The Making of the Video for "You're So Pony"
I'm so happy to announce that the video is finished and you can see it on YouTube. Go to Youtube and search for "beth thornley you're so pony official music video".
If you'd like to know what was up behind the scenes, keep reading!
I'm pasting below the first email that the director and I exchanged. We didn't know each other before this all started. The director (Liz Manashil), had heard my song on MTV's "Jersey Shore" and tracked me down because she was interested in turning it into a music video. Here's how the first email went:
liz manashil to beth
11/1/10
Recent USC film school graduate looking to make a music video for
You’re So Pony. I Love this song. I just heard it on Jersey Shore and
its just so hip and clever!
Would you ever be interested in a music video?
I can put together a presentation for you---
Liz
Beth Thornley to liz
11/1/10
Hi Liz!
That'd be great!
beth
liz manashil to beth
11/1/10
Wow! thanks Beth!
I am going to gather together a crew and compile the concept together
in the next few days (potentially the next week)
I'll e/mail you once that is done and then we could meet? would that
work for you?
Liz
Beth Thornley to liz
11/1/10
Sure!
beth
And that's how it went on the very first day. The funny thing is that I didn't take Liz's first email to me that day seriously but by my last email back to Liz, she had convinced me that she was serious and I got a little bit scared because later on I suggested we put off meeting for 2 or 3 weeks. HA! What had I said "yes" to?
At our initial meeting (that I finally gathered the courage to commit to), Liz ran her story idea by me. She wanted to set the song to a pre-teen spin-the-bottle party circa 1979. The kicker was that it would be all adults dressed up as 12 year old kids from 1979. To capture the look of the era, she eventually sent me some pictures that looked a lot like this:
Check out that sofa! Check out the 12 year old girl (far left) and her awesome dress and knee socks! I was sold!
I thought her idea was creative and unusual and had the potential for turning into something super fun. Her initial idea included a couple of locations and about 20 dancers. We eventually had to let that big idea go for budget reasons and time constraints but I believe that our constraints helped us end up with something even better. Ever notice how life can work for you that way?
After our first meeting, I still didn't believe it'd really happen. It's not like these things are easy to do. But then I discovered that Liz is a powerhouse and gets things done. I also discovered that I was in very good hands and could relax. She was going to make it work.
We set a goal to shoot in January. A couple weeks after we set that goal, I got a call from Liz explaining that we needed to do it sooner because the cinematographer (Fady Hadid) was moving so that meant we had to do it, like, NOW. We ended up shooting on December 16 and 17. It was POURING rain all day, both days. Not that it really mattered -- we were inside -- but getting things in and out of the house wasn't easy. There were things that didn't need to get wet. It's just a little detail for you.
The location we chose was the home of the drummer in my band, Steve Nistor. This house that he rents looks the same as it did in 1979. The fireplace, carpet and wood paneling were perfect! He was nice enough to let us take over the place for 2 days. We moved some furniture, brought in some "period" nicknacks and started shooting. However, the stereo in the video is Steve's. And he's got a vinyl collection to go with it.
Liz got the cast and crew together. The crew was made up of her USC friends and associates. The cast came together as a result of a casting call Liz did and from friends of the choreographer, Benjamin Allen. Ben is a friend of mine (I also take classes he teaches, too) and I asked him to choreograph for us. I'm so happy he said yes. I can't thank the cast and crew enough for all their time and heart that they put into this.
You can see some pictures of the shoot on my facebook music page here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.474085707915.254463.76847707915
If you have any questions about the video, please write to me! I'll be happy to answer.
Thanks for reading this far and for watching the video. AND, if you want to be in the "fan" video that we'll be putting together soon, go to my website for more details.
beth
If you'd like to know what was up behind the scenes, keep reading!
I'm pasting below the first email that the director and I exchanged. We didn't know each other before this all started. The director (Liz Manashil), had heard my song on MTV's "Jersey Shore" and tracked me down because she was interested in turning it into a music video. Here's how the first email went:
liz manashil to beth
11/1/10
Recent USC film school graduate looking to make a music video for
You’re So Pony. I Love this song. I just heard it on Jersey Shore and
its just so hip and clever!
Would you ever be interested in a music video?
I can put together a presentation for you---
Liz
Beth Thornley to liz
11/1/10
Hi Liz!
That'd be great!
beth
liz manashil to beth
11/1/10
Wow! thanks Beth!
I am going to gather together a crew and compile the concept together
in the next few days (potentially the next week)
I'll e/mail you once that is done and then we could meet? would that
work for you?
Liz
Beth Thornley to liz
11/1/10
Sure!
beth
And that's how it went on the very first day. The funny thing is that I didn't take Liz's first email to me that day seriously but by my last email back to Liz, she had convinced me that she was serious and I got a little bit scared because later on I suggested we put off meeting for 2 or 3 weeks. HA! What had I said "yes" to?
At our initial meeting (that I finally gathered the courage to commit to), Liz ran her story idea by me. She wanted to set the song to a pre-teen spin-the-bottle party circa 1979. The kicker was that it would be all adults dressed up as 12 year old kids from 1979. To capture the look of the era, she eventually sent me some pictures that looked a lot like this:
Check out that sofa! Check out the 12 year old girl (far left) and her awesome dress and knee socks! I was sold!
I thought her idea was creative and unusual and had the potential for turning into something super fun. Her initial idea included a couple of locations and about 20 dancers. We eventually had to let that big idea go for budget reasons and time constraints but I believe that our constraints helped us end up with something even better. Ever notice how life can work for you that way?
After our first meeting, I still didn't believe it'd really happen. It's not like these things are easy to do. But then I discovered that Liz is a powerhouse and gets things done. I also discovered that I was in very good hands and could relax. She was going to make it work.
We set a goal to shoot in January. A couple weeks after we set that goal, I got a call from Liz explaining that we needed to do it sooner because the cinematographer (Fady Hadid) was moving so that meant we had to do it, like, NOW. We ended up shooting on December 16 and 17. It was POURING rain all day, both days. Not that it really mattered -- we were inside -- but getting things in and out of the house wasn't easy. There were things that didn't need to get wet. It's just a little detail for you.
The location we chose was the home of the drummer in my band, Steve Nistor. This house that he rents looks the same as it did in 1979. The fireplace, carpet and wood paneling were perfect! He was nice enough to let us take over the place for 2 days. We moved some furniture, brought in some "period" nicknacks and started shooting. However, the stereo in the video is Steve's. And he's got a vinyl collection to go with it.
Liz got the cast and crew together. The crew was made up of her USC friends and associates. The cast came together as a result of a casting call Liz did and from friends of the choreographer, Benjamin Allen. Ben is a friend of mine (I also take classes he teaches, too) and I asked him to choreograph for us. I'm so happy he said yes. I can't thank the cast and crew enough for all their time and heart that they put into this.
You can see some pictures of the shoot on my facebook music page here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.474085707915.254463.76847707915
If you have any questions about the video, please write to me! I'll be happy to answer.
Thanks for reading this far and for watching the video. AND, if you want to be in the "fan" video that we'll be putting together soon, go to my website for more details.
beth
posted by Beth Thornley at 10:10 AM
1 Comments:
I just watched this video. I love it. Especially the logical, but hilarious, extension of the concept at the ending.
I love this album, too. Just last night, I was listening to someone drone on about how "you never want to burn bridges" and I immediately wanted to quote the line "sometimes bridges get burned as we cross" in response.
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