This week, I enjoyed an episode of Dance Moms. It's definitely not the most
intellectual show on TV, but it's pretty entertaining. Whenever I watch this
show, it really makes me question how real reality TV is. How could the
"dance moms" allow their daughters to continually return to a studio
with a teacher that is incredibly nasty? In this week's episode, "Miami
Heat Wave", Nia’s mom Holly gets irritated when Nia is left out of
the competition trio again. Holly is always shown as the calm one and so when
she confronts the teacher, Abby about this, it's a surprise to see their
argument get so heated. Abby screams at her to leave the studio and so Holly abides
(meanwhile, the background music is getting more dramatic). For once, I thought
maybe one mom would come to her senses and take her daughter out of that
horrible studio, but no. Holly and Nia come back. Things like this make me
question Dance Mom's actuality.
Also in this episode, the troupe travels to Miami and competes among the
best dancers in the country. Nia is still shaken up about her fallout with Abby
and so when it's time for her solo, she completely forgets what she's doing.
The camera closes up on her as she freezes and runs off the stage crying. Then
it pans to the audience where you can see her mom and friends with horrified
looks on their faces. As a dancer, forgetting your dance is the ultimate embarrassment
and through the use of the camera, it was easy to get that feeling.
Dance Moms
ReplyDeleteAlright, it’s no surprise that I’m a major fan of “Dance Moms” so I also watched this episode. Kirsten, I agree with you, some of this so I feel is staged. At least I really hope some of it is. In this episode when Holly and Abby are fighting, Abby screams “get the hell out” and the camera zooms in on Holly’s face then flashes over the Abby as she screams that. The director uses mis en scene to make us believe the little dancers are in the studio while this is going on. He/ She does this by arranging the mats and room the same way as it was in previous shots, also the camera is also zoomed in rather close to both Holly and Abby giving us little view of the rest of the room. The close-ups insured we couldn’t see if the children were in the room. Then when Holly and Nia leave Brook and Paige are packed up to leave class as well. The use of camera shots and mis en scene can distort the truth of what is really happening. Jumping to the where Nia freezes on stage I found myself screaming at the T.V, backhand spring, flip, death drop, do something. And this is the reaction I feel the viewer is meant to have, because the director leads into her forgetting by using slow-motion and the music begins to fade-out and we know Nia’s messed up. This use of mis en scene and camera work can change the way we view a program.
In this weeks episode of dance moms the competition is in Miami. the dancers learn a new dance based off of 60's beach fun. Sound is very important when putting togeather movies and TV shows. It helps bring togeather the scences in a smooth transaction. when the pyrimad is reveld the sound is low and dramatic because the tense emotions that both the girls and there moms give. The music starts off low and uses drums then rises to light and fluffy when they revel the top of the pyrimad. the moment that Abby announces the location and theme to the girls the music turns to a cheerful song with a tropical sound to it. Then music through out the episode continues like this. when a girl or mom expresses a concern the music turns to a sad soft song with a slight edge to it. Another example of sound in this episode is when Holly and Abby had a major conflict. when Holly goes down to speak to Abby the music becomes dark and iry and as it goes on the music becomes louder and higher pitched as the two become louder and more angry with each other. Later on in the show when they finally get to the beach the music becomes bright, fun, and exciting with a beach feel to it. But the music changes right when it goes to the parents who are talking about a slight medical problem that paige had. The sound is soft and has a little bit of sadness in it. The way the show uses music is very smooth and fits to the pont the different sounds and songs just flow togeather. Which is a positive technique to bring togeather different scense.
ReplyDeleteI also watched this week’s episode of Dance Moms, “Miami Heat Wave”. I agree with Kirsten when she stated that she was proud of Holly sticking up for Nia when she was not asked to compete in the trio again. Even before Holly begins to talk the viewers can see Abby’s anger from her stance in the long shot. The viewers are shown how Abby’s frustration builds up as the camera tracks Abby moving to Holly to speak to her. A deep focus lens is also used in this scene when the camera shows Abby in front, having the most power. It also shows the dancers in the background, behind a prop, almost blurred so that their faces are not shown, telling the audience that they have no say in what dances they are put in. Later during the argument, Abby tells Holly that she was going to make Nia the swing dancer in case one of the girls got hurt. Although Abby has a difficult time displaying it, she was trying to be sincere and accommodate for Nia’s dancing as well as every other dancer that she teaches. The viewers can clearly tell that the girls just love to dance, and will whenever they get the chance. Almost all of the drama in this show comes from the moms and when they overreact to different circumstances. It is very disappointing that the girls have to suffer from their moms reactions, just like in this case when Holly and Nia were forced to leave the studio, although the did reluctantly come back.
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