"High"
"High" Fun Fact #1
This song was the very first song I wrote after the release of my last album "Impeccable Love" back in July of 2016! I wrote this song at 12:36am, which is ironic because that's also the time we were actually shooting the music video over a year and a half later! šš
āHighā Fun Fact #2
A majority of the shooting for this music video took place on some of the highest parts of the city but most of my favorite scenes were shot in my car. Why? Because I feel like you all are actually in my car, in my life, just cruising down the street with me! šāØ
āHighā Fun Fact #3
I had no idea how I was going to capture the vision for this video all by myself. All my life, Iād been doing EVERYTHING for my music videos by myself and I really enjoyed it! No people, no pressure, no issues. However, the thought of trying to do this video alone was actually discouraging because I knew it was bigger than me. (How am I supposed to record my own self driving down the street?) I mean, I had ideas but this video wouldnāt have reached its full potential if I had tried to do it alone. This is the first video (of many to come!) where I actually worked with someone else to help bring the vision I had to life. Although I like the independence and freedom that comes from working alone, one person can only accomplish so much. Shooting with someone else helped me to stay focused (something not always easy for me) and brought wonderful insight into the making of this video. I was blessed to be able to edit it (I love video editing) and treat the shots as if they were my own but this video would not have been possible with just me.
God knows EXACTLY what we need and is faithful to ALWAYS provide it right on time. šš
āHighā Fun Fact #4
Unless you were looking for him, you would probably never spot my cousin making a cameo appearance in one of the scenes from this music video! When my parents saw the video, I literally had to pause and rewind it about 10 times AND POINT HIM OUT before they could spot him! Then they said he looked like a ghost and we laughed so hard that my dad started choking... My dad then said he wants to make a guest appearance in my next video but Iām already on it because Iām going to open my next music video up to the publicāall shapes, sizes, races, ages, etc. Itās going to be LIIIIIIT! But thatās a while from now. šš
āHighā Fun Fact #5
The temperature was below 30 degrees (and dropping) while we were shooting this video. I was shivering, hands numb, and my eyes kept watering because of the COLD wind blowing directly in my face. Even though the feeling was pretty miserable, I had the bigger picture in mind and thatās what helped me to push through! I prayed for the wind to be in my favor beforehand and it surely was so of course I was going to keep going until the end! In between takes, we would run to my car and sit with the heat on while our cameras and phones recharged. Now THATāS dedication!!! šš¤
āHighā Fun Fact #6
One of the scenes of this music video had me to ride in an elevator alone. At first I wasnāt phased by it, but then the elevator started going down (it was supposed to go up) and I thought someone was pressing the button from the bottom to get on with meāmind you, itās 11pm at this point! I had severe PTSD during the time of this video shoot so I had a full blown panic attack in the elevator and started pressing buttons like crazy. When I finally got back up to the level I was supposed to be on, the elevator opened and I ran out of there, totally ignoring the fact that I was supposed to be singing! My co-director didnāt even notice that the elevator took a while to open back up. Way to pay attention, dude! The most embarrassing part of it all, the cameras were rolling as soon as the elevator opened up so you can see how panicked I was! Thatās a blooper Iāll probably never show you guys! #SorryNotSorry #TheShowMustGoOn šš
āHighā Fun Fact #7
I normally go to bed between the hours of 8pm and 9pm so shooting this video on a Friday night where we STARTED shooting at 9pm was a HUGE stretch for me! Iād probably had 2 cups of energy tea and energy V8ās to keep me awake for the duration of the shoot. After midnight, I started getting cranky until something really heartwarming happened that recharged my passion for WHY I DO THIS! šāØ
āHighā Fun Fact #8
By the time we were driving around to get to our last shooting destination, it was well after midnight and I was tired of freezing, being awake, driving around, and ready to GO HOME and GO TO SLEEP. I was in a little bit of a funk because the shoot had taken a lot longer than expected due to our cameras dying. I honestly was just in game-mode, focused and ready to kill this last take so we could be finished with the shoot. We ended up driving past a church and I happened to look at the door and notice a homeless man lying there. My heart immediately went out to himāit was below freezing at this point and he had no blanket. I said a prayer in my heart, wishing I could do more for the man but I was literally exhausted, ready to go to bed, and didnāt think I had anything of value to offer him. After driving by, I couldnāt shake the image of him and told my camera-man that we needed to go back. I knew I felt the Holy Spirit leading me to do this so I had to do it, there was no ignoring Him this time. My camera-man was also in the same funk I was in but he accused me of hallucinating since he didnāt see a man at all! He actually had me questioning if Iād seen the man in the first place. After driving around and around to get back to the same spot we were in (there were a bunch of one-way streets), I pointed the homeless man out to him and he asked me what I could even do for the man. I didnāt know. But then⦠I remembered Iād JUST BOUGHT a blanket for the lake and put it in my trunk for when I go adventuring with my friends. Long story short, My camera-man ended up getting out of the car for me and laying the blanket on the manāwho, surprisingly, was reading a Bible and was so grateful for the blanket! The homeless man told him, āI know God loves me.ā What?!? WOW. I couldnāt stop praising God for how incredible He is. That night helped me put things into perspective. I was so humbled and honored that God would use me, a girl so focused on her own career and whatnot, to stop what Iām doing and do something MEANINGFUL like deliver an answer to someone elseās prayers. Yeah, what I do is great and fun but if Iām so focused on my music career that I canāt stop to help someone in need, Iāve missed the point. Creating music is an assignmentāthat I wouldnāt trade for the worldābut itās not my PURPOSE. My PURPOSE in this life is to lead people to the Life-Giver Himself. What an honor, man. This taught me an invaluable lesson: in the midst of our assignments, callings, missions, meetings, and whatever else we have going on, we HAVE to remember the bigger picture AT ALL TIMES. We cannot afford to go through life never looking up and being aware of our surroundings. God could use YOU to answer someone elseās prayers at ANY moment and we HAVE to āwatch and prayā for opportunities. Thereās no other feeling like it. God is always at work around us but the ultimate question is, are you going to be idle or be an instrument? šš
āHighā Fun Fact #9
Iāve been editing videos since age 7 and editing this music video was the most fun and challenging task Iād ever had. It was stretching me because for the first time in my years of video editing, I had a theme to stick toānight life. There was a clear vision for this video and the success or failure to portray it lied in my hands. I knew my team had sacrificed a lot to even shoot it so I knew I couldnāt let them down. My entire family has known since I was a kid that when Iām working on a video, Iām basically hibernating for the next few weeksāsomeone please remind me to eat! I can stare at my screen from sun up to sun down and not even realize 11 hours just passed. Iām being so serious, too. I literally will only stop to use the bathroom and occasionally grab a snack (grapefruit cups are the best snack ever invented!) Iāve never taken a single class for video editing yet Iād say Iām extremely gifted in it. Itās like 1 John says, the Holy Spirit will be faithful to teach you everything you need to know for your calling! But donāt get me wrong, there is still so much left to learn! šš
āHighā Fun Fact #10
We shot this video back in November of 2017 and we started at 6pm on a Friday night and finished after 1am on a Saturday morning. It took us 7 WHOLE HOURS to shoot this 4 minute video and it took me 2 whole months to edit it! BUT THIS KIND OF STUFF FUELS MY PASSON! šš¤