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.

Result!

Spent the whole day in the practice room in the deepest, darkest depths of The Arches today with Agoria and the rumble of the trains overhead for comfort working on material for my degree show. My initial idea of attaching cameras to dancers bodies doesn't look like it's going to work out - they were starting to make me feel sick never mind anyone else!

BUT I did spend more time working with torches and experimenting with different ways of filming and photographing the work. I love the initial results. It isn't a piece yet, but it will be. I just need to figure out a way of bringing it all together and making it "Screendance" in a way that'll keep everyone happy.

I don't really want to just photograph dancers with torches and slap it up onto a big screen so I need to figure out what I'm going to do with these images, how to manipulate them and make them into something more. Unfortunately I have a feeling that the one workshop that will help me figure all this out is After Effects, Monday-Wednesday next week and I'm busy editing Scottish Dance Theatre stuff for the Friday deadline.

Typical.

Photos here.

Lightbulb Moment

I decided a while ago that I was going to re-shoot 'itch', the film I made following a task as part of the Masterclass at The Space last term. I felt it had enough potential to do again and wanted to make the whole thing again with the dancers in costumes. I spent a while finding costumes I was happy with but was still considering ways I could develop the sound and lighting to improve them.

Last night I had it; the lightbulb moment.

Rather than using the strip lighting which is in place or proper studio lighting I've decided to use torches to light the space and the dancers. Each dancer will have 2 torches which they will shine into dark spots and onto each other. This way, as well as the film being a development of itself, it's also linking in with my other explorations into using light and photographing it. I now have clear images in my mind as to how the finished product will look which is the way I normally work so I'm pleased at the moment and ready to get going.