Behind-the-Scenes: The Sound a Soul Makes
Developing the Choreography
Let me start by admitting I know next to nothing about dance or choreography. Heck I’ve never even done a music video — so to say I was a little nervous for the challenge I’d just given myself is an understatement.
It was about this time of peak-nervousness that I set up an informational interview with Arian Winn Russell — a talented choreographer recommended by a friend. Now at this point the music wasn’t done yet, so my goal was really just to learn how choreographers think, gauge overall interest in the project, and then play the long game by circling back with a pitch when everything was ready.
However, that plan quickly went out the window when we met, as Arian absolutely blew me away with how in touch she was both with the concept of the film, and how to elevate the vision through movement.
In short: she just got it, and I knew I’d just gotten VERY lucky in finding the perfect collaborator so quickly.
The Collaborative Process with a Choreographer
To back up half a step: coming from a narrative background I was used to relying on dialogue, locations and “scenes” to create a story arc in a traditional sense. And while I still wanted the story to be clear to someone without a background in dance (aka yours truly), I also wanted to really push my storytelling limits as a filmmaker.
Which is why I’m so grateful that Arian came on to choreograph: she didn’t just work on the movement, she elevated the entire vision.
Practically speaking, we talked a lot on what the abstract elements represented to me from the script (and what they could grow to represent), what each character was feeling and where they were in the journey relative to the music, and how the transitions would work between locations (beach and black void).
From there she would adjust the movements, and my only job was to let her know how it felt to me — not how to shift it.
It’s honestly hard to even express how grateful I am to Arian for her contributions to the film.
She took incredible care of the story, as well as the practical aspects of booking rehearsal spaces, finding exactly the right dancers for each part, and honestly just looking out for me at every level. She’s everything I could ever have hoped for in a collaborator.
And as for the dance itself — it is breathtaking. Her artistry and ability to weave meaning into motion fundamentally changed the way I look at movement, and it was an absolute gift to see Arian’s work come to life on set.
Watch her incredible choreography in action here: https://seedandspark.com/fund/the-sound-a-soul-makes#story
Other “Behind-The-Scenes” posts in this series:
- Developing the Concept: Poem to Script
- Developing an Original Score
- Developing the Cinematography
- Developing the “Rig” [COMING SOON]
