The Music Video

Well a fair bit has been going on lately.

I had the music video shoot weekend before last. Which started out with a fire gig over in Mosman on Friday night. I missed the last ferry home and ended up staying at the party until sunrise. Not a brilliant move but I'm a girl on a tight budget and a cab home is way out of my league, thankfully a friend did spring for my ride home and I didn't have to wait for the ferry plus the bus to make it to my front door.

So my role in the clip was 'vintage' not many more specifics than that. 50's bathing suit and pre-curled hair. The Bathers I thought I had no problem, I have a cute boy-leg + halter top ensemble. The hair... that's another thing. It took several practice tries before I was confident I could Pin Curl my whole head. I just wasn't prepared for just how much hair I have. It took 5 hours to do, with my friend's help and by the time I made it to the shoot it still wasn't dry. So without any sleep, (glad I've been practicing that all my life) I rock up at the studio in Coogee in my bikini ready to go. Sadly as my bathers are black (as with all most everything I own) they weren't right for the look and they put me in a different costume. I didn't feel I could really argue the costume choice. And you'll all see what I mean when the clip gets out of post.

The shoot its self was fun. Really campy 'Price is Right' type stuff. I'm the girl in front who gets to stay on the banana lounge the whole time. That was fine for whenever they cut. I just lay back down. But for movement shots I was doing nothing but stomach crunches and making it look like dancing. We'll see how successful that turns out too :P

We wandered down to the CBH for a drink when I hit the wall. My hair was teased out into a pouff of curls. Think Magenta from Rocky Horror. I barely managed to tie it back at all. No time (or facilities) to wash the make up off. We (the cast) all looked quite a sight to be wandering around nice trendy Coogee :) I hit the sleepy-tireds wall after one drink and headed home. I got some very strange looks on the way. Thank gods it was Mardi Gras eve so I didn't look too out of place as I neared the city. I did get a shock anytime I saw my silhouette though. I've been combating big hair all my adult life - and it was HUGE. heh. The pictures are on facebook.

I had enough time to wash my hair and fall asleep from exhaustion and I think I managed to eat something. I was so tired by this stage it's kinda blurry.

Sunday was a well earned sleep in. More food and putting my hair back up for the location shoot the next day. This time it took even longer as I didn't have the help. Six hours, 80 pin curls and a whole season of Enterprise later and I'm ready to go back to sleep. I had a 4 am start. To get to Kings X by 6am for the car pool to Pittwater for a 7.30 am start. Yes I was on time.

The outdoor shoot was a blast. The studio had four girls (including me) the lead guy and the band. There's a transition shot to a beach party. Then there were many many more of us. This time they had real dancers - burlesque and show girls. All of whom put my costume and make up range to shame. I seriously need to invest in better vintage gear. SERIOUSLY. Again I'm on the the lounge in front of the band. I'm kinda hard to miss. I may have lost some hearing being in front of the drum kit and next to the playback amp. The other performers were lovely and helped me find new ways for 'dancing' while sitting. It still meant more stomach crunches but I'm OK with that. My abs are nice and strong.

We had one point where we were all dancing on a small yacht as it sailed around. That's one for the 'Crazy shit I never thought I'd do' list. This is where my costume really let me down. It was 5 sizes too big, a onesy and the absolutely wrong shape for me. I'll just make sure I invest in a better range of bikini's for the future.

I learned heaps from the other performers. First of all to put my measurements in my casting profile. Otherwise It's assumed I'll have something to hide. And I don't. My body's fine. Not a dancers body but I'm not worried walking around at the beach either. Also to lie about my age. This I'm not so happy with. I am losing stuff on the net sites due to the auto-filter. But I'd rather dramatic roles at 30 than bikini roles at 25. There's no option to *not* put my date of birth in.

I also learned the valuable lesson of rollers. My hair is too long and thick for pin curls to be effective. I need rollers and to practice my vintage hair-do's. And that a make up course would be a sound investment. One of those courses that might cost $300 but I'd get a solid kit of basic make up supplies, tools and taught how to put the bloody stuff on. It makes me realise I've actually been finger painting my face all these years.

The band is these guys http://www.chasethesunband.com/ the song is "Living Free".

Watch this space, I'll be linking to it when it's released. :)

More later on drama classes, my trip to America, overcoming Aphasia, creating my own voice reel and Screen Tests a-plenty.