[Gallery] The Perfectionist: Stills & Behind the Scenes

"The Perfectionist" teaser video is now here, and some background has also been shed on where this project originated from, but for MRVL WRLD's first development, I layered in a lot of powerful messages both in the creative process as well as the production aspects as well.

Choosing to revive "The Perfectionist" might seem like the most random thing I've done in the past few years, but when you're branding yourself as a storyteller, and own a company that prides itself on using writing, recording, and live events to tell stories, it should really come to no surprise that anything from the past might be revisited and/or repurposed.

By now, I hope you've picked up on it, but if not: WRLD = Writing, Recording, Live Events, & Developments.

So, this visual production - this Development - is culmination of all our processes brought together to create a final product. One part scripting, another part production coordinating, wardrobe coordination, casting, and of course, can't forget about the hardest part: bringing the production to life.

I wanted some aspects of the two-day production to feel like storytelling, while also being an artistic display that followed themes. For Day 1, I went with The Prototypes, who were covered in body markings, as though preparing for modifications or plastic surgery. Casted as Mark 7, Mark 25, and Mark 12, respectively, the scene was shot in Tampa Heights using a studio rental space service called Peerspace, where we secured a 3-hour rental for shooting in our "late night office/lab" where I would take the role of the night shift custodian.

I like to credit the inspiration to this scene to Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Birthmark", where a scientist named Alymer tried his hardest to remove a birthmark from the face of a woman (Georgiana), fails, and she succumbs to his experiments and passes.

"My poor Aylmer," she said gently. "You have aimed so high. With so high and pure a feeling, you have rejected the best the Earth could offer. I am dying, dearest."

The idea of having them as mannequin-like women felt fitting considering the amount of fun we could have with their movements, their facial expressions - or lack of - and calling out any social criticism I wanted viewers to interpret from the scene.

Contrasting The Prototypes, I wrote out a scene featuring a group casted as The Baddies. I don't think I anticipated how much fun this part of production would be, but it was delivered perfectly by the ladies casted. The Baddies are the antithesis of The Prototypes, and it makes for good duality in the video. The Baddies are wild, out of control, and disguised.

Creatively, I took inspiration from Kurt Vonnegut's "Harrison Bergeron", as well as Frank Miller's Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.

As a production, "The Perfectionist" came together by way of using Milanote as visionboard/storyboard for references, creating shot lists, and sharing ideas with the group. Alongside Pinterest, the two worked for bringing some semblence of real reference points to the forefront so that casting, blocking, and production notes were easier to put together.

Secondly, Peerspace helped us lock in two very good production locations in the Bay Area with great flexibility of bookings, clear and quick communication channels. and transparency on booking, production times, and even booking extra time when and where needed.

Models: Bella Pryor; Khanisa Nelson; Janine Ford; Pamela Michel, Talia Syvlain; Tiera "Tee" George.

MakeUp: Edwinie Francois

Wardrobe Coordinator: Alex Auguste

On-Site Production Coordinator: Alex Auguste, Talia Sylvain, Pamela Michel