Little things. Like that Chel-designed version of the Bent logo that surfaced last year, with the cross section of the tree stump.
Bent “Tree Stump” Logo variant
They don’t call it Stumptown for nothin’. What else… how about the company’s summer kickball games at the park – Recess Time anyone? Chel & co’s hilarious Portland Santa Christmas card (worth a click if you missed it) that came out this past year. Speaking of Xmas, this year’s Bent Christmas party was held up in the hills at the Forestry Center. Last year, the venue was The Woods concert hall in Sellwood, which (when open) was an amazing space; an earthy funeral parlor converted to host bands. The Woods also makes an appearance as the scene for the recent Chel directed Bird of Flames music video. That’s all just off the top of my head – there are probably a thousand other examples of how Bent embraces the town and the surroundings – and I for one have noticed that word is getting out. When the studio is name dropped on Motionographer and the like, it’s no longer just “Bent Image Lab.” It’s fast becoming “Bent Image Lab, in Portland.” Believe it.
When I first moved to Portland, roundabout 2008, my friend and NYC Superproducer Boo Wong had told me to watch out for Chel and Bent, as she had direct exposure back in her Curious Pictures days. As a side note, that was also about the time I discovered the voodoo technique called Stratacut that Bent partner David Daniels put on the map. Yes, Boo, thanks for the warning… and also for melting my brain – I’m still recovering from that first Stratacut exposure. 🙂
Speaking of stumps… Chel’s bookshelf
As my time here has played out, needless to say I jumped at the chance to work with Bent and I’ve been fortunate enough to work directly with Chel numerous times now. He’s been the top of the stack as Director or VFX Supervisor on several projects that I’ve been Lead Compositor on. Chel is a meticulous image creator, and his deep roots in independent film and stop motion contribute to his artistic style.
In Director mode, Chel has a knack for pushing boundaries as far as he needs to and relentlessly looking to add every ounce of creativity that he can to a project. Sometimes I’d be a bit late to set because I was parking the car or whatever, and I’d come in and give Chel a token hello while the crew is still setting up for the shoot. But even as Chel is going through the motions and saying hello as people arrive during setup, you can just tell his eyes are darting back to the set that’s being constructed. Surveying. The camera might be hours from rolling, but his mind is already examining every camera angle, every lens possibility… deconstructing what will make the best shots now that it’s being built here in front of him. And – it never fails – even though it might be a stop motion or pixilation shoot, where typically all of the shots have been boarded and animatic’d out and the client’s signed off on everything to the point that it’s all prebaked and all we have to do is get the shots executed as planned – Chel will still manage to come up with a new shot or two in there, spur of the moment. And more often than not, those extra shots of his make it through to the final piece and end up being the difference that brings it all home.
I have a lot of respect for Chel as an artist, as just about anyone who’s ever seen him in action (and the end results of those actions) does. I’ve seen him at the extremes – I’ve seen the man single handedly stop motion animate a full size washer and dryer. But on the flip side, on a recent pitch I’ve also seen him animate a train that was the size of his thumb through a miniature snowy alpine scene, where the house and background couldn’t have been larger than a fist. Every day is a new challenge at Bent, but Chel is undeniably Bent’s rock – you know what to expect: always an even keel and able to take just about anything in stride, with a smile that commands respect.
As an occasional VFX Supervisor, I’ll pull out the word meticulous again when describing Chel’s technique. He isn’t a technical “on-the-box” type of supervisor who’s going to open up 3D or Compositing software and tell you what steps to take, but at the same time he’s very proactive, hands on with the reviewing process, and knows what it takes to get a shot out the door. Overall, we all know that Chel makes a great goalie and isn’t going to let an image out of his sight that isn’t up to Bent standards. Conceptually, he always is on point and has great ideas, and has a gentle way of delivering notes and constructive feedback negativity-free. This mutual respect and attitude makes it easy for us as worker bees to want to work hard for him. He demands a similar rapport from clients/directors who are usually familiar with his catalog of work – and this is incredibly valuable when trying to sell a tough shot. If it’s good enough for Chel, that carries some weight out there.
You can tell when Chel is about to final a shot, and it’s an interesting reflection of the type of artist that he is. I’ve worked with some of the best, and most of them have their “tell,” to borrow a term from the poker world. You can sense when a shot is getting close to done with Ken Ralston, as he’ll ask to see the shot in the cut (with the surrounding before and after shots) as a final check. Joe Letteri would sometimes flop the shot, and check it reversed before calling it good. Amazing what things will stick out when you just look at the shot from a fresh angle. Jim Rygiel had a good tag line he’d say each time when putting a shot down and baking it out into film history forever – “shoot it!” – although granted that was back in the days of printing to film as a final step after digital dailies and we’d print to film, loop, and project a shot after it was finaled. When Chel White is about the final a big shot, he’ll often take over the dailies machine and step through it frame by frame, arrow key on the keyboard style. Click click click… and when he first did this to me, I’ll admit I was taken aback. Intimidated, even! I couldn’t help but think to myself “wow, this is going to be a long project if we’re going to go through them at the frame by frame level!” But the more we got into it, the more I found that he’s not looking for gremlins at that point – those have already been squashed. Chel gets it – I mean, he knows the shot plays at speed and we don’t have to be infinitely accurate to the nth degree or worry about people pausing their Tivos & DVDs on any given frame. But as a final check, he just likes to step through the shot. And sure he reserves the right to still flag anything last minute that sticks out, yeah… but I think in many ways he steps through, he’s just admiring the image we all created. The movement and animation of it as the frames ebb and flow. It’s not only approval, it’s appreciation! Appreciation the way only an artist with Chel’s eye and experience can.
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