Filming the projection

We have finished filming the projected piece that we projected on the fabric and tried changing the colour of the image by lowering the saturation.

Trying out Smoke & Fabric

We booked a studio to test the projections on smoke and fabric and see how it appears. We searched and used different images and dance videos from youtube to project into these materials. The projected image into the fabric becomes distorted as we try to wave it and also makes it appear like anything on the image floats like a ghost. The smoke also absorbs the colour of the projected image and creates this 3D-looking space between the projector and the fabric.

Individual Side Project

Old idea

What I’m planning for my other smaller project is to create a short dance video for about 1-2 minutes long. This video is about using my own body’s movement to create a sound by interacting with objects around me through dance. I’m planning to create an instrumental sound piece using sound recordings I gather making my different types of sounds such as stomps, claps and others etc. 

The way I will show this is by having many screen on just one screen that looks like a collage of different video clips put together. Each of these individual screens will show one instrument such as hands that clap, click and knock, feet that stomp and slide and other sources of the sound. One of the screens will be my whole body performing a dance piece reacting to the instruments. 

What influenced me is that whenever I perform a dance piece, I notice that there are rhythmic sounds I produce. I also have the habit on knocking on the tables, stomping on the floor and make unique beats.


I have researched a performance that included using the body as an instrument.

This is an interesting dance piece that uses bodies to create instrumental music with different rhythms by clapping and stomping. 

New idea

My new idea is to look at body movements, I looked at animation of the body and the process of moving. That influenced me to look at stages of motion. 

I looked at rigid movements of a human body which I chose for my piece for the side project and looked at ways I would be able to do it. I looked at T-ara’s music video intro as an example of a fixed or solid movement.

Final Idea

My final idea became about the solid movement of the body. I also made a list of words to associate it with to help me create the piece. I looked at the word ‘line’ because it reminds me of the movement. I also looked at shapes particularly polygons and it reminded me of simple geometric shapes from our theory lesson featuring the cubist paintings like Marcel Duchamp’s

‘Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2’ where it shows movement

interpreted. 

Final Idea

I also thought about the actions and setting, I looked back at fixed shapes and I imagined it inside a room. I also imagined ‘simple’ so I removed most decorative pieces and accessories in my room. The actions I also imagined is to include the movement how I would act in the room and make use of the objects around such as the bed, the mirror, the desk or the window.  What I did is that using myself as a subject, ‘I added the solid movement rule’ to the actions I will perform like when we were having the early workshops from the term

During filming, I placed the camera in different locations in the room to get many different perspectives to choose from. I also relied on myself for capturing my actions which made the process quite difficult. I made sure that I was very slow moving, pausing each movement I make and it took quite a lot of time to film a scene due to the speed. 

I edited on Adobe Premiere Pro. When I was editing the film, I changed the speed fast making my movement look like the actual speed in reality but get the robotic effect.

Our Group Dance Video Idea

We have been asked to produce a dance video in which we will be able to collaborate with dancer’s’, we will get to choreograph, shoot and edit this video to produce a suitable final piece running for about 7-10 minutes.

Our aim is to touch on ideas around oppression of women in a patriarchal society, enforcing the idea about dominant male figures in society and the media, thus establishing how much control they have. We will show these themes throughout the dance piece through the means of sound, prop’s, style (dancer and setting), ambience and dance.

We will shoot our dance video in a studio because we feel it is a suitable setting for our production. We wish to have a controlled space in which we can use a smoke machine to give the performance not only ambiance, but a substance to project a moving image onto. Through our dance video the dancer will display a variety of dance types, all drawing from our own ideas, by transitioning them from one to the other. Each element will be significant in the dance video to symbolise the concept of the piece, thus the understanding of the audience.

The opening sequence will be the most important in establishing the concepts behind our dance video. In this sequence the dancer will perform in a way that will establish the styles of dance that she will employ throughout the rest of the video. At first she will perform a robotic dance that will symbolise a sense of control before the dance evolves in to increasingly more fluid forms of movement. We also wish to replace the dancer entirely at some point in the video with the projected image of the dancer instead, so that the projection now becomes the main focus. The combining of this projected image and the smoke will also provide a cinematic and surrealist feel to the atmospherics of the piece. 

Using Fabric and Smoke in Dance

We were searching for different materials to project our image on and we thought of using smoke which can absorb light. We saw that image is projected well to newly formed smoke than to smoke that is already spread which can fade the image.

An example of a projection on smoke found in Youtube.

We also thought of using a very light fabric which can also distort the image, that will work like the 'newly formed smoke as it will not spread out.

Dance Workshop

We had a dance workshop where we learned about movement and different ideas to explore using the body. Professional and student dancers also performed the different ideas of the groups. Our group's idea is to create a dance that is about control. So we tried directing the dancers on what to do, we used that workshop to picture what the dance may look like.

Day 1 - What we did this day is that we participated in different dance activities and explored different movements. One of our tasks is to work in pairs by using a phone with a camera, to focus on each body parts moving such as the head, the shoulders, the torso, the hips, the hands and the feet.

In a big group, we also tried simple movements like walking, sitting, standing and other actions. We added different rules and styles into it like moving slow or fast and learned that there is a pattern and it's almost like a dance piece. In a big group we also tried moving with another person/body, where we tried balancing with each other and lifting.

Another activity we tried is that in pairs, we made a small and simple choreography including different actions.


Day 2 - The dancers visited this day and our task was in groups, were to create an idea to try out and direct the dancers. So we tried our "control/brain" idea.

Dance Workshop Task & Idea

We were set a task, which is to come up with a dance concept/idea.

This is what I came up with: Control, a dance that shows how something is controlled like a system where there is a controller such as a brain.

1- Film Type -  a dance film

Control- requires 2-3 or more dancers. A single dancer sitting have control making minimal/small moves to the people around. The dancers will be surrounding the single dancer and in some parts will be in front like a solar system, nervous system or machine.

3- Movement

Style of movement- Some slow smooth with quick impact style moves. Rule- one person sitting 2 ore more freely moving. 

What body represents- bodies act like a system. single person being a brain/centre who controls and others work taking the actions of the controller.

Formation could include- Circle surrounding the controller. Line, controller in front. Body, controller supported by other dancers.

Relationship of the movement to concept- exaggerating/amplifying small gestures/moves.

4- A scene with 2-3 dancers 

a- Improvisation to create a structure, emotion.

One person becomes the controller - two (or maybe one) becomes the controlled body.

ACTIONS 

Rising up 

Pushing

Pulling

Octopus tentacle effect/or multiple hands

Bringing down 

Attacking 

Defending (covering up the controller)

Carrying the controller.

Dance Video Examples

Parris Goebel- Proudly Odd

This is a dance piece that is choreographed by Parris Goebel. This dance piece features dancing in sofa that doesn't require a huge space but creatively uses a sofa to come up with different hand movements and gestures.

Quick Crew- Asian Concept

A dance video showing three dancers using rice hats as part of their choreography.

The Seaweed Sisters

Parris Goebel - Dance Apocalyptic - Janelle Monae

EXO Teaser 13

I found some teasers from a South Korean group called EXO. They're known for their dance in their music videos. This dance style is slow and smooth.

EXO Teaser 14

The next part is the coat rack dance. The dancer acts like a coat rack and dances with a coat and a hat like an imaginary partner.

Keone & Mari - Latch

A couple that dances together with an interesting door knocking/dancing scene.

Harry Shum Jr. - If You Are In A Shell…

A dance piece using paints and powders using only voice as the sound.

Misfits Dance Crew - Swim Good