Call for dancers

This Is What Life Is All About

A Dance Film by Ned and Wendy the Band

We are looking for dancers of all backgrounds (including those completely ​new to dance) to film themselves dancing to four (optional five) short ​sections of the song “This Is What Life Is All About” by Portland glam-​folk duo Ned and Wendy the Band.

Accepting submissions now.

We are looking for dancers of all backgrounds (including those completely ​new to dance) to film themselves dancing to four (optional five) short sections ​of the song “This Is What Life Is All About” by Portland glam-folk duo Ned ​and Wendy the Band. We are now accepting submissions.

We request all footage to be delivered by September 1, 2024. Please submit ​all footage via WeTransfer. Instructions on how to do this are at the bottom ​of the site. If you are unable or unsure how to do this, please email ​nedandwendytheband@gmail.com.

This song, as its title suggests, is an expression of the complex, awe-​inspiring, and sometimes (if not often) incredibly challenging experience of ​being alive. Perhaps most importantly, it is a call to come together, have ​compassion, and cherish the roles that we all play in the greater scheme of ​things.

Through music and lyrics, we can express a part of life, but so much of ​what we experience cannot be put into words; rather, we find a more ​comprehensive expression of being alive by incorporating the movement ​of our bodies.

This is a volunteer project that will hopefully reach engaged audiences in the ​independent film festival circuit. We are incredibly grateful to anyone who is ​willing to help us create a sweeping piece of multi-disciplinary art.

Contents:

Technical Specifications

Examples of Shots

Wardrobe

The Assignment

Submission Instructions

About the Band

https://tr.ee/LyQHmHbwka

If you don’t have access to a camera, you can use your phone! Please use the following settings:

iPhone Video Settings

Close Up

Medium Close Up

Cowboy Shot

Wide Shot

What you wear is largely up to you, and we encourage you to dress in a way that allows you ​to express your identity and aesthetic. However, we have certain color palettes that we ask ​you to incorporate, if possible. If you have any questions regarding wardrobe, please ​email nedandwendytheband@gmail.com.

Color Palettes for the Video

Images for inspiration

What to avoid

• Neon color
  
• Brand names
• Promotional material for companies, bands, etc.
• Explicit language or graphics
  

This piece can be filmed as a solo artist or in a group. The choreography is largely up to you or any ​choreographer that you would like to work with, so please have fun with it! Any specific ​blocking/choreography will be listed below.

There are four (optional five) sections that we will ask you to film:

Section 1: We Dance

Filmed to your chosen section of the song

Please sign up for your selected section(s) here:

SECTION SIGN UPS

Or email nedandwendytheband@gmail.com for info

Shot: Can use Cowboy shot or wide shot

1. Begin looking to your right
   
2. Your own movement: express what life is all about to you for the length of your section
   
3. Finish looking to your left
   

Section 2: We See

Begins at 5:39, continues to 5:48

Shot: Close Up

Film 9 seconds of yourself looking into the camera while thinking about what it means to be alive

Section 3: We Walk

Begins at 5:48, continues to 6:12

Shot: Medium Close Up

1. Film yourself slowly walking forward, facing the camera, while the camera pulls back
   
2. Pick up speed every four bars of the song
   
3. Walking begins to turn into freeform dance

Section 4: We Let it GO!

Begins at 6:12, continues to end of song

Shot: Medium Close Up, Cowboy Shot, or Wide Shot

Dance, jump, cry, sing!

Section 5 (optional): We Speak

Shot: Medium Close Up

Film a closeup of yourself talking about what you feel life is all about

Please format all file names like this:

Last Name_First Name_Country in which you filmed_Date ​(Mo.Day.Year)

Example: Plotner_Lindsey_UnitedStates_05.21.2024

Assignment

Please submit your footage via WeTransfer.

**If a pop up offering paid subscriptions to WeTransfer appears, just select “I just want to send files”

Ned and Wendy the Band is a Portland-based alternative-folk duo formed by ​Lindsey and Jordan Plotner. The married (and merry) musicians are on a ​mission to create joy, wonder, and kick ass music.

Their 2021 musical documentary short film Welcome Home Ned and Wendy ​premiered at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. as one of eight finalists ​in the Emerging Young Voices in Film Festival, and it went on to win Best ​Romance Film in the 2021 Los Angeles Film Awards, as well as official ​selection in Dumbo Film Festival, Toronto Documentary Feature & Short ​Film Festival, and Cambria Film Festival of Romance, Love, and Rom-​coms.

Lindsey and Jordan are also the hosts of the radio show City Hums - a musical ​mosaic of Portland, Oregon and beyond - on KXRW Vancouver 99.9FM.

Learn more at www.nedandwendytheband.com.

Thank you for being a part of this project! We’re incredibly grateful for your ​contribution, and we hope you had fun filming! We’ll be sure to share the final project ​with you when completed.

If you would like to stay up to date with the film’s festival progress, please ​add your email to our mailing list by scanning the QR code below:

Or use this URL:

https://forms.gle/tt1U7cfeCM9gWCmV7