"...It will be this Friday, roughly a twelve to sixteen hour day, and you'll mostly be assisting the stylist's first assistant. Oh, and I confirmed it's for Rihanna."
It's been a long time coming since my internship at FLARE Magazine when I first worked with a stylist on a set for the September and November 2015 Beauty frontis pages of the magazine. I remember trying to be on my best behaviour, making sure to shake every crew member's hand with a strong grip, and making firm eye contact per hand I shook (something I still get nervous with), reminding myself that it takes more than just the 'intern' label to make a good impression. I guess my reminder as well as my experience in dealing with Critical Path worked, because months after my internship ended, I found myself on various other sets for various other magazines working with various other (and now some familiar) crew members. I never once took these opportunities for granted, and to this day, I find myself truly lucky when I get a call from a stylist or agent with another job opportunity. So when I got a phone call from an agent on Wednesday February 3, I was ready to clear my schedule for whatever project they wanted me to help on. Just a few minutes into the job-slash-shoot description conversation, he mentioned one name that caught my attention. It wasn't a brand, or a magazine. What do you say when you hear that you will be on a music video set for a multi-millionaire pop artist, one whose songs you've sang for ages?
"Oh, okay."
It just didn't sink it. I've never found myself gagging over who or what the projects were for, perhaps because I had already internalized that I don't get the chance to work directly with the artists, since my job has always been to assist the crew. So I simply said, "Okay." As part of the job description, we were not allowed to talk of the shoot to anyone until it was over, for obvious reasons, and because of this I didn't think too much of it.
When Friday crept up, I woke up early for the 7AM call time, and made it to the hotel where the stylists set up and began packing. Hours of logging in all those jewelry pieces and designer garments at FLARE still prove their worth to this day, as logging in 30 sunglasses specially delivered from London for Rihanna was a simple task to say the most. As the morning went on, things ran smoothly. When we got to basecamp, a church in the middle of nowhere, we began styling the 60 dancers, each one-by-one head to toe, including accessories. It was probably the fastest I ever styled random strangers, not to mention the style was something I wasn't used to working with at all; hell, it was fast and it was fun.
Once we got to the set, a little joint called 'The Real Jerk' on 842 Gerrard St East, my brain was still in work mode, so I began fixing up rips and tears, buckle problems and jewerly malfunctions of the dancers who had already been getting down and dirty to the song of the hour, 'Work' by Rihanna feat. Drake. Hours and hours went on, and I watched from the sidelines as Director X and his assistant shouted out camera directions, the production team ran back and forth making sure everything was moving along on schedule, the art department amplified the Rastafarian atmosphere of the bar with neon lights, and hair & makeup team rushed in between every take to either dampen the sweats beading down every dancer's neck, or adding more to create the desired effect. Styling on our part was already done, until Rihanna and her friends walked into the set with the head stylists. Their work I knew must have taken hours to put together. From head to toe, they glistened in designer pieces, and managed to stand out from the 60 extras. I don't know what it is, but watching Rihanna dance and seeing her in her comfortable but professional setting was an experience in itself. There's something in seeing the person who's songs you've listened and sang to since you were in grade school that makes you believe in their art even more when they are working professionally right in front of your eyes. And of course, I still fan-girled inside, and dare I say, even more when Drake walked onto set for his scenes.
After 24 hours of working endlessly (who said 16 hours? lol), the day came to a close. I felt insanely tired when I got home, and now after a long sleep, I only feel incredibly blessed. This experience provided so many learning opportunities and took me deep into uncharted territory that is music videos. It's become one of those experiences where only when it's over, I can say, "If I made it through that, I can definitely do this." It also gave me the chance to work with some of the most motivated individuals I've ever had the pleasure to work directly with, and it has seeded that motivation in me as well. This job was not about getting to see one of my favourite artists in real life, nor the money; I realized to the core of my own tired bones, how much to respect the tremendous efforts of those working behind the scenes and the amount of sweat and tears that go into creating something for someone else. A dear stylist I worked with said something on our way to basecamp, and it's been lingering in my mind ever since I began reflecting on this experience and thinking about my own future: "I want to be heard, not seen." Thanks Haylee.
