So, in my post, "Two Cents, Please!" I asked for your input on what you thought might work for me if I changed up my look. I actually got far fewer responses than I anticipated, but two of the same stood out to me. The wonderful Erin Smith and Lira Kellerman both suggested I go Julianne Moore red.
What would that look like on me?
What about a slightly more subtle approach...
How'd I do this?? If you've never tried this before, it's SO fun! Go to www.taaz.com and start your makeover! It's FREE!!! You can upload a picture, then save the makeover look to your computer. Warning, it just might suck up your whole afternoon!
What else is awesome about taaz.com? They give you celebrity hairstyles to choose from, and while "Beth Shea" hair is not yet an option, my friend and actress Erin Cummings is! I screamed when her hair came up! How cool is that? GO ERIN!!!
OK, I'm sending this to my reps to get their input as well...
Thoughts??
Today it's probably more important than ever for actors to "show, not tell" their performing ability and experience. I know that when you submit for a project on www.actorsaccess.com out of the zillions of submissions, the ones listed first for the casting director to see are the ones with video attached. And really, there's no excuse if you don't have a reel and submit with it. No footage? You can get a flip cam for 80 bucks, and HD flip for about 150, and just get a friend or two and shoot a couple of scenes! Obviously you can use any camera, big or small, and where did it come from? Duh! A student film (btw, I'm rarely asked where my clips came from). Make up a name for it... or don't, and voila! You're only going to use 30-40 seconds of each bit, just make sure each clip starts and ends on your lovely face. You can even edit it yourself in a simple program like iMovie or for PC users, Windows Movie Maker. That might sound hard, but I swear it's not! I did mine on windows Movie Maker: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fDHp57kG-U Regardless, if you're not feeling up to the task (albeit FREE) here is a short collection of demo reel editors I've collected from actors I know and trust:
Jacob Strunk : www.shotgundigital.com He's about $125/hr, but put this together in 45 mins:http://www.amymotta.com/Reel.html
Jeff Castelluccio: littlecastle1@mac.com Contact for rate, loved by Erin Cummings, just look:http://littlecastlefilms.com/erincummings/Reel_v7_01.29.10sm.mov
Matt Riddlehoover: 323-963-0527 He does a flat rate of $150 and did Brian Nolan's:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Dzw3j0prw
Josh Fong: 323 650 5854 Noted to be great with comedy. Did all of Naomi Grossman's:http://www.youtube.com/naomigrossman
Allison at Advanced Media: 323-469-0707 Noted to be very good, sweet and reasonable, about$35/hr.http://www.advancedmediallc.com/
David Conner: davconn@roadrunner.com Noted to be awesome, $60/hr, reels starting at $240http://www.facebook.com/l/4a2f8;www.connerpost.com
So shoot, cut or both, but you've gotta have a reel to be in the game, and you can't win a game you're not playing!
On a day when LA holds its breath, waiting to hear "And the Oscar goes to...," I, very much unlike an actress, spent the day tucked away in my office doing my taxes. I'm holding my breath wait to find out "And the refund goes to..!" But one biz-related bright point of this calculating, headachey day happened when I took a break to run to Blockbuster. There on the wall of new releases in the "B" section, I found two of my friends! Jen Nikolaisen starring in Bundy: An American Icon, alongside Corin Nemec. She plays Stephanie, the girlfriend of the famous serial killer. Go Jen! Then just to the left a bit, I saw America Olivo starring in Bitch Slap alongside Erin Cummings (another friend and amazing actress!) and Julia Voth. America plays the kick-ass Camero, willing to stop at nothing to steal 200 million in diamonds from an underworld kingpin. YAY for friends kicking ass in this crazy business! Made my Oscar weekend. That, and the fact that I don't have to add up receipts again for another 12 months or so.
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Today it's probably more important than ever for actors to "show, not tell" their performing ability and experience. I know that when you submit for a project on www.actorsaccess.com out of the zillions of submissions, the ones listed first for the casting director to see are the ones with video attached. And really, there's no excuse if you don't have a reel and submit with it. No footage? You can get a flip cam for 80 bucks, and HD flip for about 150, and just get a friend or two and shoot a couple of scenes! Obviously you can use any camera, big or small, and where did it come from? Duh! A student film (btw, I'm rarely asked where my clips came from). Make up a name for it... or don't, and voila! You're only going to use 30-40 seconds of each bit, just make sure each clip starts and ends on your lovely face. You can even edit it yourself in a simple program like iMovie or for PC users, Windows Movie Maker. That might sound hard, but I swear it's not! I did mine on windows Movie Maker: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fDHp57kG-U Regardless, if you're not feeling up to the task (albeit FREE) here is a short collection of demo reel editors I've collected from actors I know and trust:
