Reality of The Dolls with Editor Yang Zhan
Reality TV is ingrained in the fabric of modern entertainment. While it may have reinvigorated television, the genre requires evolution to retain its popularity. Recently released from Brandon Studio is The Dolls, a tale much deeper than that of the dance team it first presents. Editor Yang Zhan was trusted to sculpt and deliver the interweaving moments of joy, anxiety, and connection between entrepreneur, dancer, and educator Dianna Williams and her dancing teams. Witnessing the deeply moving scenes in this series, it’s easy to see why this is the fifth production that Ms. Zhan has edited for Brandon Studio. The company’s founder Brandon Stewart (whose A Christmas Dinner won Best Short Film at the 2018 Cannes Short Film Festival) has reaped the rewards of utilizing the most gifted professionals like Yang to establish his productions as those which are uniquely defined as separate while many reality shows strive to simply copy.
Initial reactions to the June 23rd premier of The Dolls indicate that this series is likely to prove the most popular to come from Brandon Studio. This reality series depicts the fascinating world of Dianna Williams's "The Dancing Dolls" team. Mrs. Williams rose to national prominence in her starring role in the hit Lifetime series Bring It. Fans of Williams are drawn to this series because it not only focuses on the talent and hard work needed to be a professional dancer of such acclaim, but also the support system behind such an artist. Those whom she oversees in "The Dancing Dolls" also are seen with their own challenges and familial connections. The Dolls is not simply a story about dancing, it’s about what it requires to succeed on many levels. Editor Yang Zhan was brought aboard the production to craft the storylines out of the footage and give shape to the tone of the show. Blurring the delineation between editor and story-producing, Yang notes that the direction decided upon in this early stage informed the camera team who was out in the field still shooting.
The Dolls offers many moments in which the audience is lured into one emotional direction and then steered into a more complicated emotional path. This is the most captivating component of the series. Ms. Zhan proves repeatedly that she is a powerful prestidigitator, at least in regards to where one might suspect the action is headed. A prime example of this is a group of scenes which illuminate the dynamics of Coach Jenear (a senior coach for The Dancing Dolls) and her family, specifically her daughter Jalea who is one of the dancers in the team. Moments of laughter and levity show the interaction but when Jalea request an early look at new choreography Coach Jenear has created for the team, professional delineations are held firm, resulting in tension between this mother and daughter. Audiences are also presented with the commitment and demands on another dancer named Oshyn who travels many hours each day with her mother just to be a part of The Dancing Dolls. Through Oshyn we see the sacrifice and dedication of a young artist and the impact of a supportive and loving parent. Contrasting these serious themes are moments such as when a dancer named Keke’s wig begins falling off during a dance test. Having been reprimanded in previous episodes, Keke refuses to let the faltering wig shake her performance, resulting in a powerfully comedic and inspirational scene. It’s the contrasting and complementary components Ms. Zhan juxtaposes in these storylines that provides context and emotional range for them. She exhibits a mastery in the editing for doing more than simply displaying action, she provides the means for inhabiting the emotional space which these dancers exist in. Explaining this concept is far easier than achieving it. One must view The Dolls to accurately appreciate the complex array of emotions Yang has directed. She remarks, “A lot of the time, you wonder if the audience will perceive what you are going for as an editor. I have to say that I was really pleased to see a lot of comments on YouTube and Instagram that specifically praised the editing of The Dolls. It’s never my goal to seek public praise but I must admit that it felt very nice that people saw how much I cared about making this show something really special.”
