Dancers GazeRoyal College of Art
Dancers' Gaze is an experimental, nonlinear film highlighting women and femmes in culturally hypersexualised dance styles.
It explores the seemingly blurred interconnected boundaries between female sexual agency and the male gaze.
Created, directed, and edited by Alexis Obue
Featured in
Choreo-Graphic Systems 2026 [3-Channel Installation]
Micro Acts Break/Mend Official Selection 2025
RCA’s Festival of Communication 2025 [3-Channel Installation]
It explores the seemingly blurred interconnected boundaries between female sexual agency and the male gaze.
Created, directed, and edited by Alexis Obue
Featured in
Choreo-Graphic Systems 2026 [3-Channel Installation]
Micro Acts Break/Mend Official Selection 2025
RCA’s Festival of Communication 2025 [3-Channel Installation]
Context & Process
This project is an exploration in the truest sense, both in process and format. Aiming to capture the nuances of perception, the intangibility of essence and feeling. Focusing on vulnerability, performance, and identity through the framework of dance, yes, but still grappling with how socialisation affects how we view ourselves, performer or not.
Beginning with the dancers themselves, I conducted interviews. finding the uniqueness and commonalities within each thoughtful response as the foundation for the soundscape. The reflections directly informed the audio design, forming the narrative backbone of the entire piece.
The visual direction centred around themes of spotlighting, silhouette, and projection.
The 3D avatars serving as alter egos, animated using motion capture data, taken with the featured performers as well. This pipeline allowed movement authenticity to translate into the digital space,
Dancers
Additional CrewCharlotte Raymen - Motion Capture Technician
Monty Chaudoir - Technical Assistant
Rodriigo Canass - Moving Image Technician
Phoebe Lemon - BTS & Assist
This project is an exploration in the truest sense, both in process and format. Aiming to capture the nuances of perception, the intangibility of essence and feeling. Focusing on vulnerability, performance, and identity through the framework of dance, yes, but still grappling with how socialisation affects how we view ourselves, performer or not.
Beginning with the dancers themselves, I conducted interviews. finding the uniqueness and commonalities within each thoughtful response as the foundation for the soundscape. The reflections directly informed the audio design, forming the narrative backbone of the entire piece.
The visual direction centred around themes of spotlighting, silhouette, and projection.
The 3D avatars serving as alter egos, animated using motion capture data, taken with the featured performers as well. This pipeline allowed movement authenticity to translate into the digital space,
Dancers
Natasha Trowbridge
Poppy Jasmine Hawkes
Alyda Miller
Alexis Obue
Poppy Jasmine Hawkes
Alyda Miller
Alexis Obue
Additional CrewCharlotte Raymen - Motion Capture Technician
Monty Chaudoir - Technical Assistant
Rodriigo Canass - Moving Image Technician
Phoebe Lemon - BTS & Assist
Technical constraints significantly influenced the creative process. Rendering times were extensive, and I had to be strategic about what to prioritise with my renders.
The motion capture data required refinement and adjustment during retargeting to ensure natural movement across the different body types and models.
Integrating all the abstract visual elements into a cohesive narrative across the multiple screens was also a challenge; editing and colour grading required multiple trials before achieving a result I was happy with.
The soundscape truly provided a strong foundation, allowing visual elements to be layered and refined around a clear conceptual core.