As seen in our “Delta Wanderland” holiday video above, our hard
work at the International Dance Academy paid off! Check out my last BlogSpot post for what went
down during our choreography rehearsals earlier that week in L.A.
The production crew set up the lighting and camera cranes on the airport ramp outside…
As with any film or TV shoot, the takes were repeated over and over again from different angles. At 5 a.m. Wednesday morning, we wrapped for the night and said our goodbyes.
But filming continued on Wednesday night.
Those four days in L.A. were more than just a welcome change of pace for me. Making new friends, learning from motivational dance choreographers, and working with a fantastic production crew made this an unforgettable experience for all of us.
We all are grateful to work for Delta Airlines, appreciate our customers, and are thrilled to have been part of this video project.
We dancers relished the 24 hour rest period between the final
dance studio rehearsal and the all-night video shoot the following evening. Visiting
friends, hanging out together at the Hilton pool, light choreography
practicing, working out at the gym, jogging, relaxing… we all had different methods
of recovery and preparation for the video shoot.
Tuesday night at LAX airport, a special security line at CTX was
set up for the production crew, actors, dancers, and anyone else displaying a “Shilo,
Inc.” security badge. Inside the
concourse, the documentary crew and hair & makeup station worked in the
background as principal filming began.
The director watched the monitor intently as the interior scenes were
shot.
The production crew set up the lighting and camera cranes on the airport ramp outside…
…While choreographers Tamarra and Nick fine-tuned and finalized our
various dance setups inside a cramped rehearsal room.
The Delta ramp dancers found our marks on the ground outside for glow wand lighting tests.
(“Delta Wanderland.” See what we did there?)
The camera cranes were adjusted to keep us in frame as we
performed our core dance routine. When
everything was lighted and framed just right, the whole dance crew joined us in
front of the cameras to get their groove on.
We danced through the night, leaping, marching, spinning, running,
and even dodging a speeding camera during the “The Wave” setup. Thanks to our dance choreographer Nick Drago for
these photos!
A mishmash of dancing styles was shoehorned into the various setups,
including the Busby Berkeley-style aerial shot and closing Delta widget
formation (both included in the final cut).
As with any film or TV shoot, the takes were repeated over and over again from different angles. At 5 a.m. Wednesday morning, we wrapped for the night and said our goodbyes.
But filming continued on Wednesday night.
Roberto, a Delta employee AND dance instructor, shot some
additional footage with Tamarra and Nick on Wednesday night for the “dance generator” bonus feature.
Click on this link and “Make Your Own Dance” with Roberto!
As for myself, I followed up our all-night video shoot with a short
nap at the LAX Hilton and a couple of connecting flights back home to
Portland. I arrived in PDX with just
enough time to catch our Wednesday night youth meeting and afterwards make a
cameo in a "Star Trek" parody film at church.
Those four days in L.A. were more than just a welcome change of pace for me. Making new friends, learning from motivational dance choreographers, and working with a fantastic production crew made this an unforgettable experience for all of us.
We all are grateful to work for Delta Airlines, appreciate our customers, and are thrilled to have been part of this video project.
Merry Christmas, and have a “wanderful” (cringe) holiday season!!
Coming next week on BlogSpot…
A Hamilton family Christmas
Followed by…
A high flying weekend of adventure for
all of you adrenaline junkies out there!
3 comments:
Love it!
Thanks, Tim! This video shoot was a 4 day labor of love. Your Star Trek skit was hilarious, by the way!
ysThe Delta video and the rehearsal video are SO much fun to watch! I laugh and cry all the way through it every time I watch them. Entertaining...great dance moves...amazing choreography...beautiful music...talented dancers (especially YOU).
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