How a Lipdub Changed My Life #heysoulsister
The first ever campwide lipdub
It's been 5 years since I produced this video for Camp White Pine, and didn't really know it at the time, but this experience would become a catalyst for my personal and professional growth as a video professional. As a camp enthusiast and emerging video guy, I had an unquenchable thirst to bring new and creative ideas to the camp industry, an industry that was naturally, behind the times. Up until the summer of 2010, the only videos coming out of summer camps were of the old music montage variety, stale summer in review videos (my next target), edited to popular songs of the time. When I approached the camp directors about making a lipdub video, they still weren't a "thing" yet, there was little information available around best practices, but that also meant tabula rasa, the story of the lipdub was unwritten. I look at how far internet video has come, and comparatively speaking, this video is a dinosaur, but at the time, it was all the rage. Camp is where i discovered my passion for video, and i wanted to channel all of it into this new project.
1. Start with What You Know
If i'm honest, the most valuable preparation that went into this video was my 10+ years spent as a bar mitzvah DJ and camp counsellor, a professional "maestro" some might say, which gave me the instincts I needed to maestro a crowd of 600 strong, much like i used to do on dance floors across Toronto when Blame it on the Boogie, Cha Cha Slide, or Sing Sing Sing came on. I would be forced into impossible situations, with hundreds of screaming campers, and still managed to "get the shot" every time. In fact, the only directions for what was to happen in each scene were scribbled on a torn 8.5 x 11 in blue crayon, this was truly going to be a run and gun shoot. We pumped the song out from whatever playback device was available, an ipod dock, car stereo or PA system; in some situations there was no audio, and I literally sang the song in time. I will admit, it got a bit testy sometimes, and had to be more firm than i would have like with what i wanted to see (aka raised my voice), but hey, i needed the shot! I chalk up my ability to execute to my years of doing the same thing..but in a different way.
2. Live in the Moment & Own It
Without a doubt, the best part of filming this video was the final scene on the main field with the entire camp dancing in sync. I also had two good friends Dara Perlmutter and Matthew Rosenberg helping me choreograph and hold the group together (i'm still close with both of them today), that shared experience being something I know we'll cherish forever. We had to shoot the final scene about 5 times , and after the 4th the crowd became a bit restless, and the camp directors warned me I had only one more chance before i'd lose everybody. It was in fact the 5th magical take that made it into the video; as a result you can catch my hand in the frame encouraging the camp to cheer louder - it added a nice amount of character I think, even though it kind of broke the 4th wall. If you spend too much time looking through the lens, you'll miss important details. Another cute story born of this video came from my friend Katie Sussman , who played the role of the camp consellor in the opening scene. She was approached in the city by a woman who remarked that she recognized Katie from somewhere but couldn't quite figure where. A few moments passed and the woman exclaimed boldly "oh my god, you're the "snacktime girl". As Katie recounted the story to me, I silently prayed that I had not just branded her "snacktime" girl for life; thankfully, she has outgrown the monicker.
3. Identify Your Process & Always be at the Ready
The reaction to this video absolutely blew me away. My Outlook was blowing up with emails, calls, text messages about how fabulous the video was. Don't get me wrong, I was happy with the video and thought it proved a quantum leap forward from traditional camp "fun in the sun" music montages that most everyone else was subscribing to at the time, but I guess the real magic was what it provided to the camp families - a window into the growth and excitement their children were experiencing at their home away from home. The video actually spawned a couple knockoffs produced at different camps. The one pictured here contains a gentle jab at a typo on one of the signs in our video - i will admit this was totally my bad and appreciated their approach to pointing it out, in good taste.
This video also spawned working relationships with new camps who wanted me to instil similar creativity into their content, including Camp Northland, Camp Robin Hood, Bayview Glen, Canadian Adventure Camp, Onondaga and Camp Shalom to name a few. More important than the work opportunities though, was the validation and motivation received from people liking and engaging with a piece of content that was completely born of my creative mind. It would also build a bridge 2 years later, to a new working relationship with Bialik Hebrew Day School (Big shoutouts in order to Cayla, Marla, Danielle, David, Shoshanna, Ziona, Shanna...too many too name, so many awesome people there! ). A mother of one of the girls in the HSS video, now someone i'm lucky to call a friend, brought me into Bialik with a request to help produce something similar in honour of their 50th anniversary. Although nothing like this had been created for a school before, with the experience I gained at White Pine, I now understood what it took to lipdub at a high level (and so promptly stepped up the production value) complimented by a soundtrack that has now become somewhat of a school anthem (produced by close friends TakeNote Music - http://www.utakenote.com). As you watch the video, you'll no doubt recognize the similarities.
4. Authenticity Propels Growth
The biggest takeaway I have to share from my Hey Soul Sister experience, is to work on being the best version of yourself, as opposed to a better version of someone else. It's a lesson I constantly have to remind myself of in the video business (and business in general), heck its why people hire me - figure out how to channel strengths, skills and thinking unique to me, into my work products - its my value proposition. I don't worry about losing out on jobs anymore, no one else can provide what I bring to a project. I certainly don't win every job, even lose out on some I know i'm perfect for, and especially in those situations, take comfort in knowing it's their loss. Feeding my own creativity, helps me be the best me, for my clients
Here I sit, having spent 5 years unknowingly preparing for this moment, as I to return to the Haliburton Highlands to help White Pine produce a brand spankin' new promotional video - Corbin style. I'd venture to say this is going to be my most ambitious and creative project to date - and this time, i've traded in my 8.5 x 11 and blue crayon for a uniquely creative pre-production process, i'm proud to call my own.