Videography for Dance Recitals
For dancers, recitals are their time to shine, to impress and bask in their success. For families, it’s the time to see all of the hard work their loved one has accomplished over the past year. Tonal Vision’s dance recital videos allow Baltimore/Washington-area dancers to relive this experience for years to come. Although it’s a lot of work, we love dance and enjoy the thrill and excitement of dance season.
Tonal Vision regularly films and edits the performances of about ~15 Baltimore/Washington area schools and dance companies. We’ve been working with some schools for 10-15 years. In 2024, we produced videos for ~35 performances. We started in March and didn’t finish until September. A few more Nutcracker performances are scheduled for December.
The Challenges of this Process
For us, the dance recitals begin in March and gradually increase through May. During the first half of June we are deluged with recitals – nearly half of all performances in the year occur within a 2-3 week period! The only way to manage this volume of work is through careful preparation. We start planning each year in January, assigning videographers and equipment as we learn the schedule. Instead of our normal video turn-around time of 3 weeks, the June recitals require months. For these, we assign “estimated ship dates” that tell clients when to expect their videos.
There’s always pressure to do more with less, and we work really hard to make our processes more efficient and effective. We’ve developed training videos for almost all our equipment. We’ve set up systems to ensure (1) videographers come prepared with all the necessary supplies and equipment in good working order, and (2) so our dance company clients know what to expect. We constantly work to streamline the editing process. At the end of each dance season, we have a team meeting to solicit ideas for improvement while the work is still fresh.
Editing dance recitals is actually more work than the filming. The first edit includes cutting clips, syncing and mixing audio and creating smooth transitions that show off the best dance moments and highlight the choreography. The editor then adds titles and credits. Finally, she watches each number again to make sure there are no problems and the performance is as smooth as possible.
During the second edit, we double-check the edited video again and color correct everything so all shots look good and match each other. After this, we upload a copy for the dance company to review while we finish up. Many schools like “Highlights” and “Behind the Scenes” videos. We develop artwork for flash drive inserts and labels, as well as DVD menus, case inserts and labels. If the school wants physical media, we duplicate the flash drives and DVDs and ship them.
Dance Videography Trends
Trends we’ve experienced during our nearly 20 years of filming performances:
- More dance companies are moving to online distribution, instead of physical media. When we started, most people ordered standard definition DVDs. When we began offering HD videos, we first sold Blu-ray discs, then switched to flash drives. (Software and hardware manufacturers no longer support DVDs or Blu-ray discs.) Several of our clients now offer only digital downloads.
- Technology has improved, increasing video quality. When we first started filming performances, some videographers were still using VHS. Standard definition digital video (720×480 pixels) was becoming affordable. A few years later, we were able to move to high definition (HD – 1920×1080 pixels). Now, we film all performances in 4K (3840×2160 pixels).
- Very few schools today want us to take orders, reducing expenses. In our early days, we had a sales table at almost every performance, took orders on paper often with payment in cash, then processed everything later. As people began ordering online, we used our online store for orders. Now, schools that deliver their videos online have totally eliminated the costs of order-taking and fulfillment.
- The number of schools filming their performances has been relatively stable, except during the pandemic. In 2020, almost all performances were cancelled because of COVID. It took until 2022 for school performances to return to pre-pandemic levels. Since then, it’s been “business as usual.”
Summing Up
Although this annual “dance season” is a lot of work, we enjoy the challenge and beautiful performances that come with the work. We love the talent that the dancers bring to the table. And if we can’t experience a particular show in person, post production allows us to get the full view of what the talent in the area has to offer.
Relevant Links
- Tonal Vision Solutions: School Shows & Dance Recitals
- In-House Training on our equipment, editing approach, and processes
- About Us (includes an introduction to our team)