In the middle of December 2006, we devoted three frenzied days to the process of filming our own music videos. There was never a dull moment—in general, when the two of us start throwing ideas around, mischief inevitably ensues. We threw caution—and our dignity—to the wind, and we had great fun pushing the boundaries!
Equipped with Liz's mom’s modest camcorder, various “costumes,” no budget, and a few awesome friends as extras/cameramen/bemused spectators, we set to work on our first video. (Watch it below!)
The music: A New Account of the Blue Danube Waltzes
The location: Yale University
Greg in grey, Liz in black:
Filming this video proved to be difficult on multiple levels. While we managed to film the other two videos in a matter of a couple hours, the variety of venues, the difficulty of the piece, and the continual suppression of laughter necessitated three days of filming to capture the footage we wanted.
The piece itself is unbelievably difficult to play. Believe it or not, it's even harder than it looks. In its totality the piece is exhausting to perform, but even filming sections repeatedly tested every ounce of endurance and focus we had! Yes, we only have ourselves to blame.
…sigh...
An unexpected difficulty, for me especially, was acting and playing at the same time. I need to look at the keys if I have any hope of playing the right notes! How can one be expected to gaze rapturously into Liz's eyes while assailing the piano with virtuosic aplomb? Hmmm? Needless to say, those within ear range of our video shoots were privy to what easily could have been confused with a cow giving birth.
Difficulties were indeed the hallmark characteristic of the filming process, but for me the element of absurdity was (yet again) the most salient trait of this experience. But don't get me wrong: we fully embraced the embarrassing situations we put ourselves in and had a grand time enacting a shamelessly sentimental romance within an idyllic setting. I can't tell you how many times the takes were ruined by fits of laughter (mine, mostly). My loopiness was balanced by Greg's typical state of single-minded concentration, but his focus too was leavened by interludes of giddy hilarity. I'd like to blame our nonsensical behavior on fatigue and stress, but all excuses aside, the truth is that we both have tendencies toward inordinate silliness, especially when we are around each other! Whether or not this is a good thing, we always manage to get our mission accomplished, and laughter is good for you.
The filming of this particular video also left me with heightened respect for actors because it certainly is strange to portray stories and situations that contradict reality. The most awkward moment of all: "the kiss." We're close in real life, but not that close! We had to artfully devise ways to make the scene work because we certainly weren't willing to completely sacrifice our wonderful, platonic relationship for the sake of "art."
(Still, I might have a future as a thespian after all; as the outtake reel shows, random people on the street seemed to believe that I really dropped my glove by accident!)
Hi! It's Greg again. I just thought I'd add another difficulty to the list: editing the video. Mac's iMovie is a fantastic program, but I don't think it was designed to make elaborate Anderson & Roe music videos. The video clip viewer is intended for maybe a dozen video clips, and not the thousands (perhaps hundreds of thousands!) of video clips that made up our latest video. Every time I wanted to find a particular clip ("I know it's here somewhere!!"), I spend upwards of six to seven minutes sorting through clips of us dancing, playing, acting, and mostly, messing up…
On a less facetious note, Greg and I hope that the video and the music generate the same kind of dizzying, whimsical, glorious enjoyment that the waltz evokes.
Enjoy the beautiful spring weather!
Click here to watch the outtakes!
