ASIB filming NYC

[jkl 21]

36 minutes ago, ferretti said:

What y'all wearing? @Katie14 @erincatz @jkl

I'm wearing black jeans, denim shirt with wool sweater.. bit preppy but wish I had a leather jacket!

I should be there at 7! Waiting for the F train ⚰️

[Dayman 5,897]

So who else is here already lol

[ferretti 5,808]

1 minute ago, Dayman said:

So who else is here already lol

Just got here. More people than I expected. Ha

[Dayman 5,897]

2 minutes ago, ferretti said:

Just got here. More people than I expected. Ha

I haven't even gone in yet, I'm waiting for my friend to get money out of the ATM for their donation fee lol

[Katie14 4,828]

I'm at the line right in front of the staircase

[Katie14 4,828]

That was such an incredible experience! Ill post about it on the bus on my way home. 

[Celestica 167]

18 minutes ago, Katie14 said:

That was such an incredible experience! Ill post about it on the bus on my way home. 

can't wait!

[jkl 21]

Today was amazing! Sooo intimate with Gaga in the SNL studio, so fun watching her interact with her team (bobby, freddie etc), her and Bradleys chemistry on set was super cute and she performed her heart out! At one point she was just lying on the stage in the dark. Loved the outfit and song she performed (I'm guessing it's called 'Do It' or 'Do That' ?! Other monsters help lol).

 

There was a lot of waiting in between filming and she was making us giggle with her dance moves/talking to us etc.

So great meeting other fans and shout out to the effing insane woman who was organizing all of us and fingering herself over how much power she had because she was giving away merch and tickets. 

Cannot wait to see this movie! I was front row for half of the day so fingers crossed I'm in it 

[Katie14 4,828]

The experience inside the studio was seriously incredible! First of all, the studio where SNL is filmed is really small. It maybe holds 300 people and there were only about 200 of us, so we were all really close to the stage. There was a floor section that was already filled before any of us came in. I'm assuming they were hired extras (although some of them left later in the day and a few of "us" replaced them) We were seated in the balcony sections, but they kept switching our seating arrangement around for like half an hour. They were using the left stage and I ended up in a spot that was on the right side of the studio. The original spot I had would have been perfect so I was a little annoyed we got moved, especially since we were the first group in and have been waiting a lot longer than mostly everyone else. I was waiting the longest (I was the first one there) so I really felt like I deserved a good view! Richy was a stand in for Gaga and he performed the choreography with the instrumental (which cut off half way through each time for some reason, so we watched him dance to silence) literally 8 times, with about 10 minutes in between each take. I was getting worried that we would just be watching Richy dance all day haha.  This part was interesting though because from where I was sitting I could see the area where Bradley and some others re watched each take. Its fascinating to see that behind the scenes stuff.

After probably an hour and a half of watching Richy and waiting around between takes in seats with a poor view, thankfully my section was moved all the way to the opposite side of the studio, almost directly in front of the stage. We changed to better seats just in time for Gaga and her dancers to come out!!

This experience reconfirmed that the humble, gracious, funny and friendly person we see on screen is truly Gaga in real life. The whole day, she acted exactly as I expected she would act, which was honestly a relief.  As soon as she walked in, she said “hi!” to the crew and band and gave everyone on stage a warm hug. I didn’t recognize her from behind at first, but I figured it had to be her because I knew nobody else would be hugging people. Gaga was not diva like at all and you could just tell that she was so happy to be getting this opportunity. She was just super kind and sweet. For instance, after the performance scene Allie (Gaga’s character) ran off the stage and said "nice to meet you. Thank you so much" to what is supposed to be the producer or some higher up guy at SNL. This portion of the scene was filmed a few times and after the last one I'm pretty sure Gaga said to the guy, "it is actually nice to meet you" as herself and not as Allie. I thought that was so adorable. At another point, Gaga hugged the legs of one of the organizers who arranged our seating, to show her appreciation. 

In between takes, Gaga acknowledged us by waving, smiling, and winking a few times. Any time a fan waved at her when she wasn’t filming, she would wave back. She was truly grateful to us for supporting her and made us feel important.  It seemed to me like she put in an effort to look at all of us right in the eye, like she knows how much this gesture means to us. I know for sure we made eye contact a few times so she probably did the same for many others, unless I was just lucky enough to be in her line of view idk.  At one point, two people next to me left and there was this huge gap between myself, and the next people in the row. Those people waved at Gaga one time and she waved back. She noticed the bright yellow empty seats between myself and them. I saw her eyes travel from them, to the seats, and then to me. Its so funny to think about but I will always remember that split second when we locked eyes for the first time, but I’m sure the moment meant absolutely nothing to her. Then when she was thanking us at the end, I was in the 1st row and directly in front of her. I was literally on the edge of my seat and I remember looking at her with such an intense amount of awe and respect, like every word coming from her mouth was gold. It also seemed to me that she looked at me for a second in that moment. This sounds ridiculous but I remember thinking to myself, “what is she thinking when she looked at me? I wonder if she sees herself in me, I wonder if she can understand how much she means to me and how much respect I have for her just by looking at my expression, does she think I’m pretty?” (lol) Its just an odd experience when this person you idolize and have seen through a screen for 6 years finally acknowledges that you exist and that one way street breaks down slightly.

But anyway, back on track! After Gaga walked in, one of the directors or producers told us when to clap and how enthusiastic we should be. There were one or two scenes when they took audience shots and we were warned beforehand. It was hilarious when we were told the next scene would feature us because literally everyone anxiously readjusted their hair at the same time. We noticed how ridiculous this looked and we were all laughing. 

The scene started and Gaga had to stop the 1st time because her hood kept getting in her eyes. It was pretty funny to watch that cause she was lighthearted about it and kept giggling. Then she had to stop again because the music paused at a time she wasn't expecting. Finally, she got through the whole performance scene and sang live and danced the whole time. The song was brand new and was really catchy. However, it was also very repetitive and the lyrics were a little banal. I remember thinking to myself that the song is intentionally shallow and silly to maybe show how Gaga’s character “sold out”. Gaga sounded great as usual but during the chorus her voice did sound a little strained or hoarse, probably because she was dancing and because it was so repetitive. The chorus lyrics were, “why do you do that do that do that do that do that to me? Why do you do that? Why do you do that?” This scene was repeated in full about 6 or 7 times, but she only sang 3 or 4 times.

There were many other funny moments throughout the takes and in between takes. For the take right after lunch, Gaga didn't have her gloves on. Everyone was like "rolling!" and Gaga was like "wait my gloves!" which was cute. Her wardrobe person ran to get them and looked pretty nervous. They also filmed short sections of the performance as well as the "rehearsal" and moments where Gaga and her dancers stretched. A few times, Alex Baldwin introduced Gaga. (His baby and wife were on set for a few minutes btw). It seemed like they just grabbed him off the street, because he was wearing a casual outfit and was like "Oh Lady Gaga. We are shooting now?" Then he left to change into a suit and kept talking after saying his line while the camera cut to Gaga. Then he was like, "oh sorry I didn't know we were still rolling". A crew member then replied, " we are going to need to shoot that again" and everyone was cracking up.   Gaga kept dancing a few times after they yelled “cut”, like she was so into the performance, she didn’t realize. After that happened a few times, Gaga completely froze in place when they yelled "cut!" like she was overcompensating.

Like someone else mentioned, there was a ton of time in between takes and Gaga did some interesting things, notably pretending to give herself a hand job right after one of the takes haha. She also practiced singing and it reminded me of the behind the scenes footage from the AMAs right before she sang DWUW. Even after the singing takes were over, she still would randomly just sing a line while getting her hair retouched or hanging around. She must have been tired or in pain or something, because she laid flat on her back on the stage like 4 times in between takes and would stay there for at least a few minutes. It was kind of amusing because nobody else was doing that. One time she let out an “ugh” as she laid herself down, like she was exhausted. Its so great how she just does what she wants to make herself comfortable even if what she is doing is slightly awkward. I also noticed that a medic/doctor was attending to her at some point and I saw someone was carrying a white metal bucket. I immediately thought that she was going to throw up or something, but I couldn't see at all what the issue was since so many of her people were crowding around her. Anyone else who went, do you know what happened? I was a little concerned, but she did another take right after so I'm assuming she was fine. 

There were screens right above our seats that showed the raw footage of whatever was going on on stage. In between takes, there were stand ins, mostly for Alex Baldwin, and sometimes the camera would show a really intense close up of their faces. All of us laughed when this happened and I don’t think the stand ins had any clue what was going on. When Gaga was performing, I remember glancing up at the screen right in front of me a few times. Its almost instinctual to look at a screen, but the view I had with my own eyes was better or equivalent to the view on the screen. That’s how close I was. It felt strange to see what I would normally see on screen at home, and then to look to the stage and see the same thing in person, and then to watch all the cameras capturing the moment. It was honestly surreal.

They let us go at 4:45 and Bradley thanked us. As we were all getting up to leave, Gaga tried to get our attention. She began talking but everyone was cheering and we couldn't hear what she was saying. She then turned on her mic and said, "thank you guys so much for coming and for meeting Allie for the first time. Thank you to SNL. I've been here a few times and you guys are like family. I loved working with your crew today. Now you can go if you want" (something like that) We got our phone cases unlocked and everyone turned their phones back on immediately after they were released. A security/organizer dude was really nasty and was like, "Did anyone say you could turn your phones back on?" I guess we were supposed to wait until we got outside but nobody told us we couldn’t turn them on.

Just watching how a movie gets made and seeing everything behind the scenes is fascinating. Even though my contribution was minimal, it felt good to be part of such a huge production and in a small way, help make this film come to life.  The experience was extremely intimate and most of the time I felt like a fly on the wall as we watched Gaga drink water, chat with her team and get her makeup/hair retouched. There were multiple times when Gaga said something that made everyone around her laugh and I could tell that she is a very enjoyable person to be around. She is extremely laid back and it seems like her behaviors and essence make you forget she is who she is and feel comfortable to be around her. I also noticed that Gaga's voice is much louder than everyone else's. I couldnt hear most of what she said but there were a few times where I heard snippets and I couldn't hear anybody else at all unless they were right up against the balcony. 

It was a strange experience being physically so close to the film crew, Gaga’s team, the dancers, and Gaga herself, and seeing a glimpse of their lives. Yet, we knew that we could never actually be part of their lives. All of them are at such a different level from us in terms of the reach of their work, but they seemed like such ordinary people, going about their day-to-day, feeling cranky at times, and cracking jokes like the rest of us. The 4th wall was burst wide open and the glamorous façade of Hollywood immediately disintegrated.  It made me wonder if maybe I could actually be one of them.

The discrepancy between how I, and I’m sure the whole audience, felt during this experience compared to how Gaga and the crew felt struck me. This day was so special for all of us, none of us would forget it. I can honestly say that yesterday was probably the most exciting day of my life. The last time I felt similarly excited was when I was 8 years old during a vacation to Disney World. I didn’t even think it was possible for me to feel that childlike excitement again. I thought those feelings were gone forever, dulled out and replaced with apathy after feeling jaded and cynical for so long.  But, for Gaga and the whole crew, it was just an average day. This is their life and yesterday was likely not special or particularly noteworthy at all.

I left the studio and walked the 20 or so blocks to the bus stop and couldn’t stop smiling, partially because it felt so good to be walking after sitting all day, but mostly because I felt so incredibly grateful that I had this opportunity and I honestly could not believe everything worked out. I boarded the bus knowing that this would be a day I would remember for the rest of my life. 

[Dayman 5,897]

1 hour ago, jkl said:

Today was amazing! Sooo intimate with Gaga in the SNL studio, so fun watching her interact with her team (bobby, freddie etc), her and Bradleys chemistry on set was super cute and she performed her heart out! At one point she was just lying on the stage in the dark. Loved the outfit and song she performed (I'm guessing it's called 'Do It' or 'Do That' ?! Other monsters help lol).

 

There was a lot of waiting in between filming and she was making us giggle with her dance moves/talking to us etc.

So great meeting other fans and shout out to the effing insane woman who was organizing all of us and fingering herself over how much power she had because she was giving away merch and tickets. 

Cannot wait to see this movie! I was front row for half of the day so fingers crossed I'm in it 

I believe her name was Jen! She was crazy but it kept me entertained in between takes the way she was lmao

[Katie14 4,828]

12 hours ago, jkl said:

I'm wearing black jeans, denim shirt with wool sweater.. bit preppy but wish I had a leather jacket!

I should be there at 7! Waiting for the F train ⚰️

I'm pretty sure I was sitting a few seats away from you in the front row after lunch. 

[Katie14 4,828]

You know, nobody ever told us we can't share lyrics, the melody, outfits or any other details. I think that's kind of strange. 

[ferretti 5,808]

9 minutes ago, Katie14 said:

You know, nobody ever told us we can't share lyrics, the melody, outfits or any other details. I think that's kind of strange. 

We didn't dig anything which seemed crazy to me. I just posted my boyfriend singing a bit of the song in that other thread. Haha. 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2t2p38o1kbj55mr/WhyDoYouDoThat.m4a?dl=0

[ferretti 5,808]

Also super fun meeting you @jkl @Katie14 and the other member with the username I do not know!

[jkl 21]

1 hour ago, Katie14 said:

I'm pretty sure I was sitting a few seats away from you in the front row after lunch. 

Oh awesome, we had the best seats hey!

Yeah so nice to meet you and your bf @ferretti, thank god for your snippet I could not remember how that song went!