I’ve got tech recruiters from agencies all over Los Angeles calling me everyday - almost twice a day pitching me jobs and my number is not even listed anywhere. Tech recruiters have always used somewhat “grey” techniques in trying to find candidates such as asking people to refer their friends or colleagues to receive a referral fee, or cold calling companies asking for random people until they find a tech person who they can pitch a candidate, or pitch a new job. Now these agencies are trolling LinkedIn cold-calling companies and lying that they are connected to you through LinkedIn. What really annoys me is their fake way of trying to establish a friendship with you asking “what are your plans this weekend?” I’M NOT YOU’RE FRIEND! Why the hell should I tell you? And do all tech recruiters use the same script? I’ve been asked the “what are your plans this weekend” question multiple times by multiple recruiters at multiple agencies. AND NOW the new technique they are using is “I’m not calling to pitch you a job, but to ask you for a reference”. TWO recruiters from TWO different agencies almost used those exact words. Is there some shady tech recruiter conference that these people all go to?
I should open up my own tech staffing agency - but run it like the Hollywood studio system back in the old days. Hollywood studios used to sign actors with whom they saw potential and would groom them to be movie stars. I would sign top programmers who could not only code but were attractive and had really good presentation skills and then represent them through their entire career through the myriad of jobs that tech people go through - or help them start their own company. Top Hollywood agents and managers do this now and just collect a 10%-15% agency/management fee or establish a back-end deal with the actor.
On another note - why do tech people need to use recruiters anyway? In this day and age of LinkedIn and other social networks it should be easy enough for anyone to find a job through their friends and end up with a higher salary since they aren’t going through a recruitment agency. The true hustlers will never need to use an agency. They will find business opportunities for themselves or even better, create their own opportunities.
Don’t get it twisted. In many ways I’m not mad at this situation. There’s obviously no recession in the internet/tech sector.
Published on Wednesday August 6, 2008 .
I surprisingly received two calls from my agent today. On the first call my agent wanted to know if I’d be interested in doing a U5 (under 5 lines) or non-speaking role on General Hospital. Of course I said “Yes”! It’s been a long time since I’ve been on a set or done any acting professionally so I’m happy to take a small role. I joked with my agent asking if General Hospital was back in Hawaii - because it seems like every time the plotline goes to Hawaii I get a call and end up with a small role on the show. If I get this role this will be the 5th episode of GH I’ve appeared on.
The second call from my agent concerned a commercial print audition for Adidas - basically a modeling job. The shoot would be over 3 days and I would receive a $5k buyout for the shoot. Not bad. Then tonight I read the breakdown and noticed that for wardrobe it says “will also be shirtless”. Crap. I’m the skinniest I’ve ever been since high school yet I’m still not as ripped as I’d like to be. I still have bad memories of another audition for Bud Light where I had to be shirtless for the audition and I was 30lbs heavier (not in a good way). Well, it is what it is.
Along the same note I looked at the Xflowsion site to see if the new infomercial was there and it is! But I see they re-tooled the new version of the infomercial and I’m no longer in it. That’s ok with me - but I did find my filmed testimonial in the raves section - which proves to me that I’m still not as ripped as I’d like to be.
I’m going running in the morning.
Harvard Magazine has a transcript of J.K. Rowling’s commencement speech where she talks about benefits of failure and the importance of imagination. Her speech is elegant, humorous, very inspiring and a must read. Here are a few quotes from her speech:
“So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had already been realised, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.”
“…You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity. Such knowledge is a true gift, for all that it is painfully won, and it has been worth more to me than any qualification I ever earned.”
“Given a time machine or a Time Turner, I would tell my 21-year-old self that personal happiness lies in knowing that life is not a check-list of acquisition or achievement. Your qualifications, your CV, are not your life, though you will meet many people of my age and older who confuse the two. Life is difficult, and complicated, and beyond anyone’s total control, and the humility to know that will enable you to survive its vicissitudes.”
“One of the many things I learned at the end of that Classics corridor down which I ventured at the age of 18, in search of something I could not then define, was this, written by the Greek author Plutarch: What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.”
People just don’t want to sleep.
Or so it may seem. I’ve stumbled upon several articles about the use of Provigil by healthy individuals to enhance cognitive functions. All of the articles say that the drug does have very positive effects on cognitive functions, but what is the downside? The possibility of a serious skin reaction.
Men’s Health also has an article on polyphasic sleep patterns (referred to as the uberman sleep pattern) and how it may allow you to spend more time awake rather than sleeping by taking multiple short power naps instead of sleeping for a straight period of time.
What is this obsession with working?
It’s a problem that I also have. My problem is that I feel like it’s a race to achieve all of my dreams. But what kind of quality of life can you expect to have if you don’t take some time for a siesta, to meditate, to reflect, to just spend time with friends and family?
These are questions I struggle with everyday.
(BTW the title of this article refers to a famous research paper dealing with the limits of working cognitive memory.)
This movie poster for “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” caught my eye over at Quicktime.com. I saw Jet Li’s name attached to it and I instantly knew that the movie probably had something to do with the Qin Dynasty and the Terra Cotta Warriors. What a coincidence since Heather and I just visited the Terra Cotta Warriors exhibit at the Bowers Museum last weekend. The trailer looks pretty cool but of course the movie takes liberties with the historical account of the Qin emperor. If it wasn’t for the Qin storyline and Jet Li I’d probably wait to see it on video, but now I might actually see it in the theater.
I might have to go watch “Hero” again since it’s another Jet Li movie that deals with the Qin Dynasty.
I was sitting there in Studio DNA perusing through this month’s GQ magazine noticing all the stylish short haircuts and decided it’s time to try a new look. In the past this would have been a big deal and my agents would look at me with disapproval telling me that I would now need to go get new headshots. But now that I no longer have commercial representation and I’m concentrating on producing my own shows it doesn’t matter as much anymore.
Hmmm. It is about time to get some new headshots…
I just received an email directed to all SAG members giving an updated report to contract negotiations with the AMPTP. The top headline is:
The AMPTP Wants to Use Excerpts From TV Shows and Motion Pictures Without Actor’s Consent on the Internet….And Beyond
New Media is one of the biggest issues in contract negotiations. The studios still don’t know how to monetize video on the internet and are still experimenting with ventures such as Hulu at the same time making deals with various online video distribution companies including Apple/iTunes/AppleTV. I know of these issues first hand as a web developer who used to manage FX Networks and helped to establish their online video distribution of their shows using Brightcove. The key question that needs to be answered before royalties can be paid to actors for “internet use” is how do you track and control video views and distribution? This can get pretty tricky. Using Brightcove, there are built in metrics but other distribution services may not have these tools. And who will keep the studios honest? In my experience I’ve seen metric numbers be “adjusted” in order for a studio marketing team to sell more ad space or get bigger budgets for their group, so who’s to watch the studios and keep them honest as to how much royalties to pay back to the artist based on internet “views”?
For the savvy actor, this is actually an exciting time. Forget the bickering between SAG, AFTRA and AMPTP. This is the age of opportunity and empowerment. It has never been easier or cheaper for actors to be seen by larger audiences other than the 99-seat theater. If you’ve paid any attention to the video revolution on the internet you will know of the publicity and opportunities non-actors have received from stupid videos on YouTube. Entrepreneurial actors are already online creating brands - monetizing their creative work and creating bigger opportunities. Just read this article:
Rise of the internet star…
So what are you doing to take charge of your acting career? Why are you sitting around waiting for your agent to call? Go out and create your opportunities.
Published on Thursday April 10, 2008 · Filed under: Announcements .
The top of my wishlist is to re-design this blog which I’ve neglected over the years. But in the meantime I’ve started another blog just for fun called “One Man’s Wishlist” which just lists stuff I’m interested in - from shoes to gadgets and everything in-between.
Published on Tuesday March 25, 2008 .
5k : 32.35min. I was able to shave 1min off my last run by sprinting for 10 seconds after walking. I’m still not able to run the entire 5k, but I’ve vastly improved since the Navy Seals Fitness Challenge where it took me almost 20min to cover 1.5 miles. I’m also trying to change my running style to become a fore-foot striker and incorporate Pose running techniques. So I’m running about a mile on my forefoot and the rest of the time mid-foot staying conscious of where my feet land (so that I don’t over-stride) and listening to the sound of my feet as they hit the ground so that my feet are light and I’m not creating unnecessary friction between me and the ground.
Published on Tuesday March 25, 2008 .
From Yahoo Answers:
It depends on your sex
High School Boys: 15’s are excellent
16s are great(STATE qualifying)
17s are good
18s are average
19s are not good
20s are “Do you even try or Are you injured?”
15min??? That’s a 5min/mile pace! Right now that seems impossible to achieve since I can’t even complete a 5k without walking some of the distance. My goal is sub-20min. Then I’ll enter my first 5k competition.
