Published on Thursday August 5, 2004 .
This morning I had an audition for a Toyota commercial. I’m not sure if it is just for the Asian market or if it is an actual national comemrcial - not that I’m picky. I’ll take anything. A national commercial would just mean a lot more money and residuals.
It’s hard not to get jaded about these commercial auditions after going out on hundreds of them and booking only a couple regional spots and overseas spots. Although, in a way it does help my performance because I’m not nervous. I just go in, do my thing, leave, and forget about it. If I get a callback, that’s great! If not, oh well.
Recently I have started to think about maybe taking a workshop on commercial auditions. My agent highly encourages this of course, and I have heard stories of people who booked their first national commercials right after finishing the class.
I think I need to look into this more….
On another note, I was looking at the “actor slate” feature on Actors Access, another popular online directory being used in Hollywood. The “actor slate” is a short video of the actor answering some personality questions. The idea is to give casting directors an idea of how an actor looks, sounds and moves in front of the camera. This can be a very valuable tool for casting directors who mostly just see headshots of actors. Occasionally they will watch demo tapes as well, but this consumes time - a commodity they don’t always have. The only problem is that, in my opinion, the videos produced from the “actor slate” sessions look very amateurish. It’s like a cross between American Idol and The Real World. If you’re trying to get on reality TV it might serve you well, but otherwise, I think there are much better ways to spend your money. For instance, investing in a really good ACTING CLASS, or creating a real DEMO REEL.
Take a look at the sample videos and tell me if I’m wrong.
(now let’s see if I get flamed or contacted by lawyers for exercising free speech…)
Published on Thursday August 5, 2004 .
“I think I love and reverence all arts equally, only putting my own just above the others; because in it I recognize the union and culmination of my own. To me it seems as if when God conceived the world, that was Poetry; He formed it, and that was Sculpture; He colored it, and that was Painting; He peopled it with living beings, and that was the grand, divine, eternal Drama.”
-Edmund Vance Cooke
(I got this inspirational quote from my illustrious acting coach, Tom Patton.)
Published on Wednesday August 4, 2004 .
I just had the most intense workout in my life. In the end I was high off endorphins. My mind wanted to keep going but my muscles were out of energy. Tonight my trainer was pushing me to the next level concentrating on perfecting my form and lifting more total volume. I lifted a lot of weight. The trainer pushed me past my limits to complete muscle failure. It’s the only way to grow.
Now I’m re-fueling and repairing with targeted nutrition - 50g of whey protein, Vitalstate creatine and some chicken soup.
I feel totally hardcore (don’t laugh).
Published on Tuesday August 3, 2004 .
I just had to write about this one.
While reading my daily list of blogs, I stumbled upon an article that mentioned about the new Cingular Wireless service that allows you to “Escape-A-Date“. The service allows you to schedule a “rescue” phone call to your cell phone at a pre-set time and the service will actually tell you exactly what to say in order to escape your date.
Brilliant and hilarious!
I wish I had come up with this idea myself. It could have been one of the many features of my SmoothButterLove.com project (although I haven’t worked on it since 2001…).
Published on Tuesday August 3, 2004 .
Over the weekend I was contacted by Joan Lauren at Moving Headshots about an entry I wrote a while back giving my opions on their service. I raised the question of whether or not the service was worth the cost because ultimately you end up with a short video clip intended for online viewing and low resolution still shots. Video is very different than photo stills and to me it seems a little gimmicky. Well, Joan has offered for me to try their services to see for myself so I have scheduled a “moving headshot” session with them on the 23rd of this month. I will give another review of their services after that.
Many thanks to Moving Headshots for their generosity! I look forward to my session!
Tonight Heather and I were going over my photos to put online at LACasting.com, ActorsAccess.com and PlayersDirectory.org. I have done so many photo shoots over the years all funded by my own pocket. Now we’re just trying to find the right photos which will market me the best theatrical and commercially.
I also stopped by Barnes and Nobles today on the Promenade to search for casting notices in Backstage West that I could submit to. I found nothing. So I continue to think of story ideas to make my own movie.