the projection test #1
This week I went out and shot some inspiration on displacement. I went with images that would give a chance for the performers to hide with the projection or to feel disoriented. Its hard to shoot material knowing that the audience will be engaged simultaneously to the dance and the images, yet truly only be paying attention to one (this i realized during the test). Content wise, I shot some envionrmental scenes (a brick wall, some fractal-esque tree branches) as well as some live “animal” content to simulate characters that are only in the 2-d world, not the reality of the performance. I also constructed some simple word tests by using emotions and strange sentences that scrolled across the screen – white on black.
We ended up doing two tests. One was a timeline of all I shot and created, the other was a live feed from someone dancing on the other side of the room. The tests are two posts below.
I loved the interaction between the live feed person and the real person. There is something so ghostly and sad about this interaction, it really seems to reach out to this topic of displacement pretty quickly. Any of the projections, whether word or image, were interesting and very textural, but they were just that.. environmental. It required the performers to respond to the environment and then required them to continue the response and performance. When the video changed, it prompted a new reaction, but there was no “reaction” from the image based on the dance performers emotion.
At this point, I want to nail down some characters so we can construct some sort of narrative around the concept. The feelings about displacement, forced individualism, and loneliness are strong enough to explore forever, but constructing a narrative around 5 performers (4 live, one media) is shaping up to be difficult.
Next week, I will make a processing sketch to do some simple body tracking and light following to see the effect this has on the dancers. At this point, the projections are helping (and exciting) the dancers to get used to projection and image based feedback.. but we are going to forge more towards a narrative so that this video doesnt just end up being environmental or a spectacle.
Radiolab
Since the majority of my references during this rehearsal process have begun with the phrase, “so i was listening to this podcast and….” i’ve decided to share one particularly poignant podcast from WNYC’s bi-monthly program, Radiolab. “Memory and Forgetting” explores the science and philosophy of how and why we remember and recall certain experiences, while other experiences evaporate from our thoughts as quickly as they occur. In rehearsal we’ve been exploring the displacing effect memory has on the present. So, here, from the mouths of brainy people who actually know what they’re talking about….
From WNYC’s Radiolab ,”Memory and Forgetting”
oh, and also, before i forget, id like to recommend listening to “Who am I?” and in their shorts series, “Blink” and well, all of them. Cuz if you enjoy geeking out on science half as much as I do, Radiolab will blow your brain. undoubtedly.
02.20.10
Today’s rehearsal was so inspiring. We have started incorporating more of Chris’s influences into the process, and today we really began experiementing with the use of projection within the piece. We’ve talked a lot about how video is going to be another character within the dance. We don’t want it to be just a visual element that enhances what the audience sees, but to be an element that acts/reacts/emotes with the actual physical performers.
We experimented with two different uses of the technology and performer interaction. The first was using some video that Chris had shot earlier today. We just let the video run up on the screen and we improvised based on the movement material that we have been developing over the past few months. The second iteration used live video feed. Katie stood on the opposite side of the room and we projected her live image onto the screen. Molly and Katie then danced with one another.
What an exciting day! I think we generated some amazing ideas and this is only the first time using it within the rehearsal process. I am so excited!!!
week three and four: in the studio
the past two weeks have been really rich in terms of movement creation. we have been focusing on the ideas of memory and “missing”. sometimes we choose to forget in order not to miss. this removal of past experience is usually a coping strategy, so as not to really feel. we have brought of lot our personal experiences of this into the studio.
based on our improvisations last week, we created more structured solos. after sharing them with one another, we took turns directing and crafting each other. below are the three solos that came out of this process.
for my solo, veronica thought it would be interesting to literally interfere with the timing of my dancing. she interjected by yelling “stop” and “go”. this invasion forced me to really explore the moments of stillness and quiet, which is unusual in my process. this foreign element was challenging but very effective. we are thinking of incorporating elements of vocal interjections into the final product.
molly and i had some one on one time in the studio and began working on a duet. in keeping with the concept of memory, we had the idea of creating a duet that dealt with the notion of interjecting thoughts. sometimes we have memories that take us out of the present moment and distract us. below is our experimentation in physicalizing the ideas of these displacing thoughts.
on monday katie and i had some time to work on her solo. she has just started integrating into the rehearsal process so we had to catch her up and make some movement material for her. i used a technique that i had never used before to generate movement. i started by talking to her about the ideas i had around us choosing not to miss something. then i told her to think about something/someone/some time that she missed. we then used the following fill in the blank phrase to inspire our solos “i miss ______ . Without _______ i feel _________. If _________ was still here I would be __________.”
finally we got the whole group together. after reviewing some of the group material that we created back in the beginning of the process, we worked together to create a hybrid phrase. we had two phrases and each spent about 20 minutes creating our own phrases based off these two different movement ideas (one being more gestural foot work, and the other being larger locomotive movement). we then strung our 4 “mini” phrases together, to create one long phrase.
Rehearsal Log 2.13.10
3 hours of catch up and playing on the idea of memory and how can a memory ever be pure. Even our rehearsals rely on memory and the present is just a rendition of the memories of movement/context. To be able to share the space with people who are dear friends tha create a safe place to play and explore. These older bodies and minds need to time to and attention to move and prepare but what a luxury to be able to listen to your body and the people around you.
This idea of memory is bringing up the notion of Samskara, Sanskrit for “imprints left on the subconscious mind by experience”.
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Rehearsal and combining two strong media
This week I started attending the rehearsals of the dance performance. At this point, the rehearsals are mainly exercises to come up with strings of movement to explore and use as a framework for the full piece, when its [narrative] structure is determined.
Adam and I had conceptualized last week that it is truly important that, for the piece to work as a whole, we consider the dancers performers AS WELL AS the video. The piece itself would be a “performance” of sorts, not dance nor video/film. We had seen Chunky Move and some other video/dance pieces over the past few weeks and my biggest complaint was that I could remove one part of the performance (dance or video) and the opposite would seem to really not be effected by its disappearance. This meant that neither performance had been woven into each other, both im medium and in narrative/plot. In my opinion, this probably happened at the earliest stages of conception. One of the media was used as a tool,crutch, or vehicle for the other medium (like the saltine – the cracker is just a vehicle for the taste of salt). The piece could still be effective as a narrative or emotional piece, however one of the performances was being eclipsed by the others.
In an effort to head this off at the pass, I am determined to create two simultaneous, intertwining paths of development for both the dance and the video. The dance and video need to be created, simultaneously, around the theme and narrative – they have to come from one another.
I decided that I would come to the rehearsal with a flashlight and use the “beam” of light as a stand in for the video piece. Video and film, at its core, is an image based medium that is meant to effect the audience by light. Since I know no dance (and nor is that my job), I wanted to interject myself into the dance exercises as an simplistic version of any sort of projection, media, or image, in order to get a grasp on what its like to interact with a performer through 2 dimensional light.
The typical exercise for the dancers is to dance, eyes shut, for a few minutes, displaying any emotion or feeling. Then, the next dancer, calls “time” and takes the place of the previous dancer. They then respond to the dancer, eyes shut, introducing new movement and emotion to the piece. This improvisation goes back and forth several times. I jumped in at one point with my flash light, and started to see how much I could interact with the dancers and how much they would interact with the light. After the exercise, we discussed that there was a feeling of “invasion” about the flash light as well as a physical feeling of heat. The dancers could tell when the light was flashed on their face and could also gleam emotion from it.
Become Displaced – Rehearsal 02.08.10 Playing With Light from Adam Scher on Vimeo.
week one and two : in the studio
So over the past few weeks we have begun working on this project. During our rehearsals, we have spent a lot of time discussing what it means to “be displaced”. In some initial brainstorms, we talked about the differences between being emotionally and physically displaced. We used these two different ideas to generate some initial movement phrases and ideas.
I started out by creating a traveling phrase that focused on footsteps. The visual behind it was (and I know this is a cheezy and literal interpretation of the meaning of being physically displaced) of a clan leaving their village behind. There is a feeling of sadness, of carrying the past with you, but not being alone. The entire phrase has the torso hunched over, with the arms hugging the body. These physical motifs, for me, mean self security and vulnerability, very much an internal reflection.
NOTE: This is not this music intended to be used in the production of this project. It is just for rehearsal to set mood, create rhythm, etc. I do love this music though. It’s by Beruit.
We then focused on doing an improvisational exercise. We each talked about experiences in our lives where we have felt displaced emotionally. Chris brought up the topic of feeling so out of place, but never expressing it. The notion that nobody really knows what anyone else is feeling. It raised the question, “why do we displace our emotions?” After the discussion, we used a structure called Authentic Movement. One at a time we improvise with our eyes closed. Then, the next person goes being inspired by the person before them.
Veronica’s improvisation:
Molly’s improvisation:
My improvisation:
I really wanted to make some physical movement as well. I’m not sure how this will tie into everything, but it is good to have.
