Springs Obliges Music Video

Wondering about the two signs that said "DNA" and were posted last week where North Main Street and Pantigo Road diverge in East Hampton?

They were directing vehicles to a house in Springs where a music video was being filmed. Made by a production company called DNA for the pop and rhythm-and-blues singer Mary J. Blige, the video eventually will be seen almost all over the world on such music television channels as MTV.

Despite the many vehicles, including white stretch limousines and several RVs, that converged on what is known to some in the community as "the round house" on Deep Six Drive, few were aware that a time-consuming and labor-intensive shoot was going on. Then again, those vehicles are not uncommon sights on the East End, whose architecture and landscape prove a popular backdrop for filmmakers.

A Hive

But much more is involved in filming a video. In this case, all the equipment used to shoot a feature-length film and many sleepless hours will result in a video of four minutes and 54 seconds, lengthy by song and video standards.

Shot April 30 and last Thursday, the video was made for "I Can Love You," a song off Ms. Blige's most recent album, "Share My World," released by the MCA recording label.

One who was involved estimated there were some 100 people working at the site, between makeup and hair artists, clothes stylists, production technicians, camera operators, caterers, the director and producer, the soundman, "extras," and of course Ms. Blige herself. Bright lights were visible to passing motorists and the many vehicles on the seldom traveled small street gave some clues that something big was going on.

Modern Lines

The owner of the house, a semi-retired photography dealer who asked that her name not be used, was put up in the J. Harper Poor Cottage in East Hampton for the duration of the shoot. She said she was well paid for the use of her house and protected by a security deposit and the production company's insurance, but did not divulge the figure.

It was curiosity to see what was going on, as well as a desire to visit her cat, that led her to return to her house last Thursday evening. The dwelling has been used for fashion shoots in the past, she noted, and is popular for such uses because of its modern lines.

Nancy Grigor of Amagansett, the owner of Hamptons Locations, found the site for the video. According to Ms. Grigor, the director was originally looking for a beach house with lots of windows. The East End seemed a logical choice since Ms. Blige lives in Huntington and DNA would be working out of its New York City office (it has another in Hollywood).

Just A Skeleton

When an ideal house fitting that description couldn't be found, Ms. Grigor rounded up other options and showed them to the director, Kevin Bray, only the weekend before the shoot. He went back to the city to confer with others involved, preferred "the round house," and the decision was made.

The recording label offers its objective, a general idea of what it would like to see in the video based on the song, and from there, the director said, he creates the video. "That's a skeleton and I just put the detail into that," said Mr. Bray, who amid the chaos last Thursday night took time out to speak to a reporter and pose for a photographer.

Except for one opening, the house is a circle with a small round pool and surrounding patio at its center. All along the interior are ceiling-to-floor glass panes, providing the director and cinematographer the perfect opportunity to shoot scenes that began at one end of the house and ended at another.

From Room To Room

"It's actually a very simple and elegant house," offered the owner. "You can't get a real good idea of it like this," she said from a room where she and other outsiders spent some time staying out of last Thursday night's rain and out of the way of the crew.

What viewers will see when the video is released will be Ms. Blige getting out of bed at one end of the house and making her way through the hallways until she comes to a party happening in the living room at the other end. There, goes the story line of the video, she meets a former lover, true to a common theme from Ms. Blige's songs about finding balance in love.

Interspersed will be other scenes also filmed at the Springs location. One was shot in the house's bathroom, where a deep round marble tub was filled with blue milk, it was said, for Ms. Blige to bathe in.

Rain Pains

Another scene was shot in the woods behind the house. To make the shot the director wanted, the camera had to travel exactly where the owner had recently planted ferns. They could not ruined, she told them.

No problem: The production crew built a bridge for the camera that passed over the stretch of ferns and allowed the shot to be made but left the ferns untouched.

Things were a little chaotic on the second and last day of the shoot, to a great extent because of the rain. Equipment set up outside (a camera was to sit atop the pool and pan around the inside of the house) had to be dismantled and moved to drier ground.

"I think they're running behind because of the rain," Ms. Grigor said. "It takes them hours to set up, and then it starts to rain."

Star Was Bummed

Not only did the rain mean problems with setting up and breaking down equipment, it also meant problems with "continuity" in filming. If the ground is glistening with water in one scene, it has to be the same in the next.

Also, because the rain was putting the shoot behind schedule, Ms. Blige was elusive last Thursday night, staying in her camper until the very second shooting was to begin.

"Because of the circumstances, the weather, I think she's a little bummed out," offered the director. "It's her video."

"This is a big production," he continued. "She's a platinum artist."

And, as Twinky, of the Brooklyn-based Picture Perfect Casting company, who picked the group of handsome male dancers who will also be seen in the video, noted, singers are not necessarily actors, and having to star in their own video can be a nerve-wracking experience.

Sleepless In Springs

Since the video consists almost entirely of night shots, filming both days started at night and went into the wee hours of the morning.

"I haven't slept for about 26, 27 hours," the production manager, Hannah Wittich, said when she took a minute to talk. "Actually, that was a while ago. Now it's probably more like 40."

All the work, bodies, and equipment aside, by early Friday morning, everything was cleaned up, the homeowner's belongings were returned to exactly where they had been before the crews arrived, and the crews and equipment were gone. If one hadn't witnessed the activity oneself, it might be hard to believe it even took place.

"You'd be surprised what a good job they do" cleaning up afterward, Ms. Grigor said of the crew. A few small marks on the house's carpet were the only telltale signs, and even those were to be steam-cleaned.

Otherwise, not a cigarette butt was left behind: They even raked the driveway on the way out.