Behind The Scenes: Filming 'Did You Know' and 'Alive'…
Earlier this year I teamed up with videographer and filmmaker Francis Darracott to shoot the music videos for Did You Know and Alive, and in March we hit the likes of Sherwood Forest, The Calder in Wakefield, and the big smoke, aka London, for three long days of filming. While generally the days went according to plan, there were definitely a few key highlights…
Nature calling
‘Nature wees’ are never elegant, and we were always going to encounter the problem during our outdoor filming of finding a secluded spot for when nature calls. But we learnt the hard way that the camera really does catch everything – just because you can’t see the camera doesn’t mean the camera can’t see you…
It at least makes for a good outtake when your guitarist is caught red-handed behind a tree which he thought was out of shot… Don’t worry, Calvin, it didn’t make the final cut.
Coffee is everything
Without a doubt, one of my best ever purchases has to be the extra long tube of polystyrene cups and the 5 litre flask from Wilko, bought in preparation for our day in Sherwood Forest.
The day was a lot of fun, for sure… but it turns out playing and singing the same song 20 times over, then getting changed, moving spots, and doing it all over again is so exhausting (especially in the bitter cold temperatures of a crisp March day).
Each time the camera stopped filming, on came the coats and out came the coffee, and the boost (both physically and mentally) that this hot cup of coffee brought to us all was probably the saviour of the day.
The cold will turn you crazy
Francis, our fantastic filmmaker, made the mistake of giving the band our very own camera to get some behind-the-scenes footage. Unfortunately the boredom and the cold set in pretty quick for the band and while I was filming my solo shots, they delighted in creating behind-the-scenes footage consisting of sword fights with sticks and ‘dog cam’… I don’t think this entirely what Francis had in mind, and funnily enough he left it out of his behind-the-scenes blog…
Sequins are not a girl’s best friend
When you’re an unsigned artist with no funding, backstage filming conditions are far from glamorous! My ‘dressing room’ was either the backseat of a car or in the corner of a warehouse hidden by a dusty old curtain. Either way, the temperature was insanely cold! Needless to say, outfit changes were done as swiftly as possible…
Unfortunately for me, this resulted in a sequin injury (yes, sequin-injury is a thing). Turns out they are very, very sharp, especially when whipped across the skin at breakneck speed! And so in my rush to pull my sequined dress on and escape the cold, I did manage to inflict a long, and pretty painful, cut right up my arm! 7 months on, I still have the scar. I don’t think you can actually see the cut on the finished video, but bonus points to anyone who spots it…
Best friends make the best roadies
Good friends really are the best people to have around in any situation. My best friend, Helen, joined us on our day in London to lend a helping hand and see what we were getting up to, and it made such a difference!
Just her presence gave me such a lift, and reminded me that what I was doing was actually really exciting, even when it felt exhausting and draining. On top of that she made an excellent roadie, lugging my guitar case, equipment, coat, food and all the rest of it around London, on foot!
London is a rather busy place, as we all know, and at times I felt like we were definitely getting in people's way and drawing a lot of attention to ourselves. I was really starting to feel self-conscious, but having Helen there just stopped me from caring. And as a thank you, I’ve added this picture of her looking extremely cool on set – love you, Helen!
So all in all, it’s an experience I look forward to repeating soon, and in the meantime I really hope you all enjoy watching the ‘Did You Know’ and ‘Alive’ music videos!
Jess x