Contact Information
| Wayne Parker, P.O.Box 1, Blenheim. Ph: +64 3 578 1200, Ph: +64 3379
0000, Fx: +64 3 379 0001, wjparker@xtra.co.nz
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| A young woman is helped to regain her self belief and passion for dance
by an Angel who's own future depends on her success.
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| Fantasy / Dance / Drama
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| The ANGEL DANCE short film project evolved from an interest in creating
a story combining extreme contemporary music and dance to replicate the
spectacular impact of films such as 'Flashdance', 'Dirty Dancing', and
'Fame' etc. The story developed involves an Angel who must get a girl to
believe in herself again - then in a reversal, requires the girl to take
that belief and succeed in what appears to be a impossible task to in turn
save the Angel. This should equate to a highly entertaining and emotive
package that will fully involve an audience of all ages and demographics.
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| A disillusioned young woman dancer slips and falls during a crucial
scholarship audition dance and awakes to find herself in a strange deserted
city street where she is assisted by an angel who's task is to help her
regain the passion for dance she once possessed.
In doing so, she takes the young woman back through the dances and routines she learnt as a child in an attempt to remind her of the self belief she once held. As the angel again and again challenges her in dancing duels that push her beyond what she felt herself capable, young woman starts to re-learn that dance is not just the repetition of stale routines but the discovery, freedom and celebration of human movement. But the angel's task is not complete; an injustice has occurred and the young woman is told she must return and complete the audition dance she no doubt would have failed given the fall that occurred. Also the young dancer ascertains from the woman angel reluctantly that she too has failed in some respect, and this, her second and last chance to attain her place in heaven, is totally dependant on the young dancer's triumph on earth. The young dancer awakes back on the dance floor immediately after the fall and pleads for a second chance at the audition but is refused. But with help from the angel, she eventually proves that the fall was in fact not an error but a deliberate act of interference by a rival competitor. With the injustice now corrected, it is now only up to the young dancer
to excel and win the scholarship for the angel to receive her absolution.
And this she does in a courageous and stirring dance finale - her passion
and self belief having returned.
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| The following points outline various Directorial considerations of
the 'Angel Dance' production:
1) Shooting format: The story as described in the script is very visual in terms of not being just full of sequences involving talking heads. To ensure a full toolbox of visual options to accommodate the highly lit / high contrast Dance Studio Scenes through to the soft, much darker, possibly pastel atmospheric tones of the street scenes, Film as opposed to digital, would appear to be the only option. Preferences: Vision 200/400, either 35mm full frame anamorphic (expensive) or 35mm 2 perf (cheaper - supposedly <20% more expensive than super 16mm??). Key is that both these formats would allow the creative use of very limited depth of field to accentuate subtleties of dance and character emotion. The shorter focal lengths combined smaller gate size of 16mm and HD video camera type formats would not provide for this visual approach. Any consideration of shooting Digital in any format would have to be evaluated in terms of Act 2 ('EXT. EMPTY STREET - NIGHT'). If shot 'on location', a night shoot involving a natural street scene ranging from blackness through to high intensity ambient street lighting could be problematic. Certainly some research is needed to ascertain the specific experiences of previous productions using digital formats in such circumstances. NB: If as per in the Locations discussions below, act 2 was shot green screen, a full gate 24p camera such as the Red or Cineon could be considered as lighting in such a shoot could be of a much higher level and live action equalized later to in post to match the digital environment. Other preferences / consideration would include; Definite use if a Digital Intermediate to allow for colour grading / any FX work that will differentiate the two worlds (earthly; the dance studio / non earthly; heaven??), and the use of high film speeds / lenses to facilitate the fast shutter speeds required to reduce motion blur and maintain image quality throughout the very fast dance sequences. 2) Coverage: The general strategy would be simply to always shoot moderately wide master shots of all action and dance routines, preferably using dolly / long track to follow through the sequences. Inserts could be picked up using Steadicam as it fits the visual profile (flowing / moving) while positively progressing the work flow. A basic crane or jib arrangement would be useful to facilitate a number of overhead shots, one in particular where Amy as a child is shown dancing (an overhead shot eliminates the need to show her face and therefore match the child Amy with the older Amy) 3) Locations: On the positive side, the entire story is based only in two locations which should aid in the logistics of shooting. a) the 'Dance Studio' (acts 1 & 3) and b) 'Empty Street' (act 2). Dance Studio - While described in the script as a 'Dance Studio', in fact any large space i.e. a school hall or gymnasium would suffice providing the ceiling height would accommodate lighting. In terms of the story, any large space could feasibly used for such an audition. A very large theatrical stage could be considered but this in terms of the story could make the interaction between the Judges (who in a theatre would to logically be seated in the auditorium away from the stage) and the dancers difficult. 'Empty Street' - two possibilities exist here, the first is to shoot at night in say Wellington i.e. Brandon or Johnston streets between Lambton Quay and Featherston Streets, and work through the issues relating to night shooting, weather, sound (possibly lots of ADR), permits, etc. Alternatively, shoot entirely green screen using camera motion capture facilities in Miramar and dropping the live action into a stock city street digital model. Although it is appreciated the level of budget would not normally accommodate vast arrays of special effects, the fact that none of the characters interact with the environment (other than walking on it and sitting on a bench seat), such an approach may be feasible and would provide a far greater control of the overall visual quality (i.e. lighting, ambience) of these scenes which really require a surreal non-earthbound look to serve the story properly. 4) Cast: It is appreciated that to some, 'Angel Dance'
may appear to be a risky proposition. It is a story that is entirely dependant
on two central characters (one of which is onscreen 100% of the time) to
carry the story. The actors playing these parts must not only be able to
convincingly act across a very wide emotive range (i.e. laugh, cry, etc.)
but must also be able to dance to an extremely high degree of proficiency.
I believe there are two individuals that could possibly perform those roles.
Please email for proposed cast details.
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| Actors:
Amy (actor / dancer), Rebecca (actor / dancer) Chairwoman (actor) Jessica (actor - non speaking) Male Judge (actor – non speaking) Amy as a Child (dancer only) Extras: Woman Judges (2) Dance Competitors (8) Dance Teachers (4) Supporters (10) Additional: Choreographer |
| Copyright (C) Wayne Parker, 2008. All rights reserved. |