Rob Bliss

[Veloise]

The latest: a lipdub

[GRDadof3]

The latest: a lipdub

The song is all wrong. Maybe they'll intersperse images from American Pie into the video??

[MJLO]

Great Idea I love it! Worst song choice EVER!

[RegalTDP]

I hope Rob knows what he's doing - a student production is one thing, but if the "city" does something like this, it better have a professional crew, and some real production value, or else it'll look just kinda sad.

Sorry to be negative, but I'm not big into lip-dubs. Hope it turns out great though.

[GRDadof3]

I hope Rob knows what he's doing - a student production is one thing, but if the "city" does something like this, it better have a professional crew, and some real production value, or else it'll look just kinda sad.

Sorry to be negative, but I'm not big into lip-dubs. Hope it turns out great though.

From what I hear, they're using the crew that did the GVSU one plus some additional film crews. That doesn't change the fact that the song is a horrible choice.

Lyrics

I said to someone last night, why don't they do Bohemian Rhapsody?

[Veloise]

Freep article

[Veloise]

Was down there Sunday (hint: 6:57) and I did not see 5,000 people. This looks to be about 1000 (and some duplicates, as the folks following Dustin Dwyer and holding flags had plenty of time to turn the corner onto Pearl St).

[Allison Slater]

The helicopter lift scene also was a bit.. awkward. The camera panned out to bridges that seemed relatively empty.

[jwazzz]

For all the nay-sayers out there -

I think the video turned out great. Thank you, Rob Bliss!

[Veloise]

The helicopter lift scene also was a bit.. awkward. The camera panned out to bridges that seemed relatively empty.

They didn't explain the scene to us. Everyone on Pearl St was at the railing waving frantically as the chopper elevated and zoomed overhead. Seems like they could have told everyone to position in the middle (on the lane stripe).

As I mentioned on MLive, wish we could run one more take. Fix the snare drum strap, add Shelley Irwin back into frame (she tells me she was "behind Ralston"), maybe let the public know that they don't have to audition or ask permission (or bring a sousaphone). My estimate is closer to 1000 than Rob's hyped 5000 participants; it'd be cool to have the streets and RPC not look so empty.

Oh, and start at the Calder, move across the plaza, jump the railing. Couple fire trucks right there, maybe use their ladders.

ETA: an astute retailer would offer twirly sundresses prominently in their advertising this week...

[RegalTDP]

As I mentioned on MLive, wish we could run one more take. Fix the snare drum strap, add Shelley Irwin back into frame (she tells me she was "behind Ralston"), maybe let the public know that they don't have to audition or ask permission (or bring a sousaphone). My estimate is closer to 1000 than Rob's hyped 5000 participants; it'd be cool to have the streets and RPC not look so empty.

Also, the camera shouldn't have panned over the giant letters as the helicopter was taking off. It gave them away a few frames too early.

As a "naysayer" from a few posts above, this was really impressive for a 9 minute shot. A nice feel-good video to make me think of home. Thanks, Rob.

[GR_Urbanist]

For all the nay-sayers out there -

I think the video turned out great. Thank you, Rob Bliss!

That was awful. Awkward in places, confusing in others. No shots of anything uniquely identifiable with Grand Rapids (No Calder???).

They needed at least another month in planning. Maybe even had it done during Festival to at least fill out the scene with people and activity.

[Explorer55]

That was awful. Awkward in places, confusing in others. No shots of anything uniquely identifiable with Grand Rapids (No Calder???).

They needed at least another month in planning. Maybe even had it done during Festival to at least fill out the scene with people and activity.

As a native of GR (who now lives in Denver), and a grad of Forest Hills Central (that was the FHC football team and marching band in green and white, right?), I thought the video was amazing! I can't imagine the work, the coordination and planning that went into all of that, or maybe I can and that's why I appreciate it so much. I loved the tour of downtown. Yeah, maybe a shot of the Calder would have been nice and a few more people here and there, but all and all, it was a very entertaining trip around downtown and I thank all the people who showed up and rehearsed and contributed to the endeavor.

[RegalTDP]

As a native of GR (who now lives in Denver), and a grad of Forest Hills Central (that was the FHC football team and marching band in green and white, right?), I thought the video was amazing! I can't imagine the work, the coordination and planning that went into all of that, or maybe I can and that's why I appreciate it so much. I loved the tour of downtown. Yeah, maybe a shot of the Calder would have been nice and a few more people here and there, but all and all, it was a very entertaining trip around downtown and I thank all the people who showed up and rehearsed and contributed to the endeavor.

Somehow, I get the sense the video is most appreciated by those not living in GR now.

[jwazzz]

That was awful. Awkward in places, confusing in others. No shots of anything uniquely identifiable with Grand Rapids (No Calder???).

They needed at least another month in planning. Maybe even had it done during Festival to at least fill out the scene with people and activity.

You can't be serious.

[RustTown]

I'm kind of surprised by some of these responses. I thought the video was creative and unique, and reflects well on the city. Maybe, as was said above, this is best appreciated by those outside the region. I wish my city's creative community had the organizational wherewithal to coordinate something this grand. Rob Bliss should be appreciated for showing such committment to, and love for, the city, and puts that into showcasing your guy's interesting city. Many other communities would kill to have somebody like him, just saying.

[arcturus]

Grand Rapids seems to have a very small minority population.

[RustTown]

Grand Rapids seems to have a very small minority population.

Not sure where that came from or why it's relevant to this discussion, but even a simple search of the new Census data would show you that Grand Rapids is around 40% non-hispanic white/minority.

[arcturus]

Not sure where that came from or why it's relevant to this discussion, but even a simple search of the new Census data would show you that Grand Rapids is around 40% non-hispanic white/minority.

The relevance is a muse as to why the minority segment of the population seems to be under represented in the video.

[GR_Urbanist]

You can't be serious.

Yes I am.

My wife and I love libdubs, and compared to many, including the one from GVSU, this one was confusing and not very tight, and we were holding out hope all the way through. To me it was the lack of people, lack of things that IDd GR, and just some production glitches. It had its moments though.

Yes I realize that many people are engaging in a giant group hug over this either because they participated in it, live far away and are just happy to see GR or just want to feel good about the city, and I totally get that. But lots of people have done these things, and while they might have broken a record in the number of people participating(?), and did it with a lot of heart, it doesn't make it good.

I hope they do it again, and schedule it during a big DT event like the Festival, Celebration on the Grand or Art Prize.

[GR_Urbanist]

The relevance is a muse as to why the minority segment of the population seems to be under represented in the video.

*shrug*

Their loss. There was an open call for people to show. Some of these groups need to know they aren't going to be begged to show up. The show must go on.

[RegalTDP]

Yes I am.

My wife and I love libdubs, and compared to many, including the one from GVSU, this one was confusing and not very tight, and we were holding out hope all the way through. To me it was the lack of people, lack of things that IDd GR, and just some production glitches. It had its moments though.

Yes I realize that many people are engaging in a giant group hug over this either because they participated in it, live far away and are just happy to see GR or just want to feel good about the city, and I totally get that. But lots of people have done these things, and while they might have broken a record in the number of people participating(?), and did it with a lot of heart, it doesn't make it good.

I hope they do it again, and schedule it during a big DT event like the Festival, Celebration on the Grand or Art Prize.

I'm the opposite - I generally hate lipdubs but I liked this. I get what you're talking about, and I have some technical beefs with the production too, but overall I was impressed by the sheer amount of coordination and personalities involved. Maybe you can count me in as one of the "group huggers." Also, keep in mind, when college students do this, they put their most peppy, extroverted/high-energy performers in front of the camera, and let's face it, folks like Mayor Heartwell or John Gonzales** aren't in that profile.

One thing you can't deny: I've been following the national (and some international) media coverage on this, and it's been insanely positive everywhere. The "Grand Rapids pwned Newsweek" narrative, though I find it a tad annoying, has gained traction in most of the articles.

The relevance is a muse as to why the minority segment of the population seems to be under represented in the video.

I agree. However, the college student groups that do these are usually cognizant of this, and engage the campus minority organizations to participate. That didn't happen here, so the only "demographic" that showed up was the one that generally goes to Rob Bliss events. There's not much minority representation there.

**To be fair to poor John, he was way too warmly-dressed! He must have been roasting.

[Veloise]

My 2¢ --

The "open call" info said to check in at RPC at 9:45 am on Sunday. (Memo to event organizers: where is most of the GR populace on Sunday morning??) That was the weekend-of.

Previously there had been many articles, videos, and FB postings (presumably Twitter things as well...I am not a Twit) concerning auditions, Rob's selected list of performers, contests to be in it, etc. In the days since the big reveal, I've heard from lots of folks who said they'd have been a part of it if they knew it was open to the public.

Rob keeps hyping first 3,000 participants, then 5,000. No way. Even Jeffrey K. at the Press claimed that there were 1,000 on the bridge in the final shot. Nope. (Watch for the flag-bearers on Monroe Center, and note that they walk down to Pearl and appear by the Amway drive-through near the footballers.) The RPC pillow-fighters and the little gymnasts duplicate as the "rock concert fans."

The final take (run at about 2:30 pm) did have a whole lot more "crowds" than the earlier ones. YouTube's methodology will decide that you are into lipdubs and come up with recommendations. Look for Shorewood High School's, which was filmed backwards. Also there's a vid taken during the GVSU one, with a small fixed camera facing forward...fun to compare.

Finally, I found this to be amusing.

[John E]

Finally watched it and am amazed. For a non-professional, high cost video this is great and super coolio.

Grand Rapids is world breaking and world setting.

Great things are happening here and people are really enjoying life here in Grand Rapids.

I can with full confidence and conviction proclaim that Grand Rapids is the most spiritually secure city in the world. Our Heavenly Father has used the Intelligence Community to make it so.

~John

Proverbs 3:5&6

[Veloise]

Speaking of Gerry Barnaby, as we did in the Walgreens thread, here's his take on the lipdub.

"Bliss was smart because he stocked the video pond with social media savvy stars. Tweeters, bloggers and Facebookers who would fan the cyber flames of desire to see and share the video he created...

The second the video was released the social media machine starting chugging. Mlive (a website that spreads stories across the Michigan newswires) did its part to get the story moving. Bill Steffen, a local TV meteorologist with a "bazillion" Facebook followers, had a cameo and pitched it to his peeps. Josh Deprenbrok, a guy with 20K followers on his Grand Rapids event bulletin board, also in the dub, gave everyone the heads up. See how this is going? It's one thing to create a video and hope it goes viral...it's more of a sure thing when you have all sorts of people with e-connections recommending it!"