After a number of years in this business, which will go undisclosed, I feel comfortable saying it doesn't matter who you go to for headshots, if you don't bring yourself to the picture, you won't get "the shot." But what the hell does that mean?
It means that your headshot should capture your eyes, show something going on behind your eyes, and completely look like you. Not some character you think you should be playing, just you. And with all I know and thought I knew about headshots, I was more than enlightened when I watched this SAG Foundation video, "Your Headshot From Every Angle," taped earlier this month.
Guests included casting directors Stuart Stone, Marci Liroff, and Geralyn Flood and photographers Sara Corwin, Alan Weissman, and Kevin Major Howard. Among many other things, I learned that Sara Corwin is really defensive about her high prices and Kevyn Major Howard might be slightly off-balance and/or an evangelist.
Bottom line, if you're an actor, it's totally worth it to see what they're saying.
Most people are critical of themselves in some way. Actors are commonly their own biggest critics, in particular. And maybe that's because perception means so much when you're trying to get hired as a character in a story. But isn't it funny to sometimes find out how other people perceive you?
I teach adults, so I guess I listen to what they say about me more closely and take it more seriously than I would kids. On Tuesday, I saw two ladies in the front row whispering and smiling. I could tell they were talking about me, so I interrupted (kidding, of course). "Hey, what's going on over there?" They giggled, "We were saying you look like a doll."
Today a different student in the front row interrupted my class to say, "You look like Barbie. Do people tell you that?" All I could think was, "In your country, is Barbie a flat-chested, unmarried woman in her 30s, who teaches in Watts part-time and is considering bankruptcy?"
Of course, didn't say that. I just laughed and smiled... even said, "Uh..thank you" despite how stupid it felt.
And it's not that I can't take a compliment. I just can't take one seriously that I don't think applies to me at all.
Later this afternoon I remembered something. That student with the Barbie comment had a headache today... because she'd forgotten her glasses. Ah-hah! Not Barbie, just a blonde blur. OK, that I can accept that.
If you're an actor in LA, you've probably been late to an audition before. And 9 times out of 10, that's no big deal, because when you get there, traffic-weary, possibly a little sweaty and frustrated, they're running 20 minutes to an hour behind schedule, so you're playing that hurry up and wait game. Which is frustrating, but it's better than showing up 5 minutes late, expecting the norm, when the casting assistant tells you, as you sign in, "We just called your agent." Ugh!
And then there's the other end of the spectrum... getting there early. Sometimes that's unavoidable if you're coming from a long distance. Not stressful, but presents its own issues What do you do? Head inside to see if they'll see you early? What if they haven't started your role yet and they get annoyed? Wait in your car and meditate? Going inside to wait seems logical, until you remember that weird "actors in the waiting room" dynamic. Car seems much more comfortable. Go for a walk? Call a friend? Find a quiet spot and beat the lines to death? Again?
Well, today I decided to head on in early and just see what happens. Turning the corner I see a guy outside the casting office throwing air punches and karate kicks. What? Really? Is Keifer Sutherland auditioning for this? I headed back to my car. Too weird even for me. A few minutes later I decided 30 minutes early was not crazy early, so I headed in. Karate guy was on the floor doing twisting yoga poses. Gave me the polite head nod "hello" as I walked by him to sign in.
Oh actors! Who knows? Maybe I'm the biggest weirdo who doesn't have some pre-audition ritual.
Karate, huh? Hmm...
How nice is it when people are nice?
Sounds so simple, but if you've ever been an actor at an audition and felt unwelcomed, dismissed, or even... a little, (ahem) abused at a casting office, you know just how crappy that feels. You take the time to prepare, drive for what could be two hours in traffic (yes, one way!), normally struggle to find parking, and then usually spend some time waiting among other actors to be called in. Who wants to do all that to be given little or no direction and one take? Upsetting? Yes! Necessary? No!
At an audition yesterday I was taken by the patience, positive energy, and just plain kindness of the session directors. They took the time to make sure I understood everything and got a great take. I left thinking, wow! It should ALWAYS be like that! That's an office that can say, "We love actors!" and actually mean it! And what do you know... I had a callback today. And the clients? So nice!! The first thing the director said to me was, "We loved your audition tape. So great." What? A director who wants to give his actors a confidence boost before performing? Sure, he probably said that to everyone... and that's GREAT! Such a positive experience.
Nice.
Can I just talk about a few things I love? Ok, if you read my post Demo What? you heard me talk about how important it is these days for actors to "show, not tell" what they do best, and that there's really no excuse these days for an actor not to have a demo reel. And while you originally may want to use one of the amazing demo reel editors I mentioned in that post, how about keeping it updated? Yourself? I'm not edgy nor cool enough to own a Mac, so I have to settle for Windows Movie Maker... which I LOVE!!! It's SO super easy. Here's the latest cut of my reel I updated this afternoon: The Beth Shea Demo Reel
OK, my last name is Shea, my dog's name is Bailey, yup I'm Irish. And I love that wearing green tomorrow drastically narrows down my outfit choices ( I always pick out my work clothes the night before, a chore I LOATHE!). I love that "Flash Forward" is coming back on Thursday and I LOVE that my handsome man is working from home now :) And that he's keeping my other handsome man company. Happiness is good!!
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!
