures of him. With two weeks left, she had to start over and do new pictures of Sebastian.. the workload proved to be too much in a short time so we brought on the help of another artist, Rachel Raleigh. I think the art definitely works for the scene, but I agree... I had originally planned for paintings that said 'fine art' more so than these.
But yeah man, thanks for commenting!
 
blindbuzta said:
I think the art definitely works for the scene, but I agree... I had originally planned for paintings that said 'fine art' more so than these.
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That's well said. The gallery scenes work well and the artworks are definitely from the hands of a talented artist. What I meant was that I could recognize several (not all) of the portraits of Arthur to be quick studies rather than polished works one would see exhibited. It brought to mind an amusing event that happened to me in college back in the 70's. I missed the first week of a drawing class and was pleasantly surprised to find the workload to be light and limited to 30 minute and 1-hour drawing sessions during class time. A week before the end of the class the instructor said, "remember, your three-a-week drawings are due next week." I turned to the student next to me and said wtf? Turns out the first class session he handed out a homework assignment requiring us to do three finished drawings each week. That first week that I missed class, the prof even warned several times against getting behind and trying to make up drawings toward the end of the semester, but then the subject was dropped and not mentioned again (at least not that I picked up on). So there I was needing 45 polished drawings within a week. I skipped classes and actually tried speed for the first and only time to be able to stay awake drawing (it kept me awake but I couldn't sit still and ended up bouncing all over the dorm not getting anything done). By the end of the week the drawings got really strange and desperate. So I guess I'm sort of an expert at recognizing art produced under extreme deadlines! That said, the work is wonderful and original and especially amazing in the works depicting the girl.
 
Mark Johnson said:
So there I was needing 45 polished drawings within a week. I skipped classes and actually tried speed for the first and only time to be able to stay awake drawing (it kept me awake but I couldn't sit still and ended up bouncing all over the dorm not getting anything done). By the end of the week the drawings got really strange and desperate.
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That. Is. Hilarious.

Mark Johnson said:
That said, the work is wonderful and original and especially amazing in the works depicting the girl.
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Morgan did a wonderful job, as I've said countless times before... and will continue to say.

Go team!
 
blindbuzta said:
Wow thanks Mark! I'm glad you liked it so much!
Yeah Jeremy does good work.. I think your the first to have commented on some of the subtleties of the film (ie.. the ink on Arthur's fingers and the clutter of the studio). There was definitely a lot of hardwork put into to all that (and a lot of stress for me and my girlfriend...as that set is our apartment!)
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Ha Ha! using your own place is stressful. I thought we were going to be shooting with wet paint on the walls.
Do you think you'll do it again? Maybe something with a little less pro-design wouldn't be so bad... :)

Good luck!
 
yeehaanow said:
Ha Ha! using your own place is stressful. I thought we were going to be shooting with wet paint on the walls.
Do you think you'll do it again? Maybe something with a little less pro-design wouldn't be so bad... :)

Good luck!
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No I definitely wont do it again. My landlord caught us and flipped out. She shut us down but luckily we had gotten everything we needed. So yeah... not doing that again!
 
Congratulatins Mike. It's a real pleasure to be up there with your film. I hope that the both of us are not strangers to future fests.

congrats man and thanks so much for your support - I expect to see more great thing from you in the future!
 
Hey Everyone.
I asked Larry to remove "A Work of Art" from public viewing.. as we're going to start submitting to film festivals this week. If you didn't get a chance to watch it, PM me and I'll send you a private link to watch it.
Thanks again for all the support. I'm glad you all liked it so much... and keep an eye for me in LossFest...
 
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