I am creating a series of short films with the intention of submitting to networks such as The Travel Channel and The History Channel.  I, along with a few colleagues, am in the planning stages of creating our first short, a sample reel involving some of my “mascot characters”: the plague doctors.  I am creating this GoFundMe campaign with the intention of raising $5500.00 to cover production costs for our proof of concept reel which we will be filming on the grounds of a beautiful mansion in Forestville, CA.

I am a designer, photographer, writer as well as a perfumer and will eventually incorporate fragrance into my film-works.  For instance, I have created a fragrance for my plague doctor character based on the herbs and essences plague doctors were known to store in the beaks of their masks such as rose petals, juniper berries and ambergris (all of which are prominent notes found in perfumery) as protection against contagions and plagues.

I encompass a broad range of mediums such as dance, drama, photography, costume design, set design, lighting design, film, infra-red visuals, even computer generated images (CGI…used to create special effects in films).  Because of my diversity, it is impossible to select just one category for myself.  I am my own perfumer, I write all of the shooting scripts for my photoshoots and films, design and make all of the costumes, I do all of the hair and make-up and I do all of the photography and all of the post edit.  I wear many hats/guises.  I am basically a one man show.  I am a “visionary”.  I am a renaissance man.  And I am now organizing the creation of a production company based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Since I was 7, I have ALWAYS been interested in “productions” (I can thank some of the shorts of “Our Gang”/”the Little Rascals” and their self-made barnyard/garage shows for that).  By 14, I finally began “creating”, joining the costume department of one of the ONLY high schools in Northern California that had a costume program.  Throughout the years, I have not only continued with my costume design, but have added various other capabilities to create one of the more diverse packages you will find.  I have been into fragrance since I was little, swiping sprays of my father's colognes as well as my grandmother's perfumes.  I studied/followed haute couture with my brother for two years, with designs on becoming the next American couturier in Paris after Oscar de la Renta.  In 2000, I felt the fashion industry became extremely sloppy...so I went back to my first love: costuming.  I soon began designing costumes for opera companies throughout Northern and Central California as well as working for a prominent ballet company (for whom after 20 years I still work for).  It was during this stretch of creating for various opera and some dance companies that I began perfecting my skills as a storyteller.  In 2008, I began to focus on developing my own projects, using my skills as a designer, costume maker, embroiderer, make-up artist, wig stylist, photographer, photo editor and storyteller/writer. 

The films themselves we create will have a moody, gothic look to them.  Anyone who is a follower of my photography will get an idea of what my aesthetic is.

One of the exciting aspects of these projects is the ability to “layer” my capabilities, starting with a film itself.  From there, I can create a graphic novel to accompany the film.  These books, of which I have created several in the past, are the equivalent of comic books, yet they are created with photography rather than artwork.  From there, things such as “scratch ‘n sniff” spots can be added to stories that have a reference to a scent.  And from there, actual bottles of perfume/cologne can be created.

Once we are established, we would like to create a series of tutorials (in a similar vein to the Master Class series) centered on performing arts and production of all sorts: character development, vocal training, molding and casting, photography, textiles, stagehand work and many others.

Should any donors wish to sample the plague doctor scent (tentatively titled “Lucien”), I will be happy to send you a 5ml sample…or for that matter any other fragrance of mine (found on my fragrance website: www.dreamhouse-ikiryo.com /the-fragrances-books.

Anything raised beyond the goal will be put towards our follow-up project: Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven” (as well as its unofficial prologue, “Leonore”)…(The background of this page is a recreation of a  Gustave Dore engraving from his collection of engravings for Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven"...)

 

In saecula saeculorum…

…Vincent