Art for Art’s Sake: Behind the Lens

It was a great experience being a part of Cinevic’s second “Art for Art’s Sake.” It was the perfect way to make something new and push myself to get it across the finish line in a short period of time. We started brainstorming ideas at the end of May and I had the script finalized by the beginning of June. Then, the real logistical challenge began: getting the actors together. Everyone is so busy at the start of the summer, but we managed to lock in a date in mid-June to shoot the main scenes.

Initial filming kicked off on June 4th with some green screen shots I incorporated into the final cut. However, the big shoot followed on June 13th, where we captured the core scenes set in “TEṈEW̱.”

Side note: TEṈEW̱ is a word from my nation, SC’IANEW, which means Earth or Land. I really wanted to incorporate a piece of my culture into this film. The people of TEṈEW̱ were based on the idea of an uncolonized land inhabited by an indigenous population of peaceful, telepathic people.

The initial concept was to build a story arc around Adam, a drug addict struggling in our world, stealing items to trade for drugs. I found it difficult at first to condense the story into the 10-minute time limit Cinevic set for the event, mostly because I didn’t want to sacrifice the pacing. I found a few creative solutions to this, including implying a time jump once Adam arrives in TEṈEW̱ to help keep the narrative moving.

Filming went well, though you always want more time on set than you have. I think we did a great job, and the actors understood the script so well that I didn’t have to do much directing—which was a huge help, especially since I was also serving as the cinematographer.

Thanks to the great local photographer Phil McOrmond for the BTS photos.

The Gear Setup

We utilized a variety of equipment to pull this off:

• Opening Shots: BMPCC 4K with a Metabones Speedbooster and the Sigma 18-35mm lens.
• Secondary Shots: Canon RP (when I needed a smaller, lighter footprint).
• TEṈEW̱ Scenes: BMPCC 4K, BMPCC 6K Pro (a massive shoutout to Cinevic for the rental), and the Canon RP for timelapse sequences.
• Aerials: DJI Mini 4 Pro.

Closing Thoughts

I had an amazing time making this and presenting it at the Roxy Theatre. The actors absolutely knocked it out of the park—I couldn’t have asked for a better cast. Thank you to our actors Sean Fedrigo, Eli Wise, Fah Supattra, Valeria Frances, Beth Anthony, Alain Mickelson. And huge shout out to Patrick O’Keeffe for handling sound and helping produce this film. We will definitely be taking part in the next “Art for Art’s Sake” event. Thanks to all the other filmmakers who came out and presented their work; you all did an amazing job. Keep it up!