THE LAST DANCE

The title sequence for The Last Dance started as an exploration of light in the studio. Porous, reflective, and transparent objects were used to bend, abstract, and distort light. Light sources ranged from light bulbs and flash lights to RGB LED mood cubes and plasma orb lights. As I became more comfortable and familiar with my materials, I noticed more control and spacial awareness within my footage. This allowed me to begin setting aside workable videos, paying closer attention to motion and how light moved into and out of the frame. What resulted from this exploration was a collection of footage that had elegant and rhythmic qualities. All footage was converted to black and white on an Iphone and levels were further adjusted within After Effects. This helped with consistency and transitions between video clips. 

 

Music was selected to compliment the elegant and rhythmic qualities of the footage. The music can be described in three words as dark, mysterious, and romantic. Transitions between video clips were synced to notes in the music as well as moments in the video that faded to black. Taking into consideration the ominous and romantic notes of the music coupled with the elegant and rhythmic qualities of the footage, I settled on the title The Last Dance. The title comes with no specific narrative but rather stems from an emotional reaction to the video sequence. Type decisions and title sequence animations were made to support the working movie title. The type system uses a serif, sans serif, and scripted typeface to further convey the dark, romantic tone. Title animations are limited to avoid competition between type and video. Moving only the tertiary type behind the titles added a subtle depth and beauty while also emphasizing ideas of light, shadow, and an exchange between two people such as in dance. Placement of titles follows a structured grid and pattern to follow the motion a dancer might take as he/she moves back and forth across a stage. 

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Recognition // GD USA Digital Design Award 2023