HLP Day One :: Bowden Creative Space

Well, day one in the new studio has been great. I have approached this project with a really open mind and very few preconceptions about how we will generate the movement to be 'filmed' and negotiate the approach as a team, and hopefully that strategy will work out. Carol Wellman Kelly, Lisa Griffiths and I basically hung out in the rehearsal room, talking about contemporary dance in general, and about the first steps for the project. We discussed various capure techniques I am interesting in examining (Bullet Time, Timelapse, Slow Motion..) and considered how the series of screens in the final work might be able to be utilised. We negotiated the project schedule and started to look into strategies for generating movement based on Eadweard Muybridge's images.

Lisa (left) & Carol (right) discussing the projectWe began to look at a series of characters drawn from Muybridge's vignettes - he does appear to work across a range of reasonably defined characters so it was easy to identify the 'water carriers', the 'sporty' characters and the 'fancy dancers'. We discussed what appeals to each of us about the images and overall are drawn to the image sequences that are simple, that have strong compositional qualities, and that offer an interesting progression in the movement.

Looking at Muybridge's image sequencesWe made a list of various props that might be interesting to work with in the studio, and will begin to play with those tomorrow. Carol and I then started to look at ways we could use the space to create a grid to reference Muybridge's anthropometric grid, and avoid the costly exercise of having a set made. As much as I'd like to have a set created, I just don't have the budget in this development. So we talked about how we could use the windows in the rehearsal room, exploring both the strip lighting LED idea (could these delineate the background space without looking cheesy?), and the existing structure within the windows. If we use the windows we'd need to have Lisa working on the tables, which are rock solid and would create an interesting spatial boundary for the choreography. But how will they function overall and will the elevated position work for the overall approach?

Hmm, not really working for the function we'd like it to haveWe thought about creating square blockouts blocks that would allow the window frames and some background light to create the grid. This is something I'd like to explore tomorrow. I also need to consider how an elevated space like this might be able to be seen through the eyes of an array. Does this grid offer anything relevant to the idea of an analytical refence, or is it just an easy solution? We'll have to explore this to find out..

Carol Wellman Kelly

Well, it looked ike this idea has some potential, so I tried it with some foreground lighting to avoid getting a silhouetted figure without enough detail and texture. I was really worried about potential reflections in the painted window frames but these are manageable, I think. Shadows could be an issue. Oh, and the fact that with the array in 'cascade' , and using video capture, I won't be able to use flash anyway..

Exploring the 'site' with foreground flashBy the way, Carol is playing with the idea of the horse, referencing the images Muybridge is most famous for. She is using a ponytial prop and curtain cord - nice improvisation!

A bit of fun at the end of the day :)

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[lisa griffiths]

Just returned home from an afternoon of shooting in our Bowden creative den. Today we created a new 'Miniture' ( this is my new titile for each skit) Tennis Player-Marylin. Inspired by the simple movement of the body bending down to pick up a ball, then toss a ball and hit it. We questioned how we could emerge this very normal typical human action and character into the extreme and very opposite. So the character Marylin (aka Marilyn Monroe) was used as a catalyst to move the positions of the body in a different way- and to completely change the tone of the Miniture.
My task was to move in slow motion except the moments when to hit the ball I moved in real-time. We are curious on the effect the different dynamic will have on the edited piece. The movement phrase was filmed from the beginning for each time we changed or added in a piece for the costume. This would give Sam the right footage to edit together in the aim that the Tennis player evolves into Marylin magiacally. It was important for me to be incredably consistent. All my points on the floor....e.g feet, placement of props, are marked to help me be acurate. Due to the nature of the process of filming this type of work, one Mintiure can take up to 2-3 hours- that includes- brainstorm idea-put costume together-devise the choreography and of course shoot. So you can imagine how our light changes dramatically over that time and is a small issue we are working with, for this initial stage, rather then let it hold back the process of creating. However light consistency will be addressed in the future shoots.
each day the 3 of us ask the team what we are in search of and this conversation always brings new discoveries and links us back to the work of Muybridges images and studies. Perhaps towards the end of his search he let go of what he was looking for and allowed himself to work more by instinct. This is a highly visual medium we are working with. We are looking at images to feed our exploration each morning then through the lens Sam see's her world. Perhaps it is too premature in our exploration to try and articulate with words what we are looking for. Perhaps we will know it when we really see it!