Momo Sanno - 'Elements of Life: Air, Earth, Water, Metal, Fire.' (2015)
I was drawn to look at this video because I really like the idea behind it and also the tactile nature of the dance incorporating objects and textures into it to add interest captured my attention.
Firstly I really like the the camera work and editing style used on it. In particular I like the way it holds your interest by cutting from a long shot to a close up very regularly and in time to the music and movement. This constant moments between close ups and long shots hold your interest but also gives you a chance to appreciate small details as well as the overall look.
I also really like how the edit has been made to flash in and out of shots a lot which gives this surreal style to it almost like its taking place in the mind which with such a conceptual idea like this works really well.
The movement and music for each element has been specifically choreographed and picked so that it has a particular style to it which I think works very effectively. It gives you a chance as you watching it to compare the elements and their traits to one another. However I would have possibly liked to have seen an overlap or more of a comparison of the elements rather than simply only showing one at a time. This may have helped give it a slightly deeper meaning.
I felt like the simplicity of the location being a blank studio was very effective because again this is a conceptual idea and a noticeable or recognisable location may have hindered the audiences ability to connect with the dance on a conceptual and abstract level.
Speed also plays a really important part in this video because there are quite a few moment where you can tell it has been sped up or slowed down to create more emotion and feeling to it. For example when he is portraying the earth element he is very strong jumping and manoeuvring on the floor and this strength is enforced by the speed being slowed down in places to help give us time to observe the strength it is taking the dancer to do these kind of movements. Another example is when he portrays metal certain sections have been sped up but I believe this is to make metal seem more intimidating as I am assuming he feels this is one of the boldest elements.
I thought it might be helpful to look into how he explains the piece. He said : 'When I was creating the idea for the elements, I was trying to express, to embody the fact that we are not alone. It is not only us as humans on this Earth. We are connected, we are one. We are part of nature, we are not against the natural way of the world. In our body, we find all the main elements, earth, water, fire, metal. There is a sublime connection that takes place between us, our self and the natural world that surrounds us. And when we allow this conversation to take place, we find a deeper understanding, and the selfless aspect of our being loosens its solidity, it can even dissipate for a period of time, and we can sink into a deeper world, one that does not put accent on separation but on Ones'. - an interview to Shanqa.com
This explanation is very interesting because it has allowed me to watch it again with their context and I now have noticed the isolation with in this piece too. How it is just him connecting with the elements alone and also how their our moments when he is very humanised through his facial expression and then their are contrasting moments where he is very inanimate with just certain feature on the screen. This contrast send the message of how humans are connected with these elements and I feel the outcome is powerful.
Rogerio Silva - 'Abaddon' (2015)
This Dance Piece captured my attention because of the dark look and edgy style to the cinematography. I want to create a similar style in my dance video and this has inspired me.
The main feature that I really like about this dance piece is the use of the special effects to create the illusion of smoke coming out of her body. It adds a very conceptual element adding to this love story but also makes it much more visually exciting. Especially in sections where smoke is exploding out of her to the beats within the music. This creates a really poetic visual language which I like.
I also find that the camera moves and begins to track where the smoke moves as well as where the dancers are moving which makes it visually exciting from a technical aspect.
I also found the farming in this piece had a lot more extreme long shots with in it compared to others I had been looking at and I feel like this was because they wanted to dancers to appear small in such a large empty space to add to the emotions of this sad love story. It also helped them to add in more large smoke effects by having these long shots so not only did they have an emotional purple but also a practical one too.
with the editing I feel the cuts are quite slow in places but this actually matches the piece very well because it gives it variations in pace and therefore adds excitement when it does speed up. Also these shots which are held on the screen for a long time allow us to absorb fully what is going on as this is very technically complex piece and there is a lot of movement happening between the two dancers.
My favourite shot in this piece is the low angle shot when the female dancer has fallen to the floor. I just like how the angle and shot suddenly surprises you because up till then it is majority long mid angled shots where as this is low which suddenly shows you how vulnerable she is and how low her status is. It also is lit really well which makes it very visually pleasing.
I like the contrast in the lighting through out and this adds a more dramatic feel to it and thus just emphasises the emotions further. I want this kind of lighting to be used within the dance film I am hoping to create as it is basic but effective. I also would like a studio which would be large enough to capture these really long shots however I don't know how possible that is.
Overall I have been very inspired by these two dance pieces in particular that I found online however there are plenty others I have stumbled across which I will look at at a later date.
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