Plush

by Scott Clark on March 19, 2012


PLUSH, by Third Star Films 2011

Winner for BEST COMEDY HORROR, Dragon Con Festival 2011, Atlanta, GA
Directed by: Ryan Denmark
Written by Jason Witter, Ryan Denmark
Produced by: David C. Valdez, Joshua Sallach
Starring: Vanessa Claire Stewart, Jason Witter, Brian Lucero

Art direction on this film was as fun as it gets. Provided with general ideas on how a set is to be staged and then being able to use one’s imagination to bring that vision to fruition is an art director’s dream. This was the case with Plush. Peter Lane was Production Designer and has worked with Ryan Denmark previously; they have a longstanding relationship. Peter and I also worked together last year on “Under the Stairs,” and formed a bond of trust on that project. The art director typically looks after the set while filming, something I love to do: being involved in the action, making things happen, making both subtle changes and not so subtle, as needed.

The main set was a bedroom. Peter and I, the only members of the art department, went in and painted the location walls with Peter’s wild and zany designs. It looked crazy by itself, but once the rest of the stage was set and the actors took their place, it was a perfect fit. I worked closely with the Director Ryan Denmark: I’ve been lucky to work with so many directors that know what they want as regards the artistic look of a film. Ryan is very much a hands-on director, involved in selecting the set dressing and pre-dressing the main set. We had a selection of friends’ art, handmade lamps and jewelry, some miniature furniture, and enough kitsch to satisfy all of us. With three actors and an overly protective teddy bear, by puppeteer Andy Linderkamp, the madness, the horror, ensued.

Three days after the first shot was off, in the early weeks of January 2011, we were wrapping out tired and happy. The rest was up to Ryan and David Valdez, to edit and give this short film the magic it deserved. Spending several years doing edition and special effects in New York City with Spike Lee, along with several of their other projects, they were up for the challenge and proved themselves again, winning BEST COMEDY HORROR at the Dragon Con Festival 2011 this past September in Atlanta, GA.

Enjoy the trailer, and watch out for things that appear warm and fuzzy.

http://www.youtube.com/user/ThirdStarFilmsTV

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Autumn’s Early Winter

by Scott Clark on October 22, 2011

Aspen Snow on Sandia Mountain

The road to Sandia Crest is one of the best things about living in Albuquerque. A recent patch of stormy weather brought a much needed three days of rain to New Mexico and snow to the higher elevations of the southern Rocky Mountains. The aspens are at their peak along the road that winds up the eastern slopes of Sandia Mountain. No matter the season, you can feel a major brain release, the confines of city life forgotten and left behind. The crest can be seen from most parts of Albuquerque, a constant reminder that nature’s escape is within sight – an escape we seem to take too seldom.

Yesterday was just what was needed; the air at 10,678’ is so full not even our dog Nadine can get enough, her noise out the window all the way up in anticipation. The light of early evening in autumn is as rich as any light can play on nature’s entire splendor; it tells me once again I’m living in one of this world’s special places. We smile, we breathe, we smell, try to capture the beauty by camera and by sketch, memories and materials gathered for my winter’s studio. Autumns’ early winter on Sandia Crest. In the protection of the tall stands of timber, snow is seldom melted by the sun and the quiet given adds safety from the cliffs that fall west towards the Rio Grande valley 5,000’ below. The dog is let loose. Her energy in run and play is a reflection of how it feels to be here immersed in the wild. There is no horizon and no endless green field. This is the only place she will follow the command – with a clap of the hand: “come”. It’s time to go back, the sun is waning, and magic hour is here for the drive home.

Sandia Mountains

 

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The Boys of Abu Ghraib

by Scott Clark September 23, 2011

The Boys of Abu Ghraib feature length film, shot this summer in New Mexico at the “Old Main State Prison” in Santa Fe, and on which I served as Art Director, seemed to come out of nowhere for me. Except of course it didn’t; it came through a connection from another film, as so often [...]

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“California Indian” Released

by Scott Clark September 23, 2011

Written and Directed by Timothy Andrew Ramos, Against the Wind Films Starring: Gary Farmer, Mark Boone Jr., Timothy Andrew Ramos, Gil Birmingham, Julia Jones, Emil Zidek Production Design: Scott Clark In the summer of 2003, I had been visiting the town of Blue Lake, in far northern California, helping some friends during the annual Mad River [...]

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Warrior Woman

by Scott Clark June 4, 2011

A year and a half ago, I sat with film director and screenwriter Julie Reichert in a coffee shop in downtown Albuquerque. Walking away after our meeting, my mind was spinning with splashes of imagery, which for me as a production designer finally became reality in the form of a 90 minute feature film called [...]

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Making “Under the Stairs”

by Scott Clark April 14, 2011

An update on my November 26, 2010 post entitled “Collaboration”: here is a video about the making of the short film Under the Stairs, on which I served as Art Director. This video gives you a behind-the-scenes look at the production process, a glimpse of what it takes to put a project like this together. We [...]

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New Paintings

by Scott Clark February 13, 2011

There are times of the year when I can’t help myself. The desire to pick up a brush and paint is just too much to ignore. The autumn to winter transition is one of those times. If there is an uncontrollable need to do something, I can’t think of a more peaceful one, one that [...]

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Never Land

by Scott Clark December 17, 2010

Production design for film only comes to full vision when we finally see the finished product. If you’ve done your work well, it then becomes a piece of art. Embedded here is the 40 minute short I was involved in making last year with Director Joshua Sallach. James Kwan was behind the camera to give [...]

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Collaboration

by Scott Clark November 26, 2010

Filmmaking is all about collaboration. For the past few weeks I was the Art Director on ‘Under the Stairs,’ a short film written by Kieran McGowan of Waltham, Massachusetts, and produced by Eventide Film Productions LLC of Albuquerque. I love this crew. They make the 12-plus hour days an amazing artistic experience. The big difference [...]

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Exhibit at Scalo

by Scott Clark September 19, 2010

Along with the launch of my new website, I am for the first time in seven years exhibiting my paintings in public. During the months of September and October, I will have some two dozen works on view at Scalo, in the Nob Hill district of Albuquerque. All are acrylics on paper. This city has become [...]

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