March 5, 2007

Main Uses for Dance Videos

After writing what I've been calling the pre-draft version of my upcoming publication on dance, video and the Internet, I'm now writing my first draft.

At the heart of this publication are two simple questions:

1) What can you shoot dance video of or for? And,

2) What are the different applications for this video?

Here's my answer to these two questions. As always, please let me know what you think and if you'd make any changes or additions.

Videos can be shot of and for:

- Dance performances

- Rehearsals and dress rehearsals

- Dance instruction

- Interviews

- Auditions

- Video projections during performances

- Documentaries

- Dance on camera productions

The primary distribution methods for dance videos:

- DVDs or other physical format

- Digital-only formats that are transmitted via the Internet

The main uses and applications for dance videos:

1) Bookings

Using video of dance performances and other offerings (educational programs, outreach efforts, workshops, etc.) to increase bookings by presenters. Most commonly this video is distributed on DVDs. Presenters (performing arts venues, theaters, festivals, tour organizers and international programs) will increasingly turn to Internet to watch dance company videos.

2) Audience Development

Video of performances, in full or abridged, distributed through one or more online channels to build audiences for upcoming performances.

3) Publicity

Videos of performances are an ideal publicity tool whether distributed via DVD or online. Video is currently underused as method of increasing press coverage. Performance videos are especially worthwhile when added to online press releases.

4) Fundraising

Whether online or offline, dance video can play an important role in improving the success of fundraising campaigns. There are a number of Web-based fundraising software applications as well as payment tools such as PayPal that can be used with dance videos to seek financial contributions of any size from website visitors.

5) Grant Applications

Dance videos - often in DVD format - will increasingly become essential components of grant applications so that funding organizations can watch examples of your work. At some point, this process may move to the Internet, but it may take a while.

6) Sell Videos of Dance Performances

When dancers and dance companies sell video of their performances, it is almost always in the form of a DVD. From now into the future, dance companies will begin to explore how to sell their performance videos via the Internet.

7) Sell Dance Instruction Videos

As with performances, most dance instruction videos are sold in DVD format. Slowly dance instructors are beginning to experiment with selling instructional videos over the Internet. Alternatively, instructors are exploring other ways to monetize their videos such as by receiving a percentage of advertising revenue from video sharing websites.

8) Video Trailers and Promos

Very few dance companies create video trailers for the purpose of promoting upcoming performances via the Internet. With the wide availability of low cost digital cameras and low-cost video editing software, there are no longer roadblocks prohibiting dancers from creating compelling trailers to build audiences and increase bookings.

9) Sell Video Dance (dance on camera) Productions

There are many dance on camera film festivals held every year around the globe. Dance on camera or video dance productions are those made for the screen as opposed to the performance stage. At this point the producers of these dance films have not yet experimented with efforts to sell their work online. But we will probably soon see experiments in this area.

10) Video for Your Website

Dance videos uploaded to websites can be used for many of the purposes described above including for increasing bookings, audience development, fundraising and other applications. These videos can be hosted on the dance company's website or on video sharing sites such as YouTube. These dance videos can take different forms, but video promos are probably the most valuable.

11) Video for Blogs and Social Networking Sites

Blogs offer a community-oriented environment for sharing different types of dance videos with visitors including performance clips, promotional videos and videos from rehearsals. Rehearsal and interview videos can be used to engage visitors in online conversations about the creative process and to seek feedback from readers/viewers.

12) Social Networking and Video Sharing Sites

Dance video on social networking sites such as MySpace or video sharing sites such as YouTube, provide additional avenues for promoting your dance company, building audiences for upcoming performances and networking with other dancers.

13) Dance Videos for Mashups

User-generated content continues to grow at a rapid pace. Internet users like to see videos created by amateurs. Dancers and dance companies can take advantage of this trend by creating opportunities for their fans and others to create and upload their own video mixes (called mashups) that feature your dance videos edited in different ways. Users can also add their own clips to the final videos that they submit.

14) Videos for Mobile and Wireless Devices

An increasing number of dancers now have video iPods and other devices on which they can store dance videos. As more and more mobile phones, portable game consoles and other small-screen devices support video, it will become increasingly important to create dance video clips for these devices. Users will download videos from the Internet to their small video playback systems, watch the clips on the road, wirelessly share the videos with their friends, and connect their portable players to TVs to show on larger screens.

15) Monetize on Add Supported Networks

One of the emerging ad-supported models for online video is for video sharing sites to pay content creators a percentage of ad revenue or a flat fee. Dancers will take advantage of this revenue stream by uploading performance videos, promo videos and instructional clips to these video hosting services.

16) New Frontiers in Video Distribution

We are already seeing an explosion in the growth of online video. But we are still very much in the early stages. Over the next year, higher and higher quality video will be made available via the Internet. Plus, there will be more end-users customization tools so that users can create their own content channels, and there will be more options for linking high-speed Internet connections with your TV sets. All of these developments will create new markets for different types of dance videos.

17) Archival and Documentation Videos

At the same time, traditional applications for video will continue to be important. A large percentage of dancers and dance companies shoot video of their performances for archival purposes and this video content is often not seen by those outside of the dance company. This archival video footage can be shot simply to make a recording or it can be used for documenting a dance piece that will be studied and performed at a later date.

18) Dance Auditions

An increasing number of dancers will create audition videos. These videos can be submitted as part of an application for an academic program or used for a dance audition. Very rarely will dance video auditions be used instead of a live audition, but it is possible when necessary. Most common, audition videos will be used to make a first cut.

19) Video Projection During Performances and for Installations

A good number of dance performances include projected video segments that are shown on projection screens during a dance. This video can take many forms including dancers performing in different environments, interviews with choreographers and dancers, and more abstract possibilities as well. The projected video can also be generated by dancers in real-time in responsive or interactive dance environments. Dance video can also be incorporated into installations in different settings.

20) Dance Documentaries

Dance documentaries can take many forms and can be shot for different mediums. A low-budget documentary can be shot by a dance company and posted to the Web. A more elaborate documentary can be made primarily for DVD distribution. And video production companies can produce dance documentaries for TV and other purposes.

21) Learning Dance Routines

Dance students can increasingly shoot video of routines taught in class. These routines may simply be for class room instruction purposes only, or they may be studied for performance purposes.

22) Educational Collaboration

There are many ways that dance videos can be shared online for educational purposes. I've written a number of times about the possibilities of large-scale "tagging" projects that are built upon thousands of dancers or dance students categorizing entire videos or parts of videos. This categorization effort can help dancers, dance students and educators better understand the relationship and connections among different styles and forms of dance.

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