THE FUTURE OF FILM: FIRST "PAINTED" FEATURE BASED ON VAN GOGH’S ARTWORKS!
lovingvincent.com
Vincent Van Gogh is known throughout the world as one of the greatest artists to ever pick up a paintbrush. Van Gogh is known for both his unique painting style and his real life struggle with severe mental illness that led to his suicide. His paintings “Starry Night” and “Café Terrace at Night” are among the many Van Gogh paintings you can find exhibited in most art museums and on bedroom walls.
In honor of the great artist, Polish painter Dorota Kobiela and filmmaker Hugh Welchman decided to create a film chronicling Van Gogh’s turbulent life and work. The film, entitled “Loving Vincent,” will use a cutting-edge technique to create a "fully painted" look in the style of Van Gogh. Over 120 of Van Gogh’s paintings will be used as source material, as well as 800 of his own handwritten letters. After an advertising promo for the film was released, artists all around the world eagerly sent in applications to be a part of the film, and the few that were chosen traveled to Poland to begin training earlier this year.
The creation process begins with the actors in front a green screen or a Van Gogh-styled set. Then animators have to translate the paintings of the selected artists into motion in the scene. Apparently there are 59,874 frames in the film, so that could take a while.
A film has never been done in the “fully painted” style before, so this is a groundbreaking take on a new genre of film. While the process is arduous, it will pave the way for future films and presents a bold new style of art. “Loving Vincent” will no doubt turn out to be an incredible, beautiful feast for the eyes.
While we await the “Loving Vincent” film premiere in 2017, check out these amazing behind the scenes clips presented by director Hugh Welchman to help tide you over.
Ya Know You Wanna!