Hello!
Early on during my time in Perpignan I thought it might be nice for all of us Language Assistants to film a music video together around the city. However, back then we didn't all know each other all that well, so I waited.
Then, in January, Nathan came up with the idea completely independently and everybody liked it. And so it came about that one chilly Wednesday afternoon we all found ourselves in front of the Castillet ready to film our wonderful lip-dub of the Backstreet Boys' "I Want it That Way".
What we didn't bank on was a bunch of giants turning up! I loved seeing the beautiful outfits of the giants in Collioure and these were just as lovely. They also threw confetti, which was useful for us - we gathered some up to use in our music video.
Once the giants had left us to visit the old town (through the arch above) we started to prepare our video. Nathan was to be chief choreographer and kept the moves simple but effective. Toby was our artistic director as well as our main cameraman.
We elected to stay put for the time being and film at the Castillet. Rebekah and I opted out of the first sequence so that we could throw confetti over the dancers. We got some curious looks from passers-by and some probably thought we were mad but who cares; it was great fun.
Our next location was to be the top of the Castillet. So we had to climb it. Luckily it's free if you have valid ID but the tower is very narrow and I found climbing it quite a claustrophobic experience.
The views from the top, however, were totally worth it. I took some photos I am really happy with while Toby filmed individual members of our crew miming lines with the marvellous panorama behind them.
I've mentioned before that quite a lot of things in the Pyrénées-Orientales remind me of my time in Beijing. These images, with the brooding mountains rising above the roofs, really do.
We climbed back down the Castillet and were met by the wonderful Loreto. Together we all set off for our final filming location, the Palace of the Kings of Majorca. I had seen this from the outside when I rode the little white tour train but had never been inside.
On the way Toby shot some film of us marching down the streets of Perpignan old town. I like to think we looked quite stylish.
We reached the Palace and I was amazed by the views from just the courtyard - it really isn't that high up but we could see far across the city.
In front of the Palace we performed some more of the song and then broke into smaller groups around the palace grounds. My group stood on the perimeter wall; another perched in and around a tree.
Someone had the bright idea that we should all jump off the wall as a grand finale and I nearly broke my knees. But I didn't, and overall it was one of the best afternoons I'd spent in Perpignan.
So... the final result! Here is our music video, edited by Toby and Nathan. I'm really pleased with it: well done to the editors and to everybody involved. It was a fantastic experience creating it and I'll always have it as a memento of my time in this glorious city.
Thanks for reading,
Liz x
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