Let's just say there is a casting director looking for an actor to play the role of a gangster. When he/she goes through the actors database looking for people to audition, it would make sense to put a 'gangster' looking photo as my profile picture on showcast, but HOW am I supposed to know in the first place that they are looking for a gangster? How do I change my photos so that I give the right look to score the audition? Unless the casting director tells everyone they are looking for a gangster and to submit photos of yourself, then yes you can do it, but if the casting director looks for you based on your GENERIC headshot on Showcast, then spending money on multiple headshots is pointless. I don't think casting directors have time to go through your photos and detail and waste time deciding if you have the right look or not. Maybe a good idea would be to rotate my headshots every month and just HOPE that the right look matches what they are looking for at that particular point in time? Anyone have any other ideas?
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Last week I was lucky enough to audition for a feature film, 'Felony', written by Joel Edgerton. The audition was run by Greg Apps and BOY DID I LEARN A LOT! Greg pretty much taught me to forget what I have learnt, and run purely on instincts. He did not care about the script - only the emotion. He wanted to see what 'character' I had created, rather than what I had prepared. It was an audition like no other, and I am very thankful for it. On top of this, he gave me a real wake up call which I really needed. I got to experience what a 'real' audition was as opposed to an extras audition for a commercial which I have done heaps of. Hopefully I will get a chance to work with him again. Thanks Greg!
ps. I will add that I was contacted directly by Greg and his assistant, and NOT through an agent. yes it is possible to do your own marketing so get cracking! To be honest, I have thought about giving up on acting as I cannot find a job where I can get out of at the last minute and my living arrangements are not really helping either. I received a letter from showcast, asking me to renew my membership, but I was really contemplating whether I should let it go given that I do not have an agent and am kind of wanting something different out of life.
However, a few days ago, I received an email from a VCA post graduate asking me if I would like to be in his film! I could not believe it! First of all, he actually found me from showcast (luckily I still had a few days of membership remaining). Secondly, he trusted me enough and I did not have to audition for the part, and lastly, he said that he saw my showreel and thought that I fit the part. Just when I thought I was going to let go of acting, something like this comes up and it really does keep you going. When you least expect something, BOOM it comes! If you are too focused on acting and trying to be famous, you will probably have a miserable time, but if you just let it go and focus on life, things like this WILL come up so hang in there actors...you'll get there! Never pass up an opportunity to help out a mate/friend/volunteer because you will ALWAYS learn something, and the more life skills / knowledge you have, the better actor you become.
This month, I've been helping my mate renovate his bathroom and I have learnt so much! I remember auditioning for ads/commerical for worksafe/TAC and they specifically want 'tradie skills', and now I have them! Always remember to watch tradies and how they use their tools. I was also given the opportunity to be around trades people and they actually talk/behave differently if you pay attention to them. An adult intellectualised version of a tradie vs an actual tradie is a huge difference! Just because it's not 'acting' doesn't mean that you should pass it up. You will always learn something so get off your seats and live in the real world! I recently took up a meditation course at my university. I think it is important to stay calm and not over react to a stressful situation. Take a breath, calm your thoughts, bring your mind back to the present and THEN make a decision. I have found this quite useful when it comes to down time when I am not working. It is all about sitting with the truth and not judging the situation that you are in.
In other news, I was very surprised that I got called up for an audition without an agent last week. I didn't know that many casting directors work in this way. I always hear students complaining about 'oh my agent is not working for me', yet here we have a prime example of someone getting an audition WITHOUT an agent. interesting huh? Lastly, I just wanted to let you know that I had my FIRST concert performance 2 weeks ago. I finally got to play guitar and sing for the first time in my life. I had lots of fun, had to memorise lyrics, learn guitar, consult a guitar teacher, buy the appropriate equipment for my guitar. I even did a live broadcast over the internet (blogtv.com/hammerhiney) to practice and I had a few people comment on my performance! if you want to see it, it has been pre-recorded and you can see it at the link I just listed. That is all for now! I am enjoying where I am at in my life and encourage you all to do the same. Remember, it is not all about acting! you need a BALANCE! Until next time.... I have taken a mini break from acting recently to figure out what I really want. I've been torn between acting and songwriting. Everytime i goto the movies, I want to follow my acting dreams, and everytime i sit in the car, I want to persue songwriting. I feel like I better make a decision right now so that I dont sit on the fence forever. Last night I was inspired to go into song writing and even learnt how to use garageband thanks to my friend, but then today I got called up to do some emergency acting work at the medical school where I realised how much I like it. I also met someone nice too! I felt really good doing it, so here we go again... I am torn....however if I look deeper, perhaps there is an underlying issue that is causing me to feel 'stuck'? I feel like I want to hang around young intelligent people to make me feel connected. I miss being around others as acting and song writing is very personal for me and not 'grounded' enough. Tomorrow I have more medical work so we'll see how it goes. We'll see who I'll meet!
Oh it definitely is a hard balancing act being an actor. one half of yourself needs to be available at the last minute to be able to attend auditions, yet the other half needs a stable job in order to stay alive. Last week I had to pass up on an audition and this week passing up on another film project just because i should 'work' to keep the boss happy. I'm sure one day it will all work out. Just putting it out there just incase someone else feels the same as I do. Keep hanging in! we definitely picked a risky life but in the end, we will all be rewarded.
In other news, I'm attending my final screening for a Hello fans! sorry it has been a month since I last posted an update. I have been trying to cut down on acting work so that I can look for a 'stable income' as funny as that sounds so that I can finally move out closer to the city. Have had many battles with work trying to secure shifts and all sorts of issues/unfair treatment, but then again, who ever said corporate work would be fair?
Since doing the last re-shoot of 'fortune cookie', I have also done an audio dub recording for 'TAG', and then landed a last minute short film where they needed an asian character. I'm so glad the shoot is over and I'm hoping that it is the last one of the year. I'm looking foreward to attending a few screenings of my films next month. I've met some amazing and beautiful people and I certainly enjoyed working with them. I hope they all find their path. My 'links' tab has been updated with all the short films I could get a hold of. oh and FAB got entered into a film festival in San Francisco and it WON! I'm so happy that I was a part of that project and I hope I did the character justice. Speaking of FAB, I bumped into some new people who I've never met before but they kept insisting that they've seen me somewhere. A few hours later, it finally clicked that they saw me on FAB. WOW! I finally have fans! I'm also happy that my friend said "yea, thats right. Kenny's an actor and this is what he does in his real life". That made me feel really good because finally someone had valided me and acknowledged that I am a true actor, instead of someone who works and does a bit of acting for fun. just wanted to say thank you to my awesome workmates who tell me that one day I should be an actor. without them i would never get through the psychological pain that work brings. oh and i've been reading some other people's actors websties and i wonder why it always has to be so professional. it almost sounds corporate! and i hate corporates! its full of lies, 'extended' truths, boasting and showoffs. this is the exact reason why i chose to become an actor - to represent the truth in the most honest way possible, rather than hide behind a corporate facade.
oh and back to the main point....i will be doing a re-shoot of 'fortune cookie' tomorrow. you can catch me at flinders court from about 6.30 onwa got an audition tomorrow for ABC. they require a vietnamese accent. the funny thing about being chinese, is that I have to learn a hong kong accent, chinese accent, cambodian accent, vietnamese accent, japanese accent. there seems to be a shortage of asian actors in melbourne, and an even shortage of genuine ethic people who still retain their accents.
in other news, i am re-shooting a short film scene due to technical errors from last time this week, and I also want to attend a screening of an independant feature film that I worked on. |