Finding love while working in the industry can be tough, but sometimes you realize the people and the things you love the most are right there on set with you.
Music Video of Love Leads to Real Love?
When an acquaintance asked me to produce a music video for a local LA Pop Artist, Fiona Grey, I was over the moon to be a part of the project. I had only just ventured into becoming a producer and jumped at any opportunity I could get my hands on. The video he was going to direct and have me produce, was a cover of Blondie’s “Heart of Glass” to premiere on Valentine’s Day. Having a crew of three and $1,000 to make this video happen, the two of us spent many days in coffee shops and diners trying to figure out how to create an interesting and affordable piece. We basically took on the roles and responsibilities of at least 10 crew members each and somehow got this video out by Valentine’s Day and I loved every minute of it.
It was through the process of this video and the pre-production of the videos that came after, that my director and I started spending almost every day together. After working for hours, we would grab dinner together, go to the movies, and see random theatre shows. We became really good friends who started sharing our life journeys with one another and who developed inside jokes. Between the two of us, we expected nothing more, but to be friends. However, everyone around us noticed the sparks we did not see. Friends and family started questioning our relationship and even strangers would ask how long we had been married. After being asked enough about “us,” we decided to sit down and talk about it — if there really was an “us.” After all, can two people have a healthy dating relationship if they work together?
Mixing Work and Play
We quickly realized one of the reasons why we were so attracted to one another was because of the way we worked on projects and sets. I loved that he was full of abstract ideas, color schemes, references, and knew how to make a great story even in a little music video. He admired me for my work ethic, my organization skills, how dedicated I was to get the things I wanted and how I was good with people. We liked each other for who we were in our work and personal lives, so we decided to give being in a real relationship a try.
Working together every day can be a lot, so it is important to establish alone time for yourself and for one another. The good thing about working together each day is that we both understand and experience what the other is going through. For a lot of other couples out there, they have hardships or great things happen at work, but it can be difficult to explain to someone who does not understand the ins and outs of your industry. We can get so annoyed or think something is funny on set and once we get home, we can talk all about it in private. That also includes having to talk to each other if we were the ones who annoyed one another on set.
Working on pre-production together
Scouting together for a commercial
Keeping it Professional Without Losing Love
The big question that often comes up is, how do you keep it professional? It has actually been fairly easy for us and I believe it is because we started out as a director/producer team. We know how to have that professional relationship because we have always had it. When we are in pre-production, at meetings, or on a set, we are nothing more than that director and that producer. We might actually be more in tune on set because we understand each other on a personal level, but most of the time any new crew members will work with us multiple times before ever realizing we are together.
On set of Alien Alone together
On set of a music video together
The other side of that director/producer relationship means that it is difficult to leave work at work. Almost every single conversation we have in our personal lives ends up leading back to a work topic at some point. It is ingrained in us and it can be aggravating when one of us just wants the romance and the other cannot stop asking about what we thought about an actor, or if we have crew set, or if that one scene is going to work for the overall piece. We are work-ahalolics, but we admire each other for it. We have become conscious of those moments and choose to laugh it off so we start dancing around in the kitchen while we make dinner.
Date night Day trip
Find What You Love
Fiona Grey’s “Heart of Glass” music video will always be special in my eyes because it led me to find an amazing man and writer/director who I now constantly work with to create amazing pieces. Many of which have been through Tongal, such as our short film “Alien Alone,” Syfy idents, MiO social videos, and more. Shout out to Tongal for helping us keep the love alive!
So, love is always in the air (whether that entails a person or a career) and who knows where you’ll find it because I never would have thought a small music video for Valentine’s Day could help me find the career and man that I love. So, make sure to keep your eyes and hearts open Tongalers!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
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Note From Tongal: “How a Valentine's Music Video Led to Love" is part of a series of Tongal Community-written blog posts that were originally sourced in the Tongal Blog Open Call Project. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Tongal. Read more Tongal Community-written posts here and then Pitch us a topic you'd like to write about for the Tongal Blog!
