I may just leave that as the title even when I DO post it--after Christmas, of course! As is, I'm writing this around a week and a half before Christmas, since the events chronicled in the words and pictures contained in this post are nice and fresh in my mind...
The reason this is 'verbotten' to be published prior to Christmas is because it tells the tale of my sister Katherine and I tackling an unique Christmas gift for our mama--thus this post is also dedicated to her.
We had a three-day video shoot, in various costumes, singing loudly, sometimes on-key, sometimes off, and generally making ourselves hoarse...it's definitely proof that one shoots way more video than one actually uses in the finished project! It also proved that everything [scene] you shoot doesn't end up in the finished video either!
I'd like to note that this was really kind of a spur of the moment idea so the both the planning and execution was rather haphazard and quite honestly, more gung-ho than brilliant.
So, here we go--pictures with attached tales! :)
Day 1--"Down in Yon Forest"
The reason this is 'verbotten' to be published prior to Christmas is because it tells the tale of my sister Katherine and I tackling an unique Christmas gift for our mama--thus this post is also dedicated to her.
We had a three-day video shoot, in various costumes, singing loudly, sometimes on-key, sometimes off, and generally making ourselves hoarse...it's definitely proof that one shoots way more video than one actually uses in the finished project! It also proved that everything [scene] you shoot doesn't end up in the finished video either!
I'd like to note that this was really kind of a spur of the moment idea so the both the planning and execution was rather haphazard and quite honestly, more gung-ho than brilliant.
So, here we go--pictures with attached tales! :)
Day 1--"Down in Yon Forest"
The Director
The Make-up Artist
Shortly after we got started that first day, my cellphone rang. It was one of the men from church coming with a load of wood. He wanted to make sure we would be home and if it was okay to bring it that day rather than the next because of the weather. I said sure, and he said they'd be here in about an hour. So...Katherine and I crammed multiple takes of "Down in Yon Forest" into thirty to forty minutes then quickly changed into "normal" clothes. That was a wrap on Day 1.
Day 2--"Scarborough Fair", "The Girl I Left Behind Me", "My Southern Soldier Boy", "Riding a Raid", and impromptu--"Suawnee River".
We actually took some "behind the scenes" pictures Day 2. They are rather thin, due primarily to the fact that Director and Make-up Artist were also the talent and film-crew.
Day 2--"Scarborough Fair", "The Girl I Left Behind Me", "My Southern Soldier Boy", "Riding a Raid", and impromptu--"Suawnee River".
We actually took some "behind the scenes" pictures Day 2. They are rather thin, due primarily to the fact that Director and Make-up Artist were also the talent and film-crew.
Pre-dress prop-testing... ;)
There is no "before" shot of Katherine...unless you count the previous one.
The Make-up Artist's tools...
Next victim! (I look like Granddaddy in this one!!)
"What'dya think?"
She did a great job! Don't you think so?
Little Lady...
Scarborough Fair...
Yes...it's the same costume--but a different hair do!
Isn't she gorgeous???
Cute as a Bug! ;)
Someplace while working on "Scarborough Fair" we spontaneously burst into "Suawnee River". (The music was on the same page, so why not?)
Between "Scarborough Fair" and the next set--which required a clothing change, we indulged in a snack...
Between "Scarborough Fair" and the next set--which required a clothing change, we indulged in a snack...
The apple-sauce lady...
And the milk-maid...
*is aware that she has a stay protruding* I kept fighting that thing....
The next one was "The Girl I Left Behind Me". We did the Irish version because that's what we know. I know there are at least three different American versions and yet another song to the same tune...there are probably mulitple Irish versions for that matter!
We really had a blast with this particular song!
As added humor--the floor creaked something awful while we sang it!!
The next one was "The Girl I Left Behind Me". We did the Irish version because that's what we know. I know there are at least three different American versions and yet another song to the same tune...there are probably mulitple Irish versions for that matter!
We really had a blast with this particular song!
As added humor--the floor creaked something awful while we sang it!!
I rather think the bow/neck-tie was rather more boyish than feminine...but that was purposeful because of the nature of the piece and how we performed it.
I loaned Katherine my wash-dress...it matches her eyes!
There! There's the hat!
I had to get my prop ready...all Katie had to do was stick Daddy's hat on her head!
Alright...so Uncle Everett's shotgun isn't really period correct, but it was handy. :)
I next plowed my way through "My Southern Soldier Boy" and ended up figuring that I'd more than likely scratch that one. I followed that up with "Riding a Raid" (I have Katherine whistling that a lot now) and came to the same conclusion. I was having a lot of trouble singing with the guitar.
Checking footage real quick. I have this really cool feature on my camera where you can turn the LCD screen around backwards--it makes it a lot easier for filmming yourself! (I actually discovered that feature by accident a little over a year ago when I was working on my Cow Cavalry promo.)
As you can tell...these two songs required a little change in appearance. (I am thankful for Savannah's kind re-stitching of the ribbon on my blouse. I wasn't going to do it again as I had already done it twice and I HATED it about as bad as hook and eyes.)
Katherine actually took these pictures AFTER I got done singing--and as you can tell--I was kind of tired! :D
Day 3--"O Come, O Come, Emmanuel", "O Holy Night", "Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted", "What Wonderous Love is This", "Auld Lang Syne", and "Dixie" done impromtu by moi when finishing playing "Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted" while Katherine sang it. (I was really, really surprised that I was able to play it. It's really the only hymn I ever learned how to play decently and it'd been probably at least a year since I last tried it...I hardly play the piano any more these days and if I do, it's generally just to bang out "Dixie" in a fit of ardor.)
Katherine struggled with "O Holy Night" so did a re-take the next day. Other than having a ragged voice, I think her main problem was that she can't hit the high notes like she used to.
The rest we belted out even though we were hoarse even before we started. Professional singers must have to sing all the time in order to keep their voices nice and stretchy...so...if the songs sound rather crumby, Mama, that's why. We did have a lot of fun putting this together though...
We stuck to the same outfits for the whole shebang that day. We went "formal"...and I wore my mother's dress!! I really do like the style...
Katherine struggled with "O Holy Night" so did a re-take the next day. Other than having a ragged voice, I think her main problem was that she can't hit the high notes like she used to.
The rest we belted out even though we were hoarse even before we started. Professional singers must have to sing all the time in order to keep their voices nice and stretchy...so...if the songs sound rather crumby, Mama, that's why. We did have a lot of fun putting this together though...
We stuck to the same outfits for the whole shebang that day. We went "formal"...and I wore my mother's dress!! I really do like the style...
I tried curling my hair a little bit--as you can see, it didn't work too well. Of course, I didn't wait an awful long time either for it to work...
Katherine said, "You look like Mama in this one!" I do kinda, don't I? :)
Cute hair...
"Oh! Let me put my gloves on!"
The resident gargoyle...ahem...Abby. She doesn't appear to like music the best (she went tearing out of the room like she had a pack of dogs on her trail once)--other than that, we really did sound awful! :D
This is my favorite!
Dis gal is jist Classy!
When I went to edit it together I decided to list a number of randoms observations about the whole gig...
Number 1: Our commentary between takes (or even during takes) can be down-right hilarious (sorry, only a select number of people will be allowed to veiw any of that!)
Number 2: During "Scarborough Fair" we had a few good-natured squabbles about perfectionism and the clash of words--we both had slight variants of the song memorized. Turns out Katherine had to give on one, and I on another. It worked nicely that way.
Number 3: We discussed how to sing. "Sure, you have to heave some--even when not shoulder breathing because it comes from down here!" Someone patted her diaphram a little too vigoreously...
Number 4: We sounded something like a swarm of bees while trying to get the proper key...
Number 5: The director wasn't always paying close enough attention to framing...that off-centeredness (and thereby cropping of motions) cannot be fixed in post!
Number 6: I still find 6/8th time hard to play on the guitar...but if I think 3/4th time, it's easier!
Number 7: Singing with the guitar is still hard for me...particularly when my voice is already strained.
Number 8: The director/editor obviously forgot about safe-margins when framing...
Number 9: One can tell that the director needed to go to the chiropractor...her gait was rather, well, 'waddle-ish'. :P
Number 10: You can tell that our participation in interpretive speech many years ago served us well! (Some of the choreography was simply spontanteous.)
Number 11: Bits and pieces of favorite movies slipped out...like McLintock.
Number 12: I clearly tend to sway when I sing, whereas Katherine keeps much more rigid...
Number 13: I reminded myself of Napolean (out of Aristicats) a couple of times saying, "I'm the director!!"
Number 14: You can clearly tell our voices were tired...
Number 15: The lighting really stinks. I am aware of that. If I had had more time I would have done a better job at trying to control the lighting. As is, we just went with the natural light from the front window and the overhead light-fixture.
Number 16: The sound quality would have been MUCH better if I had used the Zoom--but there was no way I was going to sync this project unless I absolutely had to! My on-board mic is pretty good, but it still probably would have sounded better to use the Zoom.
And Finally: I am convinced that though I am the shortest of us three girls, I must have the biggest lungs!
Katherine summed up the whole project very well when she said/sang: "We are nuts!!" :)
And...just for fun. At the end of Day 3, it was real chilly in the house because I had purposely let the fire die down in the furance so I could give it a thorough cleaning out. After we were done singing (and before supper), I bounded down to the basement (I seem to have difficulty walking down those stairs...maybe because it's cold in the garage) and banged and scraped and rattled and poked and prodded. I got the furnace cleaned out and the fire going nice and then I came up and per usual, dodged into the bathroom to scrub my hands.
I looked into the mirror and burst into laughter. I had a nice gray-brown nose and a matching dot on one cheek. I don't recall brushing hair out of my face or scratching my nose (though it is possible that I did one or both of those operations), but somehow I looked like a very clean chimney sweep!
You can't really tell in the picture, but if you look closely you can see that my nose is off-colored. :)
Number 1: Our commentary between takes (or even during takes) can be down-right hilarious (sorry, only a select number of people will be allowed to veiw any of that!)
Number 2: During "Scarborough Fair" we had a few good-natured squabbles about perfectionism and the clash of words--we both had slight variants of the song memorized. Turns out Katherine had to give on one, and I on another. It worked nicely that way.
Number 3: We discussed how to sing. "Sure, you have to heave some--even when not shoulder breathing because it comes from down here!" Someone patted her diaphram a little too vigoreously...
Number 4: We sounded something like a swarm of bees while trying to get the proper key...
Number 5: The director wasn't always paying close enough attention to framing...that off-centeredness (and thereby cropping of motions) cannot be fixed in post!
Number 6: I still find 6/8th time hard to play on the guitar...but if I think 3/4th time, it's easier!
Number 7: Singing with the guitar is still hard for me...particularly when my voice is already strained.
Number 8: The director/editor obviously forgot about safe-margins when framing...
Number 9: One can tell that the director needed to go to the chiropractor...her gait was rather, well, 'waddle-ish'. :P
Number 10: You can tell that our participation in interpretive speech many years ago served us well! (Some of the choreography was simply spontanteous.)
Number 11: Bits and pieces of favorite movies slipped out...like McLintock.
Number 12: I clearly tend to sway when I sing, whereas Katherine keeps much more rigid...
Number 13: I reminded myself of Napolean (out of Aristicats) a couple of times saying, "I'm the director!!"
Number 14: You can clearly tell our voices were tired...
Number 15: The lighting really stinks. I am aware of that. If I had had more time I would have done a better job at trying to control the lighting. As is, we just went with the natural light from the front window and the overhead light-fixture.
Number 16: The sound quality would have been MUCH better if I had used the Zoom--but there was no way I was going to sync this project unless I absolutely had to! My on-board mic is pretty good, but it still probably would have sounded better to use the Zoom.
And Finally: I am convinced that though I am the shortest of us three girls, I must have the biggest lungs!
Katherine summed up the whole project very well when she said/sang: "We are nuts!!" :)
And...just for fun. At the end of Day 3, it was real chilly in the house because I had purposely let the fire die down in the furance so I could give it a thorough cleaning out. After we were done singing (and before supper), I bounded down to the basement (I seem to have difficulty walking down those stairs...maybe because it's cold in the garage) and banged and scraped and rattled and poked and prodded. I got the furnace cleaned out and the fire going nice and then I came up and per usual, dodged into the bathroom to scrub my hands.
I looked into the mirror and burst into laughter. I had a nice gray-brown nose and a matching dot on one cheek. I don't recall brushing hair out of my face or scratching my nose (though it is possible that I did one or both of those operations), but somehow I looked like a very clean chimney sweep!
You can't really tell in the picture, but if you look closely you can see that my nose is off-colored. :)
Love you, Mama!! ~~Your Furnace Sweep
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