Project2: Soiree

Subject: Shelby Colona

Project1 Time: 6.5hrs

Project52 Time: 13.5hrs

Project2 happened very randomly. I was going to work with Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet and on my walk there I thought to myself, "I'm going to film tonight!" I texted all of the dancers that have committed to this project and found out who was available. After deciding who the subject would be, Shelby Colona, I had to figure out where we would shoot at. I remembered a location in Central Park called the Bethesda Arcade. It's a hauntingly stunning tiled arcade underneath the Bethesda Terrace located right by the (go figure) Bethesda Fountain. 

Inspiration photos by Nir Arieli. Dancers: Nathan Madden and Esme Boyce

I first found the location after viewing some photos by my friend and incredible visual artist, Nir Arieli. When I saw his photos years ago I knew that one day I would create something in that space. The space has an emptiness that I'm drawn to. And the fact that it's in the middle of one of the busiest parks in the world, gives it that little bit of irony that I love.

Since you can't just go film in Central Park, we had to be a little sneaky. It doesn't help that we aren't filming some natural pedestrian video that we could perhaps be mistaken as tourists. No, we decided to have a crazed girl waltzing on her own, drinking wine (illegal), throwing the glasses (also illegal), and filming in one of the parks most treasured historical places of architecture (illegal without a permit... which we didn't have). Needless to say, we had to be careful.

We decided to shoot at 11:30pm. We figured there wouldn't be anyone in the park really, other than the few stray dogs and crazies. Since the park doesn't close until 1am this gave us more than enough time to shoot what we wanted. We didn't prep movement for this shoot at all. I gave Shelby a structured improvisation and a few directives to follow and I let her do her thing! I trust her enough that I felt comfortable that I would get the shots I wanted. We ran into the small problem that there were no outlets to plug any extra lighting into, so the shots were a little dark and have a little too much grain in them for my liking, but overall I think the shoot went great! We were in and out of there in 2 hours. 

Editing this one was a toughie. I was struggling a lot with the quality of the footage because of the graininess. Once I got over that and decided it was ok, I just had to figure out how I wanted to present the movement. I knew I wanted a slight narrative, but I didn't know how to get it. I decided to create an atmosphere of a cocktail party. We see Shelby being social and flirty while enjoying her wine, and assume there are others around her. When we see the wide shot we realize she's alone, talking and having her own little soiree. She starts a little drunken dance and accidentally throws her glass. The dance continues and by time it smashes she is awaken from her drunken dream and realizes in the sober world she is alone. It took me about 4.5 hrs to edit this baby!

Let me know what you thought! 

Billy Bell | Artistic Director