Digitizing Performance
Project Overview
Drawing inspiration from my early years as a dancer—an identity I fully embraced for eight years—I sought to merge my past with my present in this project by incorporating my new expertise in digital art with my old passion for the art of dance. Curious about how digital art could elevate the audience’s experience of dance, I explored ways to enhance the performance factor of dance video, understanding that the impact of watching dance on screen is significantly less immersive and impactful than attending a live performance. To achieve this, I conducted thorough research on the present intersection of these two disciplines, collaborated and managed dancers from across the country, produced dynamic visual effects, edited video, and consistently documented and presented my work; pushing the boundaries of how digital art can transform the art of dance.
Final Edit
I used Adobe Premiere Pro to edit the dancer’s videos together, trying to merge similar movements in an effort to create one, seamless choreography. For the effects, I learned to use the node-based application Touch Designer, creating dynamic elements that reflect each dancer’s unique interpretation of the music.
Process
Phase One: Ideation & Planning
Brainstorm and decide what media and topic to focus on.
Reach out to dancers to elicit their participation.
List all of the tasks to be done and create a project timeline.
Phase Two: Research & Initial Project Management
Create written assignment with clear instructions and deadlines. Send out to dancers.
Research the current intersection of digital art and dance, which included a lot of live, interactive backdrops during performance.
Check in with dancers to answer questions and ensure they are on track in terms of time and content.
Collect sources from the web, academia, and industry professionals. Receive the dancers’ final videos
Schedule and conduct professional and dancer interviews.
Begin project documentation during this time, including project tasks, schedule, sources and inspiration.
Phase Three: Working (Pre-Pivot)
Annotate and edit dancer videos in Adobe Premiere Pro to synchronize movements.
Start to work in After Effects to create custom drawn animations, but quickly realized I was in over my head and would not be able to produce a satisfactory result before my deadline.
Consult various experts in the field on how to pivot, focusing on other methods of video effects.
Create project Powerpoint presentation and present at the halfway point for feedback.
Phase Four: Working (Post Pivot)
Learn Touch Designer through office hours, video tutorials, and individual exploration.
Design unique effects to associate to each dancer’s different video.
Cut and edit in the effect videos within the raw video content.
Phase Five: Final Documentation
Develop a website encompassing all research, process, and outcomes of the project for a modern presentation.
Digitally illustrate graphic stills from videos to create visual interest in website.
Revise and complete final research paper.
Phase Five: Oral Defense & Presentation
Make final edits to video.
Publish completed webpage and finalize research paper with full source documentation.
Prepare final Powerpoint presentation for my oral defense.
Display project in participation at the end-of-year Art Fair, engaging with visitors about my the project.
Final oral defense of capstone project to faculty panel.
Deliver complete package of final project materials. Send out thank you notes to all collaborators.
