To celebrate the upcoming Halloween, here's a post about a dance I choreographed and performed in for Cirque Du Surgery (UNSW Med Revue 2013).
Behind the scenes:
16150 cells in this Excel table
My co-choreographer Ben and I went through sequencing
which circuit which light-suits would switch on and off at every
millisecond. Above is a brief screenshot of how we did it.
The lyrics to Skrillex
Also since we were using dub-step in the finale of the dance, and that genre sounds like a bunch of industrial noise, it was challenging to choreograph and sequence to every sound we heard. As you can see on the right, I wrote some lyrics so the dancers and I, could keep track of what was happening. Sadly, it's now one of the few songs I know the whole 'lyrics' too (Dubstep karoake anyone?).
Choreography and stunts during that light section happened in the space of about one week. It was super fun, but intense trying to meet all the deadlines. The fragile suits had only just started being finished, meaning limited time to practice and also issues like which crazy moves were feasible and broken wires arose. I may also have incurred a carpet burn on my head whilst face-planting after a stunt gone wrong. I wish I had more time, and made that section longer, bigger, more epic, but I didn't account for the amount of man-hours it would take to just make the suits themselves. For just university students, I think we did well with our limited resources. Also coming up with choreography that was unique and not just doing an easy copy-cat of what's been done already with the concept is what I hope I for. One tiny example of originality I'm proud of, is the illusion where one suit 'jumps' into another suit. In my head I can still visualise so many more things with light suit dances that haven't even been done by the professional troupes.
I spent an unreasonable amount of time on sound editing with Audacity (probably over a hundred hours) since I didn't just want a generic sound-track. I wanted humour, stunts, interesting sound fx,blended in an entertaining ball of craziness that exploded in a visual spectacle.
To do this, I mixed and edited over 13 music songs, and countless sound effects (I sourced over 300 sound files throughout the process). I probably enjoyed crafting the loop build-up to Gorillaz Feel Good the most, and spent most of the time crafting from bare-bones, the entire robotic section and percussion beats into Ben Lee's Catch My Disease.
Tracks that were cut but discarded include: Cypress Hill - Insane in the Brain, Owl City - Fireflies [I wanted suits to combine and make a huge flying insect illusion], Stan Walker - Light it Up, Jay Sean - Hit the Lights, Kanye West - All Of The Lights, Ellie Goulding - Lights, DJ Earworm - United State of Pop 2013 [Each song would be represented by a lit-up dancer], and La Roux - Bulletproof (Hyper crush remix) [as the finale instead of Skrillex].
The actual engineering process behind the EL Wire suits belongs to Hamish Pain, head of the special effects team. He's the brain behind the Arduino controllers and all that funky magical Wi-Fi stuff. It's basically impossible to compensate him for the hundreds of hours he put into leading them the team in designing the suits themselves. From sewing to trouble-shooting, and programming, his geekiness was our godsend.
Hamish and two directors helping construct the suits
Many late nights, and thousands of stitches
A sweatshop of trial and error
Aldri Indrayana, a talented guy with a background in fashion design, helped sketch the design of the suits. Each circuit; skeletal, arterial and venous had to be done in one continuous line. It took several iterations from the initial TRON inspired sketches, to get to the final version.
The very beginning. Pink ribs anyone?
Idea for the design on the back; a combined huge laughing skull
Final skeleton
As a medical student, I was finally happy when it was more anatomically realistic
Of course executing this design was troubling itself as EL wires aren't exactly easy to hold in complex intricate shapes.
Before green skulls on a balaclava, the initial idea involved black facemasks
That circle heart (aka Iron Man's Arc Reactor)
Hunger Games + Matrix
The whole squad
Thanks guys and everyone else that was involved :)
A sharp intake of air. Then another. And another. Her muscles start to tense as she fights for control. Eyelids fluttering to a close, her lips part. Her back arches, trying to resist the waves building up inside her Face turning red, in futility, she tries hold back the incoming eruption. Despite exerting self-restraint, she starts to lose it… Letting out a series of quick Ahhh’s Shaking, muscles spasm, her eyes roll back as her head lifts back. There’s a pause. Her mind goes blank. Then it hits her. Waves pulsing through, she rocks violently forward, powerfully thrusting her face into his tissues. Letting out a loud noise, in her relief, she involuntarily expels liquid everywhere. And though slightly dazed she determinedly continues blowing with all her might. “Bless you” he says. “Thank you.” she replies with a smile. Protect yourself. Get a flu vaccination today. ----------------------------------------------------------- The flu epidemic. It’s nothing to sneeze at… One
of the greatest contributors to global morbidity and mortality; this
virus’ main symptom - sneezing, can be physiologically attributed to
increased signals and blood flow to spongy tissues (of the nasal
variety). So how is it relevant to copulation? None, except that it got
your attention and involves an immense physical build-up, messy release
and can occur several times in a row. One mustn’t also forget how both
can lend a sizable contribution to the spread of diseases. So
that’s why I want to urge everyone out there to get your flu vaccination
before next winter. Prevention is better then cure, and with most
clinics offering the vaccine at a cost less than $20, this is not only a
pain-free, but very cost-effective way of keeping yourself healthy.
After all, all the drugs and days off work will add up to a whole lot
more than twenty bucks. And the feeling of a clear throat, nose and mind
is pretty much priceless. Now excuse me while I go off and write a story on how vaccination is like intercourse.* *i.e.
tissue is penetrated, its an invasion of foreign bodies, many are
initially scared of it, its just a small prick, its over really quick,
side-effects are bleeding, bruising & fainting, only the most
religious don't do it and doctors provide this service several times a
day... okay I might be deluding myself on that last one. It's probably best if I leave this business of cliterotica alone to experts like Stephenie Meyer and E.L. James. Anyways did you know sex is a natural antihistamine? "its emission phase provides a
sympathetic stimulation and subsequent vasoconstriction and nasal
decongestion. Also, the refractory period serves as a sympathetic
reservoir and maintains the decongestive state for a considerable
while." ACHOOOOOO!!! Well, uh... I guess I should go ahead and cure myself of a blocked nose... by myself now. But no seriously get protected Previous Post: I'm the next Shakespeare
She had a lot on her plate He was unwilling to wait With demand The man snaps his fingers The waitress snaps back a zinger "It'll take more than two fingers to make me come"
Flustered, he goes dumb Up goes her middle, so does my thumb The same pair that had led to what was said As it slowly clicks in everyone's head there's a ripple of snickers at the jerk And her lips sneak in a smirk Back to her work she quietly turns
Her tips well earned Manners were learned Revenge is best served cold to the burned
And some further food for thought:
We get it poets: things are like other things
— shut up, mike (@shutupmikeginn) September 8, 2014
