Been Awhile

It's been a while since I've posted anything. It's just gotten so busy with the freelance stuff lately.

I ended up being signed by the new client I had the interview with. To refresh, they're the competing client of my current client. They require that I sign a nondisclosure agreement, and so I asked someone who is in corporate management what they thought of my situation. He said it was fine as long as I don't share trade secrets with either client. And the fact that I'm basically sharing info with myself doesn't really count.

The other thing is, my current client is a short-term gig, so by the time I get into the work with the new client, I will have finished half my contract already. Still, it does feel sort of like having a mistress.

I had a strange thing happen. The IBM print job I did happened two weeks ago. But this past week I got a call from my agent putting me "on avail" for a reshoot of that job. A reshoot, you ask? Yes. And that means I get paid the exact same amount as the original shoot. Well, the next day, my agent calls and says they cancelled my avail. That's cool, I thought, since I was having to juggle my workload. I was feeling lucky for a second, but then felt a little irritated after the cancellation. Anyway, they called again and said that I was "confirmed" for the job. Very strange industry. I won't count my chickens until I'm on the set and they begin shooting. And besides, I won't actually see the additional money, nor the original amount, for another 3 months, so I might as well put it out of my mind anyway.

As you may remember, I have this deal with my photographer that I would buy him dinner every time I book a job over $1000. So I told him about the reshoot and he asks, "Hey, does this mean you're buying me another dinner?" I told him no, since it was the same booking. A technicality, I suppose. But he then said he'd like to update my headshots again this year, so what the heck, I might as well throw in another meal. I've been keeping an informal tally on the people who have shot with this photographer since I took my pics and I think it's past 5 now. But probably more because some people have asked me who shot my pics and I just give them the url.

Most of the actors I know in this business are familiar with his work. And consequently, they haven't used him for a number of years, for one reason or another. But that was when they shot strictly in black and white. Now with color, it's a whole different ballgame and takes a photog who has experience with the digital color medium. In my opinion, this takes a person with experience shooting color film and knows how the shot should look on film when doing digital.

My color pics look very much like me. I don't hide much either. I show most of my flaws, so when casting directors see me in person, they always comment that I look exactly like my photo. And I've learned that this is a very good thing.

Actors who have been in the industry for a while seem to have the most difficulty keeping up with the changes in the casting system (ie., the choice of color over black and white). Five or six years ago, electronic casting was in its infancy. There was some initial hype, but no one really bought into it. Now, there are at least five legitimate e-casting sites: Breakdown Services, Now Casting, Players Guide, LA Casting, and some others I have never heard of before but are supposed to be very good services. With the additional money from the print work, I will invest in some of these services. And I might even take another acting class.

So far, a couple of actors have made slight criticisms of my choice to take the Cold Tofu improv workshops, mostly because they think it's too safe an environment to be actually doing the "real stuff." I think that's a bunch of bullcrap. Everyone has a personal level. I know where mine is, and just because you may think I'm capable of something much more challenging, that doesn't mean it's right for me. I think I'll make the decision to challenge myself when I reach that intersection. Until then, I'm perfectly happy with my learning curve.

I'm also fairly aware of intangibles such as energy and enthusiasm. Cold Tofu has gone through a certain revival, and unless you experience it firsthand, you're likely to dismiss it. And besides, I'm a part of that energy and enthusiasm. I just may be making a difference myself.