grad film reseach

so far I've looked into various other dance films. next I plan to look at other grad films just to give me a better idea whats expected of me. here are some of the best films I've found.

this is called 'SLIP' published in 2015 under the username 'pacman' in the description they talk about how difficult it is to let go of sadness, and how ignoring it can be harmful - "Everyone will tell you it is hard to let go of pain... and it is. Since we are children we have been told to embrace the best of our experiences & disregard the worst... But what happens when the most beautiful memories from our past end up doing the most damage to our future?" - the reason why this video stood out to me is firstly because of the music and opening. the colour pallet Ithink is really similar to what I envision in my film, and I think that what drew me in. the closeness and general presence of the dancers I think encapsulates the closeness and delicacy of pain, something most people tend to ignore. but pain is one of the closest and most intimate things you can feel, it delicately surrounds you in a way that makes you feel like breaking through it is daunting and terrifying. but it is delicate in a lot of other ways. for example, pain makes you feel delicate, vulnerable. I feel this is something clearly demonstrated through the choreography and movement of the two dancers.

this is called 'RUIN' by a group called 'collective elite' this film tells the story of a woman who feels as though she looses herself a little bit through every relationship she has, to the point where she no longer recognises herself - "RUIN follows the disintegration of a woman who loses pieces of herself with each new relationship, until she can barely recognize her own reflection." - again, the colour pallet really drew me to this film. whilst watching it i loved the costume choices, the simplicity of them, and the way the woman's clothing doesn't overly sexualise her, the same impression was given via her natural makeup/lack of makeup. the dancer portrays the role excellently and makes the emotion of the character she creates very real, resulting in a clearly understandable, emotive and beautiful dance film about a woman who really does give her all in each relationship. I feel this relates to my idea because EMDR for me, was about finding my current self, among an array of my previous, unjoined selves. which, before my therapy, left me feeling lost, disorientated and like an unfinished puzzle.


I did look at some other dance films as well but I didnt think they were as relevant as these two, to my film idea. but I will add those videos here as well. most of them I didn't feel were relevant because of what the films were about and the stories behind them, others I wanted to include on this page because I really enjoyed the choreography even if they aren't really classified as 'dance films'

for example, this video called 'LIMITLESS' by a group called 'moving souls', I feel this is a really strong piece showing how ability and dreams are limitless, however I don't feel this relates as strongly to my film as there are too many dancers involved and I don't feel the space is really that relevant to the story. in my film I picture 2 people/dancers maximum, as I want to emulate the intimacy of the trauma and therapy, and I feel this is best achieved working with a pair or small group of dancers, where as with a group like this, I feel it wouldn't be beneficial and overwhelming.

personally this is one of my favourite dance videos at the moment. this dance what choreographed by Galan Hooks and has many videos of various different dancers of different ages performing it. I love the connection between the movement and rhythm of the song and how that emphasises the dancers movement and stillness. also I enjoy the time thats taken at the beginning which is shown perfectly by the slow zoom of the camera onto the dancer. I don't know that this is particularly relevant to my film, but I wanted to share this as I really enjoyed it.