Dance Film: Background, middle ground and foreground

A dance film in the Melbourne botanical gardens with Rebekah Stuart, Sarah Hotchin, Ben Jamieson, Candice Polglase and Dale Polglase.

Candice, directing with me, had prepared the group the day before with a series of exercises and dancing.

Working together we explored camera movements that were motivated by performance. Head turns, traveling through the space with dance, and rolling along the ground all carried the gaze of the camera.

Camera movement was at times motivated by dancers in the background, middle ground and foreground and often shifted between the three in one shot. This dynamic helps the eye move into and around the image creating a sense of three-dimensional space.

Ben Jamieson in a tree. 

For instance, Ben danced along a path in the background which led a pan of the camera over to dale in the foreground, who then walked us over to Rebekah, who then ran into the middle ground as the camera tracked after her.

Candice took up direction, music  playback, and wrangling the team which allowed me more space to offer ideas and guide the shoot collaboratively.

The finished film ( In a quick assemble edit) was a good exploration of movement, relationships and emotions, it developed how Candice and I can work together and promised future possibilities.