'Syncopate' is an audio-visual exploration of tap dance and motion graphics that promotes the idea that tap dance is the dance of creating music. To create a sound in tap, the body has to move in a specific way. Therefore, the physical look of tap dance is primarily due to the requirement of creating the sound. The addition of motion graphics to correspond with each distinct movement, helps to engage the viewer with the technical side of the dance form and allows an understanding of where and how each part of the sound is created. The tap dance was choreographed to build in intensity, increasing the complexity of the sound and the visual power of the graphics.
Taking inspiration from the classic tap dance era, the video was created to represent the glamour and class of early influential tap dancers. Although the video style contrasts the digital graphics, the combination provides a visual connection between the classic and the modern.
While tap dance is form of visual music in itself, a less detailed connection of the audio and visual is generally made. 'Syncopate' is a snapshot of what goes on in the mind of a tap dancer. How sections of sound are built up through very small, detailed movements and that changing one movement can create a completely different sound.
The Process
The project brief was to simply make a video that displays the connection between audio and visual. I decided to do something a little different and use tap dancing as the audio as well as the visual. I then challenged myself by adding motion graphics as another visual element.
The videos and images below is a small sample of the content I used as inspiration.
