thedrifter
05-18-09, 06:15 AM
Flag a few threads short, but still flies
Volunteers fill San Clemente stadium for music video shoot.
By MICHAEL MELLO
The Orange County Register
Comments 4 | Recommend 0
SAN CLEMENTE – The answer: Send in the Marines.
The question: What's the best way to get nearly 200 volunteers to create a "human" U.S. flag for a music video?
When a Los Angeles location fell through, tour guide and novice musician Matt DeMars and his wife, Denise, had just two weeks to come up with a new place to shoot part of a video for the song Matt DeMars recorded, "An American Standing Proud."
Through friends, they got in touch with San Clemente Councilman G. Wayne Eggleston, who in turn helped secure filming sites around the city for the video, including San Clemente High School's stadium for the flag stunt.
That was the easy part. The real task was roping in 200 people to serve as a walking, breathing version of the Stars and Stripes – at 8 a.m. on a Sunday.
The DeMarses did the best they could to get the word out and managed to reach the brass at nearby Camp Pendleton early last week. During the early morning hours Sunday, dozens of Marines and some Navy sailors headed for San Clemente.
"I've got about 130 out here," Sgt. Maj. Steven Lara said as he surveyed his men and a few of their girlfriends and wives in the stands. "When we ask them to do something, they'll do it."
Many of the Marines were, as they humorously put it, "voluntold" to show up for their Sunday morning stint at the stadium.
"They tricked us," Lance Cpl. Joseph Dodd joked. "They told us supermodels would be here."
Matt DeMars recorded the song in 1993, after becoming a fan of conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh.
That was a time, he said, like now, when Americans were divided. DeMars said he wants the country to be reminded that "patriotism is what brings the country together. …I love this country. I don't want it to sink."
Pondering images for the recently remastered song's video, the DeMarses realized there were few video clips of groups forming U.S. flags. They set about creating one to become one of the video's core images.
Denise DeMars got 200 red, white, and blue T-shirts from Instant Imprints, the Aliso Viejo shop her sister owns. Each shirt bore the name of one of the 50 U.S. states. They spent hours painting plastic cards for the volunteers to hold aloft.
In the end, a group of 30 Inland Empire volunteers didn't show, making the "human flag" 178 people instead of 200 – two rows shorter than intended.
Still, Matt and Denise DeMars were happy with the response they did get and the resulting film. "There's a lot you can do in the editing room," Matt DeMars said.
Matt DeMars said a recording of his song will be released on his Web site, www.anamericanstandingproud.com, and is expected to become available for purchase on iTunes in the coming weeks. The video will be released in time for the Fourth of July.
Contact the writer: 714-704-3796 or mmello@ocregister.com
Ellie
Volunteers fill San Clemente stadium for music video shoot.
By MICHAEL MELLO
The Orange County Register
Comments 4 | Recommend 0
SAN CLEMENTE – The answer: Send in the Marines.
The question: What's the best way to get nearly 200 volunteers to create a "human" U.S. flag for a music video?
When a Los Angeles location fell through, tour guide and novice musician Matt DeMars and his wife, Denise, had just two weeks to come up with a new place to shoot part of a video for the song Matt DeMars recorded, "An American Standing Proud."
Through friends, they got in touch with San Clemente Councilman G. Wayne Eggleston, who in turn helped secure filming sites around the city for the video, including San Clemente High School's stadium for the flag stunt.
That was the easy part. The real task was roping in 200 people to serve as a walking, breathing version of the Stars and Stripes – at 8 a.m. on a Sunday.
The DeMarses did the best they could to get the word out and managed to reach the brass at nearby Camp Pendleton early last week. During the early morning hours Sunday, dozens of Marines and some Navy sailors headed for San Clemente.
"I've got about 130 out here," Sgt. Maj. Steven Lara said as he surveyed his men and a few of their girlfriends and wives in the stands. "When we ask them to do something, they'll do it."
Many of the Marines were, as they humorously put it, "voluntold" to show up for their Sunday morning stint at the stadium.
"They tricked us," Lance Cpl. Joseph Dodd joked. "They told us supermodels would be here."
Matt DeMars recorded the song in 1993, after becoming a fan of conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh.
That was a time, he said, like now, when Americans were divided. DeMars said he wants the country to be reminded that "patriotism is what brings the country together. …I love this country. I don't want it to sink."
Pondering images for the recently remastered song's video, the DeMarses realized there were few video clips of groups forming U.S. flags. They set about creating one to become one of the video's core images.
Denise DeMars got 200 red, white, and blue T-shirts from Instant Imprints, the Aliso Viejo shop her sister owns. Each shirt bore the name of one of the 50 U.S. states. They spent hours painting plastic cards for the volunteers to hold aloft.
In the end, a group of 30 Inland Empire volunteers didn't show, making the "human flag" 178 people instead of 200 – two rows shorter than intended.
Still, Matt and Denise DeMars were happy with the response they did get and the resulting film. "There's a lot you can do in the editing room," Matt DeMars said.
Matt DeMars said a recording of his song will be released on his Web site, www.anamericanstandingproud.com, and is expected to become available for purchase on iTunes in the coming weeks. The video will be released in time for the Fourth of July.
Contact the writer: 714-704-3796 or mmello@ocregister.com
Ellie