beauty shorts
brief: create a series of short beauty dance films celebrating the launch of new artistic program “devotions”, as well as highlighting the stunning artistic quality of the ballet choreography from andrew mcnicol as performed by his mcnicol ballet collective.
the films needed to showcase the vibrant and energetic artistic quality of the mcnicol ballet collective, while also highlighting the lyrical and deeply moving choreographic vocabulary of its artistic director; andrew mcnicol.
the short films were created by selecting specific movements from long-length choreographies, and then filming these inside a film studio in downtown London.
in order to give the film a common visual language, while simultaneously highlighting their artistic individuality, a somewhat monochrome color pallet was assigned to each film that roughly corresponded to the emotional themes they depict.
the unique vocabulary and dramatic narrative of each choreography was presented in each film by wielding an intimate and fluid cinematography – effortlessly taking the viewer in and out of the intimate periphery of the dancers.
filmed on a stabilizing rig and with a series of wide lenses, all films present the viewer with an energetic access to detail – specifically chosen to highlight the emotional story within. the stunning intensity of the performances of the dancers are emphasized through the use of variable frame rates; slowing down and speeding up perceived time to achieve an alluring dramatic effect, while allowing the viewer to observe from afar, as well as discover from up close.
client – mcnicol ballet collective
artistic director / choreographer - andrew mcnicol
creative - sam asaert
producer - rachel jean birch
director - Sam Asaert
ballet mistress - katya bourvis
cinematorgraphy - sam asaert
sound - sam asaert
edit & post - sam asaert
dancers:
shevelle dynott
winnie dias
joshua mcsherry-gray
laurie mcsherry-gray
kristen mcgarrity
apprentice dancer:
rin ishikawa
costume design - louise flanagan
project coordinator - susannah burke
make up and hair styling – rougedmilk
marketing & pr - lucy white & robert james
dramaturg / mentor - francesca tennant
with support from:
arts council england
the linbury trust
DanceEast
Hull New Theatre
I AM Fund