Dance : Tutorial With Vicky

Mollie, Katherine and I had a tutorial with Vicky to discuss our idea further and get more advice on where to take the project. The main question we had was how to get interesting camera movement, as we wanted to experiment more with this rather than just following standard shots. We discussed our idea of getting the camera to create the disorientating effect of the fall from the crash into the water, and how to get a tumbling effect. Vicky suggested creating a rig and to look more into Tony Hill, who often builds his own rigs for his work.

Downside Up // Tony Hill

Tony Hill : Perspectives

Tony Hill discusses various pieces of his work. The ones that I mainly thought were relevant to our project was Laws of Nature (1997) and A Short History of the Wheel (1992).

Vicky also suggested suspending the camera in the air somehow.

Water Works

Crystal Aquarium // Jane Park (1995)

We looked at Jane Park's piece Crystal Aquarium (1995) as another underwater piece. In her piece we saw the importance of the light and reflections and refractions on the face and the rippling effect of the water. It also gave us more of an idea of how bubbles come from the mouth and from around the body. We found the fact it featured her drinking (another liquid) underwater an interesting point in the video. You can watch the video here.

Neon Diver // Tina Keane (1990)

The pool is a metaphor for identity, pleasure and voyeurism.

Swimmers walk around the edge of the pool, define the frame and diving one-by-one, self possessed and in control of their bodies. As they cross and re-cross the water, they convey purposeful action and hedonism. They parody the frolics of Esther Williams and the synchronised swimmers who flicker on the surface of the water, somersaulting and forming rosettes. They expose playfulness as a vehicle for submerged voyeurism. These scenes are ritualistically punctuated by images of a diver and a punk violinist. They repeatedly challenge our perceptions beneath and above the illusory surface to proclaim an identity free from constraints.

 - LUX 

I like how Tina Keane used the pool as a metaphor and I find this very effective. As they define the frame, this kind of reflects what we've learnt in Fields and Frames - the importance of framing and the building blocks that make up the final film being very important. This is something we will need to carefully think about for our film. 

David Hall // Tap Piece (TV Interruptions)

We re-visited this piece by David Hall that emphasised the importance of the frame, the edges of the camera's frames becoming the sides of the tank. We also reflected on the few moments of stillness after the tap is removed and made the point that making our video underwater may not mean making it blue, but clear. Water can be still and transparent, so not making it obviously underwater may put more of an emphasis on the way it's shot and the building blocks. 

Final Summary of Notes From Tutorial

• Focus on basing the dance around the camera, instead of the camera around the dance
• The importance of the building blocks such as framing etc 
• Water is transparent - could be clear rather than blue - don't have to make it obvious it's underwater - leave that to the building blocks
• Thoughts about the form of the film shape it right from the beginning
• How do the other important components of the unit come into play - reflexivity, duration etc
• Don't make it overly sentimental and romantic 
• Doesn't have to be a musical soundtrack - could be a sound scape. Heightened sounds of ambient noises of water and what the couple are feeling. Use what you hear underwater as a basis. Heighten subjectivity. 

Reflections

I found the tutorial very useful and it gave us a lot to go away and think about. It was interesting seeing the works Vicky recommended to us and I went away and watched them again at home several times. As a group we were initially a bit confused about what direction to take the project, as so many opinions and options can be overwhelming. We are going to have a discussion about the best route to take and hopefully going away and thinking things over will make things clearer.