This Sunday choreographer Aynsley Vandenbroucke will present a screening and discussion at Moviehouse on the ways artists form relationships and navigate their personal lives and their art. The following Sunday dance filmmaker Zena Bibler will teach a down and dirty DIY dance film-making workshop at Green Space Studio in Long Island City.

Exploring Artistic Relationships

A screening and discussion with Aynsley Vandenbroucke

Moviehouse @ 3rd Ward
Sunday November 13th, 7pm Doors and Food, 8pm Screening
$5 suggested donation

In research for her new piece, Vandenbroucke’s program will examine artists’ relationships between personal partnership and artistic practice. From documentaries and films featuring New York based artists like Patti Smith and John Cage, freedom and commitment, presence and absence, public and private, mobility and stability will be questioned and the debate will be recorded.

3rd Ward (map)
195 Morgan Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11237
718.715.4961
events@3rdward.com

The One-person Crew: Techniques and strategies for getting it all done yourself

Kinetic Cinema Workshop with Zena Bibler

Green Space
Sunday November 20th, 3-6pm
$30 in advance, $35 at the door

Want to make a dance film but don’t know where to start? In this workshop filmmaker and choreographer, Zena Bibler will teach strategies for making dynamic films through use of camera positioning, perspective, rhythm, and movement composition. This workshop is especially geared towards dance filmmakers interested in filming and editing themselves. Register Now!

Green Space (directions)
37-24 24th St. Suite 301
Long Island City, NY 11101
718.956.3037

Jody Oberfelder

So you’ve just finished a dance film, and you think it’s pretty good. You raised funds and invested in talent, crew and high (for you) production values. The final cut has just been completed and you are ready to show it to the world. But how? For most dance filmmakers, the first step in their distribution plan is to have their film shown in festivals. While some festivals offer cash prizes, the primary benefit of having your film shown in festivals isn’t to earn money but to gain recognition and acclaim from the festival communities that could lead to future opportunities for you.

Besides the 100+ dance film festivals around the world there are tens of thousands of other film festivals that you could submit your dance film to. The options are overwhelming, and no one has the time or resources to submit to them all, so it’s important to develop a strategy and take it step by step.

The first step in creating your film festival strategy is to ANALYZE yourself, your goals and your work. Jason B. Kohl, a filmmaker and blogger, encapsulates this process in a short set of basic questions that he always asks himself:

1. Who Am I?
2. Where do I want to work?
3. What kind of career do I want (what kind filmmaker am I)?
4. What do I expect to get out of festivals?
5. What kind of film do I have?
6. How good is it?
7. How much money do I have?
8. When am I applying?

By going through these questions you will develop a clear picture of what you have and where your film has the best shot of being selected and furthering your career.

Marta Renzi on set

The second step is to make a PLAN. The main aspects of your plan are your budget and time frame. Most US festivals have entry fees averaging $30/short. These fees can add up quickly. Dance filmmaker, Marta Renzi says, “My goal is to get my work seen, with a minimum of expense. The good thing about dance/film festivals, especially it seems in Latin America where my work is often shown, is that there’s no entry fee. My rule for submissions to festivals through Withoutabox is that the fee has to be under $40.”

The time frame can be as simple as a calendar with the festival deadlines marked in, or as elaborate as an excel spread sheet where you track the deadlines, responses, and all correspondence you have had with each festival. One way to save money and boost the odds for your film is to submit early. Many festivals offer discounted early bird entry fees as an incentive. This helps them out because the selection committee will have plenty of time to review your film, and it helps reduce the risk that your film will be lost, or given short shrift by being at the bottom of the pile during crunch time.

The third step is to RESEARCH festivals and narrow down your list. Jody Oberfelder, a dance filmmaker and choreographer says, “Besides the major dance on camera festivals, I’ve joined Withoutabox.  This can be overwhelming because there are a gazillion independent [film] festivals. I use my instincts weeding though and try to find more out of the box festivals that might enjoy non-narrative experimental film.” Marta Renzi suggests, “Ask your significant other to look at your work before deciding which piece to submit to which festival.  My husband can tell by a glance at a festival website which of my pieces is most likely to be received well. Anyway, his track record is pretty good so far.” Especially for dance filmmakers, it is a good idea to think about other niches your film could fit into, such as by genre, subject, location, and demographics. Don’t be afraid to look far afield as well. Sometimes fans of your work come from unexpected places. Simon Fildes, a dance filmmaker and co-founder of Goat Media in Scotland, says “More surprising is how little attention we get in our own country compared to internationally. We made trips to China and Australia recently and did loads of press. In the UK we are lucky to get a screening at a dance film festival.”

The Truth by Simon Fildes and Katrina MacPherson

In addition to Withoutabox, most of the major dance film festivals are listed on the Dance Films Association’s website, and many of the calls for entry are posted regularly here on Move the Frame.

Once you have narrowed down your list, and made a calendar, there are some special considerations to make when you pack up your film for submission. First and foremost, CHECK YOUR DVD. Make sure it works in several players before you send it off. Also make sure it is PROPERLY LABELED with your name, the title and your email and telephone #. It is best to put it in a slim case with a label on the spine and the front as well as on the disc itself. You want to ensure that it won’t be lost in the stacks (as frequently happens). It’s also important that you have all your RIGHTS in order. If the music rights aren’t verifiable, your work could be immediately disqualified. It is also helpful to have good high res stills available, and an active and up-dated website for the festival staff to go to for more information about your work. A press kit is often not necessary, but a good website makes you look credible and helps the festival in their marketing efforts.

FINAL TIPS

Simon Fildes cited brevity as one of Goat Media’s winning strategies for festival selection, “We are always pleased to win an award if that happens, but we have a 16 year track record in this field so most people at dance film festivals seem happy to take our work if its not too long ie keep it under 15 minutes.”

Jody Oberfelder says that persistence and perseverance will pay off: “Keep applying, You never know how your aesthetic reaches people. Don’t let one panel discourage you. There are audiences out there for what you do.”

Marta Renzi appreciates the connections and relationships she has built through festival participation: “It tickles me to be programmed at the same festival for several years running. The second time I was screened at Sans Souci in Boulder, I actually visited and appreciated who they are, what they show. Now, after the 5th year of being programmed, it feels like a relationship.”

Some other good articles for tips and festival advice:

http://jasonbkohl.com/archives/2011/short-film-festival-strategy/

http://www.fauxfilm.com/tips/Submission_Tips.pdf

http://www.lavideofilmmaker.com/film-festivals/film-festival-tips-advice.html

The Lab has three distinct facets:

• Moderated Screenings, which bring dance filmmakers together to present raw footage, drafts, works-in-progress and newly finished films to their peers for artist-centered, constructive feedback.
• Practicum Sessions where artists gather for hands-on, in-depth skill-building centered on peer-to-peer exchanges of techniques, methodologies and knowledge.
• Master Classes led by top professionals focusing on filming/production, post-production and distribution.

Dance Film Lab is a program of Dance Films Association, hosted by Dance New Amsterdam, and funded by LMCC’s Fund for Creative Communities.

The Lab is free to all DFA and DNA members– with DFL Masterclasses offered at the significantly discounted rate of $10.

Next Dance Film Lab event:

August 15 – 7:00-9:00 pm
Practicum with Zach Morris
Lighting/3 Point Lighting

DNA: 280 Broadway, 2nd Floor (entrance on Chambers) | New York, NY 10007

Click here to view the embedded video.

Capitol Spring 2 by Boris Willis

Boris writes:

Why should artists create a dance vlog? I believe the answer lies in the number of times we have to explain what we do and have little in our culture to point to as an example. We have an opportunity to reach out to the public to show and explain the process of what we do, why we do it and how we feel about it. Here are some tips for you to think about as you make your dance vlogs.

1. Have a vision
   Find a way to make videos that you feel express who you are and what you want to say as a dancer. That being said, don’t just turn on your camera and dance, find a way to make an interesting and exciting video. Look at commercials and other short videos as inspiration.
2. Vlogging is personal and performative
   Make your vlog about you because it is the one subject that you know more about than anyone else. Dance, talk about dance, talk about making dance while you are dancing, dance about making dance.
3. Understand how the web is used
   Just because you have twenty minutes of footage doesn’t mean you should post it all to your vlog. Generally speaking three minutes is the most someone will watch. In other words keep it short, a sixty second video is plenty. As you gain more skills you will be able to make longer videos compelling by the way you edit them. It is always better to leave them wanting more than to bore them. Make stuff that people want to see and make it short enough that they watch it all.
4. Edit
   Learn how to use the tools of video editing. There are free editing tools that come with your computer operating system, Window’s Movie Maker for Window and iMove for the Mac OS. If you want to be able to do more sophisticated editing you can get Final Cut Express for the Mac and Premiere Pro Elements for the PC. For professional level editing you will need something like Premier Pro CS 4 for the PC and Final Cut 6 for the Mac. The great thing about video is that you can take the time to get it right and make your content compelling. However, the most important edit you make is at the end of your video, use a black out when the video is over and put your credits at the end of each video without a blackout so the credits are the last thing your audience sees. That way if your video gets distributed around the web everyone will know its yours.
5. Get the best camera you can afford
   You never know what will become of your work it is always best to get the highest quality video of your original work. When you put it on the web it will get compressed and lose quality but that is what we expect from the web. Having a high quality version for showing offline is a very good idea. I also recommend that you use a camera that records to video tape so that you have a backup. I always shoot in HDV but down-convert to SD to save disk space then compress it to the Quicktime format which eventually gets converted to flash.
6. Find a video host that you like
   I have been in debates about whether it is better to put your videos on Vimeo or YouTube or Blip.tv. There is no reason not to try all three and of any number of others. Just find one that you like. If image quality is what is most important then Vimeo is for you. If ease of distribution is what is most important then Blip.tv is for you. If getting your videos seen by a large number of people then YouTube is the way to go. There are pro’s and con’s for all three services and I use all three and others as well. Once you decided on a host for your videos choose a host for your blog. Blogger and Wordpress are two popular services that give you a variety of tools to enhance your content.
7. Be Consistent
   Follow your vision, update on a regular basis, make videos in manageable viewing times for your audience. You are not going to make money from advertising on your vlog but you can use your vlog as a tool to get work by showcasing your skills as a performer, choreographer, editor and artist. Let your followers know what you are up to especially when you are taking a break. People want to know that when they go to your blog there is regularly new content there that they want to see. Your dance vlog should be fun and informative. You should do it because you enjoy it.
8. Say hello
   How do you get people to follow your vlog? Email your friends, comment on other people’s vlogs, tell people you meet, get cards made. You can get free cards online from Vista Print.
9. Music
   Don’t use copy-written music. Find a musician among your friends or on the web that will let you use their music in exchange for some cross promotion. You can find plenty of music at this url http://www.archive.org/index.php Learn about Creative Commons use and credit the musicians for their work.
10. Describe the videos you make
    Write a description of the videos you post and use tags to help yourself and others find them. It is time consuming at first to describe your work but the value in doing so cannot be underestimated. Describe what you are doing in the video, give the location, who is in the video, when it was done and what the video is about.

-Boris Willis

danceaday.com

Kerrie Welsh, cinematographer of Fünf 'n' Twist, a new videodance by Anna Brady Nuse. Photo: Susanna Christians

Jessica LaCombe wrote a great article in Dancer Magazine this month about making dance for screen, and I was honored to be included in it. My friends and colleagues, Ellen Bromberg (professor of dance at University of Utah and director of the Dance for the Camera Workshops in Victoria, BC) and Douglas Rosenberg (professor of art at University of Wisconsin-Madison and director of the Dancing for the Camera Festival at ADF) were also featured prominently.

The article gives a well-organized overview of the state of the field today, and some practical advice for new would-be film-makers coming from a background in dance. I’m pleased to see a more main-stream dance publication turning its attention to this burgeoning hybrid medium. As I say in the article, “This generation of choreographers have grown-up with media and been exposed to media so much more even than live dance, that they think in terms of media.” It’s time for dance teachers and educators to wake up to this reality and start helping the new generation navigate the vast media landscape of today and tomorrow.

Check it out and let me know what you think!

What the evening made me think about most was how to enlist video in a dance company’s overall web marketing strategy. To me, the video element of a dance company’s web presence is super important. Nothing can come closer to showing someone what your work is, short of witnessing it live. However, making a highly effective dance video is a very different process from making a highly effective dance for the stage. Not just that, but a dance video should be catered specifically to the type of screens it will be viewed on. Different media platforms have different characteristics, and a brilliant documentary film on your new work for 1500 dancers won’t necessarily be interesting viewed on a small patchy YouTube screen.

Here is a short list of tips for making effective dance videos for the web.

1. Set intentions for your videos.
What do you want your videos to do for you? Do you want to get more bodies into seats at your next concert? Are you trying to build audiences for the future, or do you want to test out some ideas you’re working on for feedback? Whatever you want, be specific about it and align your video efforts around that intention. Kristin Sloan talked about the different marketing intentions behind NYCB’s video campaigns. In their marketing department they make promotional videos for each program in their up-coming season with the sole intention of getting people to buy tickets. At $80/ticket, video previews help people decide whether to splurge and go to a concert. In Kristin’s new media department, the intention is to grow a future audience base for NYCB. Here they make videos that allow people to encounter the company in different ways, such as through intimate glimpses behind the scenes or interviews. These videos get distributed around the web and help increase the visibility and recognition of NYCB in demographics outside of their core audience.

2. Keep them short and streamlined.
People don’t spend much time on any one thing online. They browse and flit about. Just think about your own behavior online. I know I’m all over the place sampling one thing that links me to someplace else. So, if someone comes across your video, you need to capture their attention in the first 10-15 seconds and then complete the thought in 1-3 minutes. Aggressively edit your videos and cut out all the fat. By that I mean unless you are telling us something new and relevant in a scene, leave it out. Have other people look at your video and watch them as they watch. You can see where they fade out or are trying too hard to get it.

Here’s an example of a dance video that’s short, simple, and streamlined.

Video by Nagi Noda

3. Make it personal and informal.
The web is about making connections with other people in ways that wouldn’t be possible offline. The more human and relatable your video is, the more people will connect with your work. Some of the most popular dance videos on the web are of awkward teenage boys in their livingrooms trying to outdo each other with bad dance moves. For professional dancers, this means stripping away the make-up and the stage dressing, and giving a glimpse into the processes, joys and pains behind your work. Kristin Sloan did an amazing job of this in her series on the making of NYCB’s Romeo + Juliet. Anaheim Ballet has also made a great video podcast series that gives viewers a back-stage pass into the workings of their company.

4. Make different videos for different viewing formats and contexts.
You may have a great promo video that you send out to presenters to get gigs, but it has lots of different clips that go all over the place and wouldn’t draw in the average viewer. Or maybe you have a great video of a performance you did, but the wide shots make the dancers look like little white blobs when you watch it on YouTube. In these cases, you should re-edit your video with footage that looks good in a small box (use more close-ups or mid-shots). Focus on one excerpt or idea from your piece that has a beginning, middle and an end. Or shoot an informal interview with a collaborator and put in short clips of footage from the concert to highlight something they said. Behind-the-scenes stories and rehearsal footage can also be very compelling for a web format.

Here is a link to a couple good examples of web videos made from dance concert footage by Misnomer Dance Theater (edited by Jaki Levy).

5. Make them easy to share.
In many cases the intention of a web video is to have it be seen by as many people as possible. This means you should make it easy for users to share your videos, comment on them, and embed them into their own websites and blogs. Chris Elam and Jaki Levy described the web as a place where information is spread not from one central broadcasting place, but through dozens of individuals that spread it through their own niched networks. The more niches your video shows up in, the better its chances are to become viral and spread. Social networking sites and bloggers can help facilitate this type of distribution very effectively.

6. Make lots of videos, and experiment!
The great thing about the web is that it’s cheap and results come very fast. So just jump in and try stuff out. You will know almost instantly if your strategy worked or bombed. Then go back to the drawing board, tweek things and try again. The risks are low and the potential rewards in eye balls, ticket sales, and supporters are great. So go for it! And be sure to share your videos here with me. I’ll do my best to blog about them!

Video compilations and DVD’s:

Dance for Camera Vol. 1 & 2:

First Run Features has taken the lead in producing high quality video compilations of recent dance for camera shorts. I loved Volume 1, and refer to it constantly. Some favorites from this collection are Pascal Magnin’s Contrecoup and Annick Vroom’s RIP. Vol. 2 looks promising too with Motion Control by the Brit team Liz Aggiss and Billy Cowie, and Mitchell Rose’s hilarious Case Studies from the Groat Center for Sleep Disorders.

Mystic Fire Videos puts out great collections of past dance film innovators. This is the place to brush up on your history. I recommend:

Maya Deren Experimental Films The complete collection of all of Maya Deren’s shorts. A must-have for dance film aficiondos.

The Films of Hilary Harris Four short films by Hilary Harris including his Academy Award-winning “Organism.” His film techniques are still remarkable today, and of special interest is his “9 Variations on a dance theme” featuring a beautiful young Bettie DeJong (of Paul Taylor).

Unseen Cinema: VIVA LA DANCE, The Beginnings of Ciné-Dance
Part of Anthology Film Archives’ incredible Unseen Cinema 7 disc box set.
The entire box set is a treasure for cinephiles, but VIVA LA DANCE
features dance in early cinema (1894-1946) with 33 films including some
of the earliest films ever made! This DVD will blow your mind!

Books:

Anarchic Dance by Liz Aggiss, Billy Cowie This book compiles the history of performance & media dance makers Liz Aggiss and Billy Cowie. In addition to the full color book, there is an accompanying DVD featuring excerpts of their work both on stage and in film. Very entertaining and inspiring for videodance enthusiasts!

Making Video Dance: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Dance for the Screen by Katrina McPherson A simple and comprehensive manual on how to make videodance. Great for dancers new to processes of film and video production.

Maya Deren and the American Avant-Garde edited by Bill Nichols As you can tell, I’m obsessed with Maya Deren. That said, this is a really intriguing compilation of essays by other film and dance artists about the importance of her work in history. It also includes a reprint of one of her treatises “An Anagram of Ideas on Art, Form and Film” that is priceless.

Gadgets:

I’m not much of a gearhead, but I do lust after new toys to make videodances with. Here are a couple that have caught my attention lately:

Canon HV20 HD Camcorder $899 (after rebate) I got hooked on HD video after borrowing a HD camera from my friend to shoot “Fünf ‘n’ Twist” last spring. Even the little consumer HD camcorders deliver an incredible image, and they are getting cheaper and cheaper! I’ve usually gone with Sony, but this Canon has been getting good reviews, and I like that it takes hd minidv tapes, which is easier to handle than a hard drive.

Glidecam 4000 Pro Stabilizer System I found this while looking for a steadycam to rent online. This is a low budget alternative to a steadycam, and lets you do choreographic handheld shots. I also found some fun demo videos on the AllMobile video site. I would call this a videodance!

I realize I’m missing editing software suggestions. Any editors out there? Help us out and give us your wish list for videodance thingamajigs.