Dance Film
November 16, 2007 by franhatt
I’m interested in this genre of film making. My last project about rhythm concluded with a dance film, and I’m keen to make more, I really enjoyed it.
I’ve been watching a lot of dance films on video recently, the work of Rosemary Lee, DV8, Pina Bauch. As I think a dance film is likely to be something I will work on for my masters project, I’m going to start collecting ideas now.
This is a trailer for the DV8 film, ‘cost of living’
I watched another of their films the other night, set in a bar. I like the way they combine dance with real situations, I think it makes it more accessible. I think the setting is so important, it’s one of the major differenced between film and staged performance, so it should be really thought out. Another is the ability to control the framing and direction of the view that the audience will be presented with. Camera work can be so creative, in the DV8 films the camera seems to be as choreagraphed as the dancing, emphasising the feelings of the dancers, sometimes keeping the camera still and close when the movements are slow or small building up too much more movement in the camera work at the same time as the dancers bodies become more animated.
I saw this picture at the freize art festival in Hyde Park last month, it made me think about a salsa video.
Some dance photography by Rob Kunkle. I love the yellow stairwell, all the lines and angles, the high contrast and the rich colours. The dancer on a stool makes me think about the possibilities ofusing different levels for interesting framing.
how cool would this be in a video?!
nice lighting… great dancing too…
wow! what a beautiful, bizarre film…
I like this too… lighting, dancing, editing, so precise. Nice changes in the distance of the framing… from really spacious to close close up. camera moves are quite cool too, bit of a matrix reference. some stop frame animation in there too, like the idea but not sure if it works here… such a small part of the film. I think if you’re going to put in animation it should be used throughout.
found some more films I like… they’re not dance films, but they’re inspiring.
http://www.universaleverything.com/recent_activity/200
channel ident for welsh telly, makes objects dance
This I just like… it makes me want to get my camera out and make pictures
just found another nice one…
Not dance films, but short films created for the web by Hillman Curtis. I really like the photography and the pacing.
Just found this incredible acrobatics routine, reminded me of the erre que erre film where the girl is dancing with two men… quite brutal.
I’ve also been looking at rhythmic gymnastics, wondering if I could use a gymnastics ribbon to inspire some of the pattrns I’ll create for the animation…
Balances…
making pattens
