Recording Voices and Filming Bodies
Two casts of performers were used to create this piece; a cast of dancers and a cast of singers. The recordings of their performances were combined in post-production. The singing cast was recorded as audio-only and was responsible for the speaking and singing in the piece. The dancing cast was filmed without sound and was responsible for the movement in the piece. The cast of dancers does not lip-synch the dialog or lyrics, but performs each character's physicality, while the cast of singers performs each character's vocals.
To achieve the best quality possible given the equipment we used for sound recording, performers were recorded separately for any songs with more than one character. The multiple voices were combined during the post-production process. Performers were recorded together for dialog scenes, since separate recording could have lead to a stilted quality in this case.
Because proper lighting was such a concern for the filming, we filmed dancers separately whenever possible. Performers in scenes that include multiple characters but no contact choreography were filmed separately and layered into the same shot during post-production editing. Performers in scenes with multiple characters that did have contact choreography were filmed together. The time available to us to complete the sound recording and dance filming was extremely limited, and some of the performers had schedules with limited availability as well. Stage manager Michelle Moon Lee created a detailed recording and shooting schedule for us. The schedule was created with modular components, to anticipate unforeseen complications that might require on-the-spot rescheduling. This schedule proved an invaluable tool during the shoot, as we were allowed flexibility at key points but still able to accomplish all the recording and filming in the limited amount of time available.
I did not use any set pieces, furniture, or props. This greatly simplified the shooting process and was in keeping with my interpretation of the piece. Costumes were simple items selected to reflect the story and characters of Woyzeck, as well as the practical needs of the performers to move freely and chromakey filming restrictions, which required costumes that were not green, see-through, sheer, cut-out, or reflective.
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