Once, when a magazine editor asked me to write a piece on alternative earning methods for local actors, my first thought was, What can I say about alternative earning methods? I’m not an actor – I just played one on TV. But she correctly noted that I work in several distinct areas and know others who do too. Stage actors can look to work in industrial films, commercials, PSAs, or films – there are many smaller jobs to augment your income, and some could turn into second careers.
Voice-overs
Voice-over work is very popular in the Bay Area, where a number of houses turn out high-quality animation. There’s Wild Brain in San Francisco, with ILM over in the Presidio, Phil Tippett Studios in Berkeley, DreamWorks in Redwood City and Emeryville’s own Pixar. And many video game producers always need V/O talent, either for scratch-tracks or for final product. Your agent or manager can find you work at any of the places hiring V/O talent.
If you’re really serious about voice-over, then consider buying a high-quality microphone and lining a smallish room with old comforters. Many local actors audition via MP3 at home; they get their sides by e-mail, then they e-mail the MP3 files back. Jarion Monroe says, “Auditioning from home is extremely economical. By not going into the city, I save $15 to $20 on gas, tolls and parking – plus general wear on the car. It also means that I can keep recording the audition until I get the perfect take.”
Julian Lopez-Morillas actually does the work itself at home, but he’s invested almost $2,000 in some very high-quality equipment and dedicated a small room as his studio. For book-on-tape publisher Audio Scholar, he’d previously worked in a professional studio to record Jung: Man & His Symbols, Einstein’s Relativity, and books by Carl Sagan, Stephen Hawking and others. He explains, “When Audio Scholar started contracting with people to record in their own home studios, I consulted with a sound engineer and gave self-producing a try. Today I’m doing quality control work on a self-produced CD, Muse of Fire: Favorites from Shakespeare.”
Two years ago, Mary Windishar thought her husband was nuts when he suggested that she produce her own spots at home. But he proved prophetic. For past 18 months, she’s done three Flash demos for Internet companies, two sets of co-op commercials for GE appliances, and numerous commercials for broadcast TV and radio. She says, “I’m still a bit shocked that I can stay home in my blue bunny slippers and earn hundreds of dollars. I had to be dragged into this, because I didn’t want to be an engineer – I wanted to do the glamorous stuff. If I had my choice, I’d always choose to work with engineers and other creative collaborators; I love the camaraderie and I love working in a real studio. But the truth is that to survive as a V/O artist today, you must have a home studio.”
Windishar warns that you can’t just drop into voice-over. There are very rigid expectations, and things that can’t be faked, like how to audition, how to perform – the things you can only learn from a pro. Voice-over work isn’t easy money and isn’t something that anyone with a good voice can do. For one, you’ll need a good teacher.
Anyone can fake a Southern accent, but regional accents are very specific and not to be trifled with. Invest in a book on accents. The following ones run about $22 each: American Dialects and Foreign Dialects, both by Herman & Herman, published by Routledge; and Accents: A Manual for Actors, by Blumenfeld, published by Limelight.
Just starting out and have no demo reel? You can make your own reel by taping a commercial from the radio and then duplicating it. You’ll probably have to do it many times before you get it right, and even then you should call someone with a studio (even a home studio) and do it all over again – believe me, you’ll benefit by the experience of others by this effort. You want to present your best work, and agents and casting directors know when something is knocked together by a newbie. V/O teacher Taylor Korobow is also an expert at self-producing proper demo reels.
Print Work
Print work is also a good option, especially if you have a unique look. You could make a tidy living from the many catalog companies in the Bay Area. Williams-Sonoma and the entire Pottery Barn conglomerate works out of a studio in Brisbane, churning out five or six catalogs annually for each of seven different concepts.
Other companies include Ambrosia, Smith & Hawken, The Sharper Image, Target, Northface, Restoration Hardware, Mervyn's California, Gump's and The Gap, not to mention the retail newspaper ads shot every week by Macy’s and other big advertisers. Remember that you’ll need specific types of photos that mimic advertising photos (called ‘zed’ or comp cards) that are different from headshots – they’re usually in color and offset printed. And don’t contact the companies directly, because they all hire casting directors who work solely through recognized agents, so if you want to work in this market, have your agent research it.
Spokemodels & More
Other actors with the right physicality for the specific jobs can land work as spokesmodels – they may want only women, or persons within a certain age range, etc. There’s a lot of work at conventions, and the local casting companies get calls for people to dress in business clothes and learn a script before heading over to the Concourse or Moscone Center. There are numerous fashion-oriented shows that need booth workers at the Concourse, and the big conventions at Moscone always attract people to work in booths, hand out samples or take customer information. You’ll get a lot of experience meeting different kinds of people, giving you a great store of physical mannerisms to use in constructing characters.
‘Medical actors’ impersonate patients with specific symptoms as part of training exercises for aspiring doctors. These faux patients (called ‘standardized patients’) study and exhibit symptoms, helping medical students and interns hone their communication skills and create an accurate diagnosis. As a 'standardized patient' with four years experience, Local actor Don Schwartz says, “I work for three medical schools and a physician-assistant program, as well as a test-preparation program specifically designed for foreign-trained physicians. I enjoy working with med students and physicians. It’s an opportunity to make a positive difference in their development as health care practitioners. I’m helping to nurture more humane, compassionate practitioners.”
There are similar 'litigation actors' who impersonate criminals and witnesses for lawyers-in-training. And several law-enforcement agencies hire actors to impersonate felons for officer-training purposes. Keep in mind, though, that these are very specialized jobs, not many actors are hired, and there aren’t any local agencies handling them… yet. An online search can help you find such companies – but again, let your agent do the heavy lifting here.
As part of your continuing education in your chosen profession, I urge you to get acquainted with the Reel Directory, published by Doug and Lynetta Freeman. An immensely valuable resource, RD lists everything from actors to writers, with all crew and vendor resources indexed by category and name. Read the entire book – you’ll learn a lot. RD is also online on CD as well. Find it at: www.reeldirectory.com.
There are other jobs that use the same skill-set that you have spent so much time building, and the only limit to this kind of work is your imagination. So get out there and break a leg!
SIDEBAR: Acting in Other Ways
Bartenders & Waitstaff
These jobs aren’t too confining, the tips can be good, and you can go to auditions in your off hours. You’re also in constant interaction with lots of people and you’re solving interpersonal problems for customers, both of which can be very helpful in building characters for your repertoire.
Telemarketers
Doing phone surveys can be an excellent way to earn money while honing your skills at conversation and improvisation. As a customer service phone operator, you can develop a character and stick with it for extended periods.
Realtors
Many an actor has earned a very nice living in real estate, because that profession relies on the right kind of interaction: you have to know the right thing to say at the right time, and then you have to sell it. Again, you can work (mostly) your own hours, you have free time to book auditions, and you may not have to show up every day. And the money’s reported to be pretty good. Just watch out that you don’t wind up trading one career for another.
Public Relations
This field is highly provisional within some set boundaries. You have to know the playing field, know the players, then improvise like crazy to achieve the desired result. As with real estate, PR is all about people skills and knowing the motivations of the people you are dealing with.
In-Home Service Jobs
Others who have to know their clients and meet their needs are home decorators, interior designers and organizers also. There is a lot of research required, similar to building a character, and you’ll find situations that challenge your skills and patience – always good activities for learning. Perhaps not as demanding is the job of a home organizer or home-office organizer, in which you’d work with a client to find the proper way to get things placed for maximum efficiency. This may be a good area to explore for scenic designers and builders as well.
David Hakim is an assistant director, producer, and publicity expert who developed campaigns for every major Hollywood studio and handled publicity for the Motion Picture Academy. Find him in the Reel Directory online: www.reeldirectory.com.
All material copyright 2010 David Hakim and may not be duplicated - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
martes, 11 de mayo de 2010
domingo, 9 de mayo de 2010
Rosemary's Baby, 2010
What’s with all the sturm&drang about Roman Polanski? The guy committed a crime. He’s no different from any other criminal, as much of a genius as he might be. Now captured after 30 years, he is under house arrest in a Swiss mansion.
Wow, lucky Polanski!
If his skin were black or brown, he’d be lucky to not have been lynched. He’d be in an orange jumpsuit some prison in Central California with lots and lots of rough boyfriends with whom to discuss the finer points of camera lenses and working with actors, when they weren’t busy exploring his ‘inner realms’ (since they hate child molesters in the joint).
I think that he should stay under house arrest for a long long time. And if he wants to make movies, then he should use his creative mind to come up with ways to bring the set to himself, shooting only in his spacious Swiss mansion and the surrounding grounds. He could make a nice ‘drawing room’ drama, perhaps about the evils of lust and gluttony, or about the moral dangers of privilege and celebrity. Every film needs a theme, after all.
Or, Polanski could do what Coppola did in the early 80s. For One From the Heart, Coppola brought in a 'command center' built into a big Airstream trailer. And in that shiny silver bullet, Coppola could relax and eat his lunch while directing – without setting foot on the set) and he could make any movie he wants, anywhere in the world, from his luxurious Swiss mansion via satellite.
The 70s and early 80s were great times for experimenting with the process – especially for Coppola. He also developed a technique for shortening shooting time by extending rehearsal time and using that early period for rewrites and actual editing of his film. Taking a page from Alfred Hitchcock (who worked from a storyboard book with each shot so highly detailed that virtually anyone could have blocked and directed his films), Coppola used one assistant director to gaff his long rehearsal sessions on Cannery Row while tape-recording dialog and taking Polaroid snapshots. The actors would work in a big empty stage, with folding chairs and tables, as well as chalkmarks on the floor and walls to delineate rooms, doors and windows. The AD would record actors’ lines and take shots of them according to the script’s camera angles and lenses. When the actors went home, the AD would then videotape the snapshots while the cassette tape played, with all the scenes in order, and within a day or so Coppola would have a virtual edit of his film – using only one crew member. He would then review it and edit his script to reflect changes that would normally be made later in the editing process, after much footage would have been shot (at great cost in time and money). Then, the actors would be called back in to the same stage, in which actual furniture and painted backdrops would have been installed that modified script. In these sessions, the AD would be filming the action, per the updated script, with a video camera, capturing the shots called for: close-up, medium, wide, singles, two-shots, masters, etc. The actors would be released, and Coppola would then view the edited version of that script – and again re-edited the ‘sketch’ of the film. So before he had spent a dime on locations or crew (or actors’ fees, except for the very modest rehearsal fees) he would have the final clut of his film. It was estimated at the time that about a quarter of any budget could be trimmed away in this manner.
Mike Leigh works with his actors for like six months or more in character study and rehearsal (see the results in Happy Go Lucky), which is another thing that Polanski could do – with his actors visiting him in Switzerland.
Errol Morris conducts his documentary interviews from an adjoining room, via a video camera set behind a teleprompter on which his face is projected. The mediation of the director is a technique already in use, so why not use it to a good purpose?
So what’s my point? Well, Polanski is a highly creative guy – so let him figure out ways to do his time like a man, hold his mud, and stfu. He could stop sniveling, bring his actors to Switzerland, put them up in his big old mansion, and engage them in intensive work on their characters, using Coppola’s second technique to reduce set time. Then he could use Coppola’s first technique to get the film made, directing remotely.
So my message to Polanski: “Enough wyngeing already, Roman – use your (much deserved) restrictions to come up with a masterpiece!
David Hakim is an assistant director, producer, and publicity expert who developed campaigns for every major Hollywood studio and handled publicity for the Motion Picture Academy. Find him in the Reel Directory online: www.reeldirectory.com.
All material copyright 2010 David Hakim and may not be duplicated - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Wow, lucky Polanski!
If his skin were black or brown, he’d be lucky to not have been lynched. He’d be in an orange jumpsuit some prison in Central California with lots and lots of rough boyfriends with whom to discuss the finer points of camera lenses and working with actors, when they weren’t busy exploring his ‘inner realms’ (since they hate child molesters in the joint).
I think that he should stay under house arrest for a long long time. And if he wants to make movies, then he should use his creative mind to come up with ways to bring the set to himself, shooting only in his spacious Swiss mansion and the surrounding grounds. He could make a nice ‘drawing room’ drama, perhaps about the evils of lust and gluttony, or about the moral dangers of privilege and celebrity. Every film needs a theme, after all.
Or, Polanski could do what Coppola did in the early 80s. For One From the Heart, Coppola brought in a 'command center' built into a big Airstream trailer. And in that shiny silver bullet, Coppola could relax and eat his lunch while directing – without setting foot on the set) and he could make any movie he wants, anywhere in the world, from his luxurious Swiss mansion via satellite.
The 70s and early 80s were great times for experimenting with the process – especially for Coppola. He also developed a technique for shortening shooting time by extending rehearsal time and using that early period for rewrites and actual editing of his film. Taking a page from Alfred Hitchcock (who worked from a storyboard book with each shot so highly detailed that virtually anyone could have blocked and directed his films), Coppola used one assistant director to gaff his long rehearsal sessions on Cannery Row while tape-recording dialog and taking Polaroid snapshots. The actors would work in a big empty stage, with folding chairs and tables, as well as chalkmarks on the floor and walls to delineate rooms, doors and windows. The AD would record actors’ lines and take shots of them according to the script’s camera angles and lenses. When the actors went home, the AD would then videotape the snapshots while the cassette tape played, with all the scenes in order, and within a day or so Coppola would have a virtual edit of his film – using only one crew member. He would then review it and edit his script to reflect changes that would normally be made later in the editing process, after much footage would have been shot (at great cost in time and money). Then, the actors would be called back in to the same stage, in which actual furniture and painted backdrops would have been installed that modified script. In these sessions, the AD would be filming the action, per the updated script, with a video camera, capturing the shots called for: close-up, medium, wide, singles, two-shots, masters, etc. The actors would be released, and Coppola would then view the edited version of that script – and again re-edited the ‘sketch’ of the film. So before he had spent a dime on locations or crew (or actors’ fees, except for the very modest rehearsal fees) he would have the final clut of his film. It was estimated at the time that about a quarter of any budget could be trimmed away in this manner.
Mike Leigh works with his actors for like six months or more in character study and rehearsal (see the results in Happy Go Lucky), which is another thing that Polanski could do – with his actors visiting him in Switzerland.
Errol Morris conducts his documentary interviews from an adjoining room, via a video camera set behind a teleprompter on which his face is projected. The mediation of the director is a technique already in use, so why not use it to a good purpose?
So what’s my point? Well, Polanski is a highly creative guy – so let him figure out ways to do his time like a man, hold his mud, and stfu. He could stop sniveling, bring his actors to Switzerland, put them up in his big old mansion, and engage them in intensive work on their characters, using Coppola’s second technique to reduce set time. Then he could use Coppola’s first technique to get the film made, directing remotely.
So my message to Polanski: “Enough wyngeing already, Roman – use your (much deserved) restrictions to come up with a masterpiece!
David Hakim is an assistant director, producer, and publicity expert who developed campaigns for every major Hollywood studio and handled publicity for the Motion Picture Academy. Find him in the Reel Directory online: www.reeldirectory.com.
All material copyright 2010 David Hakim and may not be duplicated - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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