- Additional Authors
- Found In
- Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection.
- Description
- 1 streaming audio file (45 minutes) : digital, stereo
- Summary
- Merce Cunningham and Charles Atlas speak with David Vaughan about their film and video collaborations; they speak about their first video collaboration, Westbeth (1974), especially the investigation of how the moving body works with a fixed camera; they speak about the use of multi cameras in Locale (1977); they speak about how the studio space in which they shot defined limitations of the videos including the example of Blue studio: five segments (1975); more about the moving cameras used to film Locale and Cunningham's aim to capture the energy of the dancing; Cunningham speaks about the intimacy the cameras create and his interest in making the dancers appear "human"; they speak about the range of depth in a camera frame and Cunningham speaks about ways to creatively deal with that range including shifting the camera angle; Atlas speaks about the strategies used to create a sense of reality including continuity in shooting and editing; Cunningham speaks about thinking through the way dance is presented on camera space, especially as a shift from stage presentation; they speak about the use of multiple spaces in Channels/Inserts (1982) to create effects; they speak about watching sports on television; Cunningham tells an anecdote about a recent conversation with a television producer; they speak about their creative process together, especially how they brainstorm and take camera tests for new projects in the studio; they speak about the logistical planning and systems they use for filming; Cunningham speaks about rehearsing prior to, and remaking the dance phrases as they film; they speak about the independence between the music and the choreography, and how they work with this in filming; Atlas speaks about how they shoot the dancing continuously; Cunningham speaks about the challenges of the dance for camera projects, especially in dealing with the multiple details and directing the dancers; Cunningham speaks about preparing his [Merce Cunningham Dance Company] dancers for the filming; they speak about communicating about problems during filming; Cunningham speaks about the timing of dance on camera and how he remedies "dead time"; Atlas speaks about watching the rehearsals prior to filming; Cunningham speaks about how he watches movies in a different way and Atlas speaks about his preference for movies over television; Cunningham speaks about adapting his choreography for stage performances after a work has been made for the camera especially in terms of how the eye of the viewer relates to the framing; they speak about the possibility of refilming after the dancers have integrated the works through performing them over time.
- Alternative Title
- Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection. Audio materials.
- Subjects
- Genre/Form
- Interviews.
- Sound recordings.
- Note
- David Vaughan interviews Merce Cunningham and Charles Atlas, likely in New York, New York on October 4, 1982. This interview was taken as research for David Vaughan's book, Merce Cunningham: Fifty years (New York, Aperture).
- Title and date provided by cataloger based on audition and handwritten note on original cassette and container.
- Handwritten note on original container: "MC/CA 1982". Handwritten note on original cassette: "A. MC/CA ; 4 Oct 1982".
- Sound quality is mostly good; occasionally the speakers are some distance from the microphone and difficult to hear.
- Access (note)
- Patrons can access streaming audio only on site at NYPL Research Libraries.
- Source (note)
- Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation
- Linking Entry (note)
- Forms part of the Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection.
- Call Number
- *LTC-A 1471
- OCLC
- 914488993
- Title
Interview with Merce Cunningham and Charles Atlas, 1982-10-04.
- Production
October 4, 1982.
- Playing Time
004435
- Type of Content
spoken word
- Type of Medium
audio
- Type of Carrier
audiocassette
online resource
- Digital File Characteristics
audio file
- Event
Recorded in, New York, New York, 1982 October 4.
- Restricted Access
Patrons can access streaming audio only on site at NYPL Research Libraries.
- Original Version
Archival original: (1 audio cassette (45 minutes) : analog) in *LTC-A 1471.
- Linking Entry
Forms part of the Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection.
- Local Note
Transferred from original analog cassette by George Blood Audio on March 26, 2015.
- Source
Gift; Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation, 2011-2012.
- Connect to:
- Added Author
Atlas, Charles, interviewee.
Cunningham, Merce, interviewee.
Vaughan, David, 1924- interviewer.
Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation, donor.
- Added Title
Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection. Audio materials.
- Found In:
Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection.
- Research Call Number
*LTC-A 1471