Gosh, it’s nearly midnight, but I’ve gotta write a report on the recently initiated R and D for the Trickster Pictures project, Science Fiction Musical. James Weston and I are making narrative dance projects by recruiting talent from Mykl Werth’s posse – including James and (eventually) I. Our first public video has been posted on http://youtube.com/tricksterpictures with James and Tiffany Ingalls performing and Patrick and I on cameras.
Another project?!
What was my resolution about finishing old projects before starting new ones? I am committed to wrapping up outstanding projects, honest! When? Pretty soon. The Science Fiction Musical has been percolating for at least a year and so some slight development is unavoidable. I stumbled on a fragment of the soundtrack a few months back while playing guitar in the outhouse and last week was our last ice window, so shoot me! Now Trickster has 3 projects in the works – DOG is pretty much posting, ALM is in production and SFM is under development.
4 Cameras
I started exploring multi-camera productions in 2006 with two matched Panasonic HVX-200s. With the advent of compact HD cameras, multi-camera work is now way more affordable. My brother and his lads have a slew of these cameras in their kit. For this project, I borrowed 3 Panasonic TM-700s running 60p and brought out my Canon Vixia HFS-10 running 30p. Patrick and I operated 2 of these and the others were fixed, one for center stage close-ups on feet, another for a wide safety shot. To get consistent images that are easily intercut all the camera settings must be manual, otherwise the focus, exposure and white balance will wander – even on the latest gear. Compositions should be both diverse and complementary so that there are interesting choices during the edit. Orchestrating all this can be a little complicated, but we’re making progress. Last year’s American Document shoot was a horror show. Even with 3 cameras and 2 operators the coverage was problematic, I was forced to use the least sucky shot. For this project I felt I could choose between at least 2 workable shots.
What went wrong – fix the future
Not that there weren’t mistakes. First, I forgot to set manual focus on the safety camera so there was focus drift about 10% of the performance. Patrick and I didn’t confer about settings and so he left his TM-700 set to auto exposure which controls both shutter and iris. The default shutter speed is way up there which of course eats light. This gave his footage a sort of silent film feel, darker and kind of stuttery in comparison to the other 3 cameras running 1/60 shutter. This turned out to be a holyboner because the look fit James Weston’s natural classic silent star ambiance.
… and who needs expensive film damage filters when you can have actual hair blowing in front of the lens, like Patrick’s did in about 15% of the shots. “Uh, what?”
White balance needs to be set with a white card for all cameras, or better a camera calibration card. The internal settings for full sun and cloudy day seem to vary between units.
It’s tough to dance the Werth Way and not get a big grin on your face, it just feels good. For La Valse, I asked James and Tiffany to keep the smiles minimal, but that direction didn’t hold – Tiffany kept cracking up. Dancing with James, who can blame her? They were also talking a bit. Deeper experience of character and situation is important for the future.
My suit looked a little baggy on James. Tiffany’s shoes weren’t ideal. Costumes should be prepped and ready far in advance of production. Movement tests should also be comprehensive.
It’s important that I train production help that can take initiative. As primary operator, I need to put my focus on my own performance and not be distracted by handling 7 or 8 different jobs.
What went right
Gertrude Ekstatisch was my first ice dancer and she came loaded with an arsenal of costumes and her typical professional style. Fortunately she left her ensemble here in anticipation of future shoots. This was helpful in fitting out Tiffany.
Erin Hoagg came down the week after Gertrude to explore partner improvisation with James. She was loaded with great costumes and enthusiasm. I learned plenty from that day and started building a list.
√ flag the outer edges of stage, not scrapes on ice
√ pre-check all exposures and focus
all manual focus!
√ shades for viewing
√ closer for operator camera
√ costumes
tent if raining
I still missed the safety’s focus, but notice all the other stuff that was properly handled. Lists are an inventory and reminder of experience, and the next iteration will be more comprehensive.
James obviously listened and thought about La Valse. He is strongly present in the piece with an incessant and slightly capricious lead. At the same time, he and Tiffany were able to touch the stillness and silence between the notes. Tiffany is very complementary with her riveting focus and is amazingly able to keep a straight face during most of the antic movement.
James also gathered lots of work by regional musicians, but I was most interested in seeing what would happen with Ravel’s La Valse. My original idea for La Valse was to start with Brooke Bueby and Josh Kiel, and then work Brooke a series of different partners and venues as the music progressed. Scheduling conflicts caused that plan to crash – and it’s all for the best. I know that James is totally committed to making work and can be depended upon to follow through. With all the vagaries and hassle inherent in ANY production, reliable collaborators are a must. Tiffany showed up on time and was instantly ready to go. She balked a bit when I fell through the ice near the shore, but trusted my lead for the rest of day. We’ve got to start with a core of dedicated dancers and as projects progress will be able to cultivate and share this professional approach.
With several songs in our playlist, we had plenty of time to warm up before going to the edge with La Valse. That means the camera operators and the dancers were as good as they were gonna get that day.
The Valse is a dark waltz that changes. It pushed the Werth connection to a new place that I hadn’t seen before. This experiment gave me some inkling of how the dance component of SFM could work, a foundation which choreography could support and enhance. That’s the shift for me, thinking how testing and pushing Werthian connection could point to a viable methodology for movie dance.
Generally
Costumes and makeup, self starting assistants, rehearsals and specific direction which of course pre-supposes a clear vision.