The Film Amelia Is a Masterpiece Of Dance And Camera Choreography

Édouard Lock, La La La Human Steps

The film Amelia is a masterpiece of dance and camera choreography



From a strict point of view and following the orthodox definitions, if we talk about choreography, we are talking of moving bodies and how they are arranged in space to dance; to this there is no discussion. But if we put in motion objects and machines –none of which relate to the humanbody, but have movement –or more precisely to the point of this paper, their own way of moving, we can develop choreography in unison between the trained bodies of dancers and the camera guided by a creative eye. I will take the specific case of Amelia, a film directed and choreographed by Édouard Lock.

To preface this, I would like to talk a bit about the dance and what this means for thehuman body. Unlike a machine, which you can connect and disconnect, or program to perform certain activities, the human body is capable of performing many different functions simultaneously; its ability to explore all kinds of movement and emotions gives it truly unique versatility.





Dance

In everyday life, basic body movements are usually limited to extension, contraction or rotationof multiple or isolated parts. In dance, combinations of these movements, in accord or in discord, produce different relationships and achieve a desired expression.

The fact that the body can be moving or still, or perform continuous or intermittent movements –curved, linear, fast, slow, cut, etc., provide endless possibilities for the body to achieve a huge variety of movement. To dance, it isessential to understand how one can move the body (and the implications thereof) in addition to what one feels and is able to tell the observer.

If the body is the instrument of the dancer, we must consider not only what it can do and where it can move, but also the various qualities necessary for expression. Laban’s movement analysis intently studies the factors that dictate dynamics. All dancerspossess and develop their own characteristics. For example, one’s gait shows individuality in speed, strength, size and sequence of steps. From this fundamental observation, Laban developed his theory of effort and its reliance on the following four elements: time, weight, space and flow.

We can also say that dance is not purely functional in its movements, and therefore, the dancer needsinspiration as a stimulus for maximum expressive quality. A stimulus is defined as an influence or something that induces action. This is something that the chorographer has to have in mind when starting to work on a piece.

Familiarity with the potential of the body, in general and in particular, is the most vital factor or element of dance. Is the choreographer's work to comprehend all thepossibilities, and to implement them at the time so that movement, ideas, aesthetics, dance, theater, and music come together at the time of the choreography.





Choreography

If we momentarily set aside considerations of the body, choreography is thus defined as dance writing, and also dance composition. This is the art of creating structures in which movements occur; the term composition mayalso refer to the navigation or connection of these movement structures.

Choreography is the tool used to compose movement that adjusts form and content with the utmost precision and detail. When choreographing, it is possible to control the outcome of the work almost entirely, so that it is possible to repeat it almost exactly the same if necessary. In the processof composition, investigating choreographic movement to find the exact way that captures the essence of the content on which one works so that every movement is located at the right time and in the right place. In choreography, nothing is left to chance; everything that happens has a reason and is the result of a profound decision, wherein the previous and subsequent movement is taken into consideration at all times. Every...