Dale May | NY Advertising Photographer, Director & CGI Artist

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Proof Of Concept: Gangster | CGI & Photography Case Study | Dale May

PROOF OF CONCEPT - GANGSTER

"No concept, no environment. Just an actor, and five worlds built around his performance."

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Concept Development, Art Direction, Studio Photography, Photorealistic CGI Environment Creation, AI Animation, Compositing & Post-Production | 2025

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Proof of Concept Gangster is a character portrait series created by Dale May in 2025 for actor Phil Hyland. With no pre-planned concept, location, or set, Dale directed Phil in studio and built five distinct photorealistic CGI environments in response to what the talent delivered on camera. Each scene was constructed entirely in Blender 3D after the shoot, with environments designed to serve the character rather than the other way around. The project demonstrates how hybrid production can operate without a locked creative concept.

The concept

I have always believed the right image can unlock the next chapter of an actor's career: get them in the room, land the audition, change everything. As a director and photographer, I regularly use pre-visualization and proof-of-concept stills to test whether a subject can fully inhabit a character before a frame is ever shot for a paying client. It is part of my process. It is also one of the most creatively alive ways I work.

So when my friend Phil Hyland, a seasoned actor with credits including "Hellraiser III" and "Starlight Falls Motel: Room 4," came in for a shoot, the goal was not a polished campaign. It was a proof of concept: a set of images cinematic enough to get him the next big audition he deserves.

The challenge

Phil and I came in without a locked concept, which was entirely intentional. Working with actors means you have a collaborator who can improvise, transform, and surprise you. That creative unpredictability is a gift, but it also means the environment, the character, and the world around him could not be pre-built. Everything had to follow the talent.

The challenge was this: create a series of high-end, cinematic character portraits, the kind that stop a casting director mid-scroll, with no location, no set, no pre-planned concept, and a budget as close to zero as possible. No problem.

The approach

Proof of Concept Gangster: Behind-the-scenes of Dale May directing actor Phil Hyland on a film set. Hybrid studio photography and photorealistic CGI by Dale May.

Reading the Talent

I directed Phil on wardrobe based on what he had available, gave him broad direction, and let him move. We shot three or four concepts that day. With actors, there is always a moment where the character arrives: a shift in posture, a look, a gesture that tells you exactly who this person is in this frame. That is the moment I am always hunting for.

When Phil stepped in front of the camera in his black suit and tie, I saw it immediately: a modern Hollywood gangster. Dangerous, charming, the kind of man whose whole story you want to know. From that point, every environment I built was in direct response to what Phil was giving me. I asked the same questions I always ask: Why does he feel this way? Where is he? What is he looking at? Then I built the answers.

Building the World in CGI

Each scene was constructed entirely in 3D: interiors designed from scratch, props selected to deepen the story. The bathroom mirror scene tells its own narrative: a religious statue, a burning cigar, and prescription pills on the sink. Nothing is decorative. Everything serves the character.

After the shoot, final selects were siloed in Photoshop and brought into 3D software as image planes, with CGI environments built and lit around them. To achieve the round halo bokeh characteristic of a fast cinematic prime lens with shallow depth of field, I designed a custom translucent filter placed in front of the 3D camera during rendering. The result is a controlled, cinematic bokeh very similar to an expensive f2 prime lens, creating beautiful circular halos in the out-of-focus areas of the image.

To reach the most realistic final results I used photogrammetry, custom modeling, and photographic textures, rendered in Blender 3D with the Cycles render engine, with final compositing against blue screen photography.

The clip beside this section is one finished still from the window scene, animated with AI. The still is the work. The motion is only there to show you the space.

The Hybrid Advantage

What we created in a studio, with no location, no set build, and no pre-planned concept, would have been logistically impossible any other way. A traditional production would have required locking the character, scouting the location, securing permits, coordinating wardrobe in advance, and hoping the environment matched the performance on the day. The hybrid method inverts that entirely. The talent inspires the world. The world is built to match. Nothing is left to chance, and nothing is locked prematurely.

The freedom to experiment without preconceived ideas is something only the hybrid method affords. And even on commercial jobs, where concepts are locked and timelines are fixed, it creates room to pivot, refine, and elevate the work at any stage of production.

The result

The final series places Phil in a gritty, cinematic world of his own: a modern gangster with presence, danger, and depth. Images built to earn a second look, anchor a character reel, or open a conversation with a director who needs to see range.

If you are an actor looking to build a compelling character portfolio, show the industry a side of yourself they have not seen, or make the kind of image that unlocks the next chapter, this is exactly the kind of work I do. Get in touch.

The series

Proof of Concept Gangster: Actor Phil Hyland adjusting his collar in a voyeuristic shot seen through bokeh trees and a window frame. Hybrid studio photography and photorealistic CGI by Dale May.

Proof of Concept Gangster: Actor Phil Hyland fixing his tie in a first-person POV of a vintage bathroom mirror with a religious statue, burning cigar, and prescription pills. Hybrid studio photography and photorealistic CGI by Dale May.

Proof of Concept Gangster: Actor Phil Hyland looking through window blinds in a CGI-built vintage interior. Hybrid studio photography and photorealistic CGI by Dale May.

Proof of Concept Gangster: Close-up cinematic portrait of actor Phil Hyland in character as a modern gangster. Hybrid studio photography and photorealistic CGI by Dale May.

Proof of Concept Gangster: Actor Phil Hyland walking down a CGI-built city street with gangsters approaching from all sides. Hybrid studio photography and photorealistic CGI by Dale May.

Credits

Photography, CGI, Art Direction & Post-Production: Dale May

Agent: WSWcreative

Actor: Phil Hyland | IMDb

Working with Dale

This project is the clearest case I have for how the hybrid method actually works on the day. I came in with a general idea and a working actor, nothing locked. It was Phil who inspired the scene. The moment he stepped in front of the camera in that black suit, the world built itself around him, and every CGI environment that followed was a direct answer to the character he was giving me.

That is the real advantage, and it is the part clients tend to underestimate. We can go into a shoot with a defined creative and still hit it, while leaving room for the unexpected to make the work better. One shoot can yield the campaign we planned and a second, third, or fourth direction we did not. Because the environments are built after the fact, in CGI, around the strongest frames, nothing has to be decided prematurely and nothing good has to be thrown away. You get the outcome you came for, plus the ones you could not have predicted, from a single session and a single point of contact from concept through final delivery.

If you have a project where the idea is strong but the best version might reveal itself on set, that flexibility is exactly what I build for. To start a conversation, get in touch or see more personal work.

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