Actor Growth

Okay, so I think I am near a point now where it is time to make some changes when it comes to my acting career. This involves things such as revisiting the people that are currently assisting me professionally as some things are clearly working and some things are not. The last time I did this was near the beginning of the year. How I intend to do this is to first speak with the acting coach I am currently working with to see what type of input he has as so far it seems like he is personally motivated in seeing me succeed.

Acting is very much a business oriented profession as unfortunately you can’t just focus on the creative aspect of the profession. One of those things that you don’t really want to do but have to.

Just a few days away here in Vancouver where the cell phone carrier I am using will be upgrading its network. A big reason for that is the Olympics 2010 that will be coming here on February. As a result there are going to be a whole whack of new phones coming out for it. Coincidentally, my contract expires next month too which means being able to acquire a new phone as companies try to get you in on another contract.

I was seriously contemplating a smartphone this time around not only for convenience but rather for multimedia features. For example, taking high quality pictures and videos of when I get to travel to the different sets. Carrying like a dedicated camcorder or camera is usually too much.

So far, I think the only three I am comparing is the BlackBerry Bold 9700, Apple iPhone 3GS and the Samsung Omnia 2. Most actors I bump into that carry a smartphone appear to have an iPhone. I don’t know if that is so much because it is the best but rather the choice was very limited before. At this point though, I thin I am favoring the Omnia 2.

Honestly, one of the big reasons is that I read that this device was able to capture video in a 720×480 resolution at 30fps. I can imagine being able to capture a lot of cool stuff with that especially if I venture into that video blogging idea. I haven’t really seen how well the thing works in low lighting though as I know these recording devices don’t replace a dedicated camcorder if you intend to shoot like an actual film.

I think the blackberry would make the most sense though if I was thinking of one simply as a communication device as I heard nothing really touches that yet in terms of items like typing and e-mailing. The iPhone is like the middle of the road in many ways for my situation I think. The network is supposed to launch next week, so hopefully I will get a better idea which one to get by then.

So today I paid a visit to my old high school. It was kind of an interesting as essentially what happened is that since I graduated the school opened up a film program. As a result, they have wanted a website for years specifically for this program. The unfortunate thing was that no one had the commitment or skills to do it.

So a lady that is part of the board in the program is the mother of my brother’s friend. As a result, everyone knew that I could do this kind of web stuff and so after some referrals she asked me if I was able to help create a site for a school program. So coincidentally enough, I was very happy to learn that it was my old high school that needed help.

I never met the instructor of the film program and so today I went to meet him. As it turned out, he was a bit late and so I waited in the classroom. Then, the theatre teacher drops by to talk to one of the students. This was such a priceless moment as when he saw me he just freaked out. lol. The theatre instructor was the same person that taught acting when I was there.

He mentions all the time apparently that the students in the year I graduated was the best for him as all of us accomplished the most and broke so many records that year. He was also the same person that pushed me to do acting despite all of the stereotypes and cynicism there was that an Asian person could succeed in the program. I guess I didn’t disappoint as I walked away with awards in provincial competitions. So yeah, when he saw me standing in that classroom he swore a little and was excited. Lucky there were only three other students in there. lol

Afterwards, I got to talk to the film instructor to see what I can do to help the school out. Interesting day.

It was another pretty standard day in terms of what we did. There was one thing interesting though. The sides that we got dealt with some kind of thief that was orchestrating a robbery as it was his job to scout the place out for a few days. In the process he meets this girl that he kind of falls in love with. Therefore, in the midst of the robbery he decides he wants to try to change his life and to make sure this girl doesn’t get shot in the process by the other people.

Based on what I read I first interpreted it as the girl was dumbfounded about the situation and as the thief confessed about his background she just thought it was a joke and persisted that it is one. As the script indicates, it’s not until further in the conversation that she starts to fear for her life.

So my direction was to do it in a very serious way where the character is trying to tell her he is dead serious and is telling her this because he doesn’t want her to get hurt. Guess it’s like a guy saying he is in a crazy gang that is about to destroy the place where you just laugh at the idea and it’s not until he keeps talking about it with some very detailed information that you start to realize he is dead serious.

So in the first round the coach was saying the intensity level was definitely there. Except he started to say that the guy was supposed to be extremely remorseful about admitting his professions to the lady and in order to convince her to follow him to safety he needed to be more empathetic I guess you can say. So in my mind, that meant that this character was extremely weaker than what I thought.

I debated about the choices and direction for awhile as some of them seemed like it was more about a directional choice. But, as a challenge of an actor I think the key to an audition is that you need to be adaptable to take direction and so I did. I re-did the scene with all the feedbacks and direction.

Afterwards, the coach said that I nailed it and just like from a previous class where he thought my performance was amazing he said that I achieved that same level with this. I was thinking even more and it seems like at this point of my training and the feedback that I have been getting is that acting is not an issue at all when it comes to the audition process but rather trying to get the interpretation right the first time. That is such a subjective thing too.

On a side note I learned that one of my classmates landed a role in that feature film the A Team. While that is great news, even he was joking about it as before he was saying that he wanted to grow his hair as he feels that he could get more auditions that way. Wouldn’t you know it, this role that he landed requires him to shave his hair and go bald. Funny how things work in life sometimes.

So today there was a really good sale for a Logitech Webcam Pro 9000 and I thought that I would buy it since I have neglected to purchase a webcam all these years and it seems like many of my out of country friends ask for me to jump on applications like skype to chat.

I was thinking further too now that I have this webcam on whether or not I wanted to venture into the world of video blogging or creating a show of sorts for fun online. Cause you never where as an actor just doing something like this could create something great.

Of course Youtube videos are the first things that come to mind. I have never personally seen a rising actor use it as a way to help push his/her career successfully. A lot of musicians use it with much success to help make themselves known to get various opportunities.

Another popular platform nowadays that I notice is blogtv. It’s basically just people talking on their webcams and other people can interact with you. That sounded kind of fun to me if I could meet other actors or aspiring filmmakers around the world this way.

Has anyone actually tried doing some scene acting with a bunch of people on a webcam actually? lol. It would be like bringing theatre plays to the web. Seems like there is so much we as actors can do with this technology yet not much people actually go ahead and try something. If I was to do something solo I think just sharing video and commentary about the work I have done would be the most interesting.

I was reading some conversations today that had a bunch of acting school owners trying to convince actors that they are the best schools to go with. At the same time, former students were giving their reviews of them which created some heated debate.

While I think it is important to make sure you are staying on top of your game as an actor, choosing an acting school or coach is one of the most tedious parts of the actor life I’d say. Basically, there are so many schools that just want your money. So usually the recommended way to finding an ideal school for you is to audit everyone before committing to them.

These places aren’t cheap usually either. For example, I’ve seen prices here that charge $225 for a one day workshop and six month programs that go well over $10,000. So that should be an incentive for you not to just abruptly throw your money to just any school. Of course, some actors just opt to do it the alternative way to get better at their craft where they just act in a bunch of independent films.

Funny enough though, out of all the places I have trained at I only audited one place. I think the only place I would have really reconsidered was the place I went for the full time program as I don’t think it has really helped me too much overall when you factor in the cost and time I committed to it compared to others.

What really turns me off is when a school advertises itself as if they were the ones that discovered such big stars and that you are guaranteed that type of success if you spend your money with them. It just feels too much like a sales pitch. Class sizes are a big issue too as if the room is constantly crammed with a bunch of people that is sure a good indication that they are just trying to maximize profits.

I was given the advice before too that a good way in choosing a school and instructor is to see if they are working actor themselves. That way, they can better keep you in the loop with current happenings and what certain casting directors are like.