The Self Portrait - ID# 255

Lockport Township
Dramatic Narrative
Entry Description

When an artist struggles to create the perfect work of art, she must look to her mistakes to determine what perfection really means.

Copyright Info

Recent Teacher Comments

  • 4/16 3:05 pm - Powerful and moving work of art. Excellent lighting. While it feels slightly justified that a painter may have LED lights, I would recommend still keeping them out of the shot (such as at :19) – I could imagine a judge in a film festival using something as small as that as the differentiator between finalists. There are sometimes issues with autofocus, such as at :18. Love the composition of the character in the mirror at :24. Some of the jump cuts are a bit distracting, such as at :32 – intentional jump cuts to show the passing of time work best when the differences between the shots are more pronounced. The edits getting more sporadic in conjunction with the piano playing is very effective and does an excellent job visually representing the mental state of the artist. Overall, very effective use of sound and lighting design. Quite impressive and beautiful. I hope you are proud of this work!
  • 3/13 3:09 pm - Incredible use of film tools and techniques! Camera, lighting, sound, editing, production design...everything is working together to set the tone & tell your story. Really nice story as well. The resolution was very powerful. The theme is universally relatable. Great work!
  • 2/28 7:56 am - This is a great example of how story and the language of camera, lighting and sound can work together. The story is simple and works really well. You thought it through to the end. This short film is a great metaphor for self-acceptance and human complexity. I love how you chose to tell the theme through lighting, camera movement/composition and editing. Maybe adding a layer of different focal lengths would complete the picture.
Judge 1

Positives: This piece is just OOZING with creativity. Wow. love this. The pacing is masterful. We really feel the chaos of the artistic process with the way we cut camera angles and increase the frequency of cuts. The composition and lighting is on point. The colored lighting helps so much with the tone. The colors in general make this piece feel like part of a work of art. The creativity in shooting this is also to note. The set design, the space, all of the props, the costuming. The shots where the camera becomes the camera with the see-through material is a very nice touch. The music works for me. It amps up when it needs to and feels native to the piece. It helps add to the creativity of it all. In terms of story, its simple, an artist going through the creative process until they get to their piece. In a way, its more alike to a music video. I like that there’s no dialogue, that can be difficult to pull off.

Improvements: There really isn't too much to improve here without getting way too nit-picky and into the weeds, and i feel like what the team was able to accomplish is exemplary and a great gold standard for student work. Great great job. Story and how you make me feel when I watch the film is all that really matters, and this nailed both.

Judge 2

Positives: I really liked the lighting and coloring throughout the film, it was good to show how colorful it was especially with the painting and then got more dramatic over time. The camera movements were really well done as well as the framing of each shot, I liked when the actions picked up and how the quick cuts had movement. The art design as really impressive!

Improvements: The music in the background was overpowering at times and I wish we heard more of the paper ripping and the raw sound of what was going on. I like how the lighting was more red during the action and how it dissolved back to normal, but I think it could have stayed at the normal, if not just a little less saturated instead of the more blue and green tone it went to.

Judge 3

Positives: The closing shot is very powerful. The artist has finally become one with her art. The color scheme is also very powerful as the overall tint of each scene reflects the feelings of the artist. The use of red for rage, then blue for the transition of rage into the final shot of the artist finding what she is looking for and finally finding peace with her work and her inner spirit. Overall, excellent camera work and editing. The music supported every aspect of your project.

Improvements: Think about a way to build the dissatisfaction of the artist as she moves from a literal point of view (the painting of the head) to the abstract. It would help to build that more.

Judge 4

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Judge 5

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