Oh Los Angeles

So I just got back from the video shoot for Bow Wow, Chris Brown and Jermaine Dupri and I have a couple of observations for you. Keep in mind that this was the first time I've ever been on a video shoot set. I've been to a couple of tapings for Def Comedy Jam, the BET Video Awards, etc..., but this was the first time I've actually seen the work in action.

Oh... you might want to know why I was there. Well I have an old high school friend who is a videographer and he's been in and out of LA for some time now. Whenever he's in town, he tries to get us together, but since he's always out in the city during the week working on some video or another, it never pans out. (Actually, I usually just don't feel like driving out to LA on a school night so "somehow" it just never seems to work out. =/ I mean, what can I say? I'm a grandma. I like to be in my bed by 10 or 11pm.) But anyway, he asked me to come down to the shoot which I was very reluctant to do for a number of reasons. 1) He would be busy shooting Bow Wow's behind the scenes autobiography/reality show that he's doing so I really wouldn't get anytime to socialize with him, 2) I would look like a groupie standing on the side of the set with nothing to do but watch, and 3) I can't stand tapings because they're always so dragged out and boring. But, since this was basically his 3rd time in town this year, I had to oblige. Besides, I plain out of excuses. He really wanted me to come so I picked up my girl and drove downtown.

So back to the observations...

1. Chris Brown and Bow Wow look like little babies. I mean I knew they were young, but they looked like they were still wet behind the ears fresh out of the uterus. Maybe it was because their clothes were 3 sizes too big for them. It doesn't help that they're all under 5 feet too. Just like little gremlins. Jermaine included.

2. The video girls are SO YOUNG!!! Oh my goodness. The poor babies. They weren't on set at the time so I was able to really look into their faces as they walked around, and I thought that I saw my little sister! Of course these girls were drop dead gorgeous. Beautiful girls. Quiet too. It was refreshing to see how professional they were. My question though is, if you're not working, and you haven't been working for a few hours (the shoot was scheduled to last from 12 noon to 4am), why do you still have on your skin tight costume with your booty out? There's no need ladies, especially when it's 9pm and it's cold outside. Go pull on some sweats sweetie! (Oh, I forgot. Sweats and LA = NEVER.)

3. Can you say "NO SECURITY"!? Jennifer and I walked on the set like we knew these people. (I guess there was no security because the shoot was held in some open warehouse on an abandoned street.) But what Jennifer said was very true. "They're lucky I don't have a hit out on Bow Wow because he'd be dead right now if I did". I mean it was really that open. Can we please protect the little girls' idols please? It's funny because everyone just walks by and smiles at you like you belong there. It was a private set, but since no one seemed to care that we were there, I can only imagine how many non-employeed people were there. However, besides the camera people, the producer (Bryan Barber - Idlewild), the video girls, the crew, and Bow Wow's friends, there didn't seem to be anybody who wasn't doing something. I mean even the girl watching the food was busy. But I guess that's just it. Every sort of job that you could think of was in effect.

So it was a cute experience. Jennifer and I only stayed for about 40 minutes because like I said, grandma had to get to bed and my friend was sorta busy. Besides, in that 40 minutes, they only did two takes, and I couldn't get with how slow it was moving. I guess that's why Bow Wow, Chris Brown, and JD were standing on the set joking around most of the time.... But anyway.... Oh Los Angeles....