I just noticed that since yesterday, I’ve had 15 visits to the Suzie McNeil video post. That’s pretty odd, as the post has been up for a week and I don’t recognize any of the visitors.
So, if you’re one of the Suzie McNeil fans, could you leave a comment and let me know a little bit about yourself and how you wound up here? That would be swell.
As some of you may be aware, the obscure British novelist J.K. Rowling released a book this past weekend. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows went on sale with little fanfare, and I managed to secure one of the few copies that was released on this side of the pond.Having spent a few long nights working through the 600 page tome, I was left with a few thoughts that I wanted to share with you1. Some people may have been shocked with the revelation that Voldemort is Harry’s real father, but I saw that one coming several books ago. I mean, it was obvious. Still, when Voldemort sliced off Harry’s hand with the sword of Gryffindor and revealed this great secret, it was pretty rivetingVoldemort: Dumbledore never told you what happened to your father.Harry: He told me enough! He told me you killed him!Voldemort: No, Luke, I mean Harry… I am your father!Harry: No. It can’t be. That’s not true. That’s impossible!Voldemort: Search your feelings Harry… you know them to be true.Harry: Noooooo!2. I was not prepared for Rowling’s increasing preoccupation with adolescent sexual awakening. She had hinted at it in the last couple of books with the odd stolen kiss, but with the main characters turning 17 in this book, suddenly everyone was hooking up. Harry & Ginny, Harry & Cho, Harry & Hermione, Hermione & Ron, Ron & Professor Trelawney…However, it was the Harry & Ron & Hermione episode, brought on by the trois menageious curse, that really got me. At nearly 40 pages, it seemed more like Clan of the Cave Bear than Harry Potter3. In a weird chapter, Harry and his friends traveled to Afghanistan in search of a Horcrux. While searching the many caves in Tora Bora, they came across bin Laden, killed him with the avada kedavra curse, and collected the $50 million bounty from the U.S. government. I don’t know if Rowling was taking a shot at George W. here (British kids accomplish in one day what U.S. special forces have failed to do in 6 years), but it seemed out of place.Despite some of these oddities, I enjoyed the book overall and give it a mild endorsement. I can only hope that Ms. Rowling gives up these wizard stories and goes with something a bit more commercial for her next effort.
If you’ve ever wondered what an Orchestra Manager actually does, the picture above gives you a pretty good sense of how I spend about 95% of my time.Now, would you like that with cream or sugar?
The orchestra has an outdoor concert tonight at Lebreton Park.Probability of Precipitation: 90% this afternoon, 80% tonight.Sigh.
Well, Tuesday night was an interesting experience. Bell had approached the NAC a few weeks ago about getting the orchestra to record the song “Believe” with Suzie McNeil and film a video. The project is designed to get Canadians involved in supporting Canadian athletes leading up to the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
For those who don’t follow popular culture, Suzie McNeil came to prominence a couple of summers ago when she participated in Rock Star: INXS, a reality show on CBS that featured singers auditioning to become the new lead singer of INXS. B and I were big fans of the show, and Suzie was an audience favourite (although the job eventually went to another Canadian, J.D. Fortune).
After a few weeks of planning with Bell, the director, and the arranger, we were primed and ready to make a rock video on Tuesday night. We only had 4 hours, which isn’t a lot of time to record both English and French versions of the song. The orchestra was in place at 6:00 pm sharp, the stage was set, and we were all ready to go.
Or so I thought.
See, TV and film crews work a little differently. There seems to be a lot more “hurry up and wait” than I’m used to. There were a lot of people around – best boys, key grips, gaffers, etc. – but no conductor, no singer, and no real sense of urgency (aside from my nervous pacing backstage).
After 28 minutes of waiting around, the orchestra finally did the first run-through of the song. Four minutes later, it was time for a break. So, in the first 45 minutes of the session, we had done exactly one take.
Things did pick up after that, and it was pretty cool to watch. They had a camera on a crane that swooped in on Suzie at various angles. There was a big lighting rig at the back of the stage that would flood the hall in blinding light at various stages. After every take, a crew of hair, make-up and costume people would descend on Suzie to get her ready for her next close up.
Watching Suzie perform was an experience in itself. She was lip-synching, but she certainly threw herself into each performance. Even after four hours and about 15 run-throughs, she was still full of this infectious energy.
Inevitably, the last few minutes of the session were a mad rush to get the shoot finished. With seven minutes left, we agreed to do one more take, and then a camera battery failed. We ended up going four minutes into overtime, and believe me, some people made sure I knew about it.
I saw some of the playback after, and it really looked amazing. It’s funny what some simple lighting, a bit of movement, and some really expensive cameras can do. The actual video will be released sometime in the Fall, and the song will be available for download (you will also be able to get a copy as a ringtone).
If you want to see some behind the scenes footage, be sure to tune into CTV’s eTalk next week. They’ll be doing a segment on the video (along with segments on the next Canadian Idol cast-off, Ashlee Simpson’s plastic surgery nightmare, and Lindsay Lohan’s love triangle).
