That Time I Was in a Music Video in Armenia...

I have to say that when I accepted the position to become a Peace Volunteer in Armenia I knew I would have some interesting experiences in this ancient land and culture. After living and working in Armenia for one year I’ve had the opportunity to go sheepherding with a Yazidi family on two occasions, I’ve eaten cow and sheep head in its entirety, and seen about 70% of the major historical and tourist attractions in Armenia. I knew I’d have the occasion to meet some remarkable people too but the last thing I ever expected was to take part in a music video.

In early May 2017, the staff member in charge of Public Relations for Peace Corps Armenia contacted me and said that they were looking to make a music video for the 25 year anniversary of Peace Corps in Armenia and the video would highlight the experiences of what of us Volunteers go through once we arrive. Since one of the organizations I work with is a disability rights/advocacy NGO, I was asked to see if my beneficiaries would like to take part in the music video recording one of the photography classes I offer. I spoke to my counterparts about this and floated the idea to them and afterwards they said the beneficiaries would love to take part in it.

A few days later, the staff and 10 of our beneficiaries, drove down to the capital to begin the filming session. Our scene was filmed at a sports complex on a rainy afternoon. The room was quite large and filled with lighting and recording equipment everywhere. After we got settled in then all of has had to go through hair and makeup too. There was even a fashion expert to help choose which outfit I would wear.

The clip of our section in the music video shows me teaching my photography class alongside my colleague Rosa, a Sign Language Interpreter, and our beneficiaries who represent various types of disabilities we work with at our NGO. In case you don’t know much about music, video, or any other type of production it is long and tedious work. We had to do multiple takes because the director said someone was looking into the camera when they shouldn’t have, someone wasn’t looking happy or engaged enough, the lighting wasn’t right, we needed to show more enthusiasm, etc…. Once we managed to get the right scene completed we were rewarded with doing it all over again but from different angles and then for close-ups. My beneficiaries and I shot this scene for nearly 4 hours and were quite tired afterwards. They had a great time though and were quite excited to see the end result. I had to tell them the music video would be released at the Swear In Ceremony in early June.

I thought that was going to be it for me but was told that I would be used in two more scenes in the background. Apparently in the next scene, I would be in the background with about 15 other Peace Corps Volunteers lip synching and dancing with the Armenian pop star, Nick Egibyan in front. The filming took place in a Soviet era building that appeared to be abandoned but still used by local filming crews. Just like before, we had to go through hair and make up again and wait for the production crew to set up. There was even a catering service there too!

Most of the time there we were waiting and waiting so I decided to take pictures of the production crew getting the set ready and of my fellow Peace Corps Volunteers getting prepared. Eventually the director arrived as well as the star, Nick. Nick was pretty cool and down to earth and immediately started giving us dancing moves he wanted us to do in the background. Luckily for me the moves weren’t complicated for a non-dancer like me. My colleagues were really into it and had a lot of fun. Just like before, the production was a long and tedious process where we had to do multiple retakes because someone wasn’t looking into the right direction, not looking happy enough, or dancing too sexy, etc. and then do it all over again from multiple angles. We were there for about 4 hours and by the end of the evening when I got back to the hostel I was completely exhausted.

The final scene I was in was with about two dozen other Peace Corps Volunteers and we were simulating our Armenian language class we did during our Pre-Service Training by going though our vocabulary exercises. The shooting took place at American University in Yerevan. The building was immaculate and high tech and not really representative of the actual conditions we studied in at our training villages. Filming lasted over 3 hours and I was relieved when it was done.

At the Swearing In ceremony on June 2nd the music video was played to a jam-packed audience and it was the first time I got to see it. I got a chuckle watching the music video and happy to see my beneficiaries were looking good and happy. It also got a lot applause from the audience too.  In the end, it was a great experience for my beneficiaries and I and I’m sure it will give us something to talk about and laugh about in a few years…