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.