# The Grand Rapids "American Pie" LipDub. Must see!!! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 29, 2011, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grand-rapids-american-pie-lipdub-must-see/583673 "2011-05-29T17:29:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grand-rapids-american-pie-lipdub-must-see/583673/21 "2011-06-02T03:09:02Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Yeah, it’s good!!!.. > but may I have permission to be a spoilsport? > > After all those comments, I was expecting something amazing, inspiring and chilling. After all that buildup, what I got was a letdown. It was nice; but no more so than, say, a Superbowl halftime show, or a charity fundraiser for a good cause. Or those huge setups of dominos where a million dominos fall in precision. > > To make the video, they just closed off 4 city streets surrounding a park, then drove around them for 9 minutes and 49 seconds, ending up at the helicopter. Along the way, the organizers pre-positioned groups of 15 or 20 people every 300 yards, and told them to wait till the vehicle passes by, and then do a certain action for 15 seconds (have a pillow fight, run a football play, shoot squirt guns, sit in the back seat of a convertible, or just walk down the middle of the road with a guitar.)The music was playing over loudspeakers, so it’s not hard for the people to sing along with the words. > > Then,wherever the vehicle is along its route, and no matter what direction the cameraman points his camera, there will be 15 or 20 people singing and doing something in unison. > > It’s nice…to be sure. Yeah, that’s so easy to do, that every city does it often. Ho-hum, even. Can’t imagine why people seem to like it. And the 5 takes or so they did impresses nobody. In fact, I’m disappointed. Why aren’t the firemen out fighting fires and the police out arresting hardened criminals instead of having a good time? Stupid city. Stupid promoter. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grand-rapids-american-pie-lipdub-must-see/583673/22 "2011-06-02T03:28:08Z")
Is it considered so good just because it was all in one take, though? Like, if they used cuts to do it, would it still be considered a great vid? That is, are we admiring the fact that they were able to pull it off or the artistic quality of the vid? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grand-rapids-american-pie-lipdub-must-see/583673/23 "2011-06-02T06:49:03Z")
I think it’s due to a number of factors, including the continuous take. Things were well-planned and well-executed just in time. It had interesting diversions and synchronizations (like the kayakers and explosions). The cameraman’s timing was vital – it looks like he got in and out of the gator several times, then in the helicopter backwards – and it would have ruined the take if he stumbled. The steadycam harness made the whole thing smooth. Around every corner was another surprise and everyone did their part without a hitch. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grand-rapids-american-pie-lipdub-must-see/583673/24 "2011-06-02T07:08:03Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > That was fun, but they messed up the lyrics near the end. > \* > And the three men I admire most: > The father, son, and the holy ghost, > They caught the last **train** for the coast > The day the music died.\* > > This group sang “They caught the last bus for the coast”. ☹ I’m afraid not. This is a lip sync to a live performance _by Don McLean_. He sang “bus”. They just synced to him. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8797f3/32.png) [@The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Universe_Lashes_Out)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grand-rapids-american-pie-lipdub-must-see/583673/25 "2011-06-02T07:25:40Z")
Way to go Grand Rapids! You really proved you are not a relic of the mid-to-late-twentieth century by lip-synching a song from the mid-to-late-twentieth century! ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grand-rapids-american-pie-lipdub-must-see/583673/26 "2011-06-02T15:08:08Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Is it considered so good just because it was all in one take, though? Like, if they used cuts to do it, would it still be considered a great vid? That is, are we admiring the fact that they were able to pull it off or the artistic quality of the vid? It’s still a really neat video even if it had cuts. But the one take thing is really cool. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grand-rapids-american-pie-lipdub-must-see/583673/27 "2011-06-02T15:14:12Z")
I thought it was cool just to see that many people come together and make that much of an effort just to say, “Hey, we like this place!” You don’t see that kind of, I don’t know, optimism? Positivity? much these days. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grand-rapids-american-pie-lipdub-must-see/583673/28 "2011-06-03T01:15:13Z")
> [@The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](#): > > Way to go Grand Rapids! You really proved you are not a relic of the mid-to-late-twentieth century by lip-synching a song from the mid-to-late-twentieth century! Was that the day the music died? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grand-rapids-american-pie-lipdub-must-see/583673.md?page=1)