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Through Creative Life and Other Fancies, I seek to inspire and inform people about living as a creative person. Here you will find my successes, failure, and best of all, attempts. Enjoy!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Enough with Reality TV

Sorry this is a rant post.  Flipping through the channels tonight and as usual I'm greeted by an obscene number of reality shows.  I'll admit there are a couple I love: Pawn Stars (I'm a history geek) and Say Yes to the Dress (I'm girl and there are pretty things on that show) are about the only ones I can stand.  Between women and men who are so desperate for fame and just horrible concepts for shows, is it really any wonder that our industry is suffering?


What happened to the whole paying your dues and actually having a good work ethic?  I, for one, love seeing an actor or actress develop into an artist.  Take Natalie Portman.  She's worked her butt off for years and is at a point that no one can deny how talented she is.  But she worked.  She educated herself while immersing herself in her craft.  


I'm all for getting yourself noticed but I think you need to be careful how you're getting noticed.  Is it because you genuinely did a good job or is it because you made a spectacle?  This industry, while seemingly impossible for people to get into, is actually a very small community.  Everyone knows everyone.  Word travels and a good reputation is a precious thing to have.  Build one and guard it like the treasure it is.


Happy creating!

Monday, March 28, 2011

Great Females Roles are Hard to Come By

So it looks like both Katee Sackhoff and Eliza Dushku are getting pilots this year.  This makes me happy, mostly because I loved their portrayals of two of my favourite TV characters, Starbuck (BSG) and Faith (Buffy and Angel).  And yes I'm revealing how much of a geek I am by saying I watched all those series faithfully...pun intended.


What I really love is that both of these women have a tendency to play strong female roles and that's a hard thing to do in this business.  Most female roles are defined as "the girlfriend", "the wife", or most sadly, "the victim".  As someone who spent most of her life as a blonde, I know all too well how much type casting comes into play when trying out for a role.  The amount of ditzy cheerleaders or helpless victims I've tried out for is almost funny.    


A writer friend of mine recently apologized for the general lack of creativity among writers when creating female characters.  Which I thanked him for.  It's a nice sentiment really but until I see more frequent awesome mainstream female roles in films, I'm not holding my breath that his awareness is widespread throughout the industry.


So here's my challenge to all you writers out there.  Write a feature, a short, or TV episode that has one great female role.  One where she's the strong one but not cold and unapproachable.  Make her smart and equal to her peers.  Have us want to see her character reveal itself.  Just try it once.  


Oh yeah, then tell me what hair colour she has in your mind.


Happy creating!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Creative Ways to Fund Your Film

There are tons of ways to get your film made.  You could fund it yourself, either by credit card or by breaking up the shooting schedule so you can afford it.  You could beg family and friends for loans.  There's crowd funding and, of course, the traditional find a distributor, get some names, and wrangle up some moola.  


What has been your go-to for funding?  Have you sold merchandise?  Given away swag in return for donations? Amassed a Facebook and Twitter army of fans?  Let us know!  We're dying to hear your crazy attempts, successes, failures, and best of all, ideas!


Happy creating!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Variety Archives: Elizabeth Taylor 'Conquers'

Today, we lost an icon.  She may not have been everyone's favourite but she left her mark.  Thanks Liz for everything.

Variety Archives: Elizabeth Taylor 'Conquers': "Variety Archives: Elizabeth Taylor 'Conquers'"



Again with the self promotion...

So it's official folks!  Netflix bought our commercials and yours truly is coming to an online video source near you.  Soon (maybe now) you can see the ads we filmed about a month ago before the video you actually wanted to see plays.  Sorry about interrupting your online video experience but I hope at least you get a giggle out them!



NETBABY

NETCOMMUTE



Happy creating!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Filmmaking is a Business. Period.

No matter how beautiful your art film is, no matter how poignant the story of a woman who selflessly gives her all to her family is, if you as a filmmaker don't understand that you are working within a business industry, you are screwed.  That is assuming that you want more than your family, friends, and a handful of festival goers to see your film.


Yeah, things are changing.  Mediums such as YouTube and VOD are changing the scene.  Crowding funding through sites such as IndieGoGo are making it much easier to raise capital for films.  All good. All great.  But this is a business and if you don't adhere to that concept, you could be shooting yourself in the foot.  Are there legal ramifications of raising funds through crowd-funding sites in your province or state?  Do you know about chain of title...if that's even what it's called?  What sort of tax incentives can you go for?  Have you set up your production company properly to take advantage of them?  Who knows?  Do you?


I just read a great post that really hit this point home.  There are so many things I would never even consider when looking at making a film.  It really focuses on a filmmaker as a manager and acting in the best interest of the business; the business being the making of your film and future ones.


Here's just a small glimpse into the world of the entertainment business.  Goodness knows, there are countless vistas to explore as I learn more.  But enjoy.  I found it incredibly educational.  Be forewarned, there's some legal jargon in there.


Happy creating! ....hope I didn't cause a headache....

Monday, March 21, 2011

A little more on goal setting

I may talk about this a lot but it's something that's near and dear to my heart.  I get asked a lot about goals and how to go about achieving them.  I've written before that I post mine up so I can see them.  But what good is posting them and telling them to others to help keep you accountable if the desire just isn't there?


So here's the new challenge:  attaching a strong emotion to those goals.  Something so strong that if you don't do them, you will feel like you've let yourself down.  And there's nothing worse than letting yourself down.  OK, maybe letting your mother or partner down and knowing they're disappointed in you is worse but you get the idea.


Deep breath, here's mine.  I feel horrible if I don't try my best at something and do a good job.  If I feel that I've let someone down because I didn't put my all into something, I'm a wreck.  I still feel terrible about the time my favourite teacher in high school caught my friends and I copying our homework from each other.  All he had to do was shake his head and sigh in disappointment for me to spend the rest of my academic career trying desperately to make up for it.  When I passed this by my fiance, he just smiled that knowing smile of his and said that sounded exactly like me.  So here I am, attaching this to my biggest goals.


What's your strong emotional tie to your goals?  Ain't got one?  Do some soul searching.  Why do you want to do something?  It's all well and good to want to get out of debt for example, but if it's not emotionally important to you, it probably won't happen.  At least, that's the way it is for me.


Oh and PS:  I write killer essays and assignments now. Or did when I was in university.


Think it through and happy creating!

Friday, March 18, 2011

Have an iPhone? Make a Movie!

Yeah you can do that.  If that super sweet Canon 7D or a RED is a bit out of your price range, check out the cool apps you can use to make films on your devices.  Sometimes, Apple you're so cool.


22 Filmmaking Apps for the iPhone and iPad


I'm particularly excited about "Rehearsal" and "Movie Slate"...those suckers are expensive!


Happy affordable creating!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Ever Wonder What Happens in an Audition?

People go crazy. I'm serious. It's like another world in there. Let me set the scene;


The agent calls. You've got a great principal audition for a pilot. Awesome. You get the sides, work them out, get them on their feet, and then to bed early to get your beauty rest.


Then you arrive. Maybe you left work early or headed in before your shift. Now you gotta get into the head space you were last night. Into the Actor Head Space. You take a step into the waiting room. You know you'll be greeted by one of two things. Either complete silence (aside from the either super cheerful or really sullen desk person) or almost silence except for those two people that worked on that commercial last year and OMG how have you been and I've been soooo busy....blah blah blah. The rest of the peeps who look a lot like you are usually gazing off into space mumbling or staring intently at their sides. Every so often, one might get up and start vocal exercises or even jump around.


Then you hear your name called. So you head in. Smile. Smile. I'm great. How are you? Look at me being a nice fun person. Introductions. Slate. And switch! I'm a clinically depressed woman who's on the verge of being admitted. Scene! Take some direction. Do it again. Great. Cheery girl emerges again. And thank you very much and have a great day.


Auditioning is an intense experience. It asks you to be both yourself and a completely different person in the space of a few seconds. It's an art and one that's hard to master. I'm still getting the hang of it. My nerves can be killer sometimes. Every actor handles it differently. Where else can you find a room full of look-a-likes who are either mumbling to themselves, staring at walls, or saying "ahhhhhhhh" and making raspberries? Anywhere else, and they'd be labelled crazy.


I read a great post about auditioning today. The writer really tries to turn the audition waiting room on its head to make it less intimidating. I like this. There's no point in making it more than it is--just a room full of people who are just as nervous as you, no matter how cool they try to act or how much they jump around.


So maybe next time I enter the strange world of the audition waiting room, I will try something different and see what it does to my performance. Hey, it can't hurt.


Happy creating!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Interview with Sherry Hormann, Director of Desert Flower Women and Hollywood

I just read a really nice interview with Sherry Hormann. It gives a great outline on some of difficulties of women in film. It does take baby steps. Check it out below:


Thanks Sherry and Women & Hollywood. We're with you and waiting to knock down a few doors along side you.


Happy creating!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

It's Been A Long Time, My Friend

The Oscars have come and gone.  The red carpet is rolled up and put away until next year.  And all the dresses and jewels have been returned to their respective owners (right, Lindsay Lohan?).  


Watching the Oscars always makes me take a look at my career.  What can I be doing differently?  How can I hold myself accountable for what I need to be doing?  How I can create more opportunities for myself?


So to tie into one of my first posts this year, here's the lowdown on my progress:


1) I've been auditioning way more this year.  From theatre to film, I'm getting out there for a lot of really cool roles.  And none of them are ditzy cheerleaders.  Thanks to my agent on this front for putting up with my constant emailing about interesting parts I find.  You rock my world, my friend!


2) I'm working out waaaay more.  Thanks to my wonderful fiance for reminding me to kick my own ass.  Not only does this help with the winter blahs, it's lining me up for at least being considered for some great roles.  Oh yeah and to look smoking in the wedding gown;


3) I still have my mountain of debt but I'm being very conscious of how I spend my money and what I'm putting towards that mountain.  It's gonna take me years but progress is being made;


4) I'm in talks with some producer/director friends regarding a feature.  More to come on that front but it sounds really cool.


5) Regarding creating more opportunities for myself, obviously I've been searching out more auditions and working more with those in my network (Hi guys!).  But on top of that, I finally put together an actor's basic tool and made my demo reel.  To be honest, I had enough material for this awhile ago but for some reason just didn't do it.  It took someone else doing theirs (thanks Mel) for me to just sit down and do it.  Maybe I was afraid but it's out there now and I feel much better;


6) I'm taking inspiration from my peers and celebrating their successes.  Yes, there are days it's hard when you hear that someone else is getting a great role you'd kill for.  But I've decided to see someone else's success as a sign that our industry is actually still kicking.  Check out some friends' projects here:  Clutch, TLA ProNocturnal Emissions, Bay Street Visions;


7) I've re-focused on acting and it's made all the difference.


So how have I been holding myself accountable?  Someone I know does a point system everyday to show what he has accomplished.  I'm not sure if it's a game with a winner at the end but it sure helps him stay on track.  I've decided to use a chart.  Kinda like the chore chart you used to have when you were a kid.  I've set out things that I need to do each week and when I do them, I get a star.  OK, an "X" but you get it.  And I've got my chart posted proudly on my desktop so when I turn on my laptop, I see it there, glaring disapprovingly if I'm not working on something productive.


While I may get frustrated at things being slower than I want, at least I can take comfort in knowing that I'm doing something.  Every journey and blah blah blah.


How do you hold yourself accountable? 


Happy creating!


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