Thanks so much for all your enthusiasm on the launch of my Serging Activewear Craftsy class guys!! I wanted to talk a little today about what went into the making of this class because I know you all love hearing about this sort of thing, but also I found it fascinating to see how much work goes on in preparation, too!
As I mentioned earlier this week, I actually started working on the class prep back all the way back in December! The leadup isn’t usually quite this long, but we started the new year with a very intense few weeks of devising the script with my fantastic category editor, Elaine, over Skype. Basically, we had to work out what I was going to talk about, in what order, and what sort of samples I’d need to sew up ahead of time in addition to the ones I’d actually sew on camera.
I then had to scramble a bit to source all of my fabric (some of it coming over from the States) and I’d just started sewing up the first of my samples when I got sick in mid-February. The shoot was originally planned for mid-March, but through a bit of serendipity it was postponed for reasons on their end, but since I was laid up with (the first) flu virus when we were supposed to be filming, I wasn’t complaining!
And I figured by early May I’d be feeling better and would be in a much better position to give my all on camera…
NARRATOR: She was not feeling better by early May.
Yeah. I know I look perky and gorge in the official photos I posted earlier this week but my god, that is all down to a) the amazing makeup lady Danika, and b) my ability to turn ON for the cameras and crumple onto a couch (ie: conserve energy) when the four(!) cameras weren’t rolling.
Normally most Craftsy videos are shot in their massive film studio, but as that was being refurbished during my shoot, we actually filmed ours in the most adorable little house (think every Pinterest/Instagram interiors photo you’ve ever lusted over). This was great as the set designers got to make it their own, plus I had a sofa off-screen to lie down on and we had a patio to eat our lunches on, too.
The shoot itself was three days, and involved about 15 people in total, four cameras, a teleprompter, and even a little clapboard thingie! (I was way too excited over that!) So in true Ru Paul’s Drag Race fashion, I was pretty much constantly telling myself “Melissa, don’t fuck it up!”.
But despite feeling utterly awful, I managed to relax once the first few seconds of film got rolling, and by the end of day three, I was joking with the crew in between takes like we’d known each other our whole lives!
I particularly hit it off with my producer, Evan, who I’d been Skyping for a few weeks prior to my flying over to Denver for the shoot, and, as a sewist himself, he was loving learning about all the cool activewear gear he could make now. Like when I told him my Steeplechase Leggings had no inseam, he immediately went over to the sample rail and started inspecting them like “No wayyyyyyyy – no inseams?!? How does that even work??”
Between bringing over all the samples, the step-outs (the half-made garments I’d sew on-screen), the extra fabric and scraps for testing stitches and just in case I’d have to re-cut a garment piece, I also had to think about what I’d wear on screen myself for three days! As it turned out, I could’ve worn pretty much anything on my bottom half (note: I was not naked, honest!), but it still meant my suitcase was 80% shoot supplies AND overweight!
I’ve done a bunch of various filming projects over the years but this was my first experience working with a crew of this size, multiple cameras, or a teleprompter, and I had a blast. The professionalism and passion of every single person I worked with was absolutely top notch, and I hope that it shines through in the finished product, too.
I spent most of my time outside the shoot laying down in my hotel room and dragging myself out for dinner (omg Denver is SO NICE), but I did manage to score myself a personal tour guide to drive me out to the mountains for a day. But that’s for another post!
If you’ve not got a Craftsy account you can watch my class with a 7 day FREE trial on Craftsy Unlimited (as well as a ton of other classes).
Note: Affiliate links are used in this post because, as an instructor, a I receive a higher rate of royalties for referrals than standard views or purchases. Though obviously I’d be bigging up my class regardless!