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Project Trivia
By: Robyn Barnette
- This project sat on the shelf for two years; it then took nine weeks to complete the photography and video slideshow for this project.
- Pre-production planning for "Danalicious" began in August 2004. The project had gone through several delays before filming and photography began in March 2006. It was originally scheduled to begin after "Funkin' Out Fianna" in late 2004 using Bratz Funk Out! Dana. However, "Danalicious" was delayed when I went to work on the project "Queen Nevra." In May of 2005, my Bratz Funk Out! Dana doll was inexplicably stolen during the project "Too Funky For Kumi," and the project was delayed for five more months. When I found Bratz Camp Fire Dana in October 2005, I determined that she would be used for the project. Unfortunately, due to lack of snow (and due to lack of commitment because of the bitter disappointment with the project "Kool Kat Jade"), the project was shelved again. It was later learned that Dana would be included in the Bratz Feelin' Pretty collection, and Bratz Camp Fire Dana was eventually replaced with Bratz Feelin' Pretty Dana. I decided to start "Danalicious" all over again when I began filming and photography for the project in March 2006, and thus, this is the project that was eventually created.
- "Danalicious" replaces and restarts the original "Danalicious" project with Bratz Camp Fire Dana, which began in late November 2005 but was canceled in early March 2006 due to lack of snow in Pennsylvania during the winter (and due to the disappointment that followed after the previous Bratz Photography Project "Kool Kat Jade.").
- The title of this project, "Danalicious," contains the letters LIC. LIC is an abbreviation for Live In Concert, a Bratz doll collection that includes Dana in the character lineup.
- All five characters in the Bratz Feelin' Pretty collection are featured in the video slideshow for "Danalicious," and the photos are arranged so that Yasmin, Cloe, Sasha, and Jade are presented in the original order that they were presented when MGA Entertainment first introduced Bratz in 2001.
- The earrings and bracelets that all the Bratz dolls in the Bratz Feelin' Pretty collection wear throughout "Danalicious" are not included in the actual products (although more recent releases of the Bratz Feelin' Pretty collection do feature the dolls wearing earrings). Furthermore, the earrings that Bratz Feelin' Pretty Dana wears are actually from Bratz Camp Fire Dana and the bracelet is from the Bratz Accessoreez jewelry set.
- "Around The Way Girl" by rap music artist L.L. Cool J. was chosen as the musical track for the video slideshow during pre-production of "Danalicious." No other musical track was ever considered, and it is the first rap music song used in any of the video slideshows for all the Bratz Photography Projects I've done. A character description I wrote about Dana included a hint where this musical track was to be used.
- Chemical dyes were used to color the carnations in the Dana headshot. The carnations were watered daily to keep them alive and fresh.
- Dana's "Sugar Shoes" logo is prominently featured throughout this project.
- The photo of Bratz Feelin' Pretty Dana and Bratz Feelin' Pretty Jade with the M&Ms and paper streamers is a reference to the previous Bratz Photography Project "Kool Kat Jade."
- The photo of Bratz Feelin' Pretty Dana with the beautiful gardens and plants in the background was shot at the East Conservatory at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. It was actually intended for a Bratz Photography Project based on the Bratz Forever Diamondz collection, but the collection had not yet been released at the time I did "Danalicious" and there had been no decision as to whether or not a Bratz Photography Project based on Bratz Forever Diamondz would happen.
- It took five takes to correctly capture the photo of Bratz Feelin' Pretty Dana at the East Conservatory.
- During the photography of Bratz Feelin' Pretty Dana at the East Conservatory, officials from Longwood Gardens were very cooperative and gave me the privilege of shooting the photo shortly after the facilities closed for the evening. It took fifteen minutes to set up the doll and shoot the photo. Longwood Gardens is also the same location where the Bratz Photography Projects "Funkin' Out Fianna" and "Too Funky For Kumi" were filmed.
- There was some concern during the photography of Bratz Feelin' Pretty Dana at the East Conservatory that the lighting which filtered through the East Conservatory's rooftop glass windows made Bratz Feelin' Pretty Dana appear much brighter than what she would have looked like if the photo was shot outdoors. It was a cloudy day when the photo was captured, and all photos of my Bratz dolls are shot on either cloudy days or during sunrise or sunset. However, since this photo of Bratz Feelin' Pretty Dana was shot indoors with the lighting directly on her, there wasn't really much of anything that could be done to fix the problem. And since the photo was so difficult to capture in the first place, I decided to accept the photo as it was, rather than go through the arduous task of reshooting the photo using traditional sunlight.
- The film of water that Bratz Feelin' Pretty Dana "stands" on at the East Conservatory was caused by a spill from a pump that fed water into the conservatory garden's oval basin. Initially, I objected to the water being there, since I was concerned that it would ruin the photo. However, the film of water proved to be a blessing in disguise: It created a reflection of the East Conservatory's rooftop glass windows and stainless steel rooftop arches.
- When it came to shooting the photo of Bratz Feelin' Pretty Dana at the East Conservatory, the idea emerged to dress up Bratz Feelin' Pretty Dana with Bratz Ooh La La Dana's fashions. Due to time constraints and due to the type of photo that was being captured, the idea was immediately scrapped. It was then considered for another photo featuring Bratz Feelin' Pretty Cloe.
- To create the flower kaledioscope artwork featuring Dana's "Sugar Shoes" logo, I captured a photo of red and pink tulips and used several photo rendering techniques to create the kaledioscope image. The photo was captured on the same day that I captured the photo of Bratz Feelin' Pretty Dana at the East Conservatory.
- In one photo, both Bratz Feelin' Pretty Cloe and Bratz Feelin' Pretty Dana are wearing the second fashions from the Bratz Ooh La La collection. Bratz Feelin' Pretty Cloe is wearing Bratz Ooh La La Cloe's second fashion; Bratz Feelin' Pretty Dana is wearing Bratz Ooh La La Dana's second fashion. Both dolls even wear the shoes and berets from their Bratz Ooh La La counterparts, even though the dolls do not feature any painted arms or legs (a feature that made the Bratz Ooh La La collection different from the many Bratz doll collections manufactured and released by MGA Entertainment).
- The final photo of "Danalicious" was captured inside my house. It was the evening dinner photo with Bratz Feelin' Pretty Dana and Bratz Feelin' Pretty Sasha. Bratz Feelin' Pretty Dana is wearing Bratz Ooh La La Dana's first fashions, while Bratz Feelin' Pretty Sasha is wearing her second fashions.
- It took two days to set up the materials for the evening dinner photo; it took two hours to get both Bratz Feelin' Pretty Dana and Bratz Feelin' Pretty Sasha to pose correctly.
- The music CD featured in the evening dinner photo is "All World," a greatest hits album released by rap music artist L.L. Cool J. Among the tracks included on the music CD is "Around The Way Girl" — the same musical track featured in the video slideshow.
- The wine and French bread in the evening dinner photo were real and edible, and I suffered a headache after capturing the photo because of the alcoholic scent coming from the red wine. I disposed of the red wine upon completing this project.
- Filmed and photographed using the Kodak EasyShare V550 Digital Camera. Under 200 shots of my Bratz Feelin' Pretty Dana doll were captured, the fewest ever for a Bratz Photography Project. Only one photo was rejected.
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