How To Be Not Perfect

Feedbacks of various professionals in film industry

Film Directors:

Marcell Iványi ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0412501 /)

Thank you for your letter and video links. I watched them. I can connect to the second one and like it a lot - especially from 06.50 on-

Arthur Joffé ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0423645/ )

I watched your short documentary and find it very expressive and interesting for the description of the very talented painter’s work and its process. My favorite part is the light of the sun effect with the speed cadenza. This is very beautiful.
I encourage you to go on and make more films!

Paul Dugdale ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2829542/ )

I enjoyed your film. I liked the drama of the music with the pictures.
I wondered whether it would be as enjoyable if it were shorter? I dont know the answer to that but maybe?..
I liked the sun moving at the end. It made me think that in that moment the painting was the centre of the solar system.

Immy Humes ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0401795/ )

I watched your film and like it quite a lot. Congratulations. it is charming.
Do you know - who is the figure in the painting and why does she have a goat coming out of her?

Johannes Grenzfurthner ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3654931/ ) +

Watched your film and very much enjoyed it. I'm
usually not a big fan of "procedural" films, like
the creation of an artwork, but I have to say the
way you used different visual tricks to keep the
viewer interested, did the trick. Great how you
work with the light that enters the studio, and
how it adds a another level of passing of time,
but also of the changing of the colors of the
painting. The soundtrack also does a great
service and adds a layer of cohesion to your endeavor.
What I personally would have dealt with in a
different way is the room noise of the art
studio, especially in the beginning. It's not
quite clear if that's intentional or if you
didn't do a lot of sound design/sound
engineering. For my taste it should either be way
louder (almost like in field recording or noise
music, making the room part of the experimental
soundtrack), or it should be filter out
completely, leaving the painter in a sort of a
vacuum, until the expressionistic soundtrack
starts. But, as you know, all critique is very personal and subjective.

Sean McAllister (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0564001/ )

I enjoyed the film thanks .. I sent it to my friend who is an artist actually the subject of my Syria film he is a working artist now living in France and it reminded me of him.. it has a great soundtrack also that works well with the film. I hope you manage to get it shown at festivals around the place. I hope all is ok in Armenia now, it was horrible to see the war on the TV in the small way it was.. its gone now though.. I’m sure its still a big issue as Armenia as many lives lost and land... I love Armenia and look forward to my next trip to Yerevan whenever that is..
Hope all is ok with you and the virus also.. I get my vaccine jab tomorrow !!

Nick Read ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0713864/ )

OK - so I watched it. I don't know you, but I mentor many young filmmakers, so I will be generous & offer a few quick thoughts…...
I am a storyteller, first & last, and I don’t understand what your story is - or that of the artist, or his subject, or his relationship to the subject. If you want the film to 'reveal Arshak's ideas’ then I think you may have to interview him, and use his words to compliment his actions as a painter to explain what he (and you) are trying to achieve. What the story is. Why is he drawn to this subject? Who is the subject? What is his emotional connection to it? What explains his use of colour, framing, depiction of this strange woman he paints?
If the film is merely trying to show the ‘process’ - which I suspect may limit your audience to people interested in the process of painting or know Arshak already - then you should think about using more close ups, to understand how Arshak uses the brush, how he applies the paint, the texture of paint & canvas - to reveal the 'technical process’ you refer to.
I’m not sure of the connection between the title & the film - it sounds apologetic.
I like the natural light, and some shots, but I was left frustrated by the absence of story, character, conflict, emotion - surely at the heart of any, every film?

Mary Katzke (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0441926/ )

I think it’s creative all the way around. I would have appreciated a story beyond just the painting so therefore I would recommend shortening it. Otherwise nice work.
William Felch ( https://williamfelch.com/ )
I appreciate the process of following a creation from blank canvas to final painting…I like the awkward soundtrack.
Id like to hear more ambient sounds form the room, brush on canvas. Artists talking.. the coloring is either not done or needs work, the different cameras are not matched
Just the pinging part is too long, with out any other build up or story, in relation to 8 mins, thats just a time-lapse of a painting not a short film… what inspires the artist, where is he from, why is he pinging this? Where is he painting this?
Sigfrido Giammona ( http://www.sigfridogiammona.com/ )

Thank you for introducing me to your docu short film, on art, the prospect of shooting is very interesting, I understand your work well because my father was a futurist painter of the 70s, I know the argument about the evolution of a painting, I advise you to post the video on the filmfreeway platform, there are many industry festivals.
My best wishes for your work.

Phillip Barker ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0054974/ )

Thanks for the link to your film. I found it be very interesting, and effective in showing how art is created, the push and the pull. The music was also very appropriate, and fitting.
I especially like the last shot of the sun going across the painting, revealing its different moods. Her expression almost acknowledges the journey that we have witnessed. Interesting!

Serge Avedikian ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0042848/ )

Thank you for sending me your film, which I found interesting and very assumed (which means going all the way to the end of the parts taken).
I like the painting process and it's a condensed way of staging it here...
The aesthetics and the movement of the gear changes are also interesting.
This is the music that I found "too easy", which means not composed enough for the film itself.
Each film has to find its own music and build on it and build the rhythm of the images.
Here it's a bit too demonstrative I think, even if good composers did it...
The film remains quite interesting despite what I feel about the music.

Françoise Romand ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0738791/ )

Thank you for sending your film.
I like the sobriety of it. Beautifully done. The music is perfect.
The way you jump time to go to the finsish painting and the light coming is charming.

Rebecca Frayn ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_Frayn )

Thank you for sending my your film. I liked the beginning but would have loved to have heard from the artist himself in voice over to give me insight into his inner thoughts.
Keep going! You have all the determination to get you where you want to go.

Ahmad Abdalla ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1583960/ )

I’m happy you shared your documentary with me. I enjoyed watching it and I enjoyed seeing the artist in his most creative moments. The process was really pleasing to watch.
My only comment would be about “you” as a filmmaker. I couldn’t really see your point of view and your approach (or comment) on the painter’s work or process. You documented the entire thing very well indeed, but still I can not see where you stand.
Maybe this is exactly what you wanted to do, maybe you wanted to stay detached from the process.
But for my own taste I wanted to see the marriage between your process and the painter's process in more radical way. But again thats me and my own taste of films.
Thanks again for sharing this beautiful short, and looking forward to see your future works.

Film Producers

Lise Lense-Møller ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0502208/ )

Thank you for sending your film, which I truly enjoyed. In fact, I loved both the film and the title, and have only two minor comments. They seem almost inappropriate to make, but since you asked for it:
The music was too 'solid' for me and took up too much of my emotional focus. The process of seing the painting emerge had an almost meditative nature to it - despite it being very active and fast, but the music somehow created a distance by being so insistent and so 'monotonous' from a 'mood-perspective'. It felt as if you relied too much on music to create dynamic progress. I would have preferred that the music gave way to only natural sounds at times - the brush against the canvas etc. or even silence or near-silence, which I think would have brought me closer to the creator and his creation.
The very last pictures of the final painting are too pale for me. I love the sun moving over it, but there is a short moment before that, where I see it with full intensity (but not full size), and I keep yearning for that fulfillment towards the end - and do not get it. Maybe this is intentional, but to me the last total is not great colourwise and it becomes somehow anticlimactic. I would perhaps also question going to black after he signs the painting. It is as if this false ending (or ending + epilogue) may not be necessary? Not sure.
I hope you can somehow use this. Again thank you for sending me the film. I really enjoyed watching it.

Mark Jonathan Harris ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0365057/ )

Thanks for sending me this. I loved the title of your film and watching the painting develop. It was especially fascinating to see the transformation of the woman's face as the painting evolved and to see the change in her expression and demeanor.
Since you asked for comment, though, here's my two cents. What I missed in the film was the painter. We see a few closeups of his face at the beginning , and that's it. There's also an obstructed side view of him around six minutes that I didn't particularly care for because he was partly obscured by what was in the foreground of the shot.
Because you shoot the film mostly over his shoulder and at rapid speed, I missed his moments of reflection, when he stands back, views his canvas, and decides to change direction. I thought slowing the film for a few seconds at critical junctures in the painting, when your artist changes direction, would have helped the pacing, which began to wear for me around six minutes in, when the film started to feel repetitive.
The view of the painting at the end with the changing light was a fitting coda to the film, but I did miss the painter's reaction to his painting. The moment before he signs it, when he views his work and decides it's finished.
Rather than speed the film up, as it appeared to do toward the end, I would have slowed it down, even stopped it at intervals. But that reflects my own aesthetic and sense of pacing.
If these comments resonate with you, fine; if not just disregard them.
I'm not sure exactly how you came to contact me, but thanks for introducing yourself and your work.
Good luck with it.

Sue Marx ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0555680/ )

Your film is wonderful. The concept is great as is the camera work and editing! Both spectacular. Thank you so much for sharing it with me. Don’t know if you are in this country or Armenia but you should submit it to AMPAS for Oscar consideration. And to Telluride and Née York Film Festival at Lincoln Center! I shared it with a great music producer who is Armenian and a friend who also thought it was terrific. His name is Dan Yessian and he has five recording studios—four studios in the U.S. and one in Germany.

Kees Kasander ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0440413/ )

I have seen your film and here are my notes :
1. It is interesting enough to make it work. Subject is good, well shot, nice editing.
2. For me the length is not good. It should be longer or shorter.
3. I have a problem with the sound track. I don’t think it is interesting enough.
As you know music is 50 % of the film you should re-think.
I would also suggest you make a series like this one :
Maybe one about creating a dance sequence, one creating a song, one creating a meal,
One creating a garden etc.

Eduardo Montes-Bradley ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0599515/ )

Thank you for sharing. I found your film captivating. Perhaps what kept me more in grip with the subject is the perceived tranquility and steadiness of the artist. We observe him sailing in a sea of arguments, struggling to unveil the ghost hidden in the canvas, time after time, moving forward and backwards, searching for the true expression. Still, he remains calm as the captain of the ship, the navigator of himself. Commendable use of music strokes as faithful accompaniment to the hand of the artist, allowing for the discrete use of percussion to sustain the mood where it´s most welcome, and perhaps even needed. This is a great collaborative work between the canvas, the camera, the strings and the board sound of the resounding wood. If I may also contribute a less flattering comment it would not have anything to do with the film content but rather with the title. I feel “How Not to Be Perfect” does no convey the true meaning of the work behind your film, furthermore, it seems unperfect in itself as a grammatical proposition. Perhaps that was the intent, and if that’s the case, please accept my apologies. Otherwise, it would be more appropriate to reassure by affirming “How to Be Imperfect” although still sounds awkward. Perhaps “Imperfect Strokes”, and perhaps not. And here we are, facing the same dilemma the artists you filmed was facing before his canvas. It seems we have, after all, learned to be more imperfect today. Thank you for the film, and the lesson.

Michel Noll ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0634468/ )

I watched your short documentary film, and like with any other film, there are hundreds of things one could say. If your intention was to show the process of birth of a painting, you succeeded to do that while filming it quasi monolithically, i.e; as if the viewer would stand or sit behind the artist while he was painting. But what about the colors, the brushes, the gloves and many more « Invisible » things, that the ordinary viewer does not notice, and the filmmaker does, brings them forward, relates them to the visible process? Right now, you are telling only one story. But reality is always a strange, random combination of many stories. Ex: you could have filmed the color tubes before the beginning, and show them from time to time as the artist begins to empty them as he paints, and end up showing the heap of empty or half empty tubes when he has finished…..If a film shows what a normal, non-committed eye can see, why make a film? OK, you can bring variations of the camera angle, as you have done, but it is still the same, simple story...
Bon courage pour la suite.

Philip Kalin-Hajdu ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1557888/ )

My name is Philip Kalin and I received your email from Carole Mondello. She and I are close friends and colleagues and she asked that I take a look at your short film for comments.
I was honoured to watch it.
I wanted to share that your film clearly shows the reverence and care you have for your subject. While it is very difficult to comment on this (Carole and I work mostly in narrative filmmaking), as an experimental piece, and as a window into the artist’s process, it is contemplative and interesting to see the painting reveal itself. And, it is indeed a remarkable painting!
Thank you so much for sharing your work and good luck with all your endeavours.

Sara Bernstein ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0077136/ )

Thanks so much for sending us How to Not be Perfect. It pulls back the curtain on how so much of the art we admire begins as something else before, overtime, evolving into its identity. The music is momentous as well.
I wonder if there’s room to include a snippet of story about the painter. I find myself wondering where the origin of the final product comes from, and the artist’s connection to it.

André Singer ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0801885/ )

Many thanks for sending your charming film about Arshak (your brother?). It is very easy to watch and gives immediate insight in to the techniques and processes of an artist without being pedantic. Very visual and nicely paced. Congratulations. You might be interested in viewing a film by a friend of mine called ‘Prophecy’. If you google Itch Films you will find it.

Dave Harding ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0362296/ )

I found it very entertaining and the elements of your “short” are all quite compelling...
I enjoyed watching the artist and how the artwork developed... and the music was wonderful.

Anahid Nazarian ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0623355/ )

I watched your film. It is quite good. It's good how you used many different angles to give variety. The end with the moving light/shadow is really nice.
I do think that you could trim it somewhat, to be maybe a few minutes shorter. And I wanted to see more tight shots of the artist himself, his face, his eyes, his hands, even his feet, to take us into his physical process, how his entire body is creating the work.
But all in all, a very nice job capturing the creative process of a painting. I'd think you should be able to get in to festivals with it.

Richard Melman ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0578167/ )

Thank you for your email and allowing me to see your film. I thought it a fascinating way of seeing an artist at work and the process they went through. The music was great too. Congratulations.
I will be honest and say that for my taste and sensibilities I would have intercut it with the artist either as an on camera interview or possibly just in voice over telling me something about who they were and why they were painting this picture as I was frustrated but not knowing anything more at the end than when I started watching the film.

William Horberg ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0394564/ )

I enjoyed the short. It’s nicely photographed and edited, and the stop-motion technique fit the subject.
I particularly liked the soundtrack. Is it original?
Are you related to the artist?
I would have liked to know something of the subject matter of the painting. Is he referencing a photograph when he begins? Did you choose not to show it? Is the painted figure meaningful to Armenian history or culture? The dress suggests a period in the past, or perhaps a costume? Is there any personal connection between the artist and the subject?
As a filmed performance of the act of creating a painting, it is well-made and successful, although not so unique or original. We don’t take away any metaphorical or other meaning, at least I didn’t.
If it had more of a story to tell about artist or subject or Armenia or even your own connection to any of the above, I feel it’s effect and it’s audience may perhaps be broader. But I am not a critic or an analyst, so don’t give too much weight to this opinion. It’s merely subjective.

Alton Walpole ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0909479/ )

I really liked the idea....and the film.
(a little soft light may have helped the wide shot & canvas cu)
The sound track also seemed to be an exploration of the process like the visual elements.
Thanks for sharing…

Michel Merkt ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4752699/ )

STRENGTHS
music
idea and title
last scene with the sun entering the artwork
WEAKNESSES
same family name as the artist
aesthetic
rythm
THREATS
It’s not purely art creation as the artist has a “model
OPPORTUNITIES
If you ask me how I would have done it:
1. I would have put the camera very far and began a slow traveling with a zoom out at the same time all this beginning very slow and finishing very quick
2. Music very slow and nice and finish with distortion
3. First image with the light arriving on the white frame and last one with the light leaving
4. Last image the face of the artist
5. Title at the end

Anna Campeau ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0132954/ )

I’ve watched your piece now.
As I said below - I am only speaking here from a very personal perspective ….
You made this and I trust that you will or have created exactly what You want - with your team.
For me it goes back to the idea of audience - where would you want to place this piece and why.
YT - fine
Gallery - fine
Showreels - fine * though i would edit
Social platforms - length may hinder
TV etc - not sure
I found it too long & i was quite detached throughout
There are a few moments around 3.30 then 4.30 where the camera settles - this was easier for me - i could go deeper in
I found the music made me anxious…and didn’t always work - it was taking me somewhere that the image didn't
I was kind of hoping to hear sounds in the room - brushes on canvas etc
I was kind of hoping to hear him speak off camera - but that’s a different film !
But if it were me I’d keep refining / cutting / seeing what makes it work for me.

Eric Esrailian ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3595691/ )

I watched your film. Well done, and Arshak created a beautiful piece.

Sabine Rollberg ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0738349/ )

Dear David Sarkissian, it is a special confidence to share with a painter the moments of creation. I assume Arshak is your Brother.
Your film gives the viewer this rare opportunity to observe the growing of transformation from line to form, from mark to character, from grey to colour.....and it is fascinating to watch this very intimate process. I also do like the music for your Soundtrack and the perspectives you are offering.
But ist leaves out the moments of doubts, of hesitation, of struggling , which belongs also to an artistic procedure.....
And so my response is slightly ambivalent, ....

Jan Younghusband ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1138697/ )

Thank you so much for sending me your film which I really enjoyed. I am going to send it on to my art colleague Mark Bell as my focus at the BBC is now more music than ARTS. But I am keen for him to see it and comment,.
I hope you are your family are doing okay in these difficult times
And thank you again for sharing your work with us.

Shane Fennessey ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8803264/ )

I liked how the time-lapse shows the gradual process of the painting coming together
I listed on earbuds and found the sound track jarring, but oddly intriguing
the time lapse of the finished product was a nice way to end with the light moving across the frame
I would have like to hear from the artist (or you, the filmmaker) – either by dialogue overlaid, or perhaps even quotes that appear as text on screen intermittently throughout

Cinematographers

Léo Mac Dougall ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0531144/ )

Hello David : curious request as I don’t believe we know each other !?
But why not, and since I liked your film I will give you a few suggestions for what they’re worth.
1 – You claim you will show the technique used by the artist, a valid goal and there is a debate whether you could have also showed the artistic/creative process : choice of subject, colors, timing, influence, frame of mind.
But let’s stick to the technical process which I maintain has more importance that one takes for granted, and this is where I would have liked to have seen more close-ups of work bench and the canvas (what kind of paint does he use ? how does he mix the pigments ? what kind of brushstrokes ? erasing ? how did he set up the canvas ? etc…)
The shot at the end when he signs the work is the kind of shot I would liked to have seen more often from the beginning and throughout the film, stressing more the details on the canvas and the work table.
I realize that this may have been impossible because of interference with the artist rhythm of work or insufficient number of cameras for coverage but still this is in my humble opinion what could improve your film the most !!
2 – I enjoyed the time lapses but they were maybe too many. I would have saved them more for the end. It’s subjective but I think you could hold the spectator for the first 2/3 minutes with shots at normal speed, showing more the details before revealing too soon the “big picture” (cf technique in film called “slow reveal”).
3 – Sound : I would have liked to get more “diegetic” sound : the sound of the brushstrokes on the canvas, the artist’s breathing ? or grunting ? does he listen to music or anything while he works ? or total silence ?
Soundtracks are always tricky : if too good they take the audience away from the image. In the case of your film, the subject matter is factual and interesting enough, and again in my humble opinion, but could get by with a “lighter” or more “subtle” soundtrack. Maybe less melody, more abstraction, and used more for an opening or a closing.
For what it’s worth. But on the whole very well done.

Pascal Lebègue ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0495608/ )

It is with great pleasure but also a slight apprehension that I opened the link to your short,
knowing how susceptible directors can be to criticism.
I can however reassure you that I watch How to Be Not Perfect with full-on interest
and was captivated from beginning til end.
The cinematography side is -of course- easier for me to analyze,
firstly because it is my job, and secondly because DoPs are generally very critical of their work.
I liked the way the piece is shot, meaning the choice of lenses, camera work, lighting options
are -in my opinion- just right for the subject: non-disruptive, efficient and respectful.
These are, believe it or not, rare qualities in the days of shaky cameras, drones, etc…
(I am used to see student’s work at the cinema school where I teach!)
Actually the one shot I dislike is the overhead, partly because of it’s odd texture, it doesn’t belong.
Having said that the material was great doesn’t mean that it doesn’t require full attention
in post-production and that is where some improvement could be done.
There is a lack of consistency in the color grading that was distracting -in a bad way- to me.
Considering the subject, but not only, the continuity in density and color should be spot-on at all time.
It is also an easy fix, so why not asking your DoP to follow up or asking a colorist
for some advice? I know budget was probably tight…
As for the rest of it, I like very much the idea of a painting in the making, almost documentary
style. This kind of honesty is paying off big as it manages to create some suspense
where it is not always a given.
Editing is also in the right spirit, alert but not disruptive, with the right amount of
entertainment and variety.
I had a bit of a hiccup when I saw the first fast rewind…
but I survived, considering it a little tease afterwards.
Stop motion is otherwise an obvious choice and works well, especially since it is used
with discernment throughout the edit.
Music works well too, I guess it gets the same qualities I already prised on the filming and editing.
All in all David, I like your short and think you did a very nice job here.
I wish you a lot of luck with it…
but please, do another pass on DaVinci before publishing it!

Graham Willoughby ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0932580/ )

I watched your short and enjoyed it! With the score the drama of watching a painting open up before me, it was fun and suspenseful. I liked that you had so many angles to enjoy the painting by and I loved the end timelapse with the sun feeling its way across the painting.
Nicely done. I’m very appreciative of anyone who could have found a way to design and craft a film during Covid so congratulations for that too!

Xavier Grobet ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004267/ )

Thank you for contacting me and sharing your work. Loved that you did this, love to sneak a look at an artist and his creation. I applaud your concept of natural light and no
artifice and to just show the creation, Loved that ending time-laps with the sun, beautiful way to frame the art work with our main source of light and life.
Congratulations. Very inspiring.

Phil Parmet ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005824/ )

I am not quite sure why you sent this film to me. But whatever. I watched the whole film and that is good because these days if something does not get my attention in the first minute I am out. Anyway it was nice work.
The use of slowing down and speeding up reality was very well done. I also really liked the artist and that helped too.

Andreas Sinanos ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0801529/ )

I m not so good to criticise films.
But I find yours very interesting and I watched it with a good feeling.
I would like to know more about you.
And what is the relationship with the painter?
By the way, because of COVID I have a lot of free time.
Also I like a lot your country and I have been there several times.
Two for shooting, two for the festival and some for my pleasure.

Luís Branquinho ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0105198/ )

Just seen the doc. Very nice ideia and congratulations on the project and above all to the painter, nice painting.
All the best to you and the future of the festivals.

Norayr Kasper ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0440734/ )

Thank you for reaching out and sharing your short documentary.
First of all, it's a pleasure to watch a well crafted project. In fact, everything from the natural light to editing and music choice is excellent as a whole.
In order to write more relevant feedback I should know about the intention of this film, and to what purpose it was made. For example, is it commissioned for an arts program, or is it a sort of a demo for the artist, or is it your directorial film?
Nevertheless, I feel you should dive deeper into your subject. The film stays on the periphery. Your intentions and visions as a director should layer your work so you are able to express and interpret what is seemingly obvious.
I look forward to seeing your future works and feel free to share your thoughts.

Eric Alan Edwards ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004090/ )

It's a wonderful. I always like to see how folks deal with the subject of painting.
It reminds me of Picasso Painting, one of my favorite films

Screenwriters

Andrew Birkin ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001949/ )

I loved your film and really have no criticisms at all, although I didn't get the connection between the title and the film. Did you mean as in T S Eliot's "between the idea and reality falls the shadow"? Anyway, my congrats!

Antony Johnston ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2985952/ )

The foregrounding of the music is unexpected, and threw me off for the first minute or so of watching. I suggest adding a MUSIC BY card to the opening titles, which will help manage the viewers' expectations that the music is going to be a vital part of the film.
- Likewise, as this is very much about capturing a moment of creation, I think it would serve you well to add the dates shown in the time lapse, either on their own card or as additional text on the "Angels & Demons" card.
- There are a couple of instances where you show part of the process on an area of the painting... then immediately rewind and show it again. I don't see the point of those sections. They don't seem to have any thematic resonance with the subject, or other part of the film. Personally, I'd cut them.
- The time-lapse of the sunlight at the end is very striking. It would have been interesting to see that mirrored somehow at the start.
Overall, I enjoyed the film and I commend you for not taking the obvious route. There are many more 'conventional' ways to construct a film like this, and I appreciate that you didn't follow them, but instead carved your own path. I wish you luck with your future productions :)

Semih Kaplanoglu ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0969427/ )

What I can say is I found the music harmonious
with editing and the feeling of the painting.
Maybe would be good to know a bit more about the artist.
That's all I can say.
I wish you good luck with your project.

Michel Spinosa ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0818996/ )

I watched your film. It is an interesting documentary, well filmed. One wants to know more about the painter and his work. Maybe it will be your next documentary! I wish you all the best. Keep it up!

Composers

Steven Argila ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0034502/ )

Well done.
And since I’m a composer, I’m focusing on the score, which I thought was very interesting by Rolf Gehlhaar.

Nicholas Meyer ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0583292/ )

David, hi - I've watched and enjoyed your film. I'm not sure what I have in the way of feedback. My only thought was that sometimes I found the musical accompaniment slightly distracting. This of course is merely one man's opinion.

Film Editors

Paul Forte ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2294682/ )

Cool man. I think the music and jumpy editing work well to highlight the chaotic tone of the artwork. For my personal taste, I think you need to interview him. Even if it's just hearing his voice. Something to hook me in and keep me interested.

Elmer Leupen ( https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0505019/ )

You have created an interesting film to watch with a length that seems about right.
The first thing I noticed was how the music, cuts and movements were really well synchronised.
You have actually made the music often the reason for the cuts and development and I wonder if that is always the best choice.
The synchronicity of the cuts to the music do give energy to the film, but every new shot should be there for a good reason too, tell the viewer something new.
For example: from about 0:43 to 0:51 are some of those cuts that just follow the music, but I would have liked to see the shot of 0:42 last a bit longer.
An other reason for this is that the time-lapse shot shows progression of the work but a realtime shots like that shot at 0:42 brings me closer to the artist.
Do you have any shots left of the artist’s face commenting his own work, just staring or thinking?
I like the section from about 2:04 where you stay in one shot and change from time-lapse to realtime.
Shot 2:34 feels more like a cutaway. Cant he just take a step back from his work for a moment and look at it?
I like the change at 3:53 when he starts working on the background. The jump cuts work well.
This is the start of the most interesting section of the film. If there is any way to make us understand better why he is repainting, I would love to see it (in his face).
Again: don’t you have him staring at his work for a moment, contemplating his work, before he signs it?

Journalist

Paul Chaderjian ( http://paulchad.com/ )

Thanks for sharing the link, David.
I enjoyed your film and believe you’ve created a powerful piece of meta-art: art about creating art.
Arshak is extremely talented and photogenic, and you’ve successfully captured and compressed his essence and process.