Week 2 Response: Anna Forbes

     For this week's video response, I chose to respond to Kiesza – Hideaway. The first thing I noticed about the video was that it is filmed in a single shot. I believe this makes the viewer feel that they are a part of the action, moving along with the dancers. The camera pans along with the dancers and travels ahead of the main singer for the majority of the video. I really appreciated how the video starts and ends; it starts with Kiesza getting out of a cab and ends with her catching a cab. All of the main action happens between, as if she got out of the cab just to sing and dance. I also appreciated how random people emerge into the frame to dance with her as she moves through the city. This almost feels like a flash mob, and the viewer is getting a front row seat to all the action. Towards the beginning of the video, a group of people are seen standing in the background, watching the dancing happen. It looks like some may have even been recording with their phones. They probably didn't know that they were about to be extras in this video. It's interesting that the city itself, with bystanders, cars, bikers, and graffiti, makes up an important part of the video. To me, there is a lot of spontaneity in the video: the random action of the city, the dancers jumping in at different times, and the fact that she got out of the cab and started singing/dancing. I think the main purpose is to make the viewer feel that they are included in all of this spontaneous action; as I was watching the video, it felt like I was right in front of the dancers, caught up in everything going on.