Drinking with the Mermaids in Montana
Earlier this month, I found myself in Great Falls, Montana for work – a part of the country I’d never been to before. Great Falls is located in northern/central Montana, in relatively flat area where the Rockies can be seen in the distance. Great Falls still boasts the expansive skies which scream ‘Montana’, and is in close proximity some of our country’s most breathtaking natural beauty — Glacier National Park is 3.5 hours to the north, and Yellowstone is 3 hours to the south. Montana a great location for all things outdoorsy, and the lack of humidity was a nice break from the sweltering Nashville heat. With 4 days in Great Falls, our crew sought out the best haunts: the Montana State Fair, Jaker’s (a northwest chain but still great food — the scones are to die for), Borrie’s (family-owned; fantastic steak). And, finally, on our last night in Great Falls, we landed at the infamous Sip-N-Dip. It seemed a little sketchy from the parking lot, but we’d heard from locals that the Sip-N-Dip had been rated the #1 Bar on Earth by GQ two years ago (a little internet search turns up a plethora of MT tourism websites touting this fact- although the ranking was in 2003, not 2009). We also heard rumors of mermaids. Naturally, our curiosity was piqued, and we ventured inside. The Sip-N-Dip Lounge is found on the second floor of the O’Haire Motor Inn, which is just outside downtown. In all honesty, I was expecting a dive bar set in a club atmosphere. What I discovered upon walking up the stairs into this “other world”, however, was ENTIRELY different. The Sip-N-Dip is a cozy, smoke-free lounge with ambient lighting and a tiki motif. The bar is a decent size, and along with an excellent selection of mixed drinks and draft beer, there are mermaids. Yes, I said mermaids. Mermaids?! OK, they’re not REAL mermaids (obviously). They’re young ladies wearing swimmer’s goggles, a bikini top, and one giant fin. They’re really good at what they do, too — they swim gracefully through the tank, in various patterns, twists, and flips; if they notice you’re trying to take a picture, they’ll do their best to “pose” for you. There are no oxygen masks — they swim around for 30-45 seconds, and then resurface for a breath of air, and it really is just a breath. The night we were there, there were two mermaids that alternated every twenty minutes. I CANNOT imagine swimming underwater for that length of time, even with “air breaks”. Although it may suggest otherwise, and while “Mermaid Entertainment” is definitely different–...
LVAs
When I get asked what I’ve worked on, or what I enjoyed working on, I often have to rack my brain to try to remember and fail at coming up with any sort of intelligent or thoughtful response. In the beginning, when I only worked on one music video a month, it was easy to remember all the details: crew, location, director, artist, song title, actors, extras, etc. Sometimes, projects blur together and I have a hard time remembering the details. So, this is a post summarizing some of the more memorable shoots (good and bad). First Shoot Award Mat Kearney’s “Breathe In, Breathe Out” It was my first ever on-set experience; as a wide-eyed intern who mistakenly sent an extra to the artist’s RV. Whoops. Details of that job include: Director: Roman White Location: The Arcade, Downtown Hours: 3pm – 6am; but I’d also started my day at 10am at the office… The Kicker: I was an intern — an unpaid intern; but I was enthralled to be there. The Other Kicker: This video was supposed to air during/after Grey’s Anatomy, and I remember telling everyone to watch it — family, friends from home, classmates, etc — because I was so insanely proud to have worked on it. Only, it didn’t air when it was supposed to; got pushed an hour or a week or something, and they completely cut out the Alaskan girl because they didn’t like her “look”. Highlights: -spending many hours with Ryan Fuqua in the Arcade, using faulty knives to cut many many zip ties holding up American flags. I would later have to run to Wal-Mart to purchase more zip ties so we could re-hang them all. – It was 35mm, baby!: That’s right, I’m “old skool” enough to have worked a solid year in the presence of true “film” projects, before the dawn of the digital era. Runner Up: Could also throw out a mention to my first paid shoot, Alan Jackson’s “Small Town Southern Man”. Watch Mat Kearney – Breathe In Breathe Out on Vimeo. Coldest Shoot Award One Night Rodeo – “Alive and Living” Before the days where I learned to spend top dollar on warm winter gear, I endured one of the coldest shoots of my life in February of 2009. Director: The Brads (Blake and Potsy) Location: Smyrna Airport Temperature: 19 degrees in the hanger with a cold cement floor. Highlights: Eric Williams gestured to the vending machines and stated, “Well, there’s craft service.” Most Ridiculous Award Josh Thompson – “Beer on the Table” It wasn’t the video that was ridiculous — it was the wrangling of all of...
They hang there, the stars, like notes on a page of music, free-form verse, silent mysteries swirling in the blue like jazz…
I’m fortunate to be working on ANOTHER show — Blue Like Jazz. It’s weird in a way, I remember Don Miller speaking at Belmont one of my first weekends there, and I remember the loneliness, confusion, and angst I was feeling, and I remember his words being comforting. It’s surreal now to be working for him as well as Steve Taylor, of all people — the legend who penned several Newsboys classics such asTake Me To Your Leader and Breakfast in Hell–at least, I think that’s what it’s called. I keep working with people who have had an impact on my life in some way. It makes me feel I’ve discovered my niche. I remember interning at dreaded Sony/ATV, and I remember being invited to a number 1 party for Carrie Underwood or something. And I remember feeling that any normal person would be excited, but somehow I knew it wasn’t my deal– it didn’t feel right–but I also knew I wasn’t far off the mark. I didn’t end up going. I remember learning in church how God knows the desires of our heart, and in my short amount of years, I’ve realized that He knows the desires of mine better than I thought I knew myself. This was never the career I planned for myself, yet it’s been so much more of an exciting adventure (albeit arduous) than I ever could’ve imagined. I try not to turn back to look where I’ve been at the risk of getting dreadfully nostalgic, but I am guilty of the occasional reminiscence– especially of my jaunt to the southern hemisphere. I listen to any song from “Hello Hurricane” and it takes me back to somewhere in Australia — the weather, the smells, the breeze against my face, the feelings of solitude or independence. And then I realize the last time I saw Switchfoot play was in Sydney, and then I wonder if life really could get any better than that. But I know it can… a thousand times yes. I need to be a better person tomorrow. I failed miserably today. It’s amazing to be this excited about caring so deeply for a person three and a half years later. The distance has made it hard, but it’s made me realize the sacrifice required. I could get sappy here–okay, so the first draft of this entry WAS pretty sappy– multiple supporting lyrics included — but I am going to summarize it all by saying: Yes, what they say in the songs IS true. And on that silly but giddy note, I should go to sleep, because the clock stole twenty minutes from...
indiana
Just spent two days working in Indiana. I feel so blessed to have had an awesome trip and return home and literally hit the ground running. Having somewhere else to focus all my energy has helped me readjust in a lot of ways, although I feel like I’m experiencing home/Nashville through a visitor’s eyes, and I’m only passing through. Today when I woke up, I felt so lonely, lonely to the point that theres something pounding somewhere deep within me. I’ve often felt this way when waking up to go to work, and before my trip I was terrified that I would feel ten times as lonely waking up on the other side of the world with no familiar faces within 9,000 miles. This morning when I felt that old, familiar twang, I realized I hadn’t felt it in a significant length of time — I didn’t experience it at all on my trip. Which is interesting: Why the pangs of loneliness when I’m home (home being the US) and waking up before doing a job I love? I don’t know. I went by Target a few days ago near here — the Target that I last went to the day before my trip — and it’s totally gutted. A lot of the stores nearby were completely empty, and there were only five or six cars in the entire parking lot. It’s unreal. It’s weird to have not been here when the flooding happened, but to come back and find a lot of things gone. As I said in my adventure/travel blog, it’s like being in an alternate reality. The weirdest thing about coming back has been how long the sun stays out. In New Zealand, the sun would set by 5:30pm/6:00. Here, it’s light out at 8pm and for the first few days I wouldn’t realize the time and end up eating dinner at like 10:00. And in Indiana, they’re further west than Nashville but in the Eastern time zone, and with simple addition you can figure out it was 9:30 before it was completely dark. And anyway. I’m losing my ability to write coherent and complex sentences....
2009: work in review
Matt Wertz – Everything’s RightOne Night Rodeo – Alive and LivingShoe Carnival SpotDocumentary: Freedom Riders (playing in 2010 at Sundance)Darryl Worley – Sounds Like Life to MeTaylor Swift – You Belong With Me (MTV VMA winner!)St. Thomas Titans CommercialAmerican Lung Christmas CommercialPushPlay – Midnight Romeo Emily Osment – All the Way Up (still photos)MinitMart Spots (x3)Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief (Nashville segment – Parthenon)Taylor Swift – Fifteen (first job as a swing; exterior shot on my 23rd birthday)Auburn – Men’s Basketball SpotAuburn – Women’s Basketball SpotAngel Taylor – Like You DoBrandi Carlile – Dreams (Shot in New Orleans)Brandi Carlile – That Year (New Orleans)Reba – Consider Me GoneJosh Thompson – Beer on the TableShinedown – If You Only KnewJustin Bieber – One Less Lonely GirlMiranda Lambert – White Liar (production assistant + extra, haha)Blaine Larsen – It DidBlake Shelton w/ Trace Adkins – Hillbilly BoneA Pure Country Gift (Feature)Shane Yellowbird – music video (forget title)Mat Kearney – All I HaveTough Trade Statistics:Longest Day: Mat Kearney: 7am – 3amShortest Day: Returned a sound blanket to DR&A for a full day’s rate.Coldest Day: One Night Rodeo – 20 degrees (or below) in airplane hanger.Hottest Day: None stick out. This summer was pretty mild in comparison to 08.Coffees Consumed: 132Number of Times I “Copied That”: 2,830Number of Pens Lost: 62Most Embarrassing Moment: Falling asleep during filming of Freedom Riders documentary. Producer didn’t notice or was sleeping herself.Silliest Moment: Dressing up with Michelle in outrageous dresses as last minute extras for Miranda Lambert music video. Or chatting away happily in the back of a transpo van with Neumann about deer jerky while the entire camera department from LA listened quietly (because they were horrified, I later learned).Proudest Moment (In Retrospect): Accidentally pushing Justin Bieber off the sidewalk with a sandbag cart. 2009, you served me well. I met a lot of amazing people, learned so much about this business and enjoyed every morning — thank you, I hope the ride’s just...
Oh, country music videos.
Yesterday was AWESOME. And it was a circus. Yesterday was the first time I’ve had the pleasure of working on a country music video shoot that was BYOB (if you can believe that, I suppose before I started working on these videos I assumed they all were). We weren’t sure if we would have enough extras, and the director was prepared to “fake” crowd shots using five crew members if necessary. Lo and behold, about sixty people show up, all with 12 packs of PBR, Miller Lite, Bud Lite, etc — and they’re tanked already. Herding extras is a lot like herding cats anyway, but inebriated ones are especially stubborn. We were finally able to corral them in front of the stage, and they sang along with the artist, thrusting their bottles of beer into the air, splashing beer everywhere. We needed the fifteen passenger van for our final shot of the day, but actually keeping track of the van was a difficult task, as various rednecks took off in it during the shoot to make beer runs. Even the art department tapped a keg by the end of the evening, and the whole warehouse smelled like stale beer by the end of it all. The whole evening was hilarious, scary, and a little...
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I'm Laryssa, and when I'm not working in film or television, I'm attempting to travel -- or I'm here, providing resources for working in film or travel. Read more Elsewhere on the internets
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