*image courtesy of Mikal Mount
http://www.poledancefitnessofswfl.com/
I volunteered to direct the PoleStar video before I knew
anything about pole dance fitness. Then
I wondered how I was going to handle the topic.
However, during a visit with Mikal Mount, owner of Pole Dance Fitness
Studio in Bonita Springs, Florida, I felt reassured. She told me and our cameraman and editor,
Greg Helton, about how she had grown up
a tomboy, fishing and riding dirt bikes with her dad. It wasn't until she found a pole dance fitness studio when she was
trying to lose weight that she discovered her graceful, feminine side and also
shed the pounds in a few months.
Having had her life transformed and having honed her skills,
Mikal decided to open a studio and share her experience with other women. As she talked of her students and the changes
in their lives brought about by this challenging form of exercise, the theme of
personal transformation became clear.
One of the best parts of making the video for me was
visualizing the shots that we needed to tell the PoleStar story. All of the pieces fell into place like a
puzzle fitting together as I played the scenes in my mind. The subject was a director's dream because of
the wonderful visuals of the actual dancing exercises and the special
atmosphere created by dim lights and mirrors in the studio. I also loved the image of the stilettos, the
six to seven inch high heels worn by pole dance exercisers.
One of the funniest times when working on the project was
when our editor, Greg, and I started to plan the editing process. Greg has a very auditory approach and
generally works on the sound track to tell the story and then fits the video
into that story line. Having been an
artist for many years, my approach is very visual. I can see the scenes unfold in my mind. We spent at least an hour in frustrating
crossed communication until we diagnosed our problem. When we each understood where the other
person was coming from, we found a way to take advantage of our contrasting
styles and worked together quite well.
Another dilemma that arose was when to settle on a final cut
of the video. We continued to make
changes for a number of weeks before we decided that it was done. As with any art work, it's possible to go on
endlessly refining the work until at last we have to say, "Stop! That's it."
I am extremely proud of what we have accomplished with
PoleStar. I think that we were able to
capture the essence of the story both visually and through our interviews. I hope that the audience at the Fort Myers
Film Festival will be touched by the personal stories and the theme of transformation that unfold in PoleStar.
Roberta
Moore
March
16, 2011
PoleStar will be screening at the Alliance of the Arts Friday March 25th along with 3 other documentary shorts. Show time starts at 2:20pm.TRAILER
