Dance Video Research

TV vs Film

Music driven vs Dance driven




TV industry is a very competitive entertainment industry. Every episode has to appeal to the general public and "to entertain" is the aim. Glee was a very popular TV series based around a group of school students' singing career.

Dance: Music driven, tends to be repetitive along with the lyrics

Camera: focus on faces, as they are the selling point

Editing: flows with music

*In words: samey, poppy

"PINA is a feature-length dance film in 3D with the ensemble of the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, featuring the unique and inspiring art of the great German choreographer, who died in the summer of 2009.
PINA is a film for Pina Bausch by Wim Wenders.
He takes the audience on a sensual, visually stunning journey of discovery into a new dimension: straight onto the stage with the legendary Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch ensemble, he follows the dancers out of the theatre into the city and the surrounding areas of Wuppertal - the place, which for 35 years was the home and centre for Pina Bausch's creativity."

Dance: choreographed

Camera: focus on movements

Editing: flows with the movements

*In words: immersive, poetic

"Wenders felt that he had not yet found a way to adequately translate Pina Bausch's unique art of movement, gesture, speech and music into film."

"With 3D our project would be possible! Only in this way, by incorporating the dimension of space, I could dare (and not just presumingly), to bring Pina's Tanztheater in in an adequate form to the screen. "

"After half a year of intensive work, and only two days before the planned 3D rehearsal shoot, the unimaginable happened: Pina Bausch died on June 30th 2009, suddenly and unexpectedly."

"Wim Wenders used Pina Bausch's own method of "questioning" with which the choreographer developed her new productions. She posed questions and her dancers answered not in words, but with improvised dance and body language."

The major difference between the two works: the music driven one has no meaning in it, the dance film provokes thinking. In relaxing hours, music driven works are very appealing as seen how popular Glee was. The dance film was absolutely amazing even though I didn't watch it in 3D. The storytelling was great and the film was immersive.