The Background Actor - What? A Character?
April 11, 2010
Play a character; don’t be merely a piece of scenery.
I’ve played a specific character in nearly all my 40+ background acting assignments. Am I crazy? Perhaps. Am I a professional dedicated to improving the final product; you bet your boots!
Many extras think of themselves as a piece of scenery or …
Tags: Filmmaker, Film Blog, Filmmaking, Movie Theatre, Film
The Hollywood Career Coach - Spring, sprung: Just do it, Hollywood Edition
April 6, 2010
After a quiet midwinter dip in energy (or was it a surge of reflective, nurturing energy) the Hollywood earth is thawing and ready for planting new seeds.
The entertainment landscape has certainly changed but it hasn’t disappeared. Now is the time to reframe and possibly rebrand your career in accordance with the seismic shifts of the past 2 years.
I know I’ve used the past few months to do an assortment of things.
NO DIRECTION HOME?
I’ve looked at where Hollywood is going and how I fit in. Both as a career coach and as a creative person.
I always talk with my clients about their need to continue to be creative in addition to working your day job or your hunt for a day job or your hunt for financing or whatever you’re hunting for.
Continuing to create is an essential fuel for the fire that is our life as creative people. It sounds stupidly obvious, but how many of us have been looking so hard for the right creative “job” that we forgot to express and work in the creative part of our life that we do have control of.
YOU KNOW . . .
Writing a script, writing a song, taking a photo, shooting a web series or a feature or a short.
Or writing a spec. Or going to the museum. Or staying up late reading or writing.
Or waking up early and swimming in the ocean.
See a movie. Write a blog about what your love or hate or fear about the state of the industry or art or world or politics.
It’s our job to follow the creative urges and to see where it leads or lands.
FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY?
Of course we must be responsible to the day job and be responsible for our finances, that’s a given.
But as human’s alive in the world today we’re also responsible for staying inspired and creative and synthesizing and searching for meaning and magic.
Then sharing it with the people who’re around us who might be hungry for or inspired by what we’ve discovered, uncovered or shined a light on.
Use the extra hours of light and bubbling energy rising up to plant new seeds for the rest of the year.
Lets assume this season is called SPRING for a reason and use the energy influx as leverage for the rest of the year.Feel the power surge. And if you don’t feel it, hang out with someone who does and hang on for the ride.
Tags: Television, Movie Blog, Filmmaking, Oscars, Film Industry
The Standby Painter - Job Search: Day of Disappointment
April 6, 2010
At 8:30 am today I am called to meet the plumber at my flip house, all the while keeping my Bluetooth headpiece on, because today is the day when the production office for the movie coming into town is officially open for business and for hiring crew. The job search …
Tags: , Director, Film Blog, Actor, Film
The Background Actor - Do It The First Time, Again
April 5, 2010
Background actors need to use a delicate blend of preparation and spontaneity, just like actors.
One of the skills I used while making a short film by a talented Chapman University student (Breanna Wing) called The Visitor last year in Santa Ana was making lines that we had rehearsed, shot several …
Tags: , Film, Actor, Movie Bloggers, Movie
The Manager - How Do You Get Your First Directing Gig In Today’s Climate?
April 2, 2010
I was talking to an agent friend of mine and she told me her client just booked his debut feature on a major franchise. After the obligatory congratulations, I asked her how he managed to land the gig when studios are loathe these days to take chances on first-time directors.
And she told me he prepared a huge visual presentation that really wowed the studio execs. She then said, “At this point I would never put up for a job a director who doesn’t have a great visual presentation.”
And I couldn’t say this better myself. When studios are making less and less films and are becoming more and more risk averse, it is getting harder and harder to get directors their first movie. The only way you have a chance is to really put the time and effort into making an amazing visual presentation.
You have to present the buyers with a dramatic reason why they can’t say no. Show them you can do the visuals; show them you have the actor relationships. Give them an answer to every question they might have before they have a chance to ask the question.
Be creative! You need to wow and impress the buyers so they can sell their bosses, shareholders and investors on why, even though you are a first-time director, you are the perfect person to direct the movie.
Bottom line? If you can’t be creative in the pre-stages you won’t get the chance to be creative in the filming stages.
Tags: Film Blog, Director, Movie, Television, Actor
