featuring: Alex Costantino, Darvey To, Madelynne Herrmann and Meghan Guy
music: nomads of the sea – santport
Material Choreographies
Abstract Machinations at RMIT
featuring: Alex Costantino, Darvey To, Madelynne Herrmann and Meghan Guy
music: nomads of the sea – santport
POSITIVES:
-The moments where in the mundaness, you guys would move your body in a dancing manner (pirouettes, stretches, etc.) I would find incredibly beautiful. I thought that was really well done. Almost like there was a small inkling of profoundness there.
-Music was really well done in beat with your movements to the point where some parts felt really like a dance!
-The camera angles were often really stunning. I think especially when the camera was focused in and close up to whatever body part the were highlighting. I think that style of framing did wonders in making your movements seem like a dance.
CONSTRUCTIVE:
-If you were to continue this further, I’d love to see maybe a more refined organization of shots. I felt like you were moving from the feet upwards and highlighting those body parts, but it ended up being a bit of everything–which is nice too, but I personally live for those close ups and think it would really emphasize your film’s already existing strengths,
-The first section being overlayed with the beach felt a bit off. Maybe it was the color or lighting but I truly feel like the sound of waves would have been enough to imply meaning without necessarily showing us.
-In saying that, I would be really interested to see what this film would look like if it started from everyone taking their shoes off 🙂
Firstly, cute cat!! I really enjoyed the gentle rhythm of this piece, I feel like the music goes really well with the actions and movements on screen. I like the distinctions between the ways in which different people perform different tasks, like we have seen with other groups. There is slightly more emphasis here on exaggerated/theatrical movements which I found interesting. The beginning confused me a bit, I wasn’t quite sure what you guys were going for with the ocean overlay? Maybe a contrast between the calmness of the ocean and the business of everyday life? It was a bit confusing, but overall, nice job.
It’s really cool to see some similarities with our work 🙂 Thought I’d compare & contrast in hopes of finding some deeper insights.
I loved that your approach to mundane actions was to jazz them up with typical dance gestures. In ours, we simply let the shots convey mundane activities as we regularly see them, whereas your approach seemed to celebrate the “everyday”. Very cool perspective 🙂
The opacity effect of the sea imagery at the start reminded me of the film for my first brief (the gay bar one). When we did that, we were aiming to relate it back to an idea of fluidity and peace – but I think we got caught up in wanting ideas to “come together” that we rushed to use the opacity effect in editing. In hindsight, I think this message could have been conveyed just as well if we had just cut from one shot to the next – sometimes the effect of seeing two images after one another is more readable. I guess it depends on what your artistic intentions are of course! But yeah, it’s interesting to see how simple editing techniques can have different affects.
A playful and fluid interpretation of dance-like quality to the interaction with the mundane. I really liked how you maintained the movements of human body in a more agitated rather than mechanical state. The way a hand moved across the book page or how a body would enter a space and flick the shoes off places this piece into a dance film genre. Those little moments of dancing across the objects were interesting and exciting – adding another dimension to mere object interaction. They are more abstract yet also more intimate – like an individual signature, something done secretly when no one is watching. The sound is well chosen, not imposing but a subtle nod to movement, be it in the superimposed image of the sea (implying a freedom of movement as opposed to the urban, robotic state of being??) as well as the simple beat over the later imagery of bodies in space/interacting with mundane objects. I can engage with the dance quality of this piece. Good job!
The superimposition really adds this other narrative beyond mundanity’s ‘flatness’. Though, perhaps it didn’t need to be visually carried throughout the first part and could’ve just been sonically.
There’s great moments where foot action synchronises with the crashing waves. Loved how some of these similarities were then made different through lighting. The transition of a shadowed body to sunlit body highlights a similar gesture in a different way. My attention was drawn to the beam of light which outlined the curvature of the arm as it moved upwards. The shift from many bodies to a singular body then return to a group formation of ‘inward toes’ reflects the cyclical nature of the dance and group work.
Sound Suggestions:
It’d be interesting to listen to the second part with no sound and instead have the audience imagine their own sounds for the movements. This could further emphasise your idea of ‘singularity’ since each viewer would have a subjective listening of the movements. The soundtrack feels as though it drowns out the singularity of each movement. Think what sounds the audience could bring to your piece?
This piece was very calming, both in the visual and sound aspect. The choice of music has just enough beat to emphasis the movement of the piece without being too overpowering, and while I’m still a little confused about where the ocean plays into the piece, the calming sounds before getting into the movements really helped me relax and get into the piece.
I can say without a doubt I adore how you’ve handled the ‘dance’ in this piece. Adding it to everyday life really gave it some personality, especially seeing how each person would move their body differently in their own everyday dance. I am interested in what Mya suggested about having the second part silent, alluding to the music inside each person’s head and how it influences their movements, but I also enjoyed how all your movements seemed to fit the music already chosen.
This was a delight to watch, awesome job!
Terrific! Alex, Darvey, Madelynne and Meghan.
The music was such a nice vibe, really helped me settle into the groove of the video (didn’t mean for that to sound as nearly as hippyish as it did haha) -but the music did feel like that. The section in the middle where the hands were running over the cat, then the guitar and then the book was great! I don’t know how Darvey (I think) did it but that rhythmic flipping of the pages and finger moving over the book was just awesome. There was literally a whole movie just in that sequence. Well done creating such an interesting flow from shot to shot. The gestures and movements didn’t feel at all random, despite being everyday motions. Big kudos to the editing for string it all together so thoughtfully. The overlaying at the start, especially in colour, perhaps looked a little confusing, but overall wonderful job everyone!
Like the others have said, I feel like you guys really explored the ways in which everybody ‘dances’ in everyday life. I really enjoyed the chilled music paired with the shots of you all dancing through your everyday routines. It felt accessible and yet still elevated above what we view as mundane.
The only part I was a little confused by was the superimposed ocean section at the beginning and then the change to music. I believe you were perhaps going for a connection to nature and the oceans ‘routine’ or ‘dance’ if you will but I believe you covered the connection between beauty of movement or ‘dance’ in the mundane enough already without it.
Overall, good job guys!
I really like how you guys have conceptualised dance within every day life and found a way to express this. I don’t really get the relevance/concept of rthe waves at the start superimposeed with the university shots but would love to hear your reasoning behind this!
Interesting comment from Leanne to try the opening with just the sound of waves, not actual waves, and Mya’s interpretation. It’s interesting that this has generated so much conversation. I can see you trying to explore various dimensions and textures here, but I’m not sure I quite understood this in relation to the rest of the work.
The shadow on the wall was my favourite moment. I wonder what an entire work of shadows would look like?
Interesting experimentation with the ‘dancerly’ movement of the body in the home. I wonder what it would be like to explore finding this ‘poetry’ through film aesthetic, rather than an actual ‘dancing’ body? As it is, it could be read at surface level that these are dancers, doing their stretches when they get home. How might we add doubt and multiplicity to this reading? I think the hand on the cup goes some way toward this, it’s a gesture that sits in that in-between space (dancer/not a dancer). Well done!
I thought the first part of the video was interesting, with the ocean overlay and the little movements of feet. This contrast gave us movement in shots where there wasn’t all that much movement… there are people walking, then there’s this ocean overlay. Something is always moving. It feels like the water gets more intense before the cut to black, which had me feeling all kinds of things. What did this opening have to say about movement, about people?
I love the way this film progresses. The shoes are off and everything feels comforting and homey. There’s a spring in all your steps. The music had me bobbing along. The camera angles are fun, but it’s what you guys chose to frame that grabbed me. The book, the mugs, the guitar… These activities say something about the person doing them, interacting with these objects using their bodies. I enjoyed this. It’s not only exploring mundanity and singularity, but human nature and leisure.
Great job guys!
the playfulness of the dancing and stretching during the beginning gives this film a smooth rhythmic flow. That shot of the bookshelf is magic. I find it interesting that it leaves me wondering whether it was more music video than film. Either way though I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. I’m picturing it as a set of individuals experiencing their own interesting behaviours but couldn’t make a connection to the waves sequences.
I liked how simple this was – the mundane and gentle rhythm that flowed consistently. I think the music worked successfully to showcase that! Even though some of the tasks were so simple and normal, it felt peaceful and relatable at the same time? I’m not sure if that makes sense. I also have to say that I loved the ocean overlay. It showcased a different kind of calmness and added a moment of relaxation. Great job guys.
I found this film relaxing, maybe because of the crashing waves at the start, but couldn’t make an interpretation on the relation of it to the rest of the piece. Because I felt so relaxed, maybe this was your intention? 🙂
Very cute moments, I think a lot of the movement matched the bouncy music!
This was a really nice piece that created a beautiful sequence with the everyday. Things like the fingers dancing off the bindings of books really worked in creating a lovely movement. The choice to take the ordinary movement and dramatise it was fantastic and great to watch.
The intro was interesting and I think it felt quite different to the more at home vibe of the later part. I’m guessing that could be the point; to juxtapose the home life with being out in public. The water was a cool touch but I think it could have been great to try and make sure the sound and image of the waves faded into each other rather than have sharp cuts between different clips/tracks. You guys were the only group without a media student (to my knowledge) therefore stuff like was more challenging for you so I’m just pointing it out as a new skill to learn. Also considering you guys didn’t have a media student you did a fantastic job in putting this together and making a wonderful film! Well done!
Though I didn’t really understand the intent/significant of the introduction, once the home-based shots began I think you guys really found a great rhythm with the film and really managed to create a great exploration of the ‘dance’ one does in the comfortable shell of their house, versus the discomfort of the public sphere. Really great job!