Electric Music Video - The Sleepover Scene

Part two of the music video for 'Electric' was filmed the week after. This scene was a girly sleepover and was so much fun (and much less cold).

We went into hair and make-up and all got big eyelashes and cute pigtails for the scene. Then we put on our pajamas and were ready to go!

The room set was a bedroom with lots of pillows and girly decorations (including our favourite plate of cookies which slowly dwindled during the scene. Oops.)
We attempted to practice the routine we had to learn then got to filming! It was fun jumping around on the bed and singing to the camera, plus the other girls (Sarcha and Petra) were great to work with. We did a few takes from different angles and then a few takes to the sped up version of the song (which will be sped down again for slow motion shots).

Then it was time for my favourite part... the pillow fight! The pillows were stuffed with feathers and went everywhere! We did get some in our mouths and eyes and the cookies turned a bit fluffy but I think it looked awesome and was heaps of fun!

There is also behind the scenes footage for this shoot, so again keep an eye on www.projectsundaytv.com to see it when it comes out.

Electric Music Video - The Beach Scene

I was so excited to film my first music video for the song 'Electric' on Wednesday! Heaps of organisation was involved and we were running around last minute trying finish off staff lists, permits and of course a get whole lot of Champagne...

The first drama was the weather. Filming on the beach is risky, especially when you only have a permit and all the staff for the one day. The day after our scheduled filming was going to be sunny and things were heating up to 30 degrees by the end of the week... Wednesday, however...was forecast to rain. Well we were very lucky that it was not wet but it was still freezing and there was a serious wind chill factor!!

We arrived at the prep venue and myself and all the models/dancers/extras went into hair, make-up and styling. The designer of Stiletto and Martini came down to dress up the extras and rows of make-up artists were waiting to transform us. It was a girls favourite playground (though the boys had to get their make-up done too..hehe).

Soon it was time to get down to the beach, so there was a last minute rush of curlers, bronzing, glittering and lip gloss then we headed out into the freezing wind to shoot.
We happily took over a cafe near the location to keep warm and get a quick brief on the day then it was jackets off and onto the sand to pretend it was a hot beach party haha.

We filmed lots of dancing shots, a huge Champagne popping scene where we got Champagne all over us and then the storyline of the clip. I had to run into the water with the male lead at the end which I was not looking forward to.. but the water was actually warmer than the wind!

Well even though by the end of the day I felt 'electrocuted' from shivering instead of 'electric' it was still a fun day, met some awesome people and hopefully got some great shots! There is heaps of behind the scenes footage for Project Sunday (projectsundaytv.com) so watch out for that to see more.

A HUGE shout out to all the extras in the beach scene, the wonderful make-up artists and stylists, Peter Duong the Photographer, the set manager and of course Kenny the producer.

Love Affair Shoot

Here are some photos from a shoot I did with photographer Srdjan. I had to shoot four gorgeous dresses from Love Affair clothing which was fun! I wanted to keep them haha!
This is the shoot that was filmed behind the scenes for 'Project Sunday' (projectsundaytv.com) so you can all watch me trying to walk up really steep stairs to the changing area from the studio in high heels haha.
The shoot had some cool props; silver trees, pot plants, roses, autumn leaves, apples and chairs so they were fun to work with, though i did get a little silver paint on me oops.
Well I won't tell you anymore because you can watch it when it comes out on the show!

Shoot in the Park

Haha this was just a shoot we did with our own SLR camera down in the local park.
It wasn't professional or anything we were just playing around and seeing what we could create.
I kind of like the result though! Reminds me of lazy days picking flowers and lying in the grass.
What do you think?

Project Sunday

A camera has been following me around to shoot for the TV show 'Project Sunday' which will be coming out early 2009!
The cameras came to a photo shoot I did which was cool! So you guys can see behind the scenes when it comes out. You can watch online or on TV.
Check out www.projectsundaytv.com for more updates.
The camera also came to my house and filmed me in my 'natural habitat' haha! You can see lots of the impulse buys which fill up the house, like poles and massage tables and other ridiculous things.
The show is generally about the journeys of 3 singers, myself, Sesha and Katja who are all working with a producer Kehinde aka DJKZ.
I wonder how I will look on TV...? Probably like a massive fool...but whatever! You can all laugh at the silly things I do hehe.

Photography

Well since I have been in front of the camera I thought it was about time I got behind it!
I've always loved photography and used to bug my sister to be my model hehe! I also did computer graphics and Photoshop studies so I figured that was enough to get me going.
Haha I gave my baby sister cat eyes!
Let me know what you think!

Paint Shoot

This was so fun! The shoot was for a make-up company and I had to have paint dripping all over my face!
The other model had jewels stuck all over her which was so pretty but she could hardly open her eye the jewels were so heavy. I'm glad I got to do paint, much more messy and fun!
So I got make-up done, which was just a few random bright colours and pink lips. I took a photo with my phone to see the look before the paint came into it!
The paint was cold when it went on! They dripped it all over me haha. I wasn't so happy when it went into my eye and started hurting a bit but the make-up artist got it out and we kept going so it was all fine.
I had so much fun. Lucky there were showers at the studio so I could try and get the paint off. The blue seemed to be very stubborn though and I couldn't get rid of that blue stain for a few days haha. On the tram home I think I still had some paint in my hair because I was getting some funny looks hehe.

Peach Tree

Haha ok I admit I am a bit of a plant nerd! One day I ate a delicious peach and decided to grow a peach tree.
I put the pip in the fridge for a few months and planted it in a tiny pot labeled 'Future Peach Tree'. I was SO excited when it actually sprouted and had to keep transferring it into bigger pots.
Then this spring it blossomed! Gorgeous pink blossom! It was getting to big for it's pot again so I transferred it to the ground and now it has tiny furry buds which I hope will be peaches!
It is my baby! Haha!

Mermaid Shoot

I have always wanted to be a mermaid! And at this shoot I got to live out that dream!
Sideshow are opening a store in Melbourne Central so they need promo material and stuff to put on the walls of the shop.
As Sideshow refers to a circus sideshow, this was the theme of the shoot. I got to be the mermaid!
Hair and make-up was fun! I got extension pieces put in my hair and it was all teased and messed up. Shells and seaweed were added too haha!
My eyes were shimmery green and I got to wear awesome long false lashes with beads that looked like water droplets on the ends.
We had some issues taping the shell top on but managed in the end!
I did a few shots by myself and with the rest of the models but my main role was to help show off the menswear. I worked with a male model (the ringmaster) who's jacket was getting pulled by the vicious sea mermaid to reveal the t-shirts from the sideshow range.
I loved this shoot! But sitting on the stool was a bit of a challenge... As the tail was pinned around my legs, if I had fallen I just would have gone straight onto the ground haha! And sitting on that tiny stool for hours was a little painful, but worth it! There was also a hilarious incident when one of the shells fell off and I was stuck on the stool and couldn't move to get it!
We ate some fairyfloss and popcorn off the set and got to take home a toffee apple so that was a nice bonus as a LOVE fairyfloss! I want to go to the circus!
Check out some behind the scenes shots I took on my phone!

Fashion Writing

Yay! I decided to combine some of my interests and start fashion writing for a few different publications!
At the moment I'm working with www.stylemelbourne.com
Check out the site for some good updates from the fashion world, I think it's a really cute site.
It's a pretty cool deal working with them because I get sent to some great parties, events and runways plus have made some handy connections with photographers and designers. I also get to interview bands sometimes which is fun!

Brazilian Orphanage

Well I'm so excited because I have booked a trip to South America! I am going to volunteer with kids in Brazil. It's something I've always really wanted to do and hopefully I will be able to continue doing similar things for the rest of my life.
I'm going with a program called Cross-Cultural Solutions.
I spoke to mX to do an article for them and was really excited to talk about why I wanted to go and everything that I wanted to do in Brazil, but the person interviewing me just kept repeatedly asking me about hair straighteners and my 'fave celebs' which was really not the point! Haha! Well anyway the article made me sound like a bit of a bimbo so that was funny but a bit frustrating at the same time.
Another article published in my local paper made me sound like a real goodie goodie wanting to save the whole world. Haha! Well I do want to save the world but I think I'll have to take it one small step at a time...
What I really want to do first is be a good influence on the kids so that hopefully they wont enter into cycle of violence and use any education we can give them to get ahead.
Well those interviews taught me a lesson in the media for sure! Be careful what you say because people will present you in whatever light they want to!

Dolphins!

What an awesome summer! I was so excited because I got to swim with the Dolphins at Sea world in Queensland! That has been my dream for ages!

I finished my book!

YAY! I finally finished my book! So it has a name and an ending now... It is titled 'Eva' and you will just have to read it to find out the ending...hehe.
It's still a work in progress as I am doing the final read through and edit at the moment, but I still can't believe I got it all down! It's so much energy doing a 2 thousand word essay for Uni, but it actually felt a lot easier to write around 70 thousand words for the book! I guess I was on an inspired roll haha.
I tried to combine an exciting story with some really thought provoking ideas. Hopefully that has come across in the book.
Well I'll keep you all updated!

Playboy Mansion

Classic! Me and my friend won a trip to the Playboy mansion! HAHA!
So in preparation we spent a few hours watching that hilarious mansion show, donned our pink bunny ears, annoyed the entire plane with our pink bunny ears and set off for West Hollywood baby!
I dragged my friend into every Victoria Secret store we passed, visited Disneyland, shopped on Sunset Boulevard and got accosted by a sleazy Jack Sparrow lookalike and various rappers. Oh yeah, and we went to the Playboy mansion for a day!
We got picked up in a limo, got jumped on by Kendra's dogs, had lunch, fed monkeys, met some scantily clad girls, met some flamingos (I was so excited about the Flamingos), and got a nice tour of the mansion. Fun! Our tour guide was one of the playmates but she was surprisingly down to earth and not vapid at all.
Well it was an experience that's all I can say!

A night at Baroq

This was one of my favourite runways!
I did two parades, Fashion Incubator and the Sideshow Lingerie parade.
Went in for hair and make-up and there were about forty staff there! So sat down and got my first look done, we all had straight hair and red lips.
The other models didn't seem very nice and chatty so I just talked with my hair and make-up people so keep entertained.
Hair and make-up was done over my usual dinner time so lucky I brought some snacks! But the designers had brought some sandwiches along for us to eat anyway. I found it funny that the male models ate most of them before we got out of hair and make-up though. Oh boys!
Anyway the first show was lots of fun, we had to walk down two sections of the runway, the VIP section then the main runway. It was so dark and all I could see were cameras flashing so I felt like I was going to fall off the end of the catwalk! A couple of the other models stopped a little short so I made sure I kept walking haha scary! That would have been funny if someone had fallen off.
After the first parade I had to go back into hair and make-up for the second look. I had curly hair this time and plum lips with a big beauty spot drawn on! It looked good on the runway but going home I looked quite strange... I got to wear some absolutely gorgeous lingerie for the parade! I wanted to take them home...hehe
I was the designers model who came out with them at the end for both parades so I was excited about that too!
Check out the photos!

Stilettos in Cyberspace

Ah fashion week again!
This parade was for Die Pretty, a street label. Hair and make-up took ages because the eye makeup was done all smokey black then airbrushed silver over the top. Hair was done up in crazy loops.
Usually I like hair and make-up but this time I was just getting a bit sick of being stabbed in the face and head haha! Well it was all worth it cause it turned out to be a fun parade.
The show was set to a multimedia presentation which was so cool cause it looked like winged hearts were flying over the walls. I don't have many photos from the night but there is one taken from the crowd.

Gig with VHP

I started working with DJKZ and this was the first gig I did with them! It was really fun and promo CD's from VHP Records were given out to everyone who came along.
Each of the performers had a little section with a video introduction with clips from our interviews. In mine I was talking about how the first song I ever wrote was when I was 3 and it was called 'I never thought a Seahorse could drown'. Haha! How poignant for a 3 year old...he tried to cling on to the seaweed but got swept away..tragic.
Here are some snaps of me performing at various gigs.

Toff Midnight Runway

Yay! I love runway! I did two parades for different designers on the same night in a big joint parade.
My hair was teased like it had never been teased before...but it was a fun night!
Some of the clothes I wore were pretty cool.
The first parade was pretty simple, just the usual walk and turn and loop but the second one had choreography I needed to remember. I'm a dancer so it wasn't too hard, but I did make an effort to steer clear of the many bottles of Champagne behind the scenes!
When I got onto the runway, the red sparkly dress, as pretty as it was, kept almost falling off! I couldn't wear a bra under it so luckily I managed to keep it up or more than the cameras would have been flashing that night...haha.

SideShow Design Spring/Summer Shoot

This shoot was really fun!
Sideshow designs lingerie, dresses, casual...well just about everything actually. They like their shoots to be kind of creepy and crazy like a real circus sideshow so I got to dress up and kind of play a character which I love to do!
First I did some lingerie shots and the vibe was kind of old Hollywood/pin up. Very glamorous! Then I did one where I looked a little like an evil librarian and finally one with a long mermaid type dress!
Check out the photos! You can also see me on their website www.sideshowdesign.com.au

My Book!

The summer after finishing school I was so happy to have more time on my hands to do what I really wanted to do! In the car one day, a story popped into my head so I decided to write it. It didn't really have an ending and I thought this idea would probably end up like all my others; not even half written and then neglected with the only trace of them lying hidden on an ancient floppy disk under my bed. But whenever I had the spare time, I just wrote a little bit more of this story that didn't have a name or an ending yet...

A Photo

I just wanted to put this up because I like the vibe this photo has. What do you guys think?

MusicOz Awards

Yay! I entered the MusicOz awards and was a runner up for my song 'Revival'. Unfortunately I couldn't go up to NSW for the actual night because I as busy with exams at school, but I was pretty excited anyway! Good to know that someone likes the songs I write!
Thanks to Danny Goodoy who helped me with the music to that song!

Random Portfolio Shots

I could show you some old shots of the first portfolio I did when I was about 13 or 14, but they are really quite hilarious and terrible so I will give you a rundown of the shoot I did for my more recent portfolio instead hehe.

I was sent off to do a shoot in a great studio just of Chapel Street so I was pretty excited! We took a few shots in the studio which was heaps of fun...but THEN the photographer decided it would be a great idea to take some frames on location...in a bikini... AH!

Well it was quite funny I had to hide in a shop changing room to get into the bikini then got some very strange looks as we were shooting. Maybe it would have looked more normal if we were shooting on the beach but no...we were shooting in the middle of Chapel Street.

Despite me being a little shy in a bikini amongst many confused shoppers at first, the day was really fun. It was super hot though and went all throughout lunch so one handy tip I learned from the day was to always bring snacks and a bottle of water!

Check out some of the shots from the day!

Welcome!

Hi!
Welcome to MelJade.com!
Here you can read about all my endeavors and I'll keep you up to date with everything that's going on with singing, modeling, writing and life in general.
Thanks for dropping by!
xx Mel