Anyone have the full WDYDT Instrumental?

[Defmix100 6,080]

1 minute ago, FATCAT said:

Oh, I thought you were referencing the SNL performance that Katie was in, like a video of the performances.

Oh right no but that would have been great to see the full performance

[Katie14 4,828]

41 minutes ago, Defmix100 said:

awesome! hope they release the official ones someday

and what was it like being there? how long was the shoot?

Found it! There are a lot of extra details you probably don't care about so I bolded the parts most relevant to Gaga.

I speed walked the 15 minutes to Rockefeller Plaza, where NBC Studios are located. As soon as I got there, I noticed some people camping outside and wondered if they were extras as well. Instead of asking them, I decided to go inside to find out where to wait. I showed the security guard my ticket and he told me to head to guest relations. When I got there, I was then told to go up the grand staircase, but I noticed the entrance was blocked off. To my surprise, the security guard said I could walk around the blockade. However, as I was maneuvering myself, two guys at the top of the steps asked me what I was doing. I said I had a ticket for “A Star is Born” and one of the guys told me to come back at 7:15. I was literally the first person there and I asked if I could wait at the foot of the stairs. He told me I couldn’t. “You can wait anywhere but here”, he said. With those kind remarks, I decided to wait outside the front entrance, but first I went to a 24-hour McDonalds to use the bathroom and put my makeup on. (The bathrooms at Rockefeller Plaza were apparently locked until 7 am). I felt my class increase a few notches as I haphazardly drew on my eyeliner and patted on eye shadow in the women’s room in a McDonalds occupied solely by homeless people. I swiftly left after I was done, walked back over to Rockefeller Plaza, and found a good spot on the floor outside.

I sent an email to my boss saying that I was sick and wouldn’t be coming in today. I felt guilty about this but I figured it was worth it. Hell, Im not even being paid for my internship so I deserve to take off one time. After waiting for around 30 minutes, watching film crew members transport equipment inside through a private elevator, I decided to go back in because tons of people were entering the building at this point. When I got to the staircase, I noticed two girls were lined up and then a huge crowd of undoubtedly Gaga fans in a back corner.  This tiny adorable woman (Jenn) wearing an SNL jacket told us that we should leave and come back at 7:15. Paranoia overcame me and I was scared I would get kicked out and lose my opportunity if I didn’t follow the rules. My instinct to follow instructions didn’t last long however. After I noticed I was literally the only person who listened to her, I headed right back in. When I returned, a few other people lined up by the stairs and we started chatting (we hit it off and ended up hanging out together the rest of the day). We realized that all of us had priority tickets and wondered if the group at the corner were relegated to that location because they had general tickets. I walked over to the group and asked a guy if they have priority tickets. They all said that they did and I asked why they aren’t standing by the stairs. “We were told to stand over here”, they said. I got back to my place in line and asked one of the security/organizer (Im going to call them SEs) dudes why that group was in the corner. He was bald and kind of intimidating and responded by telling me,  “We can’t have that over here”. 

My new friends and I expressed our fears of not being let in and asked one of the SEs if having priority tickets guarantees us a spot inside. He told us that we will go through a screening process and not everyone gets let in. After that guy walked away, I asked another SE and he rudely responded, “why? Do you have anything that would guarantee you a spot?” We all looked at each other in fear, wondering if they would turn us away based on age, look, what we were wearing, ect. All of us traveled to get here and took off from work. I traveled 5 hours and risked my life in a seedy hotel to be here! I would have been devastated if I wasn’t let in. A few minutes later however, a few nice SNL women told us we would definitely be let in. I think those guys were just being assholes. Regardless, I was still really nervous that something would go wrong.

At around 7:30, the SEs released the barricade and we were allowed to walk up the stairs two by two and go through security. It was like being at the airport, and nobody was turned away as far as I could tell. I had all my **** stuffed in my jacket pockets so it took me awhile to find the metal stuff in there (phone charger and headphones). The bald SE was telling me to hurry up and was getting annoyed. “There are hundreds of people we have to get through”, he said. I said to him, “you guys said no bags so I had to stuff everything in here.” I immediately regretted saying that because I probably came off as rude, and we were actually allowed bags. It said online that large bags weren’t allowed and I just didn’t bring anything because I didn’t want to risk having to throw my bag away. I was worried he would kick me out for talking back to him, but thankfully nothing happened. We had to place our phones in a locked pouch and then were led into a really nice lounge area. We sat there for about half an hour as everyone else went through security. The atmosphere was filled with excitement. Gaga music played continuously over the speakers and there were screens that played clips of past SNL moments. Of course, I was still really nervous that something would go wrong. Would I somehow lose the ticket I was handed after going through security? Would the bald SE get his revenge and kick me out? My mind was such an anxious mess! Water was handed out to us and then we were told to go to the bathroom now because they are going to start letting us in soon. All our tickets had numbers based on our position in line. Mine had the number 4 on it so I was one of the first to be let inside. We gave in our tickets and showed our wristbands. I sat down inside the studio with relief. I was in.

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 175 of us, so everyone was really close to the stage. There was a floor section that was already filled before any of us came in and as thankful as I was to be there, I did feel slightly annoyed and envious. I'm assuming they were hired extras (although some of them left later in the day and a few of "us" replaced them) All of the fans were seated in the balcony sections, but they kept switching our seating arrangement around for like half an hour. I ended up in a spot that was kind of on the side of the studio where it was hard to get a good view of the stage they were using. The original spot I had would have been perfect so I was a little upset 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, 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 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. Almost 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 in between takes, and she sweetly waved back at them. Then she noticed the bright yellow empty seats between myself them and 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. 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" 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 show 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 had a pause in the beat 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 incredibly banal. I remember thinking to myself that the song is intentionally shallow and silly to maybe show how Gaga’s character “sold out”. Gaga’s voice also sounded a little strained or hoarse during the chorus, 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 re filmed short sections of the performance as well as the "rehearsal" and moments where Gaga and her dancers stretched. For the stretching scene, Gaga was initially the only one stretching and the camera was out of site so we thought her stretching was real. She laid on her back and then put her legs up. I heard a few people around me saying, “What is she doing?” and chuckling. Then her dancer helped her stretch her legs and Gaga swung her legs around stretching her back and hips. Someone behind me said, “Her hip must be bothering her”. That’s what I thought too but then a camera came out and I realized the stretching was like a behind the scenes part of the movie. 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?" Gaga came up to him to say hi and then he left to change into a suit. When he came back, he 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. 

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. She reminded me of myself when I used to have neck pain. I would lie down on my back any opportunity I got to relieve my pain. I also noticed that a medic/doctor was attending to her at some point and I saw someone was carrying a white 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.  I was a little concerned and wondered why the medic didn’t check her out backstage out of our view. She did another take right after so I'm assuming she is 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 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 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. The bald 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 can tell that she is a very enjoyable person to be around and is very well liked by her crew. 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. She is a very special person and I wish we could be friends haha. 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. 

[Defmix100 6,080]

23 minutes ago, Katie14 said:

Found it! There are a lot of extra details you probably don't care about so I bolded the parts most relevant to Gaga...

Thanks so much! That was great I read everything, sounds like such a great experience and I know exactly what you mean about the eye lock thing, I had that happen years ago and it's something I'll never forget and too hard to put into words the exact feeling.

[Katie14 4,828]

3 minutes ago, Defmix100 said:

Thanks so much! That was great I read everything, sounds like such a great experience and I know exactly what you mean about the eye lock thing, I had that happen years ago and it's something I'll never forget and too hard to put into words the exact feeling.

Thanks for reading the whole thing! Glad you enjoyed it.