framing perspectives on dance
Choreographer Brian Brooks offers experiential workshops and performances that integrate choreography with immersive technologies, bringing the virtual and actual together.
video by Jamie Kraus, courtesy of Jacob’s Pillow
New technology and software can illuminate aspects of dance that are otherwise invisible.
Viewpoint uses custom-designed software and a portable film studio to immediately turn live action into Volumetric Video - creating a 3D version of the dancer. The results can be live-streamed over Wi-Fi anywhere in the world, visible through the lens of a smart phone or tablet.
The images can also be recorded, enhanced, altered and archived for further study and art-making. Dancers, choreographers, and audiences can engage with Viewpoint in multiple ways.
EXPLORATION
Choreographic Workshops and Classes
Enter your choreographic practice from multiple perspectives, considering new dimensions that can be physical as well as conceptual.
As a participant, you can see a real-time version of yourself in 3D, offering insight into your movement beyond that of a mirror or 2D video. Telepresence Technology allows you to actually sense yourself, offering new tools of perception that open new possibilities for dance.
How is an embodied practice expanded through virtual bodies? How do we use technology as an extension of a physical practice? What are the new connections we can achieve with these evolving and inventive tools?
PRESENTATION
Live and Remote Performances
Whether watching in the theater or at home, Augmented Reality technology allows you to choose where to place the dancer - appearing as a 3D video hologram.
Using your mobile device, you can overlap our performer into any environment, creating an illusion that they’re somewhere they’re not.
At the theater, you can position the virtual dancer beside the actual one, forming duets of the same soloist. At home, you become director and cinematographer - selecting placement, scale, sound and background.
DOCUMENTATION
Archival Footage and Graphic Animations
Video footage from audiences can be seen after events, collected in an online archive. Seeing an endless range of perspectives can provide new context to existing content. Comparisons can illuminate distinct points-of-view, highlighting the many different ways we might see the same thing.
Digital software and design can further alter the videos, adding layers of visual elements on top of the dancer. Stop-motion and scanning techniques can grab multiple frames from the movement, creating a three-dimensional map of the body. Graphic lines and colors can trace the motion and pathways, further illuminating unseen layers of the dance.