About a month ago, I noticed I’d put on a few extra pounds after my surgery – probably lack of activity combined with poor eating habits. My plight inspired me to write this newest song which I’ve entitled “Christian Weight Loss Song”. I have to tell you, making this video was truly a labor of love ……Amazing that a 3 1/2 minute video took weeks to prepare! I decided not to include bloopers at the end of the video but wanted to share a few funnies with you, some behind the scenes events in the making of the movie…..
DONUTS DANCING IN YOUR DREAMS: – I set out on a quest to create a video segment to make donuts “dance”. First of all, I have to confess, I do love donuts – the ones with the chocolate on the top and white cream in the middle are my favorite! I really don’t dream about them but those lyrics fit into my song so nicely! I stopped by our local donut shop about 2 weeks ago and photographed the donuts coming down the conveyor belt as sugary syrup dripped onto them. Then I bought a few, 3 specifically, for my home video project. I had it in my head I needed clear fishing line and a stick to hang the donuts from but a friend suggested thread so I went with plan B and used black thread. I stopped by my parents house and recruited my dad to assist with the project. I got a cloth coat hanger, stuck toothpicks through the top of the donuts, and tied black thread on either side of the toothpicks. My vision for the lyrics was to have donuts twirling with a blue sky background. As luck would have it, the sky was blue that day! So with my dad holding the coat hanger with 3 donuts dangling from it, I layed on the ground, twirled the donuts around and used my Iphone to …… capture the moment. Everything was going fine until donut #1 fell off the coat hanger. The neighborhood dog, Diamond, who was in close proximity, grabbed up the fallen donut before I could get to it and scarfed it down, yes, the dog ate it! Leaving only 2 donuts, I successfully captured about 1 second of footage with a blue sky that I was able to duplicate to several seconds and actually use in my video. Donut number 2 fell off of the string shortly thereafter (I guess it was too much stress being twirled around from a string) and was irreparable so I tossed it to the dog. Diamond the dog’s lucky day! My father was very patient participating – he must have stood there for 20 minutes while I was filming “donuts”! The trees kept getting in the background and I kept seeing the coathanger in the camera frame but I finally captured the image I was looking for, donuts twirling with blue sky. Just when you think you’ve heard it all!
IF YOU JIGGLE IN THE MIDDLE: I collect pillsbury doughboys so this one was easy. I just posed one of my little guys for the occasion. I was going to make a bowl of jello, actually bought the box (strawberry flavor no less!) but ultimately decided the doughboy would do.
NO LONGER SEE YOUR TOES: Yes, I used my toes for the video. I had taken a foot photo last week and incorporated it into the first version of my video. Even though the video moves pretty fast, I got to stressing out that if someone actually “paused” on my toe photo that it would become apparent that I needed a pedicure as my old polish was wearing off. My toes looked awlful! (Like anyone would know those were my toes……) Well, being the perfectionist I am, I tried to “touch up” the manicure on my computer program to no avail so I stopped by the manicure shop down the road. Unfortunately, they were closed so I came home, took off the polish and repainted my own toes, (like I usually do) and retook my foot photos. They aren’t perfect but my red painted toes look better than they did last week!
DQ IS YOUR FRIEND: Unfortunately, Dairy Queen opened up a new store about 3 miles from my house. I used this video as an excuse to buy a LARGE chocolate blizzard with oreo, reeces cups, and heath bar blended in. Had a coupon for buy one get one free so I got two. No, I didn’t eat it – brought #2 home for the hubby. Enjoyed every bite!
HOARDING LIKE A HAMSTER: I envisioned live footage for this one! I actually had to visit more than one pet store to actually FIND a hamster! With my 79 year old mother in tow, I found the perfect little guy but he was sleeping when I arrived. A few taps on the glass got him active and interested so after about 30 minutes of filming my newfound friend, I captured footage that would work for my video. I even incorporated his little “yawn” coming in when the lyrics talk about being “tired of being overweight” Mother was so patient….. Hey, I actually thought about buying the little guy and bringing him home. He was soooooo cute! I decided that “Callie”, my cat, would be TOO receptive.
SAVE A LITTLE CASH: This one was easy! Took about 10 money shots to get just the right one. If you pause and look closely you will see the words “In God We Trust” which just HAD to be showing in my photo!
IF YOU’RE INTO SECOND HELPINGS: I have lunch weekly with a good friend. I intentionally picked a local restaurant with a large food bar, good ol’ country cooking! I had put mashed potatoes and gravy, greenbeans, and fried chicken on my plate for the photograph and had set my plate on the edge of the bar so I could get my Iphone/camera out of my pocket to take the shot of me holding the plate of food over the bar. Of all things, I clumsily hit the plate with my hand and the food literally went “splat” – the plate hit the floor right before my eyes and the eyes of another couple who was watching me – they burst out in laughter. I was soooo embarrassed. Of course, I explained to them that I was writing a Christian Weight loss song and was trying to take a photo of my food to use in the video. I’m not sure that redeemed the mishap. Anyway, I resorted to having my friend put the food on HIS plate while I photographed the food. That worked much better! (On a side-note, I did clean up my mess – wouldn’t let the waitstaff touch it)
AN APPLE OR A PEAR: Pretty simple right? Not really…… I set out to the local grocery in search of the perfect apple and pear as props for my new video. When I got to the produce area, I needed a round apple that would stand up straight – one that would be more flat on the bottom. I kept getting them out of the apple bin and trying them out for “standabilily” on the little counter above the bin. The store produce worker got in on the action and asked if he could help. I explained about my project, that I was writing a Christian weight loss song and that I needed a photo of an apple and a pear but that the fruit had to “stand up”. Together, we tried out a dozen or so apples propping them up on the counter to test their stand-up integrity. People must have thought we were nuts! With the perfect apple in my basket, I set out for the quest of the perfect pear. There was only one yellow pear that bore the resemblance of my body shape but it didn’t quite “stand up”. The grocery staff person actually went into the back of the store and brought out a whole bew box of pears but they were all green. I wanted a “yellow” pair. This guy was awesome! I ended up buying the original yellow pear I had picked out and used the apple to prop it up when I took the photograph. After about 10 fruit shots, I picked the best one.
TURN TO GOD: I took the photo of the cross in Italy a back in 2006. I used that shot in lots of my videos. That old cross sat on a mountainside just outside a 100 year old church in Florence. The setting was heavenly. I’ve got that photograph framed in my music room. 🙂
I took several other photos in the video but ultimately ended up purchasing about 13 photos on line. I decided it was easier just to pay for the remaining photos so I could get this video up and running! I hope the song/video will bring a smile to your face and bring encouragement your way.
Blessings,
Libby