We Sure Love to Dance

No comment needed. Just look at the hits for each of these vids.

Boombox by Ely Kim on Vimeo.

Evolution of Dance by Judson Laipply on YouTube.

Where the Hell is Matt? by Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Kaoma – Lambada by igloows on YouTube.

OK, so that last one’s not a meme. I trick you.

But 20m views and counting for the Lambada? That’s deadly serious.

Why do we love to sit in front of a computer watching other people dance?

Did Saatchi & Saatchi sell their flashmobdance on the basis that dancing is the pinnacle of the entire universe?

People: throw your hats in to the circle. Best dance vids or better explanations pleeeeease.

Update – an addition

Over 20m viewers can’t be wrong, can they Audrey Q? Thanks for the tip-off.

“Thriller” (Original upload) by byronfgarcia on YouTube.

How to VJ #2

After How to VJ #1, you’ve still not touched any VJ software.

You’re making, animating, filming, researching – one way or another, you’re finding your way to put together material.

But when it comes to a club night, you’ll have to perform. You’ll have to make it dance.

In preparation, you do one of three things:

1. Nothing. It’s already dancing

If you’ve filmed or sampled moving footage, it’s got its own in-built motion. A life of its own, baby. You gotta dance with it, so learn your steps. It’s leading the dance. Not you.

2. Order a few cocktails

If you’re animating, this is where you turn static into Thriller. Give it some attention, a couple of Long Island Ice Teas and it’ll shake to your moves.

For a strong all-night performance, though, you’ll need to move in the right circles. So keep thinking about loops.

3. Drop a killer beat

If your material’s still not toe-tapping, the show’s not over. As soon as you start editing, whether pre-production or live, you’re supplying a new beat. You can get a booty shimmer out of a photograph if pick the right cuts.

You shouldn’t think about equipment or software until you’ve figured how to make it dance the way you want. You want rhythm, you want style, you want personality.

It can get more meaningful in the right combinations. But I’ll let Alfred Hitchcock march in to finish. He’ll explain the Kuleshov effect better than I could:

Previously: #1 What can you do? Up next: #3 Keep it in time.