Fan account: my sister's shoot with G-Dragon
(Note: reposting this fan account from 2012 as I'm active here now and like to have everything in one place!)
One of a Kind album shoot fan account
- My sister was told by her agent she’d have a shoot with a Korean singer, and she expected it to be some ballad singer or something, but never G-Dragon. When he told her it was GD from Big Bang, she could hardly realise it: she felt excitement but it was kind of a distant excitement, like, it was too surreal to be true, you know? Anyway, they were having some kind of party but my sister left early because she realised there was no way she could be late tomorrow, she’d have to completely ready for this (in her words) ‘epic occurrence.’
- It was a two-hour drive to the shoot, they went to Incheon (the island with the airport) to some industrial site with a lot of barracks that are often used for shootings. It was supposed to last from 10 a.m to 2 p.m, but it turned out it only started 4 p.m. and lasted till 8. (I’ve never heard of a shoot that didn’t start hours later than planned, to be honest.) Part of the reason for this was GD himself, who really took his time in his trailer or in-between shoots. Some of the models were annoyed because of this but my sister was kind of like ‘well, he’s the star, so it’s expected / he can do that’. All the models were Western by the way, though later in the day there also arrived some Korean models.
- The first time she saw GD he was doing a solo shoot and it was completely surreal. I think it’s kind of like you’re walking in a dream, you know, like it’s not actually real and therefore you don’t have a freak-out moment (if that makes sense.) Only when she started shooting with GD it became reality for her, but by then it felt normal (I presume because this is work for her, but again also because of her down-to-earth character).
- The shooting itself went very smoothly and fast, it was clear that GD (and also the team) were professionals. GD took everything very seriously, he followed the instructions of the photographer but also showed initiative. And both GD and the team paid attention to every little detail: if there was one little hair styled wrongly, it was corrected immediately.
- The lunch also very nice, which is always a very important factor for my sister haha. The food consisted of rice with red beans (azuki) lettuce with mushrooms, seaweed soup, bbq meat Korean style, and fruit. I’ve included a picture of the box she got her lunch in below, I think it was a gift from his fan club or something because it says ‘GD supporters’? GD had his own catering, though his food was probably the same.
- All right, there were a lot of different themes and my sister liked them a lot though again I can’t say anything about that (which is kind of frustrating, I constantly have to check if I’m not giving away something haha) During the fist shoot my sister wasn’t standing next to GD, but there was one model in-between them. That model was constantly touching his hat, and she didn’t know if this made him annoyed but the crew looked kind of worried haha
- Speaking of the crew: she said they really are like servants, there are constantly five people surrounding him and following him everywhere, there’s even a person who always holds his water bottle for him. He also went smoking several times and everyone had to wait for him then.
- There was a shoot with little children and even though usually GD acts really cute with them, this time he didn’t. The little boys were constantly staring at him wide-eyed haha, especially at his hair.
- One model was taking pictures of the shoot, but the crew asked her not to because they didn’t want the shoot to leak. A different model also asked for a picture with him, but he said ‘No, sorry’ presumably for the same reason but maybe also because he was tired / didn’t feel like it. During shoots, he barely smiled, but when he was at his own trailer he laughed a lot. She thinks maybe he is a bit nervous or shy around people he doesn’t know (and who are foreign) but more likely it’s the distinction between GD / Jiyong. There was a cute moment when he was sitting somewhere with his staff and had two bags of chips in his hand (he never puts on any weight so he’s allowed to eat that haha) and someone said something and he laughed really cute, GD-style. She thought that was a cute moment.
- In the second shoot my sister did stand next to GD (jeeej!) so this time she could observe him well, haha. She says he has a nice, smooth skin and is also pretty tanned. He didn’t really smell like anything particular (I asked this, haha) but looked pretty much the same as in pictures. He looked nice, and fashionable, and had a lot of swag haha. He also walked in a ‘cool’ manner but the look in his eyes or his movements still were kind of child-like sometimes. He’s also very small / short.
- She hasn’t really spoken with GD, except when he sighed and my sister said ‘It’s hot, right?’ and GD said ‘yeah.’ Haha, but that’s better than nothing right? She’s already content with the fact that she’s made eye contact / has spoken some words with him / has had the chance to see him up close / and ehm features in his photoshoot.
- When my sister finally left, GD wasn’t done yet, he still had a couple of solo shoots to go. She figures he must have been exhausted and definitely respects him for handling it all well. All in all it was an amazing experience, needless to say! :D