I find this piece very playful! I especially enjoyed the pieces jumping each other on the board and then jumping each other on the checkers board and then the live players jumping each other. It was very creative in representing the game using live players and connecting each game. there must have been a lot of planning for where exactly each piece was going to go! Playing with speed also mixed up the video and little and made it more dynamic, like setting up the board, moving pieces along as well as when the dancers were moving. The little details really connected the live checkers pieces to the small board game. The game, as well as the dance, moved at the same speed the whole time. There were some interesting takes of the dancers faces interacting with the game, but it mostly consisted of the dancers bodies. Like Dahlia, I longed for more action with the dancers as well as the hands. Perhaps the dance could have progressed through intensity by almost creating a battle between the red pieces and black pieces? This would surely be interesting (and funny) to see each side battling each other while flashing back to the board. Over all, I believe that the concept was demonstrated very well! I was glad to see the smooth transition of the hand shakes at the end!
You were definitely successful demonstrating your theme and the connection between the board game and real life game was very clear. The idea behind this project is very clever but I think you could have pushed this concept further. After a red piece jumped over a black, the black dancer would just walk off the board. Instead of just walking, maybe there could have been some more interesting movement that showed how the black piece was eliminated. Instead of just rolling over, heather could have done some other movements to embody this occurrence. The facial expression were hilarious but made the piece seem inauthentic. Either the video dance should have been over the top with outrageous expressions and movements or it should have been more serious, focusing on a more abstract connection between the dancers and the players. The fingers moving rolling on the table and then on the jeans was a good moment but I longed for more finger/hand choreography, and other interesting ways to "jump" the opponent. The appreciated the end shot with the hand shake that faded into the other hand shake. This effect could have used earlier in the piece. Overall, you had a nice clear idea, but there could have been more interesting choreography and a deeper possibly more abstract connection between the dancers and players.
I have to disagree with the other comments. Although I was impressed by the smooth continuity of the editing and varying shots, I do not feel that there was enough dancing involved in film. While the flip between two different settings was interesting, and the changing speed in motion gave a sense of tempo to the piece (in the absence of music; which I feel like, in a way, was necessary to give it more life) I shouldn't have had this feeling. Besides the lack of choreography and a poor choice of location for the human checker board, I do feel that the piece has a lot of potential. The editing was great which gave a "cutesy" and light feeling to the viewer, which was pleasurable. But as for satisfying the objective of the assignment I felt that there should have been more dancing and a change of location so that there could be more room for camera movement rather then simply zooming in and out. As a suggestion, I realize you guys filmed in Ben's Underground, you could have film the second scene in the same huge space and had 360 degrees to work with. Overall cute film, nice editing guys. I know I kinda sound like a jerk through my words, but it's all love guys, just constructive criticism.
God job Heather and Kiki! Your video brings me a new perspective of video dance. When thinking of video dance, I always think of striking scenes with emotional movements. This video is bright in both lighting, movement and emotion. Kiki's expression is really interesting; it reduces the tension of the video and makes the dance lively. However, there are not many moving shots and the movements could have been depicted more precisely and closely.
I was immediately interested in the back and forth between the two different games - the small game board and the bodies moving over the colored panels. I wonder how my experience of the first few shots would have changed if I didn't have the background info from class for what's supposed to be going on here. I felt that the speeding up the hands and bodies in space was a nice break for the back and forth rhythm from one game to the other. I appreciated the close-ups of the hands and fingers showing tension before the gameplay, and how this hand/finger movement happened in both games; this image was striking for me and helped connect both games.
I also appreciated the creativity of the movement (like how Heather falls to the ground and is knocked over my two feet), but I longed to see the movement of the actual checker pieces (or, how they were moved) be reflected in how the bodies moved across the colored panels. I got the sense that the moving bodies were reflecting both the humans playing the small checkerboard game as well as the pieces themselves (like, once again, Heather being kicked down by two legs as if being removed by two checker pieces on top of one another) but I wanted it to just be about mimicking the way the pieces were being moved. I wanted to see the people sliding their feet from one tile to the next, for example.
I was a little taken back when I saw the facial expressions highlighted during the life-sized game. I felt that the the piece could have found more authenticity in the movement (like, for the third time, Heather falling down), and these expressions actually confused me once again as to what these bodies were supposed to be reflecting - something human, or something plastic.
I was also a little disoriented by the shot at around 1:02 where the viewer can just see legs. I felt this could have been shot a little better, because it's difficult to see the panels, and impossible to see the color of the people. Even though the shots before imply what color these bodies should be, I still found it disorienting; I had to remind myself of how it connected to the small game.
Ha! Nice facial gestures Kiki!
Nice weaving in and out between settings 1 and 2. I was able to see how the movement of the hands and plastic checker pieces correlated to the whole solid color bodies. I felt that the motion of the camera faintly brushed upon exploring what a moving camera can do. It could have collapsed with the pieces more, and followed the dancers' motion a bit more to help build and develop the structure of the piece.
I also longed to see more movement originate from the hands and "body checker pieces"--yes, this would exaggerate what would happen realistically in the game, but I wanted more nonetheless. I wanted to see exploration of what the hands can do. And more exploration in what the bodies can do as they move across the board with and against one another. The tapping on the shoulder was too gentle, and too "known" for me. Perhaps explore another way in terms of movement how the pieces can communicate with one another.
Comments
I also appreciated the creativity of the movement (like how Heather falls to the ground and is knocked over my two feet), but I longed to see the movement of the actual checker pieces (or, how they were moved) be reflected in how the bodies moved across the colored panels. I got the sense that the moving bodies were reflecting both the humans playing the small checkerboard game as well as the pieces themselves (like, once again, Heather being kicked down by two legs as if being removed by two checker pieces on top of one another) but I wanted it to just be about mimicking the way the pieces were being moved. I wanted to see the people sliding their feet from one tile to the next, for example.
I was a little taken back when I saw the facial expressions highlighted during the life-sized game. I felt that the the piece could have found more authenticity in the movement (like, for the third time, Heather falling down), and these expressions actually confused me once again as to what these bodies were supposed to be reflecting - something human, or something plastic.
I was also a little disoriented by the shot at around 1:02 where the viewer can just see legs. I felt this could have been shot a little better, because it's difficult to see the panels, and impossible to see the color of the people. Even though the shots before imply what color these bodies should be, I still found it disorienting; I had to remind myself of how it connected to the small game.
Nice weaving in and out between settings 1 and 2. I was able to see how the movement of the hands and plastic checker pieces correlated to the whole solid color bodies. I felt that the motion of the camera faintly brushed upon exploring what a moving camera can do. It could have collapsed with the pieces more, and followed the dancers' motion a bit more to help build and develop the structure of the piece.
I also longed to see more movement originate from the hands and "body checker pieces"--yes, this would exaggerate what would happen realistically in the game, but I wanted more nonetheless. I wanted to see exploration of what the hands can do. And more exploration in what the bodies can do as they move across the board with and against one another. The tapping on the shoulder was too gentle, and too "known" for me. Perhaps explore another way in terms of movement how the pieces can communicate with one another.