Spring Headshots with Tina

Hey guys,

Just a reminder that there are a few slots open this week to shoot headshots with Tina B. Henderson. If you need new headshots, Tina is awesome and she comes to town about 4 times a year. This week she will be shooting in Baton Rouge on the following dates:

Thursday 3/31

Friday 4/1

Monday 4/4

Tuesday 4/5

Her price is 85 for one look, 125 for 2 looks.

You end up with a CD containing 20-30 mages from each look.

You can view her work at her website:

http://www.TinaBPhotos.com

Space is limited (Friday is almost full already) so let me know asap if you are interested.

Judd

Demo Reels?

Another livestream event online tonight. This one is regarding Demo Reels. Check it out if you can.

Info:

Thursday, Mar. 17, 2011, 2:28 PM livestream event about Demo Reels
This evening, Seth Coltan (Producer of Virtual Channel Network's REEL DEAL) will be moderating a live panel at the SAG FOUNDATION about Actors Demo Reels. How to find the best clips for your reel How to create your own if you don't have the right footage How Casting Directors utilize Demo Reels from Talent Reps ...and more. You can view the event live tonight at 8pm Central Time, the event lasts 2 hours. Panelists include: Casting Director Caroline Liem Casting Director Francine Selkirk-Akerman Talent Agent Jaime Ferrar Talent Agent Casey Logan Actor/Demo Reel Editor Robert Campbell Here is the link: http://www.sagfoundation.org/videogallery/livestream

I got the part!!! Now what??

In many of the auditioning workshops and classes I have done, I've mentioned something to the effect of: " If you don't know how to audition properly you probably won't get the job." That is still true and I hope everyone realizes the importance of that. For newcomers, still trying to break into film and television roles, there is something else to consider...

What if our film/tv resume isn't very deep and we still manage to convince the director that we are perfect for the part- and we then get the call from our agent that we actually got the part!?

Success! Right?

Well, yes. This is awesome! Your hard work has paid off and the moment has finally come when you can celebrate "getting the part!"

When the celebrating cools off for a minute, one thing you need to ask yourself is, "Am I really ready for this?" By that I don't mean 'are you a good actor?' Obviously you've done something right or you wouldn't have booked the part. What I mean is, there is a ton of words, jargon, paperwork, techniques and knowledge that you will now be expected to know once you get on set. Sure, some of it will come with experience on set, but there is lots of it you can learn before you get there.

If you have an agent, and you are trying to get into film/tv, here are some of the things you should be asking yourself now, before landing your first big role:

Are you extremely familiar with a callsheet? (call times, scene numbers, etc)

Do you know the various crew positions, their duties, and how they effect you as an actor? (D.P., 1st AD, 2nd AD, etc...)

Are you familiar with "eye-lines" and how they are often extremely confusing?

Do you know what "cheating" refers to in film?

Do you know how to read production reports such as a 'One Liner' and a 'DOOD'?

What about wild lines, dailies and ADRs?

Are you familiar with SAG's requirements for lunch breaks, overtime stipulations, etc...?

How much practice do you have 'walking to your mark'?

If the answer to any (or several) of these is NO, then perhaps it's time to do some research so

that you can be just as ready as your competition might be. If we were living in Los Angeles or

New York, the solution would be simple: Simply take some classes that teach all of this. After all, there are more classes offered than gas stations in those markets. In the Southeast, acting

for film classes are often hard to come by so I have a couple of recommendations for everyone.

The first is a classic, written by an incredible actor who has been working in films for decades. It is not often an actor who is STILL working in films takes the time to write a book to help young actors with their craft. But that's exactly

what Michael Caine has done. I have recommended this book for years, it is a definite must-

read. Click here to order Acting in Film by Michael Caine on Amazon.

The second is one that I read last summer when trying to help Mattie Liptak get ready for his first feature film role. He had just landed a lead role in a horror film and it required nearly 6 weeks of filming. I read several books to prepare coaching

him and ACTION by Robert Benedetti was by far

the best. It's like a textbook for film acting and should be read by ANYONE who is thinking about

pursuing acting in film in television.

Let me say it again:

ANYONE and EVERYONE

considering working in film and television should read this book.

The chapters are easy to read and, if I am not mistaken, all of the questions mentioned above are covered in length in the book. The amazon link for ACTION! Professional Acting For Film and Television is here.

I actually had a fellow pursuing actor recently say something to the effect of, "I can't stand reading- why should I read books?"

For anyone who might be asking that or something similar, I answer the question with a question: Would you let a doctor perform surgery on you if you knew that he/she hadn't read any medical books?

Now put yourself in the shoes of a film director and ask yourself if you'd hire an actor who doesn't want to do learn what is expected of him/her when they get the job.

Enjoy reading.

:)

Judd

Mississippi Return Dates

It looks like the tentative return dates for Mississippi will be:

March 9 Jackson

March 10 Meridian

Between traveling to Atlanta twice to shoot on Joyful Noise, practicing baseball for the Hound Dogs pilot in New Orleans, and the arrival of little Ellie... well, the last 3 weeks have been completely insane!

I will email everyone on 3/7 to let them know for sure about the 9th and 10th.

Meridian Update

I am aiming for a return to Meridian on Feb 24. This week I am in New Orleans until Thursday practicing baseball for a role on the new pilot for TBS called Hound Dogs. We shoot from 2/28 - 3/5, so that leaves next Thursday open for an audition practice class. Tentatively we are on- I will let everyone know if it changes.

:)

Judd

Ellie Arrives!

Thanks for the thoughts and prayers over the last week or so- and for the nice messages on Facebook...

Our daughter Ellie Kay was born Saturday afternoon in Baton Rouge. She is beautiful and I just posted her new headshots over on Facebook!

CD Insight: Who Get's Called In

Here is something I found. It's an article written by Terry Berland (Casting Director) on what she considers when selecting who she calls in to read...

Who gets selected to come in to audition and why?

I’m sure you ask yourself many times why you weren’t given an audition for a breakdown you know is going on around town that you are sure you are right for.

There are many reasons, some clear-cut and some subjective. Let’s start with the clear-cut reasons. If the spot calls for comedy, your resume will be taken into consideration in addition to your look. When you are working in a competitive market, there are many people with strong resumes vying for the spot. For comedy, we’ll look at your resume for comedic television, knowing to land a part on a particular TV show you need good timing. Improv and comedy training and/or involvement with an on-going troupe is another good indication of your ability, as well as comedic theatre or films. Attaching a demo to your submission that shows comedy gives you another competitive edge, as we can easily take a look. The same scenario can be applied for drama.

The stronger resumes will get priority consideration. Remember with 30 seconds to a minute of copy, we can schedule about 50 people for the entire day. We realistically can receive 1500 submissions. After making our choices, sadly because of lack of time, not everyone who is good will get an appointment. As we are informed talent are not available, we will replace with someone we have “waiting in the wings”. So please, to be fair to the casting director and other talent, if you are not available, let us know with plenty of time to replace.

If your resume is not as strong as you would like it to be, don’t be discouraged. As your acting career is a process, you should always be working on building your resume. In an interview with an actor, I asked where they felt their strength lay. Their answer was comedy. I pointed out that their resume did not have one comedic thing on it. It does you no good if your area of strength is not reflected on your resume. My advice is to build your resume to reflect your strength.

Your resume will evolve as your career evolves. For instance, you might start out with strong stage credits. Stage is a great foundation for everything and is impressive because of the commitment it takes for rehearsals and the run itself. The type of show and the part you play also reflects who you are as an actor. It goes without saying there are different skills for musicals, drama and comedy. You will have evolving interests and goals throughout your career. You might start out with theatre and at a later time evolve to film and/or television. The most obvious examples to look at are celebrities. Notice they may have started out in theatre, moved to film and then want back for a theatre “fix”, to again return to film work. Some are now moving in and out of television projects. Think of the careers of Al Pacino, John Lithgow, Kathy Bates and Melissa Leo, to name a few.

Another reason you may have not been chosen is because the breakdown has changed a bit. We might not put out a new breakdown because we know the submissions we already have received will cover our needs. For instance, recently I worked on a breakdown which included an “attractive women with dark medium length hair, who looked between 35 and 45 years old”. Behind the scenes the description of the actor was changed to include “she must have dark eyes”. There was no need to change the breakdown, as dark eyed women were already submitted. However, if you are the actor who has blue eyes, you could be confused or distraught as to why you didn’t get the appointment.

The breakdown character descriptions brings us into the subjective conversation which is not as clear cut and a little more complicated. I once was given a breakdown for “a women who looked between 25 and 32, lived in a city and was successful in business. In addition, she needed to look artistic, live in a walk-up as opposed to a high-rise elevator building and would ride a bike to work rather than hail a taxi.” I look at your headshot and I get a “feel” for you. Each casting director’s eye is rather different. Thank goodness, otherwise the same people would be called in all the time. I have my own taste (which by the way, I think is the best) and other people have their taste that, of course, they think is the best. Even in my office, my associate and I make the picks and we’ll disagree on some. We discuss whom we disagree on, bend and give in to our differences. If we are insisting on a certain person we’ll discuss why, and agree or disagree on giving the person an appointment.

Assuming the resume meets our needs, the why or why not’s become subjective about a look or a “feel” that reflects the essence of the person. If we are looking for a certain ability/special skill, a little trick to possibly bring yourself to our attention and stand out from the hundreds upon hundreds of submissions, is to write an honest note attached to the submission.

Your photo of course should capture qualities of your personality.

You can’t outguess what we’ll be looking for so just know your strongest qualities.

Breakdowns vary, which makes this business so interesting. Some examples of breakdowns are people who look upscale, working class, sensitive, helpless, hopeful, artistic, strong willed, the underdog, the winner, slick, a photographer, producer or director with an artistic feel, non commercial or aspirational. Sensitive, not sensitive, passive, aggressive or passive/aggressive. Additional examples; looks like they live downtown, uptown, Silver Lake, Beverly Hills, New York City, rural, suburban or urban. Are you smiling yet?

So my actor friends, know thy self, don’t try to be everything to everyone and enjoy what you are doing.

Lori Wyman Workshop Update

If you missed the Lori Wyman workshop in New Orleans it was well worth going to and you should try not to miss it if she's ever in town again.

I'll cover some of her main bullet points in upcoming practice sessions but there is no substitute for hearing it straight from her... and certainly nothing like getting the chance to read for her and get feedback on your read. I even bought Lori's book, The Organic Actor (Stay tuned for the book review).

I've had several people ask me about workshops in this area that are put on by Casting Directors. Numerous times I've been asked things like, "Don't they always say the same basic stuff in all of them?"

It seems like often times actors who already auditioning somewhat regularly think that they know how to audition and have no need for these. I couldn't disagree more.

While many CD workshops offer some similar material to others', I have found that if the workshop is done by an actual professional CD - there is always something to take home that's worth the price. Think about it like this, maybe you have all the basics down but I still think hearing a particular CDs pet peeves it's worth the price alone. In addition many Casting Directors, Wyman in particular, take the time to give you some personal insight that can inspire actors to keep doing what we are doing, no matter what the ... which is at times priceless.

Lorraine LeBlanc, Mattie Liptak and myself were there to rep the Louisiana Ward Agency and our lovely agent Sharon Ward was on hand as well.

*Ryan Glorioso will be doing his workshop in New Orleans next month. If you are interested in attending, let me know.

More Vids

Check out these videos with Casting Director Kim Swanson.

VIDEO 1

VIDEO 2

Hard Work Pays Off

Props to Tracey Rea for booking the role of MANDY on the pilot, Single Daddies. She taped her audition in Baton Rouge and was selected by the director for the role that shoots this weekend in Houston, Tx.

Tracey is probably our most consistent participant in our Audition Practice Class in Baton Rouge and is one of the hardest workers out there. Congrats Tracey, you deserve it and we are proud of ya!!

Lori Wyman Workshop

This Saturday - January 29 in New Orleans.

I am going to try to make this one if the new family member doesn't come early.

Lori Wyman is a top Casting Director in Florida and I've heard nothing but great things about her workshop!

Details can be found HERE.

Email me if you are thinking about attending.

-Judd

Notes from a busy week

I think I taped auditions for 9 people, plus the 3 auditions I went to, plus our largest auditions class in baton rouge in over a year... All in the last 36 hours. I'm exhausted and that's good because things are picking up again!

Some notes from the week...

- Be sure to get on Dropbox.com and register for a free account. This will allow you access to the sides that I will put in my dropbox before classes.

- For uploading videos and sharing with others, I use Phanfare.com. I have a paid account with them, so I forget what the free account consists of but I know they offer a free one for people who will only use it every now and then.

- Congrats to the little booking machine, Mattie Liptak, again. Mattie was cast as a high school student on episode 205 of the HBO series Treme! He's on fire!!!!

- Casting is going on this week and next week for the following projects:
Seven Below Zero
Justice for Natalee
Hound Dogs
Treme
Abe Lincoln:Vampire Hunter


Let's hope this is a sign of how busy 2011 will be.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

SAG Foundation Video

Happy MLK Day!

I wanted to let everyone know about a video I watched online this weekend. It was originally a live broadcast of a free event hosted by the SAG Foundation, I caught it a couple of days after its original airing. It is a panel discussion between a couple of Talent Agents, two Casting Directors and Gary Marsh, the representative from Breakdown Express/Actors Access. The original purpose of the discussion was to focus on how actors in regions outside of L.A. can participate in the Los Angeles pilot season. They covered that, but lots more.

in particular, I really think they did a great job of discussing some of the things we have really tried to hammer home here in our practices, workshops, etc...

The discussion is about two hours long and is really worth taking a few sittings and checking it out. Even if you've heard lots of it before, I think hearing just how important these things really are to actors all over the country- not just here - is worth hearing again.

For example...

*It was very interesting to hear a Casting Director from Hollywood mention a film she casted in New Orleans. She mentions how when she is going to have to cast in an outside market, she immediately gets on Breakdown Services and starts looking at Actors Access profiles in that particular market. She stresses the fact that if your info isn't up to date, you can miss your one opportunity where they are actually shopping in your market for talent!

* It was also discussed how one of the actors in True Grit got his role. They were looking for talent in the South, and he was from the south originally but lived in L.A. So he taped himself, submitted the tape and ended up getting the job.

It reinforced one of the things we always talk about - the internet is making the world of film/tv auditioning smaller and smaller.

For actors in Louisiana like ourselves, this can be a very good thing or a very bad thing. On one hand, talent that doesn't even live down here can send in a tape and grab roles right out from under us. On the other hand, we have the opportunity to jump into this tech-fueled wave and ride it just like they do.

I truly believe that there will come a time in the very near future when callbacks will be almost the only remaining part of the audition process that is live. A Casting Director needs to see as many talent as possible to know they are presenting the directors and producers with the right talent for the job . The internet and taped auditions allows them to do this more efficiently. Plane and simple. Yes, auditions in person may never die off since the personal interaction is still a must for so many CDs and Directors. But the number of talent getting a chance to get in for those face to face auditions will certainly stay the same or go down - while the number of CDs who start off by viewing a first round of taped auditions is growing more every day!!!

So check out the video when you can- the link is at the bottom of this blog. It's long (about two hours) but you don't have to watch it all in one sitting. Watch a little and pause it, then come back later for a little more. That's what I did.

Then, after you watch it, sit down and make a list of what you will be doing in 2011 to better arm yourself with the tools to compete in this industry! Whether you are already getting auditions and booking roles or whether you have just taken your first steps into this wild world of auditioning for film and TV... it doesn't matter. ALL of us can do more and learn more in order to achieve more.

So......

If you haven't checked your Actors Access profile in a while....

If you aren't using the internet to actively seek out parts/projects that even your agent doesn't get access to (student films, indy stuff, etc)....

If you aren't trying your best to get footage from past projects and get them edited and posted online....

If you aren't thinking of yourself as a 'package', that agents and CDs can market and sell to producers....

Most importantly, if you haven't learned to put yourself on tape for an audition....

It's 2011, and there's no better time than right now.

Remember: if you won't do it, someone else will.

:)

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:

http://www.sagfoundation.org/videogallery/livestream

Congrats Mattie... Again!

Yes folks, he tore it up in 2010 and now it looks like 2011 will be no different. Casting Director Jackie Burch called today to let Sharon know that Mattie Liptak will play #8 in the upcoming Disney feature film, The Odd Life Of Timothy Green.

The film is directed by Peter Hedges (Dan In Real Life) and will star Jennifer Garner (Juno). Mattie will shoot for several days in both February and March and the film is due out in theaters later this year.

Mattie is from Walker , La and has been an active participant in our regular Audition Practice Class in Baton Rouge since March of 2010 when he first began pursuing acting. Since then he has booked 4 film roles.

Congrats Mattie!!!

New Location Added

I have added Clinton/Jackson to the Audition Practice loop. We will meet this Wednesday evening and then every other week after (with Clinton on Wednesday evenings and Meridian on Thursday evenings).

Assuming the new family member doesn't make an early arrival...

The rest of January's schedule is:

1/12 Clinton

1/13 Meridian

1/20 Baton Rouge

1/26 Clinton

1/27 Meridian

Email me if you are interested in attending.

:)

Joyful Noise

I just returned from Atlanta where I had a callback with Mark Fincannon (CD) and Todd Graff (Director) for the upcoming film Joyful Noise. It went great. In fact, it was the first time I've ever had the privilege of getting cast for a role 'on the spot'!

I'll play Officer Darrell Lino in the movie and although it's a very small role- the scene will allow me to work with Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah. Awesome!!!

Scheduled to shoot on February 14.

More details later.

:)