> FIGURE/GROUND
The Principal Photography is done for "Figure/Ground", Scott Ligon's current film project.
Unlike the (relatively) solitary effort involved in the creation of “Escape Velocity”, “Figure/Ground” involved a very intense filming schedule, multiple locations, and co-ordination of a cast and crew of over 50 people.
Thanks to Production Manager Steve Pitzel and crew members David Jennings and Andrew McAffee for being such a great help in making everything run smoothly.
The film is basically a lecture on the value of art and creativity, mixed with a narrative of the directors father passing away. It addresses how the death of a loved-one can serve to emphasize what's important in life and what is not. Art and Death intertwine in "Figure/Ground”.
The scenes about art consist of Scott speaking in front of a green screen with animation to be placed behind him. They alternate with the “dad” scenes. The “art” scenes and the “dad” scenes are intended to relate and support each other visually and conceptually.
The father is played by veteran actor Allan Kulakow, who has been in several movies, including Death by Dawn, Syriana, The Good Shepherd, and HBO’s Something the Lord Made. He appeared as the Joint Chief of Staff on West Wing.
We are also privileged to have actress Naomi Kulakow playing the part of Scott's mother. The real-married couple also recently played husband and wife in a pilot for CBS entitled “The Way”.
The Director of Photography for the film is Ian Hinkle. Ian has been producing and shooting around the world since 1992, with an emphasis on social-issue films and documentaries. His camerawork contributed to a number of award-winning films, including "The Living Coast" (Discovery), Anne Makepeace's "Baby It's You" (PBS) and Laszlo Pal's "Born to the Wind" (PBS, National Geographic). Ian's work is in constant demand and he travels broadly on numerous projects.
Scott met Ian at The Ashland Film Festival (Oregon), and again at the Port Townsend Film Festival (Washington) last year. Ian was instrumental in getting Scott's previous film, “Escape Velocity” signed to an exclusive distribution agreement with Shorts International.
The Makeup Artist for “Figure/Ground” is Jim A. Choate, who was nominated for a prime time Emmy for his makeup work for "The Revolution" on A&E's History Channel. He’s been the key makeup artist for numerous film and television productions, and studied with Rick Baker of Star Wars fame.
We are also honored to have many esteemed University of Mary Washington professors in the production. Dr. Jean Ann Dabb, Dr. Christofer Foss, Dr. Omar H. Altalib and Dr. Kolawole P. Olaiya all play doctors of a different sort in Emergency Room or Hospital Scenes. Dr. Olaiya has many years of experience as a supervising scriptwriter, producer and director for the Nigerian Television Authority.
Scott's sisters are played by internationally exhibited sculptor Carole Garmon and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Claudia Emerson.
The film will be a hybrid of animation and live action performance.
The basic editing is complete. Scott is currently involved in the laborious process of painting, layering, manipulating, and animating multiple layers of imagery on a frame by frame basis.
