Mark Kohr | Director, Creative

one of my students

FilmMaker_Jan_Ver5a.indd

I was happy to see this photo of Tobias Harbo fully engaged making his music video for the music video class I teach at the San Francisco Academy of Art. It has been a great experience teaching and figuring out how to help the students grow in their creative process.

 

 

 

A friend called me about shooting a dance video…

, her name is Kay and she dances with a group called The Evie Ladin Dance Company. Evie wanted to shoot in the Piedmont Cemetery in Oakland. Basically it was just me and Evie’s husband pushing dolly for a few hours with the Canon 5Dnk3 on board. I love dance, but I’ve never got a chance to shoot a dance video before. I took it on as a learning experience.

I approached it like a music video with no budget. But I made sure to visually honor the way dancers ‘shape space’ with their bodies by shooting primarily full. I learned this by watching old MGM musicals when I was a kid.  I suggested to Evie we shoot in a white marble 3 walled crypt to visually contain the dancers while providing a graphic grid-like setting that would lend itself to a strong visual treatment. Evie wanted to shoot the dancers in an exterior location in the grave yard as well. Finding a good shot presented a problem – there was no clear ‘stage’ where I could place the dancers.  But, I feel the exteriors still worked out OK.

I hope to get more chances to shoot and direct dancers and a dance company in the future. I love the possibility of creating a dance piece that works using technique and style from my music video work to create rich mood and vibe.