Final Project Proposal

Anna Isaacs
November 13, 2009
A Cappella With a South Asian Twist


For my final project, I'd like to do an audio slideshow featuring our resident South Asian a cappella group here on campus, Anokha. I'd like to get photos of both their big shows where they're decked out in traditional garb as well as do a behind-the-scenes look at their rehearsals. A cappella music makes for an easily captivating audio subject, and the group performs a huge range of music, from Indian melodies to the stuff you hear every day on the radio. It's a different angle on traditional college a cappella. I'll be getting photographs focusing both on individuals and the group at large.

They have an upcoming show at Stamp-- this Saturday, November 14th-- and rehearse weekly in an empty classroom in the Armory. I'll be taking photos at both of these locations, as well as anywhere else they have a show open to the public this semester.

College a cappella shows are typically well attended; while a longtime college tradition, it also serves as kind of a flipside to tailgating and football games. Most students are probably familiar with a cappella in some way or another, but hearing and seeing a South Asian group will be a new and interesting twist on something otherwise familiar.

I'll need the next few weeks to follow the group from their rehearsals to their shows. I want to make sure I'm not just showing one of each, but rather illustrating something of a process, so I'll likely be doing a weekly photo shoot/audio recording. Editing will take a few days beyond that, so I expect it to be completed by the final exam due date.

I like the idea of an audio slideshow because what's weak visually-- they don't have much choreography and typically stand in a group together, which doesn't provide for much variation, even with a range of shots-- becomes stronger when I can isolate different angles and moments of their performances and rehearsals.