Film Dance

 

Four Steps to Filming

This workshop teaches you to film Dance as performed in virtual platforms.

When you are done you will know these key four steps.  Click on each for a tutorial.
  1. Setup (get and configure capture software)

  2. Capture (lighting, background, performance, composition, panning, zooming)

  3. Edit (music, workflow, subtitles, credits, transitions, intellectual property)

  4. Publish (storage, compression, cloud storage, portfolios)

Seven Minute example

Creating films by using game engines is called 'Machinima'.  For example, if you like the game of Warhammer, you'll find a channel devoted to it - https://warhammertv.com/.  Our focus for this class revolved around dance but the concepts cross between broader machinima.

You may notice I support events that include roleplay set in the fantasy world of Gor - based on works by John Norman.  But these filming techniques may apply to many virtual settings.  Let's take a look at our first example.




For more examples see Selected Dance Films.
You can also learn from other people's styles.

See it

Enough talk!!   Now you will watch this 5 minute video shows class, common pitfalls, and ideas for creating your own works.






Next, browse through these scrolls to get an overview of our course: instructional scrolls (PDF of slides)

Here is another case study.  I was asked to film a memorial dance - a very serious topic.
https://player.vimeo.com/video/219251349

I made some design decisions.  I did not fill the beginning with stock music, so the dancer's music begins at 25 seconds in.  I used an artsy but I hope readable font.  I let some of the text bleed over the video (hopefully retaining enough contrast).  And I compressed the credits onto a screen with images instead of having their own text only moment.   Did I choose well?

You can see a selection of my best videos on my page of Selected Dance Films.

See my Dance Resources page for links to the tools mentioned in this course.

Closing Thoughts

Machinima.   It's the use of game engines to create videos.  Using virtual world building tools we can create settings and events that would be impossible physically.

I am always struck by how many ways there are to enjoy the art of Virtual Dance.  Perform.  Organize.  Photograph.  Sponsor.  MC.  Build.  Judge.  One such role is to film dance, either during events or for private sessions.

See you in the sands....Koardan & his Snow
 

Acknowledgements

Camtasia Studio® is a trademark of TechSmith.
 
Warhammer® is a trademark of Games Workshop Limited.
 
Second Life®  is a trademark of Linden Research, Inc.

This non commercial fan site is not endorsed by anyone.

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