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Tips When Filming Dance

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If it wasn’t because of YouTube, an entire generation of talented individuals would be unnoticed by the rest of the world. Many dancers and musicians have earned their name through sharing their videos on social media platforms, raising the bar for content of high quality in this field. People want to see cool videos, and artists wish to have their work noticed.

If you’re interested in filmmaking and dance you could have a area of expertise. Be aware that there are a lot of dance videos available and only a handful appear to be worthy of watching, let alone sharing. We’ve put together an overview of the most important information you should be aware of prior to stepping to explore the world dancing videography.

Filming

Working in the Team

Are you working with a group working for your venture? It’s great! Make use of each person’s contribution and utilize several cameras. Make sure you have a dance show videographer that is constantly recording the entire dance – use it to get a clear image for the whole dance, from beginning to end. This is the basic shot to create your video and then utilize it to make sure your editing doesn’t alter the choreography.

Make use of other cameras to capture the dancers in a closer angle. You can, for instance, make your second camera operator move around with a stabilizer in order to take dynamic photos from different angles. Also, you can get more static shots as well as close-ups and details by changing the angle of a camera. A tripod isn’t required but important.

This technique is perfect to capture live performances with only one chance to capture everything you want. If you have pre-rehearsed music videos the method can also speed up the process and you’ll only need your subject to dance a few times before you can capture their movements from all angles.

Then You’re Not All by Oneself

Are you without a team? Don’t worry, you can still make amazing dance videos on your own. There are many ways to go about it.

One option is to capture the entire sequence in one single frame. An camera, such as an action DSLR camera with an integrated stabilizer or gimbal can be able to do the job. This type of shooting leaves little room for creativity, however it is possible to play around using angles and select your highlights by moving closer. There’s also a lot of possibility of experimenting with color grading as well as special effects during the editing phase.

The second option could be to setup a camera to capture that basic image we described above , and then utilize a second camera for moving around. The main drawback of this approach is that you don’t have control over the still camera , and it’s hard to know the moment you entered the frame in the wrong place at the wrong moment. Apart from that, follow the same rules we discussed for filming a teamwork.

Third option is the most difficult, but it’s also the least expensive since you don’t have to purchase an additional camera. It’s best to do everything using just one camera. The first step is to record the fundamental shot of the entire process. It is possible to shoot it from several different angles, such as moving closer or moving to the side. You can then shoot the entire scene by moving around, and then grabbing close-ups. Naturally, you’ll need to request that the dancers perform the same dance routine at least a couple of times to give them the chance to rectify their mistakes, and also giving an additional piece of footage to fix these mistakes in editing.

If you are hosting live performances, the second option is the best choice. If you’re only carrying one camera Film the entire performance in one frame and make a few cuts of the audience and general ambience. If you want to record music specifically the three options above would work.

General Filming Tips

Try to find strange angles and angles. Take a few close-ups of dancers’ feet using your camera directly to the ground. Try climbing on windowsills, chairs and nearby terraces. These are all horizontal surfaces that aid you in rising above the stage and gain better views. Take pictures of emotional close-ups, such as eyes, faces hands, gestures. You may have to look for them while dancers move around and sometimes, getting your camera set up and standing still will suffice and be patient until your subjects walk by.

Editing

Music Video

The easiest part about making music video edits is to are aware of the exact soundtrack you want you want to use and the best way to incorporate it into the video. All you have you to do is use the music with care and precision to ensure that each beat on the music track is in line with the background music you’ve recorded.

The tough part is fitting the cuts. This is why you may have to look over your footage several times in order to figure out which cutaway will work at a specific spot. If dancers are performing various movements, you should try to organize your footage in a logical way such as, for example, if one person in the picture starts turning, you should find an identical close-up of the person at the end of the turn and combine them. This will create the appearance of continuous motion in spite because the clips are derived from various choreographic elements. Sometimes, you can make an entire new choreography by mixing clips that appear connected.

When you add details and close-ups, remember what you’re trying to concentrate on initially. If it’s emotions and the atmosphere, stack up various cutaways and then focus on close-ups. If you’re doing choreography ensure that your cutaways don’t disrupt the flow of the dance and you’ll be able to still see the main structure and flow of dance in clear detail.

Highlights from the Event

Writing summaries of the dance performances (e.g. concerts, parties or festival) is a different tale. The majority of these are short 1-3-minute highlights that have a single music for all of them. You’ll often be trying to connect all of these diverse elements that involve people dancing to different songs, and this is where the real work starts. It is necessary to pick the right soundtrack. After that, you need to carefully choose the tracks that best fit the most memorable parts of your soundtrack. You can play around with the music but not the other way around.

If you notice that people are moving too quickly or slow it is possible to make small adjustments to the speed. Most times speeds up or slows to a lesser degree by 10-20% could not be noticeable to the naked eye, however, it will help put the videos together to create one seamless music.

You can try using the same effect by using continuous motion. If, for instance, you shoot a couple who moves towards the left side, allow a couple from the following shot complete their movement in the exact direction.

General Editing Tips

Make sure that the choreographic elements of your video are in sync with the beat or everything will appear out of the rhythm. Sometimes, you’ll need to go through a number of videos with this particular type of dance to get a clear understanding of the relationship between specific moves as well as the rhythm. It’s a bit of work, but the outcome is well worth it.

Additional Elements

Mixing stories or abstract cutaways, as well as extra effects, everything’s waiting for you to play with. But remember it’s all all about making the viewer aware of the art of dance in itself. Whatever you decide to incorporate into your videos make sure it is designed to serve the purpose of showing and not distract the viewers.