Grand Rapids Lipdub Video Shoot: Everyone Is Welcome

If you have wondered where Rob Bliss has been as of late, the easy answer is planning his next event. But as I walked the streets of Grand Rapids listening to what those plans entail, it is clear he has planned probably his largest and riskiest creative endeavor to date.

For those who have missed this trend, a lip dub is a music video captured in one long shot, continuous and unedited, with all participants lip-syncing to a song.

The trend has been done elsewhere, but Grand Rapids has never attempted one on this level before.  

The lipdub has popped up on area campuses over the years with Calvin College landing on the Huffington Post as one of the best in 2010. Lip dubs have even crossed the hipster barrier to be featured on The Office. It is nothing new, but it is when you look at the scale that Bliss is seeking to replicate.

As I walk the streets, I am fascinated as to how Bliss will be getting his card punched by various groups, from politicians who must approve his events to the events’ rites of passage through the GRFD (which has a prominate role in this video). Even the media and social media will be there side by side in this one long take.

What is equally fascinating is not the choice of song (“American Pie,” by Don Mclean), but how he has woven his own history carefully into the city’s, which is portrayed throughout the choreography.

And here is where it gets weird for some but heck, why shouldn’t he do it this way? It is his project, and name another person who in the last 10 years who was able to make people want to feel or be a part of something.

The public is invited to be a part of this video and Bliss hopes that a couple thousand people will make the journey downtown this Sunday to be an extra in this interesting and playful look at our city. Plan on being there from 10 a.m. to 3ish and be sure to bring a big sack lunch. As one who used to work on film productions, these kinds of affairs can run at a glacial pace but are worth it when you get to see the finished produce.  

So come on down and join the fun. It is going to be a change of pace from being a tulip peeper in Holland — that much I can guarantee.

If it rains, please visit his Facebook event page for details on the rain date.

Admission: Free