Concepts and Assignments for Hands-on Practice

Getting Started

Creating the Illusion of Depth in The Two Dimensional Stage
Using two dancers and a location of your choosing, compose three frames that create the illusion of depth.

Viewing Options
Choreograph a short sequence of movement (32 counts or so) on a dancer. While the dancer performs the phrase place yourself in various non-traditional locations around the dancer to explore various points of view. Try lying on the floor, standing on a ladder or positioning yourself particularly close to the action.

Staging within the Frame: Symmetry and Asymmetry
Using two dancers and a location of your choosing, compose three frames exploring symmetry and three frames exploring asymmetry.

Choosing an Environment: On Stage vs. On Location
Take a moment and think about the dances you have created in the past. Now imagine you will create a dance for the camera for each one. What kind of environment will you choose for each dance? Why?

Choreographing the Camera

Modes of Working: Storyboarding
After downloading the storyboard templates of your choice from Michael Wiese Publishing site, take your pre-choreographed material and arrange a series of proposed shots for capturing the movement material.

Modes of Working: Improvisational Process
Using Katrina McPherson’s guidelines, create three improvisational scores. Keep in mind, you can arrange these scores for site-specific locations or for a more neutral space.

Composing the Frame: Scale
After watching the scale comparisons, choreograph a short sequence of movement (16-32 counts) on a dancer. Using the scale comparisons as a guide, create your own comparison by shooting your phrase from the various scales.

Composing the Frame: Vantage Points
Choreograph a short duet of 16-32 counts. Using the viewfinder of a camera watch the duet from each vantage point on the list above. Choose the three that work best for you and shoot your phrase from those vantage points.

Camera Motion: Axial Movement: Panning and the Horizontal/Table Plane
Create a short movement phrase that travels across the floor. Place the camera on a tripod in a central location to the phrase and follow the action of the movement through the panning technique. Be aware of the dancers spatial relationship to the frame.

Camera Motion: Motion Comparatives: Moving Side to Side (Pan vs. Track Side)
Choreograph a phrase of movement that travels across the stage from point A to point B. Place a camera on a tripod and practice panning the camera to follow the action. Now place the tripod on dolly wheels to experience tracking the camera along side the action. (You can of course perform either of these exercises without the tripod or dolly wheels by standing in a stationary location for the panning motion and walking along side the action for the tracking motion.)

Camera Motion: Motion Comparatives: Moving Up and Down (Tilt vs. Crane)
Choreograph a phrase of movement that remains fixed in space. Place a camera on a tripod and practice tilting the camera up and down while the phrase is being performed. Now take a camera off the tripod. While holding the camera and looking through the viewfinder, maintain a horizontal line of vision and bend the knees to emulate a craning down motion. Unfold the knees and ascend to emulate craning up. (If you have access to a physical craning apparatus, please use this to complete the exercise.)

Camera Motion: Motion Comparatives: Moving Toward and Away (Zoom vs. Dolly)
Using a hallway as your location, choreograph a short sequence of movement that is performed at one end of the space. Place the camera on a tripod at the opposite end. Looking through the viewfinder, slowly zoom in on the movement. Take notice at how the peripheral foreground (the walls of the hallway) disappear as the camera zooms in. While the movement phrase is performed again, zoom out and notice how the walls peripherally reappear. Now, place the tripod on dolly wheels. Slowly walk the camera down the hall towards the movement. Reverse this action by retreating while the camera records the action. Review both processes with a monitor. How do they differ? Which one did you prefer in this circumstance? Why?

Choreographing the Edit

Temporal Emphasis: Transitions: L-cut
Choreograph two sequences of movement using two dancers, one sequence for each dancer. Select three static shots of various scales and vantage points and three motion shots to record the sequences. With the variety of footage prepared, use an editing program to create a timeline while practicing the above list of transitions.

Temporal Emphasis: Cutting on Action
Choreograph two sequences of movement using two dancers, one sequence for each dancer. Select three static shots of various scales and vantage points and three motion shots to record the sequences. Paying close attention to the direction of movement from clip to clip practice “cutting on action.” Note: You may take a linear or non-linear approach with this assignment.

Temporal Emphasis: Rhythmic Editing
Choose a selection of music in 3/4 time and a selection in 2/4 time. Practice editing clips to each pre-set rhythm. Now choose a non-rhythmic sound selection (such as recorded nature sounds). Practice editing clips to this sound by varying the duration of clips in a fresh pattern.

Temporal Emphasis: Linear Editing
Create a solo of at least 64 counts. Make sure it is well rehearsed and performed with consistency. Now, shoot this solo from four different vantage points varying the scale with each one. With an editing program, create a linear sequence using the different vantage points and scales. Make an effort to choose edit points that create a seamless viewing experience.

Katrina McPherson’s book,
Making Video Dance: A Step-by-step Guide to Creating Dance for the Screen, includes a number of excellent exercises for the following:
• Types of Ideas
• Works of Art
• Writing a Treatment
• Still Frame
• Moving Camera/Single Shot
• In-camera Montage
• Video Dance Improvisations
• Storyboarding
• Locations on Screen
• The Impact of Sound
• Practical Recces
• Cuts, Dissolves and Micro-editing
• Looping and Repeating