i need a donut

I'm wearing the shirt above today (paired with my grandma's sweet turquoise necklace) that I was styled in for a Macey's Grocery Store commercial I did. I thought it was a great neutral t-shirt so I picked one up to wear in real life at Target for only 6 bucks! Since I'm wearing it today, I thought I'd blog about that shoot. 

The spot is about a young mom who is stuck in traffic and starts daydreaming about Macey's tasty donuts. She goes into her daydream and performs a big production number about needing one of those crave-able treats. She then snaps outta her dream and decides she's gonna make a donut detour. The end.

My excellent agents at TMG sent me out on the audition before I was officially with them (thank you!). They thought I would be a great fit, because it involved donuts and singing. A few of my favorite things!!! The audition consisted of lip-syncing to Barbra Streisand's "Don't Rain On My Parade." Having performed that song for an entire summer, I decided to give them the real deal and sing it myself. I'd like to think that's what sold them on me. Or, maybe it was the fact they were going for a Zooey Deschanel look and I was the only poor substitute they could find. Whatever it was, I'll take it!

First, I had to record the song about delicious donuts that I would later lip-sync to. I was put in a studio across the hall from the mixing/recording room. The client, director (Julian Acosta), producer (Jared Harris), and sound engineer were all in the other room listening to me try to make the little ditty sound just right. Not gonna lie, it was a little disconcerting when I would do a take and I wouldn't hear anything for a few minutes. Maybe I sweat a little.They even joked about how awkward it was for me knowing that there were people in the other room talking about me and judging me. At least they didn't ignore the elephant in the other room.....

A few days later it was time to shoot. The first evening we filmed all the shots in the car. It was the first time I've had to actually drive on film and I was more than freaked out. I was certain I was gonna run over a foot or camera. Especially since during one of the shots there was a white lighting thing (technical term) covering the entire windshield. The way they signaled me to stop was by having one of the crew guys tap the hood of the car. Um....freaky! 

  

 My fake children were the cutest things on the face!!!

It was a pretty easy first day. The next night however, was LONG! We filmed overnight. My call time wasn't until 9:30 pm. We had to do it overnight, because we took over an actual Macey's. Even though it was a looooong night, it was a lot of fun. I got to wear a pretty dress and be surrounded by donuts. DREAMS COME TRUE! 

We finally wrapped about 7:00 am. Yikes!  I wouldn't have made it through without Dr. Pepper, the outstanding crew, and amazing concealer. 

Not sure when it airs, but I've been told that if Macey's wins the local lottery for air time during the Super Bowl, this is the commercial they're gonna use. I'd be OK with that....now I need a donut. Again.