Posts Tagged ‘technology’

Curious about 3D dance filmmaking? Check out this 6 minute FORA.tv video by Jacob’s Pillow Dance for an introductory primer.  Award-winning filmmakers Marlene Millar and Philip Szporer of Mouvement Perpétuel share their artistic approach and production process using visual examples from their current collaboration with choreographer Crystal Pite and the National Film Board of Canada.  Millar and Szporer describe how a 3D camera works, share their 3D story boards, take us inside the green screen studio with the dancers, and discuss why they are interested in the challenge of creating a stereoscopic experimental dance film incorporating animation.

Can 3D dance film change how audiences experience and participate in dance? What do you think? Comments and links to other 3D dance film insights welcomed.

Tim Cynova (Deputy Director Fractured Atlas) and Sydney Skybetter (Co-Founder Design Brooklyn) have teamed up to create a new uStream video broadcast titled Sky/Nova:15.

Sky/Nova:15 will be streaming conversations centered around dance/arts, media/culture, and technology with the occasional absurdity (Arts administrator trading cards? Astronaut ice cream and hover chairs as part of the arts-going experience in 75 years?).  This week Sky/Nova:15 will be microbroadcasting from the 2010 Dance/USA national conference in Washington, D.C. June 16-19.  Expect a handful of special interviews from the ranks of national and international Dancilluminati (dance world rock stars).

Video, live webchat and archived episodes are available at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/skynova15. You can also view via iPhones/Androids by downloading the free Ustream Viewer app.

Here are the “showtimes”:
Wednesday, June 16, 5:15-5:30PM, “Afternoon Anarchy …and Cocktails”
Thursday, June 17, 8:30-8:45AM, Morning Coffee
Thursday, June 17, 6:15-6:30PM, “Afternoon Anarchy …and Cocktails”
Friday, June 18, 8:30-8:45AM, Morning Coffee
Friday, June 18, 5:30-5:45PM, “Afternoon Anarchy …and Cocktails”
Saturday, June 19, 8:30-8:45AM, Morning Coffee (and maybe Mimosas)

Guests and updates will be announced on Twitter via @SkyNova15

WHY CHOREOGRAPHERS SHOULD TWITTER

By Lisa Niedermeyer

I AM ADDICTED TO TWITTER AND HAVE BEEN TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHY.  It came to me at 2:30 A.M.

I am a choreographer, therefore when it comes to structure that can be experimented with, in seemingly infinite ways…sign me up.

Choreographers who understand the value of SELF-IMPOSED LIMITATIONS will appreciate Twitter’s “micro-blogging” limit of 140 characters. It is a fascinating challenge to communicate something potent, funny or informative in a sentence or less.

INSTANT FEEDBACK.

A definite factor in my addiction is the ability to track (instantly) responses to my posts. We don’t get that as choreographers very often. With bit.ly (a tool that allows you to “shorten, share, and track your links”) I am able to see which posts are duds and which are viral. I’m not saying I want an audience member to immediately tell me if my work engaged them or not, but in this format it is definitely an absorbing factor. 

The Twitter community is world wide. I want a vast range of people to discover my posts about the work I am doing as a choreographer and (hopefully) be interested. Each word inside a twitter post is searchable. You can also utilize keywords by “hashing” in front of them. For example #videodance #nonprofit #freetickets. The challenge is to create multiple posts around a specific “theme” using variations of words and keywords to optimize many different people discovering your feed.

DIFFERING ENTRY POINTS.

Installations, site specific work, and performances that cycle are often playing with differing entry points for the audience into choreography. Twitter feeds are never static, the order of your posts is continuously affected by your community’s simultaneous posts.

Recently I posted an entire dance review in Twitter-bite-sized pieces spread out over the course of 24 hrs, with an active link to the full article in each tweet. For the sake of experimentation I created many pieces of something seemingly out of order/context to see if it engaged one to look for the larger picture.

NEW TOOLS.

Since Twitter has reached critical mass new tools are continously being created for the platform.  Perhaps most intriguing is relative newcomer Twiddeo, video for twitter.

NEW LANGUAGE.   Choreographers are dedicated to experimenting with movement language and are often adept at learning new movement languages thru improvisation (rather than just instruction). To “cyber civilians” Twitter feeds can look like a Wall Street ticker tape or the coding for the Matrix. Don’t let this intimidate you, once you jump in and start improvising, observing, testing the language, you will be confident in no time (or right about 2:30 am after your first Twitter marathon).

Are you a choreographer or media artist? Have you been experimenting with structure on Twitter? What has been successful or interesting for you?  We’d love to hear about your experiences and success stories promoting dance through video on Twitter.

Do you share your original dance videos on twitter?

Share your original dance videos on twitter with us @MovementMediaNY and we’ll Re-tweet (RT)!

Movement Media wants to help increase your online viewing audience by promoting your work.  Feel free to nominate the work of others on Twitter, and we’ll also RT those videos.

If you don’t have videos on Twitter, but you would like to view more video dances, you can follow Movement Media on Twitter to stay current with the artists and videos we feature.

Follow MovementMediaNY on Twitter and stay up-to-date on events such as Movement Media’s screenings, festivals, workshops, and webinars.  You can also stay up-to-date on the weekly videodances and artists we feature on our new Video Dance Channel on YouTube in our  FilmingDance4web Playlists!

As many artists feature their work on YouTube, Movement Media promotes artist videos on our YouTube channel as well.  Contact us to let us know about YouTube videos that we could feature for you.  Share your own dance promo videos, your videodances, or nominate other videodances you’ve seen on YouTube to share with our online audience.

On FilmingDance4web, we feature dancers, dance companies, choreographers, film directors, video artists, and animation in our playlists.  Playlists inlcude Movement Media’s Favorite Videodances, Featured Artists, Featured Countries, Cheap Digital Recorder Art, Cell Phone Videodances, Aerial Dance, Gymnastics & Acrobatics, Trampoline, Fire performers, and more.  We celebrate all forms of dance and videodances.  Tune in and enjoy!

We look forward to sharing your videos through Retweets and showcasing your work on our YouTube Video Dance Channel, FilmingDance4web.

What do dancers need?

Many dancers want to post their own dance videos online for self-promotion and need help finding equipment for filming.  For example, if a dancer doesn’t have a video recorder yet, they may want one, or other equipment to help them get creative.

Here are 5 different gift suggestions (with links and and reviews on equipment) from seasoned Cameraman, Ron Kienhuis.

1.  Video Digital Recorders

Digital Recorder by Zoom.  Most camcorders (especially cheap ones) have horrible sound recording features, or are AGC (non manually adjustable).  If audio is important to you, here’s a Digital Recorder by Zoom (known for the H2 and H4n) that does video!  It’s very affordable at $249.00.  http://www.discmakers.com/duplicators/peripherals/zoomq3.asp

Other multi-purpose recording devices are Digital Still Cameras with video capabilities.  Here the choices are endless.  Almost every manufacturer makes them in all price ranges.  The most useful would be a camera with a Wide Angle lens and low light capabilities.
Canon’s Power Shot S90 for $429.99.  http://tinyurl.com/yfyxxe5
Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-LX3 for $469.00.  http://tinyurl.com/6zyxpo

At the same time nearly all Video Cameras can take stills, some at the same time as recording video.  One of the last tape based cameras is the Canon HV-40. It has the capabilities to shoot 24P the infamous “Cinema” look.
Canon VIXIA HV-40 for $699.00.  http://tinyurl.com/yarxynk

Flip Video Camera.  Easy to use, and affordable.  It costs $159.00.  http://tinyurl.com/yej764v

Video Enabled Cell Phone or Music Player.  Try Apple’s iPhone or iPod Nano.  A simple way to record video is with a 3G iPhone or the new Apple Nano iPod.

iphone 3GS 32GB starting at $299.00. http://tinyurl.com/rbwkab.

ipod Nano 8GB at $149.00 and ipod Nano 16GB at $179.00. http://www.apple.com/ipodnano/

2. Creative Filming Options

Here are some fun cameras to try some different types of shots.

Waterproof Camera.  Want to shoot near the water, or in it?!! Then you’ll need a waterproof camera.  Check out the Sanyo XACHI VPC-E2 Digital Camcorder and Digital Camera beginning at 169.99  http://tinyurl.com/ycsyyfo

A Pet’s Eye View camera for only $49.99.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/electronics/cameras-photography/afbc/

3. Tripods and Camera Applications

GorillaCam Camera Application. Prefer to have a video recorded that affords you steady and level shots?  Gorillacam is an iphone app that works with your camera to improve your camera capabilities.  It includes a self-timer for self-portraits and group shots, and time-lapse photography, and other features for  FREE.  Read more here.  http://joby.com/gorillacam/

GorillaMobile Flexible Tripods.  When cell phones and some video recorders do not have ways to attach a tripod you need to rely on a friend to operate it unless you buy a tripod that can do the job.  A GorillaMobile is a flexible tripod with a custom-designed iphone case for $39.95.   You can also purchase GorillaPod for regular cameras for a cost of $21.95.  http://joby.com/gorillapod

4. Micro Projectors

(Brief review of the first 3 products made)

Optoma Pico Projector.  A video projector so small, you can carry it in your pocket. Then, when it’s time for a little entertainment, you can whip it out, connect it to your iPod or iPhone, and project your videos onto a nearby wall, ceiling or airplane seat back–a far more satisfying experience than watching the movie on a little two-inch screen.

The Optoma projector is aimed almost exclusively at iPods, iPhones and other smartphones that can play video, along with video sources that have RCA cables–the red/white/yellow cable set–like camcorders, DVD players, game consoles, digital cameras and other sources.  But you can’t connect it to a laptop (for spur-of-the-boardroom PowerPoint presentations, for example).  The Optoma projects iPhone videos effortlessly–but not photos.  It is sold in most retail stores ranging from $229-$400.  As these mini projectors are new to the market, the costs vary considerably depending on where one purchases the product.   http://tinyurl.com/c7q28k

3M’s Micro Professional Projector, the MPro110.  The 3M Micro Professional Projector MPro110 costs about $359.00.  It’s about the same size as Optoma (2 x .9 x 4.5 inches), but it’s not quite as bright; it tops out at about six feet from your “screen,” casting an image about 40 inches diagonally. And whereas the Optoma projector has a tiny, feeble built-in speaker, the 3M has none at all.  If you plan to use it for movies, you’ll also have to plan to connect headphones or speakers.

The 3M projector, on the other hand, is the only micro projector so far that accepts a standard laptop video signal (it has a VGA connector). On one hand, it may seem a little silly to use a micro projector for a laptop; in the end, the projected image isn’t all THAT much larger than the laptop’s own screen. Still, it can make the difference between showing your slides to three people and showing them to eight people.  The 3M also accepts input from RCA cables, just like the Optoma.  http://www.3m.com/mpro/news.html

Aiptek’s PocketCinema V10.  The Aiptek PocketCinema V10 takes yet a third approach.  Whereas the Optoma seems made in heaven for iPods and iPhones (and comes with the proper cable), and the 3M is a better bet for laptops, the Aiptek has a slot for a memory card, and, more intriguingly, 1 gigabyte of built-in storage.

In other words, you can carry this thing around without any other equipment at all, preloaded, ready to make your elevator pitch at any time, without having to connect or set up anything. (You do have to convert your pictures and movies to the projector’s preferred formats, which can be a pain.)

Connecting a laptop is pretty much hopeless unless it has either RCA or S-Video connectors, both of which are rare on laptops these days, or a VGA-to-RCA adapter. (Once again, any video source with RCA cables will work.)

The PocketCinema ($249.00-$300) is bigger than the other projectors (4.9 x 2.1 x 0.9), but it’s the only one with a decent speaker, a remote and a tripod. (Maximum image and distance: 42-inch image, 5 feet away.) http://tinyurl.com/y9rfggu

5. Speakers

For rehearsals how about a set of portable speakers for your iPhone?  These portable speakers cost $49.99.
http://www.dlo.com/products/view/portspeakers_universal

Or turn your iPod into a boombox.  Prices range from $14.00 to $100.
http://www.nextag.com/ipod-portable-speakers/stores-html

Good luck with your holiday shopping.  We hope these gift suggestions were helpful!  Happy Winter Solstice everyone and Merry Christmas!

Thursday, November 5th, 1:00-2:00pm (EST) Webinar fee: $18

Register here: http://pentacle.org/movement_media_artists_services.asp#workshops

Online fundraising doesn’t have to be hard.  Whether you’re raising money from hundreds of supporters or just friends and family, learning how to design and promote your dance or film project online lets you fundraise quickly and effectively.

Dancer and choreographer, Benjamin Ford Asriel (http://www.basriel.com) presents a Webinar designed to help dancers learn how to creatively utilize the Internet to raise money for their dance and dance film projects.

Benjamin’s ‘Project Paper Trail’ is a choreography project and fundraising blog that has currently raised over $9,000 through online donations.  The one hour Webinar will take place in real time, so that you will have ample time to ask questions and get feedback from Benjamin.

click here to register!

Benjamin will discuss his success with his fundraising project, ‘Project Paper Trail’ .  Hear about the different types of donors his project attracted, and how his funding project became so successful.

Learn how artists can build wider, more engaged audiences and new models to generate support.  Open discussion will be part of the Webinar, so you will have time to ask questions or discuss ideas about online fundraising campaigns for your artistic work!

We look forward to seeing you at the Webinar on November 5th.

Benjamin Ford Asriel posts 'Project Paper Trail' online for viewers