Behind the Scenes in L.A. Pt 2- On Set: Delta Wanderland

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.

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.

 “Brace for impact!”

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!