10 Dance and Movement Animations

Movement Media is delighted to have Doug Fox as a guest blogger for this week’s posting.  Back in February 2009, Doug presented several movement-based animations as a guest curator for Movement Media’s Kinetic Cinema program.   Click here to read our blog posting featuring Doug’s Animation program at the screening.

Doug Fox’s Picks for Dance and Movement Animations

One of the captivating elements of dance and animation is the diverse range of forms it can take. Among the animation techniques that can be employed to represent the body in motion, whether in a more concrete or abstract manner, include:

• 2D
• 3D
• Stop motion
• Live-action and animation hybrids
• Real-time animated graphics using motion tracking
• Visualization overlays
• Special effects
• ASCII-based animations
• Digital puppetry
• Cut-out animation
• Motion-capture based
• 2D/3D lasers
• Rotoscoped
• Virtual worlds
• Pre-cinema era animations

For Doug’s round-up of some of his favorite dance and movement animations he made selections of each of these different types of animations.  A few videos chosen by Doug couldn’t be embedded onto our blog for your viewing convenience, but we encourage you to take a minute to check out these great videos, to learn about the many types of dance and movement-based animated videos artists are creating. Enjoy!

Rotoscoped Tango dance scene from “Waking Life”:

Gabrielle Lamb’s “Quizas” mixes 2D animation and live-action footage:

“En Tus Brazos” is a narrative-based 3D animation about a tragic accident that besets a famous Argentinean Tango dancer:

Also enjoy an ASCII-based animation “TextField” by Chirstinn Whyte and Jake Messenger:

http://www.jakemessenger.plus.com/textfield-h264.mov

The Converse music video “My Drive-Thru” is based on the cut-out animation technique:

Oren Lavie’s “Her Morning Elegance” is a stop-motion music video compiled from thousands of photographs:

The “Prodigy Warrior’s Dance” combines stop-motion animation and puppetry:

The Recoil Performance Group’s “Body Navigation” uses motion tracking and projectors to general real-time, interactive graphics in a performance environment:

“Trash Dance” features 3D animation and motion capture:

Lastly, Doug offers us “Anima Istanbul”, which re-creates the feeling of the pre-cinema era zoetrope effect:

http://motionographer.com/theater/if-2009-zoetrope/

Movement Media appreciates Doug sharing some of his favorite animated videodances with our readers.  As you can see, artists are making some extraordinary animations, and there will certainly be more exciting works in the future, as more artists are combine animation with dance and movement.

Doug Fox is the founder of Great Dance, one of the first dance blogs. His blog and speaking programs have primarily addressed how dance-makers can embrace the Internet and digital tools to enhance their marketing and promotional efforts. He is an active member of the dance community and serves on the Dance/NYC Advisory Board.

Doug began to study and research all forms of animation, especially as they relate to dance and movement. This research led to the creation of his dance animation educational program, which he was delighted to introduce at Movement Media’s Kinetic Cinema. Doug is continuing to expand this screening program and workshop and it will be shown on August 16th at the Hong Kong Science Museum presented by the City Contemporary Dance Company.

Doug can be reached at doug@greatdance.com and through his Great Dance website: http://greatdance.com. You can also follow his Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/dougfox.

Dance Legend Pina Bausch Lives on in 3-D!

by Nicholas Bruder

Pina Bausch was one of those living legends. Her work has been seen by many. Her influence is felt throughout the dance world, and her memory will live in the history books, although she had already infiltrated them.

Her choreography reached a wider audience when snippets of Cafe Muller was shown in Pedro Almodovar’s film Talk to Her. Bausch’s work had a raw and timeless cloud around it. Her pieces were about “things,” not just one “something.” Metaphor was huge. The relationships between men and women always being dissected and presented to an audience that never knew what exactly they were going to see when she premiered a new work.

And the scale of the pieces were unthinkable. Snow falling on stage for a whole second half of a show. A mound of dirt blocking half of the stage. Flowers, chairs, walls, screams, sweat, tears, bruises. All real. Although the visuals were impressive, I do not believe they were ever used to impress upon. I feel that her work was honest and humble. It was ugly and beautiful. If one opened themselves up to the experience of the dancers, they would leave exhausted, but not abused. Bausch was true to her vision and dancers. The audience had to take the role of accepting that and to enjoy the ride, no matter how uncomfortable it might get. The pieces always ended beautifully.

Her pieces were made to be seen in grand, large theaters, but the attention that she asked for, and got, from the audience, was that of an intoxicating program on television.

Her work, I feel, was living cinematogrophy. There are many clips of her work around the Internet that can be found and enjoyed. But the greatest news is Bausch’s collaboration with famous film director, Wim Wellers Wenders. Before she passed, they announced plans to create and film a retrospective documentary on Bausch, and in 3-D. Wenders had cancelled the production after her death, but through public opinion and the amount of letters he received from lovers of Bausch’s work, he will be continuing on with the project.

A 3-D film on the life and work of Pina Bausch. This might be one of the best gifts that the dance world will receive. And in 3-D!! It might seem cheesy, but personally I have only had the privilege to see one Bausch piece live, and I am welcoming the opportunity to see another, in a way, Bausch original.

Movement Media Videodance Contest Winners: Pop Dance Phenomenon!

By Mollie Shapiro

Thank you to everyone who nominated a video for this week’s “Pop Dance Phenomenon” theme! We really enjoyed getting a chance to see your favorite viral videos!! This was the last week we were accepting submissions and nominations for our Videodance Contest. Next week will be guest curated by Doug Fox of Greatdance.com, who will be presenting wonderful dance animation videos.

If you didn’t get a chance to participate in the contest, don’t fret. We have a brand new opportunity for you! Movement Media is excited to introduce UMove, our First Annual Online Videodance Festival!! UMove will feature short dance and movement-based videos that were made specifically for the web and other new media formats. For more information about the festival and for submission details, please click here.

POP DANCE PHENOMENONS

As technological advancements continue to infiltrate our society, YouTube has emerged as the new hit-maker of today. This platform has led to the discovery of countless videos that would never have been shown on TV, and given them the chance to spread swiftly through virtual word of mouth. Although there are many videos that have gone viral on YouTube, the six that we have selected are each strong representations of one of three categories; “The Earlies,” “Global Phenomenons,” or “Sponsors/Marketing.”

The videos representing “The Earlies” are:

“Here It Goes Again” by Ok Go

and ”Evolution of Dance” by Judson Laipply

“Here it Goes Again”

The American band Ok Go struck gold when their quirky music video choreographed on treadmills was released. This video, which debuted on YouTube on July 31^st, 2006, was one of the earliest viral YouTube videos to mesmerized audiences across the world. As of 2009, it is still one of the most iconic videos of all time with over 46 million views.

“Evolution of Dance”

Judson Laipply’s “Evolution of Dance” was first put on YouTube in 2006 and became an overnight internet sensation reaching over 123 million viewers. One of the first comedy performances ever to go viral, the video features Laipply performing popular dance moves from the 1950s all the way to the present. Even now, it remains the single most watched video in the history of the web.

Our “Global Phenomenon” videos are:

“Filipino Prisoners doing Thriller”

and ”Korean Madness”

“Filipino Prisoners doing Thriller”

Featuring over 1500 inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center in Phillipines performing Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” music video, this video became a surprise smash hit on YouTube. Conceived by Byron F. Garcia as an enjoyable exercise regimen for the prisoners, it has now been viewed over 30 million times throughout the globe and given the prisoners a great source of pride, proving the immense effect that YouTube has had on people and cultures worldwide. Here is a link to an earlier blog post written by Anna Brady Nuse comparing the Filipino Prison dances with Busby Berkeley and the Balinese Kecak.

“Korean Madness”

This hilarious video, which has now become a global phenomenon, was actually taken from a Korean TV show. It features two young girls singing karaoke, and from the looks of it, they are truly enjoying themselves!

Our final category this week is “Sponsors/Marketing” and our winning videos in this category are

“Where the hell is Matt” by Matt Harding

and The “T-Mobile Dance”

“Where the Hell is Matt?”

This video, which features a guy named Matt Harding performing a ridiculous and amusing dance at various locations around the world, began as a joke between friends. Over time, these videos of unexpected bursts of dance by a goofy man in exotic locations sparked a media frenzy that ultimately led to a sponsorship by Stride gum company. Stride has sponsored Matt’s last two excursions simply because they were amused by his ideas, however by associating themselves with a fun-loving guy who is a YouTube sensation, they have craftily created a more progressive brand image.

“T-Mobile Dance”

This video, which documents a brilliant publicity stunt used to promote T-Mobile, was filmed in a crowded London train station in the middle of the day. This seemingly spontaneous yet choreographically synchronized dance was a viral hit, and since then many other brands have posed similar media marketing stunts, such as the Belgian TV company’s “Sound of Music” in Central Station in Antwerp, which was our “Choreographed” videodance contest winner on June 12th.

For further intellectual discussion about these videos or any of our previous themes, please click here: Movement Media’s Weekly Online Video Dance Contest

As always, we appreciate your comments and feedback about the contest winners! We’ll be back in September. In the meantime, please submit your videos to our new UMove Videodance Festival, taking place Oct 1-31, 2009 on the web and at live screenings around the world! Deadline AUG 15Th.

ADF Screendance Journal Available for Download

by Anna Brady Nuse

The papers presented at last year’s Screendance: State of the Art 2 Conference at the American Dance Festival have just been posted online and are available for download. It is nice to revisit the ideas around curating that were presented at that conference, as I’m in the process of planning next Fall’s Kinetic Cinema series. My paper was all about the model of artist-driven curating that I have been cultivating through Kinetic Cinema. I wrote a couple of follow-up posts on this blog about the Screendance conference at ADF last summer here and here if you would like to follow the thread of the discussion.

You can download the latest essays for the Screendance Journal on the following topics here: http://dvpg.net/screendance2008.html

Thoughts on Curating: How to Bring About a Shift in Perception

Anna Brady Nuse

“Screendance is growing worldwide. Every year more dance film festivals spring up; new courses in dance for the camera are added to college dance curriculums; and symposiums, workshops and panels take place all over the world. Despite this trend, screendance is still virtually unknown in American culture at large.”

Does Screendance need to look like dance?

Claudia Kappenberg

This is an edited version of a paper, which was first presented at the American Dance Festival, ‘Screendance State of the Art 2’, Duke University, North Carolina in 2008, and re-presented at the conference ‘Exploring the Screen as a Site for Choreography’, University of Bristol, Department of Drama, Theatre, Film & Television, April 2009, in response to debates at the Bristol event. Drawing on a wider field of visual art, film, dance and theatre studies the paper proposes a new knowledge map for screendance aiming to articulate the complexities of choreographic sensibilities and identifying a set of Screendance strategies

Curating the Practice/The Practice of Curating

Douglas Rosenberg

This paper in a slightly different form was presented at the Curating the Practice/The Practice of Curating conference at the American Dance Festival in Durham, NC, USA on Thursday July 10, 2008. Some of the ideas contained were originally posted (by Douglas Rosenberg) in a number of on-line discussions during the last year. Please use with permission. rosend@education.wisc.edu

Curator’s Notes for Linssin taka / Beyond the Lens

Sini Haapalinna

A national video dance screening program, coinciding with the dance and live arts festival Z – in – Motion, organized by Zodiak, Center for New Dance in Helsinki, Finland, and curated by freelance artist Sini Haapalinna.

Movement Media Videodance Contest Winners: ‘Public or Private’

by Mollie Shapiro

Thank you to everyone who submitted a video for this week’s theme of “Public or Private.”  We were thrilled with the interest and enthusiasm that the exploration of this theme sparked.  Next week’s theme is “Pop Dance Phenomenon”.  For this theme we are asking you to nominate your favorite Youtube viral dance hit, rather than submit a work of your own (unless you happen to be the hit-maker!).  All nominations are due by July 21st, and the contest winners will be announced on July 24th.  Please scroll to the bottom of this post for more information.

This week’s winning videos are:

“Pretending to be Something, Now Coming from Nothing” by Adam McKinney and Agulhas Theatre Works representing our Public category

And

“Eye Vanish” by Marisa C. Hayes representing our Private category

Public or Private
As the use of social media networks continues to rise, individual’s privacy has become increasingly difficult to maintain. A huge trend on YouTube are private dances captured on video and then posted for public viewing. On the other hand, public performances not before possible, such as a site-specific work filmed in the middle of the desert, can subsequently be put online and viewed by millions. As we watched the submissions for this weeks theme, it became obvious that the formerly clear distinction between private and public is now totally ambiguous. Nearly all of the submissions could have easily fit into both categories. Ultimately, we chose two videos that we felt most strongly embraced each category.

Public: “Pretending to be Something, Now Coming from Nothing”
Adam McKinney and Agulhas Theatre Works’ “Pretending to be Something, Now Coming from Nothing,” captured the essence of a public work because it documents events performed for audiences in their native South Africa. This touching video draws attention to people who are not usually in the public eye, and generally ignored by society. Able-bodied and disabled dancers perform fluidly side by side on stages ranging from an abandoned drug house in a shanty town to a modern dance performance venue. The video evokes a sense of comradery through movement. By weaving the performances together through editing, it shows that beauty can be found everywhere, if one just gives it an opportunity to be seen.

More about Adam McKinney and this project: http://www.dnaworks.org/

Private: “Eye Vanish”
Originally created for the Moscow Outdoor Video Festival, Marisa C. Hayes’ “Eye Vanish” is a poetic and concise visualization of how new technological mediums have led us to question and alter our sense of privacy. By using a web cam, a very personal communication channel, Hayes explores where or even if a separation can be established between private and public. The dancer seems to be performing for us, the voyeurs behind the camera’s lens. Her movements are curious and deliberate, as she chooses what to reveal. In the end, she tries to break through to see into the eye that is watching her. Her eye and the camera’s eye merge and obliterate each other in a futile attempt to know what the other sees.

More about Marisa C. Hayes: http://www.marisahayes.com

Please leave us a comment, and let us know what you think about private and public, this week’s winners, and anything else you’d like to share!

Next Week’s Theme for Movement Media’s Online Video Dance Contest:
Theme: Pop Dance Phenomenon
Submissions are due by Tuesday July 21st.
Winners will be announced on Move the Frame on Friday July 24th.

As technological advancements continue to create seismic shifts in society and culture, Youtube has emerged as the new hit-maker of today. Videos by amateurs and professionals alike that would never be shown on TV are discovered all the time, and spread like tidal waves through virtual word of mouth. Video killed the radio star, and now YouTube is killing the MTV star.

In dedication to the King of Pop himself, who’s music videos defined a generation and inspired dozens of YouTube hits alone (remember the Philipino Prisoners’ “Thriller”?), for this theme, we would like you to nominate your favorite viral dance video.  What pop dance phenomenon has captured your attention?  Do you love the “Where the hell is Matt” video? Perhaps your favorite is the “T-Mobile dance.”  Whatever your favorite video may be, pass it along to us to we can showcase it on next week’s blog.  We’re excited to see your nominations.

HOW TO SUBMIT

* Submissions may be made by anyone – artists, film makers, and anyone who knows of online videos that fit the weekly themes.
* The video submitted must be under 10 minutes long.
* Pick/Submit one video to represent only one of the weekly themes.
* Send the link of the video to Movement Media
* The video submitted needs to be embeddable, ie hosted on YouTube or another sharable online video platform.
* Include a short biography/artist statement (if it is your work).
* For every submission, include a short summary that describes why you have chosen a particular video for the contest and describe how it relates to the weekly theme.
* Include a brief synopsis of the video.
* Include a link to your website (if you have one)
* Include your email address

Email all information to movementmedia@pentacle.org
If your submission is chosen for the weekly contest, we will contact you directly.

Impetus for Contest Participants

* Have your videos seen by an online audience who’s interested in movement-based video.
* Receive publicity for your work/work of others
* Receive comments and feedback
* Automatic consideration for live screening at Kinetic Cinema in NYC.
* Automatic consideration for UMOVE, Movement Media’s Online Dance Film Festival in October 2009.

UP-COMING THEMES FOR JULY:

The final week of July will be guest curated by Doug Fox of Greatdance.com.

In August, we are seeking submissions for the First Annual UMOVE Online Videodance Festival! Please see submission details here: http://movetheframe.wordpress.com/umove-festival/

The Future of Video on the Net and What You Need to Know

By Dawn Paap

Open Video is a broad based movement of video creators, technologists, academics, filmmakers, entrepreneurs, activists, remixers, and many others. When most folks think of “open,” they think of open source and open codecs. They’re right—but there’s more to Open Video than open codecs. Open Video is the growing movement for transparency, interoperability, and further decentralization in online video.  Open Video is about the legal and social norms surrounding online video. It’s the ability to attach the license of your choice to videos you publish. It’s about media consolidation, aggregation, and decentralization. It’s about fair use. In short, it’s about a lot of things, and that’s why the first ever Open Video Conference Held on June 19th and 20th here in NYC was a fascinating event for anyone in the business of producing or consuming video.

This Week’s Contest Winners: Summer or Winter

Thank you to everyone who has submitted or nominated work for our contest thus far. If you haven’t participated yet, there are plenty more chances to submit your work or nominate the work of others. Below we have posted a list of the themes for the month of July. Next week’s theme is “Rehearsal or Performance.” All submissions are due by June 30th, and the contest winners will be announced on July 3rd. Please scroll to the bottom of this post for more information on how to submit.

This week, as a tribute to the first days of summer, we explored the theme, “Summer or Winter.” Here in the Northeast United States at least, summer has not really been evident yet. We’ve had weeks of rain and coolish temperatures. Solstice was marked by more of the same. While no one relishes sweltering heat and humidity, it would still be nice to know if summer is ever going to arrive… Against this strange weather back-drop, it was delightful to watch the submissions for this week, which were unambiguously rooted in their appointed seasons.

Most of the works we received were site-specific and dealt with the elemental nature of the seasons. Others took an abstract/conceptual approach, and explored the inner psychological states of winter (isolation, sparseness, coldness) and summer (nurturing, abundance, warmth). For us, this pair of themes seemed like a good opportunity to acknowledge the attraction dancers have to making site-specific videos. One of the first things most dancers do with a camera is to escape the studio and the stage, and go outside to dance. Who can resist frolicking in the grass or rolling in the snow? Dancers are endlessly fascinated with trying to capture the experience of moving and interacting with the natural world. Just like most poems are about nature, most dance films are too. As humans, we tend to think that we are separate from the rest of the animal kingdom, but our biology seems to belie this belief. Dancers, being more grounded in their bodies than most, are particularly attuned to the wild/animal sides of our natures. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that they use the camera to practice their craft closer to the elements that truly inspire them to move.

Without further ado, the winners this week are…

“Thaw” by Marta Renzi to represent the winter category

And

“Summer Day Daily Dance” by Lee Atwell to represent the summer category.

“Thaw” by Marta Renzi

more about “Thaw“, posted with vodpod

“Thaw” emanates a sense of winter through every aspect of the piece from the landscape and lighting to the choreography. The bare trees and wintry colors accentuated by the lighting of the film render a bleak portrayal of the season, as well as the earthly magic that a thawing winter creates. The film explores the fluidity and beauty that emerges from the seemingly lifeless frigidity of winter. The gracefulness of the dancers’ movements accompanied by their long flowing costumes personifies the melting of the ice. Additionally, the use of the swan, a symbolically graceful animal, further emphasizes the constant flow of the seasonal cycles.

Marta Renzi’s first dance video was YOU LITTLE WILD HEART, a half-hour for PBS, to music by Bruce Springsteen, made for the WGBH New Television Workshop in 1981. In 1989, collaborating with independent filmmaker John Sayles, she made MOUNTAINVIEW, for Alive From Off-Center. Many years after those well-funded projects, Renzi began self-producing video dances in 2005. They have shown in festivals nationally, internationally and on the web. http://martarenzi.blogspot.com

“Summer Day Daily Dance” by Lee Atwell

Similarly to “Thaw”, this video portrays an deep relationship with the landscape and embraces the spirit of summer. Although initially the camera is focused on Atwell, as the view pans up, it captures the absolute beauty of the surroundings. This video doesn’t try to make a statement or define summer in a particular way. Rather, it embraces the ever-shifting presence of the moment, a core value of the Eastern inspired Butoh dance form that Atwell practices.

Lee Atwell writes: i am new to dance and butoh (less than 6 months experience), and my mentor is maureen ‘momo’ freehill who created ‘daily dance’ honoring 50 years of butoh in 2009.  i have been dancing daily and recording them since the beginning of january of this year. it is my hope and intention to embody the soul through this incredible creative expression. http://www.youtube.com/user/pamelaleeatwell

Let us know what you think about site-specific dance videos, this week’s winners, and anything else you’d like to share!

Next Week’s Theme for Movement Media’s Online Video Dance Contest

Theme: Rehearsal or Performance

Submissions are due by Tuesday June 30th.

Winners will be announced on Move the Frame on Friday July 3rd.

Video is an important part of most dancers’ rehearsal processes, as well as documenting the finished work in performance. Sometimes, when approached creatively and with attention, the documentation becomes a work of art in itself. We are seeking interesting ways of capturing rehearsals and performances on video. Please let us know which category your video applies to, and why.

HOW TO SUBMIT

• Submissions may be made by anyone – artists, film makers, and anyone who knows of online videos that fit the weekly themes.
• The video submitted must be under 10 minutes long.
• Pick/Submit one video to represent only one of the weekly themes.
• Send the link of the video to Movement Media
• The video submitted needs to be embeddable, ie hosted on YouTube or another sharable online video platform.
• Include a short biography/artist statement (if it is your work).
• For every submission, include a short summary that describes why you have chosen a particular video for the contest and describe how it relates to the weekly theme.
• Include a brief synopsis of the video.
• Include a link to your website (if you have one)
• Include your email address

Email all information to movementmedia@pentacle.org
If your submission is chosen for the weekly contest, we will contact you directly

Impetus for Contest Participants

• Have your videos seen by an online audience who’s interested in movement-based video.
• Receive publicity for your work/work of others
• Receive comments and feedback
• Automatic consideration for live screening at Kinetic Cinema in NYC.
• Automatic consideration for UMOVE, Movement Media’s Online Dance Film Festival in October 2009 (information and submission guidelines to be announced in early July).

UP-COMING THEMES FOR JULY:

Week one: Rehearsal or Performance
Submissions due by June 30th. Weekly Contest winners will be announced on July 3rd.

Week two: Classroom or Stage
Submissions due by July 7th. Weekly Contest winners will be announced on July 10th.

Week three: Private or Public
Submissions due by July 14th. Weekly Contest winners will be announced on July 17th.

Week four: Pop Dance Phenomenon
Submissions due by July 21st. Weekly Contest winners will be announced on July 24th.

The final week of July will be guest curated by Doug Fox of Greatdance.com.

Nijinsky Dances on Film….sort of

by Nicholas James Bruder

If you haven’t read it yet, check out Joan Acocella’s article, “The Faun,” in this week’s New Yorker:

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2009/06/29/090629ta_talk_acocella

It’s a really interesting article about Christian Comte, a French artist, who makes animations from still images. Recently he chose Vaslav Nijinsky, the much revered Ballet Russe dancer and choreographer, as his subject, and posted what appeared to be film fragments of the artist on YouTube that were never known to exist before. The appearance of the clips sparked a frenzy of excitement and debate among balletomanes and dance historians.

If you go to his YouTube page you can see all the videos he’s made and all the comments users have left. They have said everything from praise for Compte “finding” these videos, to appreciation of him using his talent to finally bring some idea of Nijinsky’s movements to life, as well as reprimands for him fooling them. He does insist that he is not trying to pass his films off as originals, but the confusion is understandable…sometimes.

Here are couple of Comte’s videos:

I think Comte is a fantastic artist. Although some people have felt disappointed or duped by his work, Comte’s animation techniques reveal a whole new avenue for movement, film, and photography. If people can let go of their hopes of seeing a legendary dancer come back to life, I think they will be able to appreciate Comte’s contribution to the film and dance world, as well as the web community.  He has only added to our circle of art, and gotten us to think. Shouldn’t those two things be appreciated and asked for in art?

We’d love to hear your responses to this work and the debate surrounding it.

Modern or Classical? Two Opposing Styles That Seem to be Merging in New Dance Media

We are about to embark upon the fourth week of our Videodance Contest, and as always, we greatly appreciate all the creativity and effort given by the artists who have submitted so far. If you have yet to participate, we strongly encourage you to do so, or nominate the work of others for a chance to receive publicity and feedback among this burgeoning community. Scroll below for information on next week’s theme, “Summer or Winter.” Submissions are due by Tuesday June 23rd, and the contest winners will be announced here on June 26th.

Modern or Classical

This week’s theme was Modern or Classical as it applies to the styles of filming, choreography, and music. We discovered in viewing the submissions, that there were a great deal of gray areas in trying to categorize a piece under one specific style. If a piece was comprised of both choreography and music that was highly classical, but used a filming technique that was hi-tech or contemporary, which category did it fall into? What about if the dancing style was modern, but the piece was filmed using a strictly classical technique? We found that it was often tricky to determine which style predominantly overshadowed the other in each work. Out of this ambiguity one submission emerged that we felt represented both styles strongly and in equal measure.

Our winner for both categories this week is…

“Arabesque” by Peter William Holden

Arabesque

While the complicated technology used to create the kinetic sculpture in this video seems to categorize it as a modern work, other aspects of the film are highly classical. For starters, the piece is choreographed to the renowned Blue Danube Waltz by Johann Strauss. Additionally, the kaleidoscopic choreography that Holden creates with the mechanical arms and legs, as well as the aerial camera view, are reminiscent of Busby Berkley’s classic films. Holden’s innovative dance video combines classical film and choreographic styles with modern elements such as the technology needed to operate and coordinate the sculpture. Therefore, this video is both highly modern and classical.

Refreshingly, this is the first video we’ve showcased that was made by an artist from a visual arts background. We love to see artists of all disciplines working with kinetic forms and media. Video artists, animators, installation artists, and film-makers of all kinds are encouraged and invited to submit their work!

About the artist:

Peter William Holden was born in a decaying post industrial town in Northern England in 1970, and from an early age became fascinated with moving imagery, transformation and technology.

The abstract pixels of the 1980’s home computer gave him a glimpse into the wonderful world of mathematics. Early Electro and Hip-Hop with its synthetic sound introduced him to the complex dance routines of break-dance and acquainted him with the beauty of choreographed movement. These and countless more experiences are incorporated in his installations in a collage of movement, light and sound.

His work has been exhibited at various international events Ars Electronica, Linz. Technologically Expanded Dance, Lisbon. Kapelica Gallery, Ljubljana. e-Arts, Shanghai. boDig 08, Istanbul. Vooruit, Gent. Cinéma Le Miroir, Marseilles. More info: www.peter-william-holden.com

We would like to open up some questions to our audience regarding Classical versus Modern Styles.

• Do you prefer Classical or Modern Styles?
• Do you feel that you work in a particular style, or a combination of styles?
• Do you think that videos of Classical styles or Modern styles work better for online viewing?  For example, Classical dance styles often value symmetry and a balanced composition, and tend to be more story-based.  On the other hand, Modern dance styles often showcase abstract themes, such as social and political views, and movement that is based in individual expression and having the artistic product relay that intellectual or emotional process.
• Do you find more Classical style dance companies using technology to post their works online than Modern styles?  Why might there be a difference?

We would love to hear your comments.

Next Week’s Categories for Movement Media’s Online Video Dance Contest

Theme Four: Summer or Winter

Submissions are due by June 23rd.

Winners will be announced on Move the Frame on June 26th.

We felt that in honor of the first day of summer, it would be fun to explore the theme Summer or Winter, and if you live in the Northeast U.S. it is actually feeling more wintery these days than summery…This is a theme that can be very literally interpreted, but at the same time presents the potential to inspire a vast array of site-specific works. We are looking for any interpretation that you may have of summer or winter. Does a film fall into the category of summer simply because it is filmed in a warm location? Can a sense of warmth between individuals evoke a feeling of summer? Does cold weather immediately classify a film as winter? Often a site specific piece can unintentionally be classified into one of these two themes. While we created this theme with the intention of focusing mostly on the location of each film and how it is incorporated into the piece or why it is chosen, we are open to any interpretation that you may offer us. Just make sure to tell us which category the work falls under and why.

HOW TO SUBMIT

* Submissions may be made by anyone – artists, film makers, and anyone who knows of online videos that fit the weekly themes.
* The video submitted must be under 10 minutes long.
* Pick/Submit one video to represent only one of the weekly themes.
* Send the link of the video to Movement Media
* The video submitted needs to be embeddable, ie hosted on YouTube or another sharable online video platform.
* Include a short biography/artist statement (if it is your work).
* For every submission, include a short summary that describes why you have chosen a particular video for the contest and describe how it relates to the weekly theme.
* Include a brief synopsis of the video.
* Include a link to your website (if you have one)
* Include your email address
Email all information to movementmedia@pentacle.org
If your submission is chosen for the weekly contest, we will contact you directly

Impetus for Contest Participants

* Have your videos seen by an online audience who’s interested in movement-based video.
* Receive publicity for your work/work of others
* Receive comments and feedback
* Automatic consideration for live screening at Kinetic Cinema in NYC.
* Automatic consideration for Movement Media’s Online Dance Film Festival in September 2009 (information and submission guidelines to be announced in late June).

Week Two Videodance Contest Winners: “Improvised or Choreographed”

Thank you to everyone who submitted or nominated work for the second week of our videodance contest. We enjoy getting a chance to see your own interpretations and explorations of this week’s theme.

If you didn’t get a chance to participate this week, fear not! This contest will be happening every week so there are plenty of chances to submit your work or nominate the work of others. Our next theme is Modern or Classical. All submissions are due by June 16th, and the contest winners will be announced on June 19th. Please scroll to the bottom of this post for more details on next week’s contest.

This week we explored the theme: Improvised or Choreographed. As we looked at the this week’s submissions and nominations, many questions came up for us about what makes a work primarily improvised or choreographed. Could a piece be considered improvised if the dancing was choreographed but the camera work was improvised? What if only one performer was choreographed while the rest are improvising? Does a planned and highly structured improvisation fit better in the category of choreographed? While there may be no definitive answers to these questions, the winning videos this week were chosen in part because they seemed to fit together as a contrasting pair, like two sides of the same coin. Both were shot in site-specific locations, and involve pedestrian spectators reacting to spontaneous performances by trained dancers. There is an element of surprise in each, but the level of control and pre-meditated planning seem to be vastly different.

Without further adieu, this week’s winners are….

“Contrust” an excerpt from Chapter 4, by Elad Weissman and Teddy Productions in Israel.

And

“Sound of Music | Central Station Antwerp (Belgium),” produced by Vtm in Belgium.

IMPROVISED

“Contrust” an excerpt from Chapter 4, by Elad Weissman and Teddy Productions

This video is an excerpt from Elad Weissman’s 2007 film about ten dancers dealing with love and fear in an ultra-urban world. (Fun fact: The dancers in this film are famous in Israel for being contestants in “Nolad Lirkod – Born to Dance” a reality tv show, similar to America’s “So You Think You Can Dance.”) While the dancer in this excerpt may have had some choreographic direction, for the most part his movements look improvised. Additionally, the camera work is reactive to his movements and has an unplanned, spontaneous feel. One gets the sense that this shoot was set up on the street with very little premeditated planning, except to capture a dark urban street environment within which to improvise. We get to see real spectators’ reactions, and their surprised faces tell us that this performance is strange and spontaneous. This excerpt is one of several chapters from Weissman’s 42 min film that are viewable on YouTube. Each are site specific, and consists of a dancer or dancers interpreting and embracing the mood that the music and location exert.

CHOREOGRAPHED

Sound of Music | Central Station Antwerp (Belgium)

This video documents a publicity stunt that was used to promote a Belgian television show looking for non-actors to audition for the “Sound of Music.” Like the famous “T-Mobile dance” that took place in a crowded London Train station, this piece simulates a flash mob convening to perform a choreographed routine to the Sound of Music. What makes these kinds of stunts so brilliant is that no one knows who is a real innocent bystander, and who is in on the act. Throughout the piece almost two hundred performers pop into the dance, all disguised as pedestrians from all walks of life. The element of surprise in this piece gives it an improvisational feel, however the coordination necessary to pull off such a massive stunt is only possible through meticulous choreography.

Now tell us what  you think! We look forward to hearing your thoughts on what is “Improvised” and “Choreographed”.

NEXT WEEK’S CONTEST

Theme Three: Modern or Classical
Submissions are due by Tuesday June 16th. Winners will be announced on Move the Frame on June 19th.

Modern and classical – what do these terms mean to you? For classical dance you may think of ballet or other traditional and highly refined styles such as Baratya Natyam and Kabuki Theatre. Modern dance may be anything that came after Isadora Duncan or, you may think only post-modern/post-Judson Church dance is truly modern now. Film also has modern and classical styles such as the Silent era and Hollywood classics versus the French New Wave and New American Cinema. For next week’s theme we want to examine both the styles and execution of dance as well as the filming techniques used. What is it that differentiates them? Submit or nominate a film for one of the categories and tell us why.

HOW TO SUBMIT

* Submissions may be made by anyone – artists, film makers, and anyone who knows of online videos that fit the weekly themes.
* The video submitted must be under 10 minutes long.
* Pick/Submit one video to represent only one of the weekly themes.
* Send the link of the video to Movement Media
* The video submitted needs to be embeddable, ie hosted on YouTube or another sharable online video platform.
* Include a short biography/artist statement (if it is your work).
* For every submission, include a short summary that describes why you have chosen a particular video for the contest and describe how it relates to the weekly theme.
* Include a brief synopsis of the video.
* Include a link to your website (if you have one)
* Include your email address
Email all information to movementmedia@pentacle.org
If your submission is chosen for the weekly contest, we will contact you directly

Impetus for Contest Participants

* Have your videos seen by an online audience who’s interested in movement-based video.
* Receive publicity for your work/work of others
* Receive comments and feedback
* Automatic consideration for live screening at Kinetic Cinema in NYC.
* Automatic consideration for Movement Media’s Online Dance Film Festival in September 2009 (information and submission guidelines to be announced in late June).