The Process of Bollywood
Virtual Reality and Live Performance
While
creating the projection design for the Bollywood
piece was an interactive technological experience, as a whole, this fall
semester has been an online experiment in showing technology design through
technology venues in an effort to communicate with Dance 661 in Hawaii, from
Utah.
In
the article, Dance and Interactivity,
pg. 4, it states, “Space is dematerialized, movement is captured, commuted,
transferred and reconfigured/rematerialized elsewhere…the programming of
interfaces between dancers and the computer implies the creation of an unstable
system.” I experienced this in my weekly
interactions and assignments in class, as well as my projection design
project. Interruptions in visual or sound
occurred, and the interruption of interaction was always present.
Communicating
through Skype, Face time, Facebook, YouTube links, listening to voices when
visual links were interrupted, and the most interesting experience, from my
perspective, was watching Christine Maxwell’s showings through my computer and Camille’s
phone, coming from another computer. I
was watching a ‘virtual’ performance through two visual frames, and three
technological instruments. Visually,
this was very interesting, especially when the class was in the theater
basement and in the room by the costume shop.
I saw the frame of my computer, the frame of the computer Christine was
in, and the doorframe behind the computer projecting Christine. This brought a very interesting perspective
on dimension, virtual reality in dance performance, and visual aesthetic to my
technology with dance experience.
In
the article, Dance and Media
Technologies, pg. 91 addresses the very experience I had with live
streaming, Isadora, and design, especially when I heard the recommendations and
perspectives from the Hawaii class.
“Tiny delays in the transmission became part of the choreography and
entered into the dialogue between present physical body and technologically
mediated body.” Another statement on the
same page says, “Classical attributes of choreography, composition, and
execution traditionally associated with the stage cannot be applied to digital
works.” This applied directly to my
classroom experience, especially the first time using Isadora, and the class in
Hawaii observing my costume closet projection performance on an IPhone. I recall one comment by Charlaine, that she
thought the fast pace of the projections worked for the small view seen in
Hawaii.
Creating
a projection design for the ballroom piece was a very fun experiment with the
use of technology, Isadora, and the technical set up at Snow College. In creating my own design, it was an
experience that brought increased understanding to my knowledge of
collaborating dance and technology.
There was another creative process involved in the design itself,
through video, the use of outdoor light and props, weather and timing. Out of the twenty nine clips videoed, it
turned out I only used six clips, and then played with small sections within
the clips, using only specific parts, as well as blending and slowing down some
of these segments for the affect I desired.
After two showings, and feedback from class, I also edited the design one
more time for the final product. This
turned out to be a very fascinating process for me.
Another
collaborative effort was with the technology center, the stage manager, and a
volunteer to press play on the computer for the projection, timing that with
the curtain, music, and dancers.
I
enjoyed the link Terry Slaughter used www.artFido.com/popular-art
The Movement of Air:
A New
Dance Performance Incorporating Interactive Digital Projection from Adrien M
& Claire B of am-cb.net
The interaction with technological
design and movement was very well choreographed. The technology did not overpower the
movement, especially in the beginning when the dancer was suspended in the air
and paper was seemingly floating around on the stage. That was choreography within the
choreography.
The
projection for my piece ended up coming from the behind the syc, which I was
skeptical about but I liked very much.
The technology center ordered a new projector with high quality
pixilation and a wider keystone to increase the size of the projection. Add a couple of stage props and dancers, and
it came together very nicely.
The
video was better the second night of the show as I had asked the videographer
to pull back on the second night, and the projection design looked much better
through video. It was amazing live. I enjoyed the interaction the projection
movement had with the dancers, and the energy they brought together. For me, it transformed the dance, from a
proscenium dance with lights, to an experience, from another place and country,
increasing the accent of the costuming and movement of the piece. The projection design added more space and
place to the work. Watching the Bollywood performance live, and then
seeing it through YouTube was a change in the energy and virtual reality of my
personal experience.
