Consequence Free Video Shoot - Toronto, 5/20/99

**Behind the Scenes at the First* "Consequence Free" Video** Shoot

Photos by Fran Egan - all rights reserved, unauthorized use is prohibited

On the morning of May 15, Blackwalk Productions posted to the GBS Chatroom that they would be filming a new Great Big Sea video on Thursday, May 20 in downtown Toronto. It was a rare chance for fans to participate, since they needed a Great Big Crowd for the shoot. More than a dozen Toronto and Southern Ontario Chatters were able to make it, as well as a few intrepid Americans. Many other Toronto area fans arrived that afternoon after hearing about the shoot on the radio.

Those of us that were "consequence free" that afternoon had a unique experience on a beautiful sunny day filled with fun and laughter. We saw first hand how much hard work goes into the filming of a video, and we participated as extras in dozens of takes of walk-through and crowd scenes (though it would take days to recover from hearing the song so many times over... just kidding!). We also got to see the day's shot list. Towards the end of the day, Alan kept the Great Big Crowd entertained between takes by going into human jukebox mode and taking requests for "any group", playing some inspired covers of AC-DC, Bruce Springsteen, and the Beatles among others. The hours flew by, and it was nearly 10:00 pm when filming finally wrapped up.

*But... (in the words of Alan Doyle, as posted to the Great Big Sea Chatroom on July 7):

Though the shoot on Queen St. went as planned and the band and audience looked cool and happy on film, there were serious problems in editing. After several cuts and frustrating re-edits, we still could not come up with a fresh and new looking video. Several of the story lines did not translate onto film, so we were left with just a busking video that, through no one's fault, was sub-par. So, what do we do? Should we save time and money and release a video that was not up to scratch or blow out the deadlines and go after another shoot? After much deliberation and woes, we had to shoot a new video. I was worried that those of you who stood in the heat all day would feel slighted if you head the news from someone else. For now the Queen St. footage is on the shelf till we find a good use for it. Perhaps a new video or an out takes home video or something. Our apologies to the dissapointed, but we were really bummed ourselves.

No matter what happens to the footage, the fans who were at the shoot have no regrets that they had such a fun time! Besides, it really wasn't that hot, and we got some very nice pictures of the day's events....

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On location at Queen and Soho. Group shot of Chatters: Fran, Hap, Tina, Vanessa, Brenda, AJ, Fiona, Sarah, JenTaylor, Cas.

In front of the patio, before filming began

A scene with Darrell, which ended with water dumped where he had been standing - cool special effects!

As the fun continued...
"What a ridiculous way to make a living!" said Alan. Seán strummed his guitar while Bob and Darrell had their close-ups. Then Seán really got down with the guy in the white tank top. He had to have his makeup retouched when he was done.