Digital Archiving of the Dance Artist’s Creative Process and Vision

Cleveland has a rich history in the development of modern dance. Because dance is mainly experienced in the here and now, the collective knowledge and artistic skills of many dance artists are mostly shared with viewers of their live performances or those who they mentor. This project uses video documentation to explore the approaches and insights of a choreographer and dancers in the creative process. The resulting piece of videography will inform the design of a future digital archive of many dance artists associated with CSU and the greater dance community. Videographers Rafeeq Roberts and Danielle Davis filmed Amy Miller, Associate Artistic Director of Gibney Dance, NY and former Northeast Ohioan during the CSU Summer Dance Workshop as she taught technique and creative process, and choreographed a dance for CSU dance students. The four dancers collaborated with her in the creation of the work. Providing a varied perspective on the creative process, three other influential dance artists with connections to Northeast Ohio were also recorded sharing their experiences in teaching, rehearsing, and performing. The final digital work is a creative product that serves as an aesthetic and informational resource. Through its creation, insight for developing a future digital archive preserving many dance artists’ visions has been initiated.https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/u_poster_2015/1004/thumbnail.jp

Dark Awakening: Transmedia and Narrative Transportation

Media convergence has led content creators to produce narratives that stretch across platforms, known as Transmedia. A Transmedia narrative titled Dark Awakening was created using three different platforms: A short film, an interactive short story, and a text based role playing game. All of these share overlapping themes, characters, and settings. Each narrative platform was designed to be taken and understood on its own, or viewed in conjunction with the others. A study of audience response to the Transmedia experience of Dark Awakening has been planned. The conditions for the study include the order in which the media are consumed, and previous exposure to the media types will serve as a moderator. The participants will be randomly assigned either one, two, or all three of the narrative media types and then asked about their reactions to the created narrative world. We expect that exposure to a narrative unfolding across multiple platforms will result in greater narrative transportation, which in turn will lead to increased understanding, cognitive engagement, emotional reaction, and enjoyment within the viewer. We anticipate that a greater degree of attention will be required than traditionally has been found, and that identification/empathy with characters will moderate impacts.https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/u_poster_2014/1032/thumbnail.jp

The Art of Polyfoam Puppetry

The construction of polyfoam puppets for theatrical productions is a highly specialized art form and requires a process that is often learned via mentorships and apprenticeships. Limited learning materials and resources presently exist or are publicly available on the techniques for producing these complex and genre specific puppets. This project investigated and visually documented the creative process and craftsmanship in the creation of polyfoam puppets. Working collaboratively with an undergraduate student of film and digital media, theatre Faculty Designers created an instructional video presentation of the step by step stages of polyfoam puppetry construction. The resulting video documents the creative process in sequential chapters to use as a resource for theatre professionals, artisans, educators, and as a virtual learning tool for students.https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/u_poster_2014/1031/thumbnail.jp

Sound and The Moving Image:Critical Characteristics for Spectator Response

The prevailing wisdom in the film and video production industries is that audio information outweighs visual information when it comes to spectator responses, but there are few empirical studies to support this claim. In previous research, four critical characteristics of sound have been identified: (1) Music, (2) visual/sound contradictions (defined as sound that is inconsistent with audience expectations based on visual information), (3) multi-channel sound, and (4) sound quality. Building on our previous research into music and film, we have found that many researchers have looked into the question of how music affects emotions (Eschrich et al., 2008; Have, 2008; Konecni, 2008; etc.), but few have investigated how music affects spectators’ perception of a film. Research into the effects of the other characteristics is almost non-existent and does not include any empirical studies. We propose four experiments to investigate the four different characteristics and how they affect spectators (e.g., their presence responses, affective measures, enjoyment). We have produced a short film, “Chase Her,” that will be manipulated in various ways (including adding music representative of different genres and recording realistic sounds and “contradictory” sounds in our new Foley studio) to test the four characteristics’ effects on audiences

Lick the Blade: The Implications of Performance and Narrative Music Videos

Since MTV\u27s introduction in 1981, music videos have shaped popular culture in various ways. Transitioning from television/cable to online platforms, thousands of music videos are viewed daily by millions through streaming sites such as YouTube and Vimeo. As a collaborative group, we wrote and produced a music video in collaboration with the metal band Lick the Blade, focusing on their original piece, “Blood Soaked Majesty.” Footage was produced for both a performance video, showing only the band performing their piece, and a narrative video, featuring a story line that parallels the lyrics. An audience will be able to view a performance video, a narrative piece, or a “concept” video that links images from the narrative piece with the performance video, without providing a true story line. The produced footage allows us to edit various versions of the music video in order to study different outcomes of music video exposure, with three goals: (1) Compare spectators’ involvement and interpretations for performance vs. narrative video versions; (2) investigate outcomes of different levels of violent content and victim gender; (3) examine the impact on reception of non-synchronous sound editing. Results from these studies could lend insight to producers of music videos.https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/u_poster_2014/1006/thumbnail.jp

Dark Awakening: Transmedia and Narrative Transportation

Media convergence has led content creators to produce narratives that stretch across platforms, known as Transmedia. A Transmedia narrative titled Dark Awakening was created using three different platforms: A short film, an interactive short story, and a text based role playing game. All of these share overlapping themes, characters, and settings. Each narrative platform was designed to be taken and understood on its own, or viewed in conjunction with the others. A study of audience response to the Transmedia experience of Dark Awakening has been planned. The conditions for the study include the order in which the media are consumed, and previous exposure to the media types will serve as a moderator. The participants will be randomly assigned either one, two, or all three of the narrative media types and then asked about their reactions to the created narrative world. We expect that exposure to a narrative unfolding across multiple platforms will result in greater narrative transportation, which in turn will lead to increased understanding, cognitive engagement, emotional reaction, and enjoyment within the viewer. We anticipate that a greater degree of attention will be required than traditionally has been found, and that identification/empathy with characters will moderate impacts.https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/u_poster_2014/1032/thumbnail.jp

Sound and The Moving Image:Critical Characteristics for Spectator Response

The prevailing wisdom in the film and video production industries is that audio information outweighs visual information when it comes to spectator responses, but there are few empirical studies to support this claim. In previous research, four critical characteristics of sound have been identified: (1) Music, (2) visual/sound contradictions (defined as sound that is inconsistent with audience expectations based on visual information), (3) multi-channel sound, and (4) sound quality. Building on our previous research into music and film, we have found that many researchers have looked into the question of how music affects emotions (Eschrich et al., 2008; Have, 2008; Konecni, 2008; etc.), but few have investigated how music affects spectators’ perception of a film. Research into the effects of the other characteristics is almost non-existent and does not include any empirical studies. We propose four experiments to investigate the four different characteristics and how they affect spectators (e.g., their presence responses, affective measures, enjoyment). We have produced a short film, “Chase Her,” that will be manipulated in various ways (including adding music representative of different genres and recording realistic sounds and “contradictory” sounds in our new Foley studio) to test the four characteristics’ effects on audiences

Lick the Blade: The Implications of Performance and Narrative Music Videos

Since MTV\u27s introduction in 1981, music videos have shaped popular culture in various ways. Transitioning from television/cable to online platforms, thousands of music videos are viewed daily by millions through streaming sites such as YouTube and Vimeo. As a collaborative group, we wrote and produced a music video in collaboration with the metal band Lick the Blade, focusing on their original piece, “Blood Soaked Majesty.” Footage was produced for both a performance video, showing only the band performing their piece, and a narrative video, featuring a story line that parallels the lyrics. An audience will be able to view a performance video, a narrative piece, or a “concept” video that links images from the narrative piece with the performance video, without providing a true story line. The produced footage allows us to edit various versions of the music video in order to study different outcomes of music video exposure, with three goals: (1) Compare spectators’ involvement and interpretations for performance vs. narrative video versions; (2) investigate outcomes of different levels of violent content and victim gender; (3) examine the impact on reception of non-synchronous sound editing. Results from these studies could lend insight to producers of music videos.https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/u_poster_2014/1006/thumbnail.jp