Sonder presents: ‘A Dance With Paint’
"Josh Hoffman (dancer/artist) had dreams about coloured paint flying out of his hands whilst dancing and decided to conceptualise this vision with: 'A Dance With Paint'. Exploring the way in which dance influences art, Josh uses his background in contemporary & street to paint mesmerising work on large canvas."
I met up with Sonder director, Joel Barney, and asked him a few questions about their beautiful film.
LB: Talk to us about Sonder. How did it come about?
Joel: Sonder is a production company based in Hampshire which creates branded content, documentary and short films. I met Oscar working in a coffeeshop about three years ago and we discovered we both had a huge passion for film. We spoke about making a short little experimental film for a bit of fun and it turned out pretty good which sparked us to continue making work together. The first few films started as a bit of fun which then naturally snowballed into being something we took seriously. Some companies began approaching us after seeing some of our films and it's all progressed over the past two years to where we are now. Last year a very close friend of mine Ozzi joined as our producer, so we all kind of fill each others gaps in a way which works really nicely as well as sharing the same vision of telling stories about interesting people.
Tell us a bit about the 'Dance with Paint' filming process.
A good friend of ours has a warehouse a short drive away from our studio which they kindly let us use the space for the shoot. We wanted the shoot to really capture the beauty of the process of the painting but also give the viewer the idea of what it is like being in the room spectating the piece being created, so went for a relatively stripped back setup. We shot it on an Arri Amira and only used one soft light to enhance the colours of the painting. Other than that we wanted to make sure we were as unobtrusive to Josh's work as possible.
What made you want to make a film about Josh? What stuck out most about him?
I've known Josh for a while as we live in the same area and have both grown up here. I came across a video Josh posted on Facebook of his first experiment with 'A Dance With Paint' at an exhibition he did in London and was instantly drawn to the idea. When I met up with Josh and we discussed the thought behind the piece, this idea of conceptualising a dream into a physical thing was something that really caught my attention. So many people discuss and reference their dreams in art but the fact Josh was literally trying to replicate it in a physical form for other people to witness was something I found mesmerising.
Follow Sonder films on their Instagram to stay up to date with them and check out their website here.
To see more of the wonderful Josh, follow his Instagram and check out his site here.
Director - Joel Barney
DOP - Oscar Ferguson
Producers - Ozzi Sanderson & Joel Barney
Focus Puller - Simeon Leeder
Gaffer - Alice Ball
Drone Operator - Ozzi Sanderson
Music - Katuchat 'Watercolour'
