When cinematic photographer Andy Batt starts a personal project, he sets his goals high.
{you can see the entire project in this gallery}
Introducing the cinematic world of Bad Choices, a visual screenplay in-progress by dramatic photographer Andy Batt. He has created a dystopian world inhabited mainly by strong female characters. This project is called Bad Choices, named after the town that is at the center of this conceptual screenplay.
The photographer, known for his gritty sports and entertainment comedy portraits, 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”.
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. His personal tastes and inspirations come from the world of sci-fi, so he decided to start there. The project began as a character study with 12 different actors, and has become a full blown dystopian screenplay with overlapping story lines.
From each character 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 has taken the project through 3 separate artist retreats on Anderson Island— using mind mapping, film research and creative brainstorming, all funneling in to the creation of the conceptual photographic scenes.
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.
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.
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.
Camera Assistant Galvin Collins was brought on as a key resource, contributing to all areas of production.
Naturally, Andy’s Business Partner and Producer, Therese Gietler was responsible for logistics and project management, with critical help from Producer Assistant Misty Post.
Designer Adam Murdoch also gave significant 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 and design for Bad Choices.
What’s next for Bad Choices?
With 7 posters and supporting art already in the can, the artist has 5 more to go, but that’s just for starters. The project grows with every collaborator contributing new ideas. There are talks of filming a cinematic trailer, recording a podcast, and publishing a graphic novel. It has even been suggested on numerous occasions that the artist shop the screenplay as a TV series to a production company. But first, those remaining 5 posters. Stay tuned!