Can Technology Make Live Performances Live Forever?
We had to figure out how to capture a behind-the-scenes look at a live performance in 2018. Our results offer a new path forward for capturing the ephemeral via technology.
We suggested to the company’s artistic director that, given our recent viewing of the 2017 premier of Within These Walls, they allow us to document the process of reproducing the show along with a newly created epilogue, Dreams of Flight. We were confronted with two questions: How could we give people a behind-the-scenes look at a live performance piece, and how would we deliver this look to audiences?
THE LENORA LEE DANCE DOCUMENTATION PROJECT
The Lenora Lee Dance company wanted to document its 2018 revival of the show Within These Walls, which tells the stories of the interrogation and detention of Chinese immigrants at Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay. The team that was tasked with this project faced two questions: how could they give people a behind-the-scenes look at a live performance piece, and how would they deliver this look to audiences?
Documentation and Liveness
The Lenora Lee Dance Documentation Project was created to document dance, and was modeled after my own experience collecting DVDs. Could you explain how the T-1000 morphs into its victims?
Our goal was to give performing arts fans more detailed information, but we struggled to find examples to follow.
Scott Stone and Madelynn Dickerson, research librarians at the University of California, Irvine, introduced us to the JSTOR Forum collection management platform as a means of easy digital publishing targeted at academic communities through either scholarly articles or the ARSTOR discovery platform. ARSTOR is an archive platform that is mostly used for storing still images, but there are a few examples of live entertainment archives, such as university theatres that have uploaded promo trailers and single-camera recordings of full shows.
If you're meticulous about your personal data management, you may have used metadata editors like MP3tag to edit artists, track titles, or genre labels on your music files. Many common metadata editors only allow the user to fill in predetermined categories; however, ARSTOR offers the ability to add, delete, or otherwise alter an existing category.
Building an Archive
UCI Library's Stone and Dickerson have discovered that there are already collections in existence that are closely related to projects like Within These Walls. By utilizing these collections as a guide, we were able to create categories specific to the project at hand, including Choreographer, Animation Designer, and Box Office Associate. Acknowledging any contribution, no matter how small, was one of the primary goals of the project.
Stone and Dickerson tasked us with creating a set of naming conventions before we began producing documentation materials. What is the file naming convention for different types of files? Having a consistent system for naming files is essential when the final number of files is projected to be in the hundreds.
We expected to include a large number of items, which resulted in us exceeding the storage space available. If you grew up reading Neuromancer or Strange Days, you may be aware that by the year 2021 we were supposed to have interwebs capable of containing the entire consciousness of humanity. However, if you attempt to upload a file larger than five gigs to many online databases, you are likely to receive a “Does Not Compute” message.
We were primarily concerned with how much total space could be allotted for a given project or database. We were given access to the documentation project because my partner is a doctoral student at the university. This is the first student-led project to use this platform.
In other words, we were supposed to keep the project small. Stone and Dickerson didn’t want to put a hard limit on the collection, like 500 GB. Instead, they said we should use smaller file sizes. Like the rules for naming conventions, we had to choose formats and codecs that would result in small files. The video footage was shot in 4K, but the collection consists primarily of 1080p renders that are optimized for streaming platforms. If a viewer wants a higher quality copy, they can request the 4K copy directly from us.
Filling the Archive
We settled on the overall design of the collection, so now it is time to document the development process of Within These Walls and Dreams of Flight. The dance company was based in San Francisco, with the eventual performance occurring on Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay, while the documentary film team was based in southern California. The fact that we were far apart meant that the team had to conduct many of the production meetings virtually. Although we are now all used to Zoom meetings because of COVID, this was the first project I worked on where we had to rely heavily on telecommuting. We hit a few bumps along the way as we tried to collaborate remotely, but fortunately the current widespread use of tools like Zoom and Cisco Webex has helped resolve such issues.
The performers in Within These Walls navigated the Immigration Station alongside the audience, coming together in a single location at key moments, but usually performing in separate areas simultaneously.
The main challenge of filming on-site rehearsals and performances was logistics and technology. The primary documentary film team had two videographers, but there were performers in up to six locations at once, so two cameras weren't enough. However, we do have advanced video cameras in our pockets, even though we're still waiting for flying cars and personal jetpacks.
We had two primary videographers and a small army of stagehands following performers with iPads and smartphones. It is unlikely that we will win any cinematography awards soon, but by using this approach, we were able to capture footage of most rehearsals and performances with production values that are acceptable for a research project.
We decided not to aim for Hollywood-style production values early on in the project. While this was largely due to budget restraints (meaning we had no money), we also wanted an unfiltered look at the process. We had previously produced a more traditional documentary on the 2017 run of the show, so we were keen to take a different approach this time around.
We avoided shots that zoomed in on performers; instead, we left them in the context of the rehearsal spaces. By adjusting the cinematography, we were able to place more emphasis on the moments of participatory dance that improved the audience's interaction.
A New Path Forward
By building a digital collection on ARSTOR, supplementary resources are provided that can be shared with broad audiences. The dance company now has a platform that gives interested patrons and fans a deep look into their creative process. A fan can relive a favorite moment, or a budding dancer or choreographer can peek behind the curtain to discover how one group of artists tackled creative decisions and obstacles common to the industry.
When presenting the project at conferences, those involved can direct curious scholars to concrete resources. Networking conversations can now go beyond question and answer sessions, allowing more time for discussion.
At the start of summer, LLD had planned for an overseas scholar to visit and investigate the company's work. This project has made it possible for the scholar to explore Within These Walls and Dreams of Flight, even though travel plans have been canceled due to COVID.
All creativity involves some degree of compromise, whether it is forced by outside factors or self-imposed. It is the goal of the Lenora Lee Dance Documentation Project to document the artistic decisions made by Lenora Lee and her dance collaborators. The following writing discusses the challenges faced by curators and filmmakers during the development of the ARSTOR collection.
If someone had approached me five years ago to document a large group of performers navigating the "Ellis Island of the West" on an island in the Pacific Ocean, I would have asked about the budget. If you had stared at me blankly, I would have then asked, “For love of the game?” But, you know, the resources are there now. You may have to channel your inner MacGyver, but the resources are there. And, of course, it’ll look great on your resume!
