Summary

Danse Macabre is a 3D animated motion capture dance film, inspired by Franz Liszt's Totentanz, this film explores hubris and irony through the escapist dream of the protagonist.

Project Team

Co-Directors:
Jessica Cavender, MFA Dance
Tom Heban, MFA Design

ACCAD Advisor:
Vita Berezina-Blackburn, Animation & Motion Capture Specialist

Motion Capture Technician:
Lakshika Udakandage,  MFA candidate Design

Additional Modeling:
Jeremy Baker, MFA Design
John Luna, MFA candidate Dance

Project Description

Danse Macabre is 3D animated motion capture dance film, inspired by the music, a 1940's recording of Franz Liszt's 'Totentanz', courtesy of the National Library in France. This film explores hubris and irony through the escapist dream of the protagonist. Nodding stylistically to the late-medieval genre of danse macabre, the protagonist learns they cannot escape their bone mortal body for long and no matter how far their flight of fancy takes them, they've always been running directly into the hand of death. Although the film itself is a virtual world, it owes its generation to the ephemeral physical labor of the corporeal; the character's and camera's motion are choreographed and performed by a dancing body.

This film was made in partnership with the 2016 International Video Dance Festival of Burgundy, France. It was also shown at the  American Dance Festival, NC; Salamanca Moves Festival, Australia; Screamdance, NY; Columbus Moving Art Review, Columbus and Independents' Day Festival, Franklinton, OH in the same year.