Yesterday may have been one of the most random, spontaneous and fun-filled days I've had in a long time.
Thanks to the good people at
Karmaloop.com &
Elitaste.com, I found myself in the middle of Chelsea, MA yesterday afternoon, amongst an
interesting array of people, preparing to shoot a scene for the
Wale (Interscope*) and
Lady Gaga's single "
Chillin"...cast as an "extra" (
although they did give the kid way more burn than expected...,
GLO "J" LOL)
I wasn't quite sure what to expect. The invite left a great deal to the imagination:
Congrats, you've been chosen to appear in Interscope artist Wale's video for "Chillin" ft Lady Gaga. The video is filming Monday, May 4th in Boston(Chelsea*). Chris Robinson is the director. Attached is a waiver you MUST bring with you to the set. Your location is -
MEET AT 3PM AT 19 PARK STREET, CHELSEA
MEET IN THE PARK ACROSS FROM POLICE STATION
SOMEONE WILL BE THERE TO MEET YOU
(PLEASE USE MASS TRANSIT OR PARK AT THE NEAREST PUBLIC PARKING LOT OR STREET PARKING & MIND METERS - WE UNFORTUNATELY DON'T HAVE PROVIDED PARKING)
- The scene requires a large group of extras and will be using props.
- Please dress hip/street cool.
- Clothing with NO LOGOS and nothing that will be distracting.
- Please take public transportation if possible or find public/street parking.
- Will be from 3-5 PM ish.
- This is UNPAID. Good for a resume though.
- Do not bring friends, guests, pets or anyone/anything besides yourself.
- Do not bring any extra personal belongings to the set (ie no big bags).
- No cameras.
YOU NEED TO SIGN ATTACHED TALENT RELEASE
CONTACT: ALLISON 617.777.xxxx
Please confirm with me ASAP upon receiving this email. We need to know who can make it. Email back the same address.
Thanks so much for your interest and hope to see everybody tomorrow night.
My main question, to myself, was "what in the
HELL is hip/street cool" in terms of clothing...lol, followed by "why in the
HELL are they shooting this video in
CHELSEA?!?"
Anyhow, I figured it out and made my way to Chelsea, arriving a little before 3pm. The next few hours consisted of lots of waiting (and eating*)...followed by more waiting. Finally, around 5:30pm things started to move. The shoot assistants moved us (us=about
30 girls and guys, all shades, dressed in their own translation of hip/street cool...and not so cool...lol) to a back street where Wale,
Chris Robinson and his production crew were (along with some additional assistants, stylists and such*). All types of lights and cameras were set up. They def. have a nice budget worked out for Mr. Wale...
We were split into two groups, given some "props" (I won't say what they were, you'll have to wait for the video to drop*) for the first shot and told to flow into the street, a few steps behind Wale, after he made his entrance through a huge banner. A handful of us were selected to enter directly behind him ::they showed your girl some love although some people tried to stampede past us, but we'll see what happens once the video drops, lol:: We shot the scene about 4 times and then wrapped at about 6:45pm.
But...just as we went to collect our things, myself, my new friend Ali and a handful of other females were pulled to the side and asked to be in the final scene of the video, being shot at
Concepts in Harvard Square, MA.
About an hour later, I find myself in the downstairs lounge area of Concepts, which is a high end sneaker / lifestyle boutique in Cambridge MA (Shout to my family:
Deon,
Chedda Tom &
Frank The Butcher*). There was a nice assortment of women and men downstairs (Shout out to
Africa & the Karmaloop models...I have *
totally hetero* girl crushes on each of you...LOL), waiting to take part in the "club scene". They placed us in certain areas, things got moving, music was blasting, the lights were flashing and it was pretty much a party down there (who ever made the drinks did their damn THING...lol). Wale was looking pretty damn fresh and his Louis Vuitton Graffiti duffle bag was sick...sorry, but I had to say something because it matched perfectly, you'll see when the video drops. We shot the scene several times and wrapped at about 1am.
This was an experience. I'm typically the type of person who likes to be behind the scenes, organizing and planning things, so it was fun to be part of something like this. It was also nice to meet someone as successful Chris Robinson and find out that he's still humble and very much passionate about what he does. The same can be said for Wale, who's well on his way but remains humble. I know yesterday must have been a big day for him and he kept it cool the entire time. I wish the man nothing but success, I feel lucky to have been involved in the shoot, even if it was on a small level and I look forward to seeing the finished product once the video is release.
I tried to take a few pics with my cell phone...although I wasn't supposed to...LOL I'll update this entry with them soon. The pics up now are from the morning part of the shoot with Lady Gaga.
Chris Robinson, a production assistant & Lady Gaga on the set of the 1st scene of "Chillin"
Lady Gaga and the infamous great danes, on the set in Chelsea.
Chris Robinson & Wale prepping the banner...Listen to "
Chillin" below!
Follow Wale on
TwitterSidenote: Those in the Boston area can catch Wale this Friday, May 8th at Harpers Ferry w/ Colin Munroe. 18+ Show. Click
HERE for tickets.
Chillin f. Lady Gaga - Wale
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