Reflection on New Dance Footage
Unfortunately, after preparing for filming and getting completely ready, I was told by a security gaurd at focus that I wasn't allowed to film here as it was private property (apparently I had been lucky that noone was around the first time I filmed). Luckily, I had planned for this and so we used a different site which was only a couple of minute walk down the road and it worked out just as well.
My friend that did the dancing for me this time was such a good choice. She was a great dancer, looked great in the clothes and meant that I could move about the whole time I was filming to get some great tracking and panning shots. Even though I used the tripod last time so that I could position the camera how I wanted it, by holding the camera and being able to reposition it when filming my friend dancing I could get the precise framing that I had origionally wanted. This is an example below of one of the moves I wanted but in the video of myself, I had accidently cut my feet out of the shot but made sure I got them in when filming my friend as the point in the framing was to have a whole body shot.
From looking through the clips now I can already see that they will work better than the videos I had of myself dancing but I only realised these weren't exactly what I wanted when putting them into Premier Elements so I am eager to try them out.
THEORY REFERENCE
This section of footage worked perfectly for me. It helped my video meet Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze theory by showing a girl dancing and strutting around, a chance for the audience to enjoy her beauty and appreciate it. It also challenges Angela McRobbie's theory that women are always portrayed as being weak and quiet because this shows her as being confident and powerful, and aspirational image to attract the target audience of young girls and offer them a role model. The opposition of this footage against the shots I have of my artist singing fits into Laura Mulvey's theory that women are shown either with the Virgin image or Whore because my artist is shown in delicate, elegant clothes, peacfully enjoying her music where the dancer is dressed seductively and shown just as seductively dancing.
Can you add some screen grabs or video footage from both shoots to show 'before' and 'after'? Can you be more analytical about why the footage was so much better second time round? Was it the performer? your directing skills? framing and composition? mise-en-scene? variety of shot type, angle and movement?
ReplyDeleteNotes on first class viewing - feedback from the group was that the simplicity of the performance genre worked in your favour, the editing smooth and fluent between the performer and the dancer, with lip sync working well. The direction and performance was also strong, the dance routines well choreographed, the styling creative and thoughtful and the camera shots, angles and movement, along with lighting were technically skilled and set a tone and mood effectively. The variety of locations was also well selected. A range of editing techniques such as experimenting with high speed or slow-mo worked effectively and the timings of the cuts fitted smoothly and professionally with the music. Suggestions for improvement - to introduce more variety of shot or angle, add pace through intercutting or possibly include a subtle narrative element or twist / reveal at the end.
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