Extended+

Redesiging digital scenography

Overview

Extended+ concerns the adaptive redesign of digital scenography from the multimediated dance work ’Ngirozi’, part  the Extended project. Extended+ is a cross cultural multimedia performance, with live dance and digital media performance (Barcelona 04.06.2004 and Madrid 05.06.2004). The work exhibits a convergence of east and southern African dance traditions with contemporary aesthetics and multimodal means of expression.

Aims

• What are the main challenges and advances of the multidisciplinary creative and adaptive design process conducted by the choreographer and the multimedia designers?
• As dynamic elements, are the digital sound and computer animations capable of extending time and space in order to accentuate the unfolding of a narrative-like dance work?
• What principles are generated for a richer conceptualising of digital scenography?

Concepts

Some of the core concepts and fields included are:

• Media-extended dance performance
• Embodied interaction
• Digital scenography
• Multidisciplinary production process
• Contextual challenges for multimedia performances in traditional performance settings.

Methods

The creation of a dance work with digitaly mediated scenography takes place through collaboration between a choreographer (also the dancer) and two media researchers. The experimental creative design methods include workshopping, devising and iterative projection. Screenshots, video and notes are used to reflect on this process. The final performance at an international festival of choreography included the dancer and one media developer as performers, with one media developer/researcher as observer and photographer. A broad synthetic-analytic approach to making and analysing is applied to this practice-based inquiry into performativity in electronic art.

Outcomes

A multimodal, multimediational dance performance demonstrating digital scenography in and as performance. Research presentations and articles. Reference work for related projects into digital scenography and embodied interaction. Enhanced competence and knowledge of multidisciplinary collaborative processes. The creation of an art work that utilise digital media to extend the presented time/space and to converge contemporary digital aesthetics with east and southern African dance traditions.

Analysis

This multimodal, multimediational dance work is analysed in terms of performativitybetween dancer and media performers. It is situated in the emerging field of digital scenography. Attention is given to adaptive and iterative design processes and a resulting live performance. Embodied interaction is also used to frame the analysis.

Publications & presentations

Morrison, A. ‘Unsettling the setting? Reflections on digital scenography’. Inivited presentation at Research Seminar on Digital Scenography. Aarhus University, 24 January 2005.

Morrison, A. & Skjulstad, S. 2004. ‘Towards embodied interaction’. Designing Design Seminar Series. Electronic arts: Dance and Technology. InterMedia, University of Oslo. 7 December.

Morrison, A. Skjulstad; S. & Smørdal, O. 2004 ‘Choreographing augmented space’. Paper presented at Future Ground Conference 2004, Melbourne Australia, 17-21 November (to appear in refereed proceedings).

Morrison, A., Sem, I. & Skjulstad, S. (in progress). 'Reflections on adaptive design and digital scenography'. Article underway for submission to Digital Creativity, February 2005.

Morrison, A. 2003 ‘Dancing with postcolonial theory: digital scenography and the performance of local culture'. Norsk medietidsskrift. Vol. 10. No 2. 28-56.