My Day with Merry Mary Quite Contrary & Tank: Their Video Documentary/Interview!

 

Photo by Bionic Eye Photography

World, meet Miss Mary. Miss Mary, say hello to the world. <3 If you have not had the pleasure of meeting Mary (who is not in the least contrary, but rather very cute-ly merry) then may I humbly suggest that you have not had the singular pleasure of meeting one of the sugary sweetest, kind hearted girls in probably all of the world.

Darling Mary Elizabeth Notz, better known by her growing fan base as Mary Nine, is part of the dynamic, talented duo of documentary and dance videographers that make up tank9 (Duy Luu) and Mary Nine. Their slogan? "We are tank9 & Mary Nine: Connecting friends through dance and documentary videos." I honestly think that's not giving them enough credit! These two are so talented at what they do, the kinds of cinematography they shoot and the angles they catch are really something else, and seeing how they piece it all back together is really a work of art. It's like seeing a different world through their eyes. And not only are they partners in crime, they are also one of the cutest couples ever!

Mary & Tank--aren't they cute? (Photo from Tank's FB page!)

 Together they have made a lot of achievements! Mary and Tank have shot everything from industrial dance videos, to collaborations with musicians, and traversing the country to travel from different anime conventions doing documentaries, interviews, and dance videos that really support the beautiful creations of cosplayers, and indie designers. They have even gotten to interview some impressive people--most recently of which was GASHICON the designer for HANGRY & ANGRY, who recently made her first trip to the US! One of the most amazing things I think they have done is when they teamed up with La Carmina, renowned tv host and author of all things gothic/Japanese/alternative culture, to raise donations and awareness for the devastating tsunami and earthquake that hit Japan for their one year anniversary.

They have gotten to film all sorts of amazing fashion shows like h.Naoto, Atelier-Pierrot, Chantilly--they even have collaborated with many Etsy designers to showcase their works in both their dance and documentary videos!

Mary lookin 100% adorable at Anime Expo 2012 with the bunny purse I made her!

When I first found out that I was going to be participating in Otakon's Ultimate Lolita Fashion Show, I was super psyched because I found out that Mary and Tank were actually going to there in Baltimore doing another set of shoots! (I was SO excited about that because Mary and I had been talking almost all summer over messages about how awesome it would be to meet in person, and we both kinda freaked out happily when we found out we were actually going to meet!) I knew right then that I wanted Mary to be one of my models in the fashion show, and what a super awesome job she did!

Meeting Mary for the first time was kind of amazing, because even as we drove past the convention center unable to find parking, I actually picked her out from a crowd and immediately knew it was her. She was wearing a cute gothic lolita outfit, and had dyed her hair a pretty ocean colored blue teal that shimmered like a mermaid's tail in the light. She was talking animatedly to another of my models, Jenn, who was wearing a beautiful red Alice and the Pirates jsk, and her face kind of lit up when she laughed. Mary is exceptionally soft spoken, like a well raised princess from one of the neighboring lands of the Candy Kingdom, and when she gets excited or passionate about the topic at hand she has a cute drawl of an accent you can't quite place. She is a fair skinned porcelain doll, and her eyes practically twinkle when she is happy.

Watching Tank speeding around with the camera, was an experience all in itself. It was fascinating to watch someone so intensely concentrated on getting different shots, and angles of all these different cosplayers and anyone that he found interesting. Mary was telling me he was always passionately focused on his work, and would always be stopping to film something that caught his eye. I think through the video, you can really feel the power of dedication and commitment that Tank feels while shooting footage. It was a real treat to get to see the two of them in action filming!

I got to spend a better part of Saturday at Otakon, hanging out, getting to know, and talk to both Mary and Tank, and it was such an enjoyable experience as they both always had so many fun and interesting things to say, that we just chattered away while charging the camera battery. I even got to do a wonderful interview about Pop Princess with Mary, and I was sooo nervous before hand but since we had been talking and getting to know each other, I felt super comfortable with her and I don't think I sounded.... too silly. ^-^

It was really fun to pick their brains about how they met, how they started filming together, and what was it like to have so many fans, and were they ever kind of worried about creepy stalkers, ha ha. We talked about their lives back in Seattle, and their cute kitty cat that followed them around on walks, and everything in between. We shared a wonderful meal together in the evening, and to be honest, I really felt like I knew them both for such much longer than just a couple of days! <3 My only regret is we didn't take any photos togetherrrr ; _ ; but there's always next time!! I hope to see them again soon, and Mary and I can twirl about in our frills. :3

So if you're fans of Mary and Tank's videos, and overall really beautiful camera work, then go on over to their Kickstarter and become one of their backers, so they can continue creating artfully crafted videos and bringing smiles to everyone around them.

Here is their latest video documentary of Otakon 2012:

 

5:30 starts “Ultimate Lolita Fashion Show”

6:50 Q and A
10:42 Pop Princess Interview with Mary <3

^-^ <3 Thank you so much to Miss Mary and Sir Tank for making my first lolita fashion show, and my first time at Otakon one of the most memorable times ever! All my love. xoxo

So, what do you think of their documentary video? <3