Dance on Film: Find Your Creative Voice

Dance is increasingly being created and performed for digital audiences. Stepping into this territory can seem daunting and unfamiliar. Dance filmmaker Jo Cork offers some practical tips for those looking at creating a piece of screendance of their own.

Jo Cork

Photo: Orestes Chouchoulas

Dance exploded onto our screens in 2020 in a way screendance practitioners scarcely dared to hope for. The pandemic created a very particular space for larger audiences to discover screendance, and to understand that as a creator, it should be approached as more than documentation of live work - it is a hybrid art form in its own right. It has hugely exciting possibilities and, in today’s digital culture, is very much on the rise.

While many screendance artists have honed their practice over several years, the cameras within our phones make it a very accessible form, and there are some key aspects that screendance newbies can consider in order to start exploring and creating…

Choreography for camera

This is a hybrid art form - consider the relationship between choreography and camera. Ask yourself: What do you want your viewer to notice? What do you want them to feel? What do you want to draw attention to? What do the camera and choreography create together? Camerawork can entirely transform choreography! It can draw emphasis to tiny details, and give the viewer a sense of motion as a dancer remains still. It can fragment the body to focus on isolated movements or limbs, or make the viewer feel that they are approaching the dancer; there are endless options.

How does that work in the studio? One of the most compelling features of screendance is that it gives us, as, makers, control over physics! Suddenly, we can switch viewpoints, slow down, speed up, defy gravity, switch between past and present, or teleport to another location - we are liberated to escape all those restrictions we are beholden to in making live work.

And so, you need to get to know your choreography from all angles.Walk around it; don’t view it from the front - that makes sense for stage work, but not here. Take test shots. Use your hands to blinker your vision and test what it’s like when you see just the feet here, or just the turning of the torso there.

Location

Just as you wouldn’t put unrelated scenery on stage with your work, don’t film in an unrelated location. Again, what do you want your viewer to notice? What do you want them to feel? What do you want to draw attention to?

What can a location offer that serves those aims? Perhaps it’s the decaying nature of a derelict barn, the historical/social significance of a marketplace or public square,or the sense of comfort and safety of a cosy living room strewn with family photos.

Jo Cork

Photo: Zbigniew Kotkiewics

Ask yourself: What do you want your viewer to notice? What do you want them to feel? What do you want to draw attention to? What do the camera and choreography create together?

Permissions

If filming outdoors, you may need to gain permission from the land owner or local council. In fear of rejection, it can be tempting to film without asking. No matter how you film, every shoot requires some risk assessment. The safety of the public and your performers is paramount, so listen to local guidance.

Delivering your concept

Using non-dance images can be useful to give your audience a chance to absorb what they have just seen, to breathe and reset before a new scene, or to highlight important themes. All of that imagery in our head when we choreograph - if filmed and used carefully - can ensure your ideas land with your viewers. A clock ticking, scissors cutting a thread, mud-smeared shoes…

Lighting

If you are using theatre grade lighting, always review how it’s looking on camera. You may find you need to lift the levels slightly on the lighting desk.

Avoid fluorescent lights as they result in a flickering, due to their particular frequency of light and its compatibility with the camera. Reflector panels can be used to direct/disperse light.

Weather

If you’re outdoors, overcast days are often best - the consistent cloud makes continuity easier to handle. Changing light can cause issues - sometimes you can adjust this in post-production, but aim to capture the footage as you want it to be. Being dependent on post-production fixes is risky and has the potential to be heart breaking if something doesn’t work.

Score/Music

Broadly: Have the rights to your score!

Making sure you have the rights

Seek permission from the song writer/ publisher (which may incur a fee), use copyright free music, or develop an original score - try your hand at sound design or work with a composer.

Not having permissions will limit where you can have your work seen. Film festivals require you to have music rights secured, and algorithms on online platforms usually detect existing music and prevent upload or visibility. One Dance UK have generated a really useful document regarding acquiring rights – a link is at the bottom of this article.

Working with a composer

The score will really affect how the viewer interprets what they see, so collaborating with someone who understands your artistic vision is really important. Approach musicians whose work you like on Soundcloud, or contact a local university who could suggest current students/alumni.

Ranjani Māla Divya Kasturi Company 2020

Image: Jo Cork Dance and Digital

Editing

Software

Some user-friendly software: iMovie (iOS, free), VideoLeap (iOS and Android, free with in-app purchases), Microsoft Media Player (Windows), Final Cut Pro (Apple, paid for).

Post-production

Fancy transitions and effects may be less useful than you first think. Ask yourself if the changes to your image are serving your artistic intention. Colouring is tricky, but a lot can be done to enhance images with small adjustments to exposure or saturation.

Choreographing ‘in the edit’

Be mindful that choreography continues in the film’s edit. Accelerating rhythmical cuts will often generate a sense of pace, excitement or anticipation. A close up will give minute movement significant meaning. If you are a choreographer, you’ll quickly see the parallels in construction.

Screendance, while being far from new, is a constantly evolving form. There is no wrong. There is no right. As with anything, explore, make mistakes, and find unexpected successes - enjoy discovering what your creative voice looks like within this particular medium.

Further information

Jo Cork MA is an London based independent dance and film artist, exploring the human condition and our experiences to create her work. Jo has recently collaborated with ZooNation: The Kate Prince Company, The Place/LCDS, Divya Kasturi Company and is a Member Artist at Chisenhale Dance Space and a Studio Wayne McGregor QuestLab Artist.

In 2021, she will be working with stage, television and film choreographer Anthony Van Laast and director Roman Green to develop independent dance film, 'Rebel Rebel'.

jocorkdancedigi.com

@jocorkdancedigi

One Dance UK Filming Dance for Screen Webinar: bit.ly/3pmr3Gn

Screen.Dance Film Festival Artist Presentation: bit.ly/2V45i05