“This is the story of how I managed to take half a million pictures of contemporary dancers in the dark using light-painting, stop-motion and bullet-time techniques,” —Eric Paré
LightSpin, is an official selection of the 3rd Annual American Documentary Film Festival which screened in March 2014, in Palm Springs, CA. Eric Paré hails from Montreal, Canada and is an artist of many talents: professional photographer, programmer, musician — and he can now add filmmaker to his list of credits. But as the old adage goes, “You can’t rush greatness.” Eric took a break from photography between 2008-2011 because he expressed boredom and didn’t feel he was adding anything new. Thankfully, he returned to the medium with vigor and a visionary idea: LightSpin.
The project consisted of 25 performers who improvised contemporary dance movements at the center of a ring on which 24 cameras were mounted. What’s unique about LightSpin, is that it’s a very organic, yet calculated process. According to the documentary: “Every frame is lit by hand, one by one. Each picture has an exposure of 1 second. We worked on a rhythm, balancing light and breathing to make sure the dancer stayed motionless during the exposure.” When Eric Paré shot the project, his initial intention was to post it on the internet. “I just did a project and documented it,” Eric said modestly. However, once Eric uploaded LightSpin, it took a life of its own — attracting over 100,000 views online, and went on to be featured on many major photography websites. Only then, did the documentary start to gain some traction at film festivals. That was new for him: “It was totally unexpected, to have that kind of experience, where we can meet other filmmakers and share our experiences and future projects. This is clearly something I want to do more,” Eric expressed. By the time Eric submitted LightSpin to festivals he was already busy at work on his most ambitious project to date, Little Circle with contemporary dancer Kim Henry.
Tell us about your documentary: LightSpin.
LightSpin has been made with contemporary dancers in early 2013. I spent a few months experimenting different techniques and tools. When I felt it was time, I chose a specific light (neutral density roll filter), and re-used it for the whole project. It was clear to me that I needed a strong signature for this project. The film is made from hundreds of thousands of pictures, and the documentary is about the process behind this technique.
How was that like to manage/store so many images?
I shoot one picture every 2 seconds when I’m doing stop-motion (like in LightSpin). Every time I take a picture, I trigger all the cameras. During LightSpin I used 24 DSLR’s, now I have 32. LightSpin required only one HD + one backup—but a 4TB one! (haha) I have about 20 hard drives at the studio, mostly 4TB ones.
Is it you moving the light?
I draw the light, yes.
Tell us about the process, both creative and technical.
I love working with dancers… they are usually strong and can hold the pose for one second. It’s not long, one second, but I need perfect stillness during that time, and I get good results with them—oh and that fits well with the technique 🙂 When I’m doing light-painting + stop-motion, I have to stay very close to the dancer to be able to see what I’m doing. As it is all improvisation, I have to follow the dancer, so it becomes kind of a dance duo in ultra slow-motion.
Did you hold an audition call?
I had a few friends in that field, and they sent me some of their friends, and it went on and on like this… except for 2 top dancers (Margie Gillis and Paul-André Fortier), they are very well known in Canada.
Are you a dancer?
I am not a dancer, but I keep being asked about this, maybe I should start 🙂
ARTIST: ERIC PARÉ
HOMETOWN: MONTREAL, CANADA
WEB: ERICPARE.COM