I realise that I didn't explain the title of the last blog... Preshur is the name the girls have given their band and they've recorded the Alicia Keyes track, No One.
When I arrived at the studio this afternoon I have to be honest and sdmit that I was pleased to see that they were all young and attractive so I didn't have to worry too much about them being shy in front of the camera. There was a bit of that but after a few shots they soon relaxed.
I decided to shoot some of the material against the red stage curtain with the girls around an old-fashioned mike and the rest of the material using the black curtain as background. The stage area was really shabby so I was limited in terms of direction and angles but I'm pretty sure I got the best out of it by using the front curtain and reversing the stage rather than the back which I couldn't have disguised.
After one long take of all the movement, which wasn't great, Rowan led the girls through short sections while I moved around to get the best shots.
I've had a quick look through the footage and while some of it looks a bit naff, lots of fidgeting and looking around, there are some real gems in amongst it all.
Saturday 29 March 2008
Friday 21 March 2008
No Preshur
I was approached by Right Track this week to produce a dance film/music video for some young people they've been working with. The four girls are all school refusers so have been offered this project as an incentive to improve their behaviour. They've recorded a track for it, choreographed a routine with Rowan's help and agreed on costumes and location. All I have to worry about is getting the best out of them on the day.
I only have 2 hours to film them and have to be quite careful about how I approach them as they seem quite unpredictable. They've booked out the theatre space at St Andrew's high which I've worked in before and although it's a bit shabby it's a decent size so should be alright.
I only have 2 hours to film them and have to be quite careful about how I approach them as they seem quite unpredictable. They've booked out the theatre space at St Andrew's high which I've worked in before and although it's a bit shabby it's a decent size so should be alright.
Monday 17 March 2008
re:surface
The launch of the Dance House's new screendance event went really well as far as I could tell. I was working until 9pm the night it was on and raced to get there for 9.15pm just in time for both of my films and Rosie's film. Lots of good feedback and encouragement with some people loving Dark Matter and some people preferring the laid-back vibe of These Things Happen.
A few people had suggested re-shooting it in a clearer space with the dancers in costume but I think the essence of the piece would be lost if I tried to recreate it. I'm going to concentrate on the itch re-shoot and make that into something that really works.
A few people had suggested re-shooting it in a clearer space with the dancers in costume but I think the essence of the piece would be lost if I tried to recreate it. I'm going to concentrate on the itch re-shoot and make that into something that really works.
Wednesday 12 March 2008
Lights, Camera, Action!
After a successful day in The Arches playing with torches and taking photographs I knew it could turn into something really exciting but didn't really know what. I had thought After Effects would be the answer but after missing the workshop due to the Scottish Dance Theatre work I was back to square one.
Enter Isadora.
It's perfect for working with torches. I can have dancers moving with lights in the space and create the trails of light which I have been obsessed with for a while now at the same time. I can turn these trails of light into different things according to different triggers and I'm really excited about the whole thing.
Enter Isadora.
It's perfect for working with torches. I can have dancers moving with lights in the space and create the trails of light which I have been obsessed with for a while now at the same time. I can turn these trails of light into different things according to different triggers and I'm really excited about the whole thing.
Thursday 6 March 2008
These Things Happen
These Things Happen when three dancers and one dancer/film maker follow instructions given by choreographer, Angus Balbernie at a Dance House research lab. Spontaneous, textured and very low-tech.
Following another failed attempt to hire any equipment I ended up using my own Mini DV and mobile to film improvisations at Angus' research lab. Angus had agreed to let me use the footage anyway I decided but I wasn't sure how to put it all together with it being on different formats and still make it look like one cohesive piece. After a lightbulb moment last weekend I decided to embrace the low-tech aspect and only use the footage from my mobile. The only editing I chose to use was to rotate some of the sections which had been captured in portrait to give the feeling of the camera rotating but the dancers remain standing.
I'm quite pleased with the results and am now thinking of ways this can be combined with my final project.
Following another failed attempt to hire any equipment I ended up using my own Mini DV and mobile to film improvisations at Angus' research lab. Angus had agreed to let me use the footage anyway I decided but I wasn't sure how to put it all together with it being on different formats and still make it look like one cohesive piece. After a lightbulb moment last weekend I decided to embrace the low-tech aspect and only use the footage from my mobile. The only editing I chose to use was to rotate some of the sections which had been captured in portrait to give the feeling of the camera rotating but the dancers remain standing.
I'm quite pleased with the results and am now thinking of ways this can be combined with my final project.
It's a DOG's Life!
After the excitement of the multi-camera filming of Scottish Dance Theatre's performance and Interactive it was down to the serious business of editing it all. We decided that I would do DOG and Rosie would do the Interactive with Vilte doing Tenderhook although she seems to have been asking for DOG footage all this week so I'm not entirely sure what she's doing.
The deadline for DOG is tomorrow and the multi-cam editing workshop was last Thursday which left me eight days to learn it, do it and burn it all to a quality that SDT can show at an event in Athens. Although it wasn't really eight days, it was three because of other commitments then two because of bad weather. All this was made worse by the fact that I've been feeling ill all week and struggling through a urine infection. On top of all that when it actually came down to editing I was pretty much left to my own devices which was fine until I needed help and I ended up relying on Derricks Linton and Blackie for assistance.
Particular learning curves have been...
double check that the edit suite is actually booked for the time it's required
if you start in Edit 1-5 you can't move to Edit 6-10 to continue your work
if someone looks at your work in Edit 1-5 you then can't use the multi-camera viewing function in Edit 6-10 even if they haven't changed anything
burning takes longer than editing especially when you've never been shown the software and you're struggling to make the film small enough to put onto DVD.
It's all done now but it hasn't been an easy week and to top it all off I was really interested in doing the After Effects workshop at the start of the week but obviously couldn't because of this work. Thankfully I can get back to my own stuff next week and am looking forward to the Interactive workshop with Jaygo.
The deadline for DOG is tomorrow and the multi-cam editing workshop was last Thursday which left me eight days to learn it, do it and burn it all to a quality that SDT can show at an event in Athens. Although it wasn't really eight days, it was three because of other commitments then two because of bad weather. All this was made worse by the fact that I've been feeling ill all week and struggling through a urine infection. On top of all that when it actually came down to editing I was pretty much left to my own devices which was fine until I needed help and I ended up relying on Derricks Linton and Blackie for assistance.
Particular learning curves have been...
double check that the edit suite is actually booked for the time it's required
if you start in Edit 1-5 you can't move to Edit 6-10 to continue your work
if someone looks at your work in Edit 1-5 you then can't use the multi-camera viewing function in Edit 6-10 even if they haven't changed anything
burning takes longer than editing especially when you've never been shown the software and you're struggling to make the film small enough to put onto DVD.
It's all done now but it hasn't been an easy week and to top it all off I was really interested in doing the After Effects workshop at the start of the week but obviously couldn't because of this work. Thankfully I can get back to my own stuff next week and am looking forward to the Interactive workshop with Jaygo.
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