The RococoPunk Project is a love letter to Calgary’s performing arts community
The Grand Portrait. A digital baroque painting, a career milestone and my greatest technical challenge to date.
I fell in love with the RococoPunk aesthetic while covering a production of The Learned Ladies by Molière at the University of Calgary’s School of Creative and Performing Arts. I was instantly enamoured with the aesthetic and visual language that designer April Vizcko had created. A bright and colourful, foppish, punk rock period piece.
I immediately approached April with ideas to utilize her aesthetic to create ‘renaissance portraits’ of the characters. The following year was spent researching art history, the Rococo Punk fashion movement, and lighting techniques to create the most authentically baroque image possible. Seemingly endless costume pulls, storyboards, makeup tests and casting culminated in a 2-day shoot as part of the University’s Alumni Weekend 2018 on a set built exclusively for this project.
Over 20 hours of principal photography were required, and a further 80 hours of post production to get every detail right. The cast was photographed 1-2 people at a time, lit with a single 60" Elinchrom Deep Octa, filled with ambient stage lights. The use of real theatrical lighting was another nod to the community for whom this work was created to celebrate.
I wanted to create this image as a love letter to the community that enabled me to find the artist that I needed to become. One that made space for me after I stepped off the stage to continue to play a role, and that continues to amaze and inspire me.
Detail Views
Technical
Year: 2018
Total images used: 57
Final Print Dimensions: 62” x 45” digital print on canvas
Camera: PhaseOne 645DF & P40+ Digital Back
Exposure: 1/80 sec @ f/9, ISO 200 (most images)
Lighting: Elinchrom Style 600 to camera left @ 1/2 power, Elinchrom Style 600 to camera right with 80” parabolic umbrella @ 1/8 power
Color: X-Rite Colorchecker
Post Production: CaptureOne 11, Photoshop CC
Credits
Photography: Tim Nguyen
Post Production: Tim Nguyen
Art Direction: April Viczko
Art Direction: Erin Molly Fitzpatrick
Costume Design: April Viczko
Makeup Design: Connor Pritchard
Assistants: Kevin Stenhouse, Adam Kostiuk, Ana Santa Maria
Set: Trevor McDonald, Scott Freeman, Carolyn Choo
BTS Photography: Ana Santa Maria
Photo features:
Anton deGroot, Michaella Haynes, Sarah Mitchell, Brad Mahon, Odessa Johnston, Julie Orton, Megan Koch, Cayley Wreggitt, Sadaf Ganji, Brittany Bryan, Jason Mehmel, Connor Pritchard, Marisa Roggeveen, Mark Bellamy, Emily Losier, Michèle Moss, Tim Nguyen, Natasha Strickey, Donovan Seidle, Pil Hansen, Allison Lynch, Tina Guthrie, Laurel Simonson, Jason Galeos, Meghann Michalsky, Christopher Hunt, Vicky Stroich, Clem Martini, Louisa Adria, Shondra Cromwell-Krywulak, Allan Bell, Allison Weninger, Kaili Che, Megan Stephan, Lisa Russell, Ana Santa Maria, Madeline Roberts, Myah Van Horn, Elizabet Rajchel, Onika Henry, Val Campbell, Hailey McLeod, Taylor Ritchie, Liam Whitley, Adam Kostiuk, Bruce Barton, Zachary McKendrick, Simon Mallett, Braden Griffiths, Laura Hynes, Lana Henchell, Vince Ho, Léda Davies