Reinventing dance performances with interactive film
“Because we cannot meet live on stage, I invite you to my room. You’re welcome to join me”. That is how Amit Palgi, second-year Dance student, introduces his new project ‘Inner-View’.
Inner-View is an interactive dance film that allows viewers to choose what they want to see. Every viewer who watches this dance film will see different videos and experience a different and unique experience.
Beyond live stream
“Recently the dance world, as we know it, came to a standstill. For almost a year, all over the world, dance performances on stage with an audience barely took place. Dance companies and theatres have tried and are trying to find alternatives. Most of them found the same answer: live stream. In many live stream events like that, I found myself feeling even lonelier, further from the magic of dance, and that my life is just a pale version of life before COVID-19. I started thinking about other options. How can I create an online dance piece that will be relevant even when dance performances will go again in the theatres? How can technology be used to create even greater intimacy with viewers?”
Interactive dance video
“The answer I found is an interactive dance video. A dance film where the audience chooses what it wants to happen. When I watch interactive videos, I feel involved, invited. There is a sense of risk and liveness I tend to feel also when I watch live dance. The more I thought about it, the more it triggered me. I would be happy to watch this even when the theatres open again. I searched for examples of interactive dance videos and I didn’t find any. I also could not find any theatre that was willing to support me and go with me on this adventure. So, I decided to produce it myself.
I learned how to create an interactive film, I developed a concept with possible paths, I found a video photographer and musicians who composed original music, rented a camera and a microphone, and created probably the first Interactive Dance Video in the world.”
Inner-View
“The interactive film I created is a kind of internal interview. The type of interviews you have with yourself when you have too much (or finally enough) time with yourself, alone in a room, with no option to escape to the outside world.”
Welcome to my room
“During the video, I invite the audience to join me on a journey. I welcome them to my room and the interviewer's seat. They will choose which questions I will be asked this time in the interview. Some questions are answered directly through words and text. But, because it is an internal interview, which takes place between a person and himself, some of the answers are more abstract and use metaphors, feelings, movements, body, memories, animations, and more.
The questions that can be asked are diverse. Some are more generic (Do we have free will? What if every movement causes something to disappear?) Others are more related to my point of view (Do you prefer a shower or bath? Do you think the corona is a lesson?) Some are related to dance (Why are dancers better than brain researchers? What does dance feel like?) And some are even more personal (Do you miss your parents? When was the last time you watched porn?).”
Choose what you want to see
“At the end of each answer, three new optional questions will appear on the screen. The viewers are asked to choose the next question that interests them the most. By allowing the watchers to follow their own desire, and by inviting people into my room and to ask me the most private questions I believe a new type of relationship might be created between the performer and the audience. Each person that will watch it will see completely different scenes, perhaps more related to what they want to watch. The whole video is about half an hour-long, depending, of course, on the specific path chosen each time.”
Sharing the film with the world
“I am very happy and excited to be able to share with you this work of mine. This project was made possible with crowdfunding. I believe that this video can inspire people to think and imagine what else dance can be. Beyond that, I want to send this video to dance and video dance festivals.”
