(M)other Project #2 and the camera

As promised, I'm commenting on the second part of the (M)other series, found at http://people.brunel.ac.uk/bst/vol06/home.html.

This video feels somehow smaller in scope than the previous video. I think that is in large part due to the use of only one camera and its angle. The piece, like the previous piece, is surprisingly limited in its use of physical theatre, although the addition of the text, which was much clearer than in the first video, seemed in some way to make up for that. One aspect of the camera use I found particularly effective was when the performers looked to their left, seemingly addressing the audience on the other side of the camera. After watching them for awhile only in profile, this "head-on" almost confrontational turn had much more impact than it would have had the camera been placed directly in front of the performers.

Still, I felt limited by the camera...instead of offering a perspective that might have been invisible in the context of a live performance, the use of the camera and the resulting video left me feeling frustrated. In the small part of the performance which incorporating movement, I was unable to view the performer's feet. In the first part, despite the effectiveness of the side view "confrontation," it was frustrating not to see the performer's faces. So, although the performance was interesting in many aspects, the limited use of the camera also left me feeling frustrated.