Still A Friend Of Mine (Barbie Version) – Behind The Scenes Video
There are several ways to prepare for a video shoot.
Sometimes we go into a shoot with nothing more than a rough idea of the visual concept, sometimes we draw a storyboard of the different shots and angles, and sometimes we actually film dummy videos first to mimic and plan the final video.
In the case of “Still A Friend Of Mine” we did the latter but with Barbies … yes, you read that right, Barbie Dolls.
Since the actual day of filming for the final video involved a whole crew, other musicians, a rented theatre room, a rented piano and a very limited amount of time we wanted to be as prepared as possible to make sure we would get it all done in the few hours we had.
So we decided to pre-shoot the whole video with us as dolls to already figure out the best lighting, framing, timing and cut and then simply sent it to the film crew for reference.
Usually, when you see us in a video it’s our dad Rudi behind the camera or us filming each other, but when all 3 of us are in frame, as in the case of “Still A Friend Of Mine”, we need to hire more people. We can only imagine their faces when they first opened the Barbie video file 😉
We went online and bought the entire Barbie supply of every mother in a 50-mile radius whose kids have moved on to video games.
Now we have a worryingly large amount of loose body parts, single shoes and small plastic birthday cakes in our attic but if you’re ever specifically looking for a tan, black haired doll with green eyes and some angel wings – hit us up, we’ve probably got one.
(We counted … 96 dolls)
The two of us had way too much fun looking through everything and picking out the right stand-ins for the video. And yes, we shampooed their hair, cut and blow-dried it to make them look more like us. Guess the 8-year-olds in us got a bit too excited. While we were busy doing that, dad decided to build his own white miniature piano … out of paper:
It has pedals, moving parts and everything!
What’s that? Overkill?
Well, it now sits on our bookshelf and gets complimented by nearly every visitor. So it wasn’t only a very useful video prop but is now a fantastic conversation starter and room decor 😉 It’s actually well complementing the miniature guitars, bass and drums we got sent from one of you lovely guys.
We initially never intended to share this video with anyone, but once the MLT Club got born, it just seemed too amusingly odd not to show you. We hope you enjoyed “Still A Friend Of Mine – The Barbie Edition”.
If you want to compare it to the original, you can re-watch it here:
Stay groovy,
Mona & Lisa
Your Barbie video is enjoyable and a very good way to do a demo video. I enjoy your behind the scenes videos and this is one of the most interesting ones. Your imagination is not limited to music.
Thank you.
That is so cool. How creative to do a demo video with dolls and miniature equipment.. That is such a beautiful song and the video is one of my favorites. I love seeing how creative minds work.
One thing I have to add about the official video…. The music is beautiful. The people are beautiful, but the best part about that video, when Lisa is done singing, the camera starts doing a close-up and you can see Mona turn her head and look at her sister …. There’s something about that…that is very cool.🤓
I just watched the making of “still a friend of mine” ! The four of you actually have a “mastermind” that rivals any Hollywood or music industry production! It proves that people with talent can go way farther than people with just money! Every video I have watched is very impressive! And the “making of” videos make them even more impressive! Of course, your original songs are fantastic! Great job! I am so glad I came across your Beatles “ when I’m 64” video a few months ago!
This song is so good that even Barbie and Ken do a great job. Thank you again for sharing the work in progress that goes into these first class videos
HI,
I just watched the Barbie video for the first time here in Dec of 2022.
Still A Friend of Mine was always one of my favorite original MonaLisa songs and videos.
I very much enjoyed watching this Barbie version. So cute.
I started contacting some friends of mine and said – Hey Mattel just issued some Mona & Lisa Barbie Dolls. Hey that’s a wonderful idea. They should. Maybe I’ll contact the company?
Hugs,
Bobby S.
Wow! Kudos to Rudi. How talented at everything! This video is so fun, and also shows your perfectionist sides. Was that a violin top glued onto an electric guitar? Awesome details! So glad you decided to share it. You all rock!
Maddie loves this video Mona and Lisa! Thank you
Bill and Maddie Isenberg
what a lovely song… and the demo video! how creative … you 2 have indeed become friend(s) of mine. ????… CR
That was so cool. I never saw Barbie looking so good. And, I didn’t know she could sing like that. ????
Y’all did such an amazing job of capturing the idea of the video. Such details!! I never knew what all could go into the preparation for a video shoot. Amazing!! Still one of my favorite songs. So very beautiful. ????❤
Great idea, innovative. Looks like it would have been alot of fun, too!!
Papa Rudi is, indeed, an artist on all levels.
It’s easy to forget how much work goes into shooting one of your videos. It looks like you found a way to turn a perhaps tedious part of a job into a bunch of fun!
Hi Refugio. I agree with you. Their attention to every little detail on this is amazing. Every camera angle was planned ahead of time. I would think it was done by trial and error, or figure it out as they shoot it.
“But no, here is how we want this to look.” It reminds me of an architect visualizing a completed building prior to drawing the blueprints.
This prototype truly conveys the mood of this beautiful song.
But the finished product is our reward. The production quality of their videos has raised the bar to another level.
Did you watch the interview on Beatlerama Radio? It was very informative. I finally got a chance to watch it this evening. I am so impressed at how humble and polite Lisa and Mona are during interviews. Given how busy their young lives have been, they seem very grounded.
Here is a link to that interview. https://youtu.be/l4mUikPtOMw
JP Staying groovy in the Catskills
Your Dad Rudi, must have the patience of a saint. Mona and Lisa you are very lucky to have a great and
loving dad.
That’s an uncanny resemblance, those two videos.
I think that this is one of your most beautiful video shoots and one of your most extraordinary songs. It was very poignant to me and described my New York manager so very well that when he died of cancer this year, I dedicated this song to him on my Facebook Wall. Thank you for your exquisite sensitivity, dedication to your art, beauty and willingness to make every project like a new day … fresh, joyous, compassionate and loving …
I can’t say how much I love this. I love the original and the Barbie one cracks me up, but at the same time shows that there’s nothing coincidental in this family’s talent. There were only a few shots different in the final version, which goes to show that you understand the meaning of, and how to use the camera. Which is something that eludes most cameramen, incredibly.
Loved Joan Jett Barbie and Rudi Ken. I hope you continue to have fun and make more videos like this.
So, One More Time, chapeau.
Ha ha; this is bloody brilliant! My first impression after seeing the “behind-the-scenes” photos is that ya’ll have way too much time on your hands! Just kidding; just kidding!!!!! Whoa, these Euro-Barbies are way prettier than my wife and sisters’ 50’s and 60’s Yank-Barbies! Questions: You have 96 of them. Have they welcomed Anna and Elsa into their sorority of sisters? Or have they frozen out those two so that they cried and fled back to Austria? Just curious, of course! 😉
The Barbies look like Lady Gaga. You should be recognased as she is. A beautiful song, no matter if the video is with people, person or puppies (a suggestion, kkkk… I don’t know how to put a smile here, in english).
???? ???? ???????? Groovy!
That was fun to see. Very inventive. It’s like a video storyboard with the timing, lighting, camera moves all worked out. The end product shows the prelims were certainly worth doing.
Seattle Bob
It looks like keeping shoes on a Barbie doll is difficult to do. I hate wearing shoes anyways so I can relate. I must say, to some this will look a tad silly but as you pointed out, with all the directors in the family being in the shoot there had to be a way to communicate to the outsiders filming the video exactly where and what you wanted the crew with the camera(s) to focus on during certain parts of the song. You certainly wanted them to get those shots with as little wasted time on the set as possible. Like Goblins say “Time is money, friend”. I can’t wait to see the bloopers reel from the Barbie video shoot. Hope there were no “wardrobe malfunctions”.
LOL. That was hilarious
Well, I hope you put your dolls back in the toy box when you were done because Papa Rudi could step on one in the middle of the night while barefootin’. That is a joy I remember from years ago!! (Ouch!!) I like the planning aspect of this because it leaves little to chance in the video!!
Team MLT, you guys never cease to impress with your brilliance, ingenuity and multi-talent. It is amazing just how much planning and preparation goes into one of your video/music productions as we all witnessed in your “the Orange Album cover Making of” video a couple of months ago, and now in this “Still A Friend of Mine – behind the scenes..”video here. This is the kind of work one would expect in a Hollywood studio production by a team of professionals, but you guys do everything, and I mean literally everything yourselves, just blows me away, and that is another aspect I just love about MLT. It’s more than the music/album/videos you create, but the extreme artistry and craftsmanship that goes into everything you do. Thanks for sharing this. It is really inspiring to see.
So true, Jung. What they do is unbelievable. So talented
Now this is something to behold. What a different but very cool way to prepare for a shoot. Have you ever used the Barbies since for a pre shoot.? You all have some of the best ideas in the business. No one else I have ever heard has come up with this idea.
Still A Friend, to me, rivals Imagine and Yesterday. Should be your Second #1. This Boy Is Mine being first.
Thanks ever so much for sharing
Luv it… This rox… BARBIE-fully and as for the paper piano… WOW Whoa… I just mutilated most of my Barbies when I got angry… Poor Barbies….Gotta Luv your Creatively Quirky off the wall notions… I would of never thought to have used Barbies…as video standings… Cleverly Creative Thinking… And were any harmed in the making of video… After all it was a Barbie World temporarily ????????????????????????????????????????❤️????????????????️????️????????????????????????????????️????????????????
“I’m a Barbie girl in a Barbie world
Life in plastic, it’s fantastic
You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere
Imagination, life is your creation
Come on Barbie, let’s go party!”
Lol… Precisely what I was thinking… That song… Lol….
So, I say to myself shortly after starting to read your post -“Oh come on! This is really got to be a very thinly veiled excuse for these girls to get to play with barbie dolls.” Especially after learning you went out and bought 96 of them! And I was right, -except after seeing the video I realized it wasn’t that thinly veiled after all because it was representative of the degree of perfectionism you bring to all your work. It makes everything you do so very special. Love you guys!
Thanks so much for sharing. It never ceases to amaze me how much time, effort and patience you put into your work. I guess it is no wonder all your productions are so special. Did you have barbie dolls when you were 8-year-olds? If not, you’ve certainly made up for it now, with 96!! Did they have to audition for the parts? It is a truly beautiful song and such a lovely video so all your effort has paid off. It’s amazing just how much music has been a part of my life and even the number 96 is significant. “96 Tears” is a song recorded by the American garage rock band ? and the Mysterians in 1966.
Well that was certainly different! Great job on that piano sir Rudi! I think my niece had every Barbie ever made back in the day. Then she moved on to Beanie babies. She still has the Beanie Babies and she’s now 32! Time sure flies….