Talk Studios Art + Photography

Well, we did it!….we did it about 3 weeks ago, but we did it! ;)

On April 19th, Between Scenes filled The Icehouse with 250-300 people over the course of 4 hours; people who were curious to see how artists in the local film industry could create pieces of art that would allow them to see film in an entirely new way. People who were curious about how an art exhibition on filmmaking wasn’t showing any films. What on Earth would they see? Would it be a waste of their night? Does Phoenix even have a good film community? Isn’t that what LA is for? Well, at least there’s free wine.

When most people think of the art of filmmaking, they often describe the direction, script, character development, performances, score, and sometimes the overall visual elements, like how it was shot. The majority of audiences tend to forget about one thing – the rest of the crew. It’s not a long list of credits at the end for nothing. Even those who understand and value the work of the crew, still tend to think of the crew as a whole. Don’t get me wrong, anyone on set will tell you that they are “part of” the crew. You’re in this thing together – rain or shine, day or night, sleep or no sleep. They, themselves, identify as being one solid team, a family even.

But what we all tend to forget is that crew members are individual artists. Chances are, that’s what drew them to the art of filmmaking in the first place. They all appreciate the art of story-telling, and they all have their own unique way of doing so. Some choose fabrics, others choose light, some have a love for mixing materials, and the list goes on. The goal of Between Scenes is to provide an outlet for these artists to express themselves, using their craft, in a way they don’t normally have the chance to: without the confines of a script.

I could not have been more thrilled with the turn-out this year! Many of whom are currently in the industry, but I was pleasantly surprised to see quite a few faces of those not in the industry. Regardless of their involvement or knowledge of film, I hope that everyone left the show with a newfound perspective and appreciation for the work that is done on set between scenes….right here in Arizona. We have loads of talented individuals in this state or from this state, and we should take time to recognize them just as we do the films they work on.

For those who were not able to attend the show, below is a series of photos that I took throughout the night. Click here to see a special video, courtesy of attendee, John Stewart, highlighting the show and Pirate Grip & Electric, one of our artists & valued supporters. Without Pirate Grip & Electric, the show would have had a little less light. And by a little, I mean, a lot. Major thanks to owner and artist, Jarrod Wilson for all of his amazing support! And thank you, John for sharing this video with us!

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The adorable and delicious cupcakes were made by one of our awesome volunteers, Ashley Guzman, in order to help celebrate the birthday of two beloved members of the Phoenix film community. This girl made 300+ mini-cupcakes, with the best looking frosting I ever did see. Thanks, Ashley!

And a huge thanks to the rest of our rad group of volunteers, who helped make the show come together at the last minute: Fabian Carrillo, Natalie Smith, Brittany Meyerhardt, Kate Murphy, David Levine, Linda Morrison and Cathleen Bates.

Junk in the Trunk Vintage Market supported the show by donating all of the seating used as lounge areas throughout the gallery. If vintage and repurposed furniture is your thing, you should definitely check them out! Their next Vintage Market will be in November and is not one to miss it!

Fresh popcorn and candy kept viewers from going hungry.

The installation piece below, by Jarrod Wilson of Pirate Grip & Electric, showed how you can create different lighting effects by incorporating certain elements, like wind, water, and nature.

Below, on the left, Talk Studios (oh hey, that’s me!) showed set photography from the upcoming horror film, “Speak No Evil” filmed right here in Phoenix, being released this month. Click here to get tickets to the premiere!

Sound mixer, Alex Quituqua created an interactive piece that encouraged viewers to put the headphone on and listen in. What they heard confused, entertained, and even frustrated them. Mostly though, it was hilarious. I guess you just had to be there.

The piece below was a collaboration between Chris Thrasher & myself. It was the centerpiece that tied the entire show together, taking 2 days to install. Tons of film strips hung from the rafters, starting at each corner of the Silver Room, where they were connected in the center by 30 TV’s. Some TV screens were smashed, others were simply static, and some showed iconic films. Sadly though, these photos don’t really do this piece justice.

The piece below, by costume designer & stylist, Jessa Erin used mixed media to explore how clothes can determine what the viewer perceives to be true. She handmade each piece of clothing – amazing!

The piece below called “Tortured Soul” by the production design team, Broham Art & Design, was above and beyond what anyone could have imagined! The set was originally used for a unique photo shoot, and images had not yet been released. They premiered for the first time at Between Scenes, and I could not have been more honored to have them in the show! The amount of detail in this set….unbelievable. Again, photos don’t do it justice. You really had to be there.

The photo below was provided by Theater13, since for some odd reason, I never made it over to the Tea Room with my camera. Yikes, sorry Chris! This creative production company shot a music video during installation day, and recorded the entire shoot. They kept the camera in one spot, and then played the video in the exact same position, so the viewer could watch what had just taken place in the now empty space. It created a spooky, ghost-like effect, not to mention the music video itself was kind of eery. Can’t wait to see the finished music video, which is premiering at Theater13′s Short Shorts with Short Leash on May 18. Click here for more details!

Moving on to the White Room, Gabriel Naylor‘s piece was front and center, encouraging viewers to recognize him as more than just a Visual Effects Artist. Viewers could walk through the hanging art, creating movement that would change what the viewer would see.

Special Effects Makeup Artist, Fernanda A. Orozco stunned everyone with her live art piece (shown below on the right). Using a friend’s painting as inspiration, she brought the character to life right before everyone’s eyes. It took the entire night – all 4 hours – and one very patient model. Viewers could sit and watch as she worked, or come back later in the night to see the progress.

The photo on the left is of a piece she made for a previous project that she brought in just for show.

Musician, Bryant Powell kicked off the night with some amazing tunes. Check him out for future shows! And if you’re in need of music for your next film, I highly recommend Bryant!

Chris Thrasher, known for being a Special Effects Technician, stole the night with his wood cut-outs of iconic figures and memorable film logos. At first glance, one might assume it’s “simply” a painting. But when given a second look, the viewer realizes that it’s actually a lot of very intricate and precise cut-outs, put together like a puzzle….sort of. In the end, Thrasher sold each one of his pieces, and since the show, has been commissioned to create other iconic figures.

Set photographer, Josh Loeser showed some of his photography from a variety of local short films. Josh is a fantastic fine art photographer, who chose to question who the performers really are on set. He explored how everyone is truly a “performer” in some way.

At the end of the night, Bogan Via wooed the crowed with their beautiful sounds. This amazing duo plays quite often around town – you must check them out if you haven’t yet! You can hear some of their music here, but in my humble opinion, nothing beats a live performance.

Fun fact: Maddie has a background in film & theater. Before joining Bogan Via, she worked on film sets just like the rest of the Between Scenes artists, proving that you never know just how much hidden talent a crew can possess.

Don’t mind these goofs….

Oh, and then this happened….hahaha.

 

Thanks again to everyone who was able to attend! We appreciate each of you so very much! Hope you all enjoyed the night!

Until next year!

 

:::::  Website: www.imdb.com/name/nm4477356   :::::

I thought it might be nice to give you all a little info on each of the 11 artists being featured in this year’s Between Scenes. Feel free to check out their work online, stalk them on Twitter or Instagram, and come on out to The Icehouse on Friday, April 19th to see how they’ve expanded their creative boundaries without the confines of a script!

If you attended last year’s show, then you might recognize Chris Thrasher. Initially, I wanted this exhibition to have all new artists so that it would give other artists an opportunity to show their work. But it’s important to recognize that not all artists have one medium, and that’s the case with Thrasher. He’s multi-talented and I wanted to give viewers a chance to see what else he can do.

Here’s a little bit more about Chris:

Christopher Thrasher has been fascinated with practical/special effect techniques in film for most of his life. He started spending time engineering and building functional props at the age of 13. Now, after taking several film courses at Scottsdale Community College, studying mechanical engineering for 2 years, and working back-to-back on film shoots, Christopher is emerging as a Special Effects Technician. Thrasher is known for the spring-loaded shot gun from “Dead Mans Hand”, the careless exploding guards in Portugal The Man’s music video “So American”, the mistreated Fisher Dolly in the “Scottsdale Community College 2011 Film Festival” that falls out of a truck and combusts into flames, and the helpless exploding victim in “Mice To Meet You”. One thing Thrasher had to accept was getting used to watching his work disintegrate after spending countless hours building it from scratch. Thrasher is also more recently known for his customized cut-outs of iconic figures & film logos. The idea was to break some new ground in making logos that people could see in person.

What can you expect from Chris at Between Scenes? You’ll actually see two entirely different types of art by Thrasher. He’ll be showing his series of customized cut-outs of iconic figures & film logos that he started constructing for fun, but is now often commissioned to make. The other is a giant installation piece that he and I collaborated on to be used as the centerpiece of the show. Can’t wait for you to see it!

For more information about the gallery exhibition, click here.

:::::  Website: www.gabrielnaylor.com   :::::   :::::  Twitter: @gabrielnaylor   :::::    :::::  Facebook: www.facebook.com/gabrielnaylor   :::::

I thought it might be nice to give you all a little info on each of the 11 artists being featured in this year’s Between Scenes. Feel free to check out their work online, stalk them on Twitter or Instagram, and come on out to The Icehouse on Friday, April 19th to see how they’ve expanded their creative boundaries without the confines of a script!

I was recently introduced to Gabriel a few months back at a First Friday event, which is a local art walk in downtown Phoenix that occurs every first Friday of the month. We exchanged a little friendly photography banter (the classic Canon vs Nikon debate) before he showed me some of his work. He was introduced to me as a VFX artist, but after just a few quick glances of his extensive portfolio, it became very clear to me that he was quite talented in other areas of art as well.

….and after reading his bio below, it became even more clear just how madly talented this dude really is:

Gabriel Naylor is an Emmy® Award-Winning Visual Effects Artist & Art Director with over ten years of professional experience working freelance in Phoenix AZ, Los Angeles, and abroad. He was pivotal in shaping the Visual Effects and Motion Graphics curriculum where he earned the Bachelor Degree from The Art Institute of Phoenix in 2005; voted best portfolio. Gabriel is the youngest recipient of the NAPP’s “Photoshop Guru Award,” with his team, a triple winner of the Nasa Means Business Competition, he earned three Telly’s as a lead artist at Copper Post for the History Channel, and eight Addy’s for clients including the Arizona Lottery and MINI.

Mr. Naylor’s Hollywood credits while at Beantown include work on “Two and a Half Men”, “King of the Hill”, “American Dad”, and “Ancient Aliens.” His department promoted Sony Pictures International and 20th Century Fox trailers for hundreds of titles including “Harry Potter,” “The Da Vinci Code,” “Avatar,” “Transformers,” “District 9,” and “The Hangover.” After a short stint at the NFL, Gabriel spearheaded the team at BLADE Editorial where landed and personally worked with clients such as The Arizona lottery, Toyota, Del Webb, and Petsmart. His mastery of After Effects led him to push the envelope with ILM’s Nuke with dramatic effect. While freelancing, Gabriel crafted nominated promo work for the Outdoor Network and NBC Sports. He recently completed post-production on eight national Cold Stone Creamery commercials, is in post-production for Gas Mask Films’ “Speak No Evil,” and pre-production on the Romanian sci-fi feature “Colonial Theater.”

Gabriel Naylor’s entrepreneurial activities include a partnership with Mindplate Digital Movie Distribution, The Paper Petalers Couture Paper Creations, and Digital Billboard projects for Sky Harbor, The DFW Airport, and upcoming hotels and restaurant locations. He created artwork in a secret project for Stan Lee and the San Diego Comic-Con, his photography has been published in several books and magazine covers, and in addition to being an Identity protection advocate, Gabriel Naylor has volunteered at the Humane Society, Habitat for Humanity, and Operation Photo Rescue.

His favorite movie is Galaxy Quest, playing Portal 2 and La Noire, he is a proud Subaru Owner, geocaches for exercise, and is currently learning to weld. Gabriel Naylor resides in a 1930′s home at the heart of Phoenix’s art district with his wife.

What can you expect from Gabriel at Between Scenes? Well, let me ask you this first – have you ever felt pigeon-holed? That feeling you get when people tend to only think of you in one way. What do you do to break that mold? Gabriel will explore this concept as his piece tries to communicate that he isn’t just a VFX artist.

For more information about the gallery exhibition, click here.

Graphic Design by: Eric Fletcher

:::::    Website: www.WhatIsTheater13.com    :::::             :::::    Twitter: @theaterthirteen    :::::          :::::    Instagram: @chrisheck13    :::::

I thought it might be nice to give you all a little info on each of the 11 artists being featured in this year’s Between Scenes. Feel free to check out their work online, stalk them on Twitter or Instagram, and come on out to The Icehouse on Friday, April 19th to see how they’ve expanded their creative boundaries without the confines of a script!

Theater13 founder and director, Chris Heck has a knack for recognizing talented individuals, and collaborating in such a way that allows each of them to be successful at what they do best. He is a true artist with a clear vision for not only his projects, but also for what Theater13 stands for as a whole. You’ll want to read their bio below to fully understand what I mean, but know that Heck doesn’t just envision goals for the future, he acts on them. I’m excited to see what stories Theater13 will tell in the coming years, but I feel confident enough to say that they will surely inspire us all.

Here’s a little bit more about Theater13:

Founded in 2006, Theater13 is a collective of like minded artists bringing personal history and culture together using film as the unifying medium and common language. Combining fresh perspective with experience, we apply ground-breaking techniques to traditional storytelling. As a result, our films have won numerous awards and been seen worldwide. Long live black and white.

To see a recent interview done by Wired Elephant Studios, click here.

What can you expect from Theater13 at Between Scenes? You’ll get to see an inside look at a Theater13 music video that will currently be in production. Curious to know which band it’s for? Oh, well I guess you’ll have to come see the show to find out then. :)

For more information about the gallery exhibition, click here.

Graphic Design by: Eric Fletcher