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New for 2019 –It’s All About The Hustle; Part II

Andy Batt’s Bad Choices Project on Patreon

For the past four years I’ve been working hard, doing many of the things (concepting, writing, sketching, backstory-ing {yes, it’s a word now thankyouverymuch}, art directing, creative directing, regular directing, retouching+compositing, and mostly/lastly photographing. The difference is that this time it’s for me—so the good is that I get to do whatever I want, the not as good, but still good, is that I get to do everything. Or at least, it all has to start with me—and with a project of this size, I’ve happily delegated, assigned and collaborated– because what’s left is still an IMMENSE amount of work.

The while thing is called Bad Choices — it’s dystopian post-apocalyptic story/world/show, and it’s all flowing out of my head—characters, backstory, locations, events—all the things necessary to building a story universe from scratch.

I’ve shown the work here and there, private portfolio reviews, to a few people and places and have gotten a lot of encouragement from those interactions. So now it’s going Big(ger)! Now it’s got stuff to buy (art prints! poster prints!) over at our Big Cartel page, it’s got it’s very own crowdsourcing fundraiser page on Patreon (that makes it InternetReal™, right?) and I’ve actually printed the very first graphic novel from the Bad Choices world, called Misled No. 1 (Purchase and free PDF link coming in another post! Stay tuned!)

You can see a lot of the work on www.andybatt.com/badchoices — and you can read all about the hard work on my Patreon page—that’s where I’m hosting the process blog, covering anything that comes out of my head, and anything you all want to know (hint: you can ask questions over there)

Thanks for reading

-andy


Check out the for sale stuff here: https://andybattphoto.bigcartel.com/badchoices

Check out the Patreon (and throw a dollar+ in the hat if you BELIEVE): https://patreon.com/badchoicesproject


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The cinematic world of Bad Choices

Andy created a dystopian world inhabited mainly by strong/interesting/dimensional female characters. This project is called Bad Choices—which is also the name of the town at the center of this conceptual story.
He set his goals high: “I was tired of photographing happy people holding
happy products and pointing at happy screens. I wanted to challenge myself, get outside of my comfort zone”. 
One of Andy’s shots from a shoot for Best Buy
He went well beyond any comfort zones. Andy’s photography always tells a story regardless of the assignment, but to create a personal body of work that he could really sink his teeth into he needed something bigger. Many of his personal tastes and inspirations comes from the world of sci-fi, so he decided to start there. The project began as a character study with 12 different actors, and quickly became a full blown dystopian screenplay with overlapping story lines.
Early stages mind map
From each actor study, Andy started by painstakingly concepting and creating the key poster art for each character. One by one, the story has slowly revealed itself. He’s taken the project through 2 artist retreats on Anderson Island— using mind mapping, film research and creative brainstorming, all funneling in to the creation of the conceptual photographic scenes.
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He knew he couldn’t attempt this project by himself, and so he reached out to a crew of talented artists to ask them to contribute to the project. He first reached out to Hair and Makeup Stylist Terri Lodge to help flesh out and design FX driven makeup to represent each of the characters.
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Costume designer Rebecca Therkelsen was then quickly brought on to collaborate with Andy on the costuming, digging into the backstory of each character, to create a unique wardrobe for each of them.
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Art Director and Prop Master Ron Skrasek jumped at the chance to play in a post-apocalyptic world. His ability to transform words into key prop and set pieces have been critical to the visual storytelling.
Location scouting for our very first scene of Bad Choices.
Camera Assistant Galvin Collins was brought on as a key resource, contributing to all areas of production, including prop-making.
 
Naturally, Therese was responsible for logistics and project management, with critical help from Production Assistant Misty Post, who also worked as a prop wrangler and prop maker.
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Designer Adam Murdoch also gave significant time and guidance to Andy and the project. His combination of graphic design and brand experience gave the project an immense amount of focus. Adam’s unique process created an amazing brand story and design for Bad Choices.
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What’s next for Bad Choices? 

We are very excited to announce that in less than 2 weeks, we are shooting a new phase of the project, this time with the support of Lensbaby. Andy will be shooting with some of their top secret gear, and we’ll be taking the talent to the location. We can’t wait to add to this project. Until then, you can see all the images from the world of Bad Choices here!
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6 of 7 completed character portraits from the series. 5 more to go!
And now I have a treat for you. Because you just read the entire post! That deserves a bunny!
Bunny don’t F around! You’re welcome.