Two Weeks Prior….

We received a call from the marketer for Mosdos Kever Rochel, a kollel that operates around the clock year-round at the kever of Rochel Imeinu. We did their videos for the past two years for their annual campaign on Mamma Rochel’s yahrtzeit. Last year’s production was a music video of “V’shavu Banim,” written and composed by Chayala Neuhaus, and the lyrics and footage resonated with viewers, garnering more than 350,000 views to date.

“We want to build on the success of last year’s video,” the marketer explained. “We’d use the same song, with a couple of adjustments.”

We discussed various options and concluded with two main directives: (1) The lyrics (and accompanying footage) would be less October 7 specific than last year’s, and (2) last year we had Baruch Levine and Benny Friedman as our singers, but this year we would use a choir of boys, bringing a certain innocence and purity to the song.

Piece of Cake

Our to-do list was pretty straightforward: Put together a group of boys to act as the choir and book an appropriate venue for filming them. Last year, we filmed the singers next to a piano, but this video wasn’t as simple. The actual vocals would be sung in the studio by a couple of boys, but it was important to the client that we show a larger choir. We weren’t concerned, however, as we figured we could secure a location and then put out a casting call for elementary school boys a day or two before the shoot. The client also requested a simple storyline, with shots of a boy visiting his father in a hospital to help build the emotion. We’ve done this sort of thing before, we have facilities in Lakewood we’re comfortable working with, so we knew it wouldn’t be difficult. We did some soft planning, but we couldn’t begin preparing in earnest until we had the final lyrics and a basic track.

Complications, Said the Doctor

We had penciled a Tuesday in early November for the shoot, as we’d need at least a week’s lead time for editing. But when we received the draft of the new track at the end of October, we realized things might not be as simple as we’d assumed. Producer Doni Gross had done a masterful job mixing the vocals, with complex harmonies weaving in and out of the melody; it would take a lot of practice for the “choir” to lip sync convincingly, as they’d need to learn several stanzas and accompanying harmonies, not just one simple chorus. That meant we needed a preexisting group, one that was comfortable with each other, and with the ability to practice before shoot day.

At this point, senior production manager Moshe Niehaus began working the phones in earnest. The easiest would be to bring in a professional choir, but as the season was just starting, choirs didn’t have the time to take on a new project, so he reached out to schools that would have a large enough room to film in, and conceivably enough boys interested in acting as the choir. Though Moshe followed several promising leads including a school in Manhattan and a yeshivah in Passaic, they all fell through. One location had too many windows, and the lighting would be tricky to control. Another option would be available only in the late afternoon, not giving us enough time for setup. And so on.

Shoot day was fast approaching, and although we had a camera crew, lighting specialist, and even musicians on standby, we still needed a location and choir!

School Saves Shoot

Monday morning, the day before our anticipated shoot day, Moshe was discussing the logistics frustrations with his neighbor, Rabbi Yehuda Kohn.

“I may have an idea for you,” Rabbi Kohn said cautiously. “You know I’m a rebbi in Monsey, right? Obviously, I’d have to clear it with the menahel, but I think you can use my class as the choir and the basement of the school as the location.”

Though he wasn’t sure how nice the basement was, Moshe explained that as long as the space was large enough, we would dress it up with drapes and lighting. And underground was actually a plus, as it avoided the window issue! It would also help to have a cohesive group for the choir, as they’d be comfortable with each other and even have time to practice.

Hospital Emergency

With our biggest challenges behind us — we had a “choir” and location — we could finally relax. And then the client called back.

“Remember how we discussed filming a boy visiting his sick father in the hospital? Once we’re filming in a school, can we give the storyline more depth by showing him in class, having a hard time focusing as he thinks about his father?”

It was a nice idea, but our actors and hospital were in Lakewood, and the school was in Monsey! It was time to work the phones again. After several tries, we succeeded in securing a new medical facility in Monsey, and a different child actor — Rabbi Kohn’s son, actually — who could sit in the Monsey class. All that was left was to ask the Lakewood “sick father” if he would be willing to travel, which he was.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 1041)