This just in, America is still fat and Sarah Gilbert is still cute...
So I'm off to SF today for a weeks worth of acting. Not the film role I've been hoping for, but a good job with the SFFD, playing a role for their testing. I've done it before and it is a good job. It pays well and I feel like I did some good at the end of the day.
I'm not sure if I will be writing from the road, so here is your quick update.
Sunday, not much. Monday, less. Tuesday, worked as an audience member no a Talk show. I won't tell you which one since I'm about to talk a little trash, but it doesn't really matter.
The good news is that audience work for a talk show is ten times better than audience work on a game show, the bad news is that I ended up with $28 at the end of the day.
The morning started out slow. Got up slowly and had a little breakfast. My call time was 10:30am and I was up just after 8am. I was a little bummed because I wasn't able to go on my usual 10am walk down to the park. I've developed a crush on a girl that jogs the opposite way around the park that I walk. I always manage one smile out of her, which isn't as many as I would like, but enough to keep me going down to that park every day that I can. After wasting some more time, I got dressed in my business casual, bright colors (!) outfit and hit the road.
The studio (CBS) was in Studio City, a mere mile and a half away, made it seem like I could have left at quarter after and still make it in plenty of time, but I have to take Laurel Canyon to get there and that stretch between Valley Village and Studio City is always slow. Luckily I was bored and left super early because there happened to be construction and it took me over 20 minutes to get there. That is the great irony of LA. It can take you 20 minutes to go 2 miles or 12 depending on the conditions.
Since paid audience members are at the top of the food chain on set, we got to drive to the top of the 6 story parking garage to park. This in itself took what felt like ten minutes. The 40 minute walk over was seeming like it was going to be the better choice.
Normal paperwork and some pages in their sweet red page jackets and we were into the studio. The studio itself was really nice and (being better than a game show) the seats were comfy and spacious. The show itself was interesting since it was a talk show, so there was something to pay attention to and it wasn't repetitive like game shows. This first segment was also shot live, so that added a bit of excitement, although now I won't be able to tell if I was on tv, which I should be since I was right in the front corner when one of the guests arrived. That was when I really woke up and started to give it my all. I'm definitely a professional and try to keep my energy up, but there isn't anything better than a camera that you know is on you to motivate.
Again, keeping with the trend of better than game shows, they gave us a break after the first show. (There was actually only one live show that day and then some taped segments for other shows later.) They even gave us a snack of water, bananas and trail mix bars on the way back in! Speaking of the way back in, while we were in line, they made a new line for "SRO tour". SRO stands for standing room only and is the company that the paid audience members almost always get book through. So even though my management company booked me, I was working through SRO. The strange thing to me was that they called us a "tour". Then it dawned on me. Most of the people there that day were seeing the show just to see it. They were not getting paid and the staff did not want them to know that we were getting paid. Also, they brought us in first, I think the assumption being that we were more attractive and would be better audience members since we were getting paid. I'm not sure that either of those assumptions were true.
The rest of the show went smoothly with some more segments that would be cut into later shows. I was bummed actually because I was going to miss Jack Hannah and Robin Tunney.
At the very end they did promos for the show, which were a lot of fun to watch and really good for me to learn how the professionals do it.
Then it was over and we exited back to the parking garage. Correction, we exited to a hidden spot down by the river by the parking garage. I didn't understand why he had said to meet there when we first arrived, now I did. Once again we were being hidden from the non-paid audience members.
I was feeling pretty good since it was an easy day and I had gotten some acting tips from watching and didn't even mind the very long line with just the one guy handing out cash. Until I got to the front and I was handed $28. It was 2:30pm. My call time was at 10:30am and I was making $8/hour. This math didn't add up.
In the extra scene they generally try to average when everyone will sign out, giving the people at the end of the line a few extra minutes and the end losing a few minutes, as close to 15 minutes as possible. Apparently here we were being timed out at exactly when the show ended. So the reality of my audience work was, having left at 10am and arriving home by 3pm (remember the ten minutes of parking garage circling), I made $28 in 5 hours. Sigh.
Truth be told though, it is still better than doing nothing.
Ok, I am off to SF after my morning walk and some more packing. If I don't get a chance to write, I hope that everyone has a wonderful week!!
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Wigs and well hung men.
So, did you have fun with the pictures? Did you like the ones with the wigs? That was from a National Geographic Channel show about Marie Antoinette. It turned out to be a 14 hour work day, but it was lots of fun and flew by.
It was an 8:30 am call downtown at a historic hotel. I checked in and sat down amongst my peers. I'd been super early that day, so had pulled over and done some meditation before I got there. It must have been successful, because I was feeling super relaxed. I wasn't feeling very social though, so I sat in a corner and glanced around at the other extras. A glance that would serve little purpose, since I was soon not to recognize any of them.
A few minutes later we all lined up to get our costumes. There were some people there that had already begun the transformation and they looked incredible. The costumes they had rented were beautiful and the ones that people had brought, having made themselves even more so. I met one of the performers, Bree, who had made her own costume and was also a burlesque performer. If you want more information on her creations or performances, you can reach her at pinkfouffy@hotmail.com. I highly recommend her work and look forward to see her perform.
As you can imagine, getting 50 extras into 18th century garb takes some time. By the time I got to the front of the line, the sun was already warming us. It felt nice in that moment, but it was soon to be working against us.
They took my Drivers License in trade for the expensive costume and then, after informing them that I was to be a waiter, started me down my path of transformation. The pants were actually quite comfy, reminding me of something between sweatpants and a fancy pair of curtains. The shirt was pretty straight forward, your basic dress shirt and the jacket akin to a long tux. Apparently there was an immediate need for waiters, so I was rushed to the front of the hair and make up line, where I donned a fancy white wig (Which many complimented as their favorite later) and some bright red lipstick. All plumped up, I was rushed to the set where my first job was to walk up to a group of giggling ladies, offer them champagne and then walk behind a curtain. What I didn't know is that after I was done with my action, the ladies would be giggling for about ten full minutes as various shots were taken.
The rest of my morning was spent much the same way, me walking through crowds offering drinks, trying not to spill. Have I mentioned yet that I'm probably the only actor in LA who has NO experience waiting? Indeed.
The set was very hot with all the lights and the lunch break did not offer much of a reprieve as it was outside and the sun was showing off that day. However, I did enjoy playing the game of trying to remember what everyone looked like without their costumes on and even got some correct. Although I did completely mess up on one of my table mates that I had actually talked to in line quite a bit. Whoops!
In the afternoon they switched me from waiter to party goer and gave me a full mask to wear. Considering how much sweat I poured into that thing and how much makeup I left on the inside of it, it will be a wonder if they ever get it clean. I'm not complaining though, because the mask was very popular and got me into a lot of scenes, including one sexy raspberry feeding scene and another make out scene with a woman that I had become infatuated with prior to our scene together. Even the prostitutes in the scene complimented my "talent" on that one. Now if I could only get a copy of the raw footage.
Soon after my make out scene they were done shooting and the cast and crew all got together for a group photo, something very unusual and at the same time heart warming. We all went back to the changing tents and got back into our civies and I got to play my who's who game in reverse. Waving goodbye to my scene partner, I knew I would fall in love another day on another set with another woman, but in that moment it was like saying goodbye to my first love.
The next day was the polar opposite. I was playing a paramedic on Hung and barely got used. The most interesting thing about that day was how much of a screw up one of the other background guys was and how, amazingly, he got away with it. This is definitely a people business and sometimes you just get a really laid back PA. The best thing about the day was that I got out early.
That night I went to Josh and Matt's for a drink and pizza before going out dancing. I was originally going to go to Afrofunke with Maydee, but I convinced her to come to the Supperclub with the rest of my friends for a Distrikt party. It was a nice change of pace for me, but I think she was probably a little disappointed since it was Cinco de Mayo and they didn't play any Latin music. At the same time, I think Afrofunke would have been way too crowded and after two days of work, I wanted to get my dance on.
Friday was spent lounging by Amanda's pool, exactly what I needed. We took a break from our usual excited conversation to just lounge about. Amanda's girlfriend, Lauri, came home around six and joined our relaxation and was kind enough to paint my toenails for me. They are currently black (done by me) with red mixed in, done by Lauri. Kind of goth looking if you ask me.
The rest of my weekend has been pretty relaxed. I'm off to SF for a week of work in a few days and while I don't have any work scheduled here yet, I wanted to make sure that I went into this week fully rested.
Until...
P.S. I think the make up in this one makes me look a little like Bruce Willis!
It was an 8:30 am call downtown at a historic hotel. I checked in and sat down amongst my peers. I'd been super early that day, so had pulled over and done some meditation before I got there. It must have been successful, because I was feeling super relaxed. I wasn't feeling very social though, so I sat in a corner and glanced around at the other extras. A glance that would serve little purpose, since I was soon not to recognize any of them.
A few minutes later we all lined up to get our costumes. There were some people there that had already begun the transformation and they looked incredible. The costumes they had rented were beautiful and the ones that people had brought, having made themselves even more so. I met one of the performers, Bree, who had made her own costume and was also a burlesque performer. If you want more information on her creations or performances, you can reach her at pinkfouffy@hotmail.com. I highly recommend her work and look forward to see her perform.
As you can imagine, getting 50 extras into 18th century garb takes some time. By the time I got to the front of the line, the sun was already warming us. It felt nice in that moment, but it was soon to be working against us.
They took my Drivers License in trade for the expensive costume and then, after informing them that I was to be a waiter, started me down my path of transformation. The pants were actually quite comfy, reminding me of something between sweatpants and a fancy pair of curtains. The shirt was pretty straight forward, your basic dress shirt and the jacket akin to a long tux. Apparently there was an immediate need for waiters, so I was rushed to the front of the hair and make up line, where I donned a fancy white wig (Which many complimented as their favorite later) and some bright red lipstick. All plumped up, I was rushed to the set where my first job was to walk up to a group of giggling ladies, offer them champagne and then walk behind a curtain. What I didn't know is that after I was done with my action, the ladies would be giggling for about ten full minutes as various shots were taken.
The rest of my morning was spent much the same way, me walking through crowds offering drinks, trying not to spill. Have I mentioned yet that I'm probably the only actor in LA who has NO experience waiting? Indeed.
The set was very hot with all the lights and the lunch break did not offer much of a reprieve as it was outside and the sun was showing off that day. However, I did enjoy playing the game of trying to remember what everyone looked like without their costumes on and even got some correct. Although I did completely mess up on one of my table mates that I had actually talked to in line quite a bit. Whoops!
In the afternoon they switched me from waiter to party goer and gave me a full mask to wear. Considering how much sweat I poured into that thing and how much makeup I left on the inside of it, it will be a wonder if they ever get it clean. I'm not complaining though, because the mask was very popular and got me into a lot of scenes, including one sexy raspberry feeding scene and another make out scene with a woman that I had become infatuated with prior to our scene together. Even the prostitutes in the scene complimented my "talent" on that one. Now if I could only get a copy of the raw footage.
Soon after my make out scene they were done shooting and the cast and crew all got together for a group photo, something very unusual and at the same time heart warming. We all went back to the changing tents and got back into our civies and I got to play my who's who game in reverse. Waving goodbye to my scene partner, I knew I would fall in love another day on another set with another woman, but in that moment it was like saying goodbye to my first love.
The next day was the polar opposite. I was playing a paramedic on Hung and barely got used. The most interesting thing about that day was how much of a screw up one of the other background guys was and how, amazingly, he got away with it. This is definitely a people business and sometimes you just get a really laid back PA. The best thing about the day was that I got out early.
That night I went to Josh and Matt's for a drink and pizza before going out dancing. I was originally going to go to Afrofunke with Maydee, but I convinced her to come to the Supperclub with the rest of my friends for a Distrikt party. It was a nice change of pace for me, but I think she was probably a little disappointed since it was Cinco de Mayo and they didn't play any Latin music. At the same time, I think Afrofunke would have been way too crowded and after two days of work, I wanted to get my dance on.
Friday was spent lounging by Amanda's pool, exactly what I needed. We took a break from our usual excited conversation to just lounge about. Amanda's girlfriend, Lauri, came home around six and joined our relaxation and was kind enough to paint my toenails for me. They are currently black (done by me) with red mixed in, done by Lauri. Kind of goth looking if you ask me.
The rest of my weekend has been pretty relaxed. I'm off to SF for a week of work in a few days and while I don't have any work scheduled here yet, I wanted to make sure that I went into this week fully rested.
Until...
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Pictures!
Hi Everyone,
So I keep meaning to post pictures with my blogs, but put it off to the end so it doesn't slow me down and then I inevitably forget. So here are some pictures that go with past blogs and a few that will go with a future blog.
xo,
Chris
P.S. Don't forget to follow me if you haven't yet!
So I keep meaning to post pictures with my blogs, but put it off to the end so it doesn't slow me down and then I inevitably forget. So here are some pictures that go with past blogs and a few that will go with a future blog.
xo,
Chris
P.S. Don't forget to follow me if you haven't yet!
Monday, May 2, 2011
The week in review - part 2
It was Wednesday afternoon that I was recalled for Thursday. Unlike the day before, it happened in a very direct way. Christopher Gray, who is in charge of casting, called me over while I was in holding and told me they would need me at 6am the next day. I said ok. An hour later he told me he would need me at 8am. I said ok again. I immediately called Extras Management to let them know my schedule had been updated. I never saw an email or text from them.
You know those moments you have where you have a very slight impulse to do something, but you are quickly distracted and forget you even had the impulse until it comes into play later? Welcome to my Thursday morning.
A call time of 8:30am once again didn't do much for added sleep, but I had gone asleep super early the night before, so actually felt pretty good when I woke up. I ate and got dressed and had plenty of time. Then I had the passing thought that I should call the hotline to see if anything had changed in my call time. That passing thought was replaced by the passing thought that I didn't have the number to call since I had never received it from Extras Management and then that thought was replaced with, it is probably the same number, but you know, I talked to the man in charge when I left, so I'm sure it is fine and if not, it's on them, right? (Note: I'm not a fan of the phone.)
So I headed out the door, got to set early and once again pulled off at the mall for a quick meditation and then drove over and parked my car. It was 8am. One thing I noticed that was different was that there was security set up by the breakfast trailers. Nobody seemed to be around, so I walked over to the honey wagon (set name for port 'o potty truck) and on my way back heard a guy being told he couldn't have breakfast until he had his voucher. (Apparently all the employees of the race track were taking advantage of the free food.) So I kept walking back to the sign in trailer and saw some people hanging out and started chatting. We were all asking the same thing, "Where is Christopher Gray?", "He is usually here by now". My other camera crew extra, Ron, showed up, which made me feel better about my decision, and we stood around wondering together. I'm not sure exactly when the collective knowledge that they had changed the schedule happened, but I know that when the casting assistant showed up the salivating of the ten or so extras that had arrived early was enough for him to be clutching his notebooks tightly.
Soon after Christopher showed up and the real questioning began. Apparently several of us were verbally told when to show up and were never verbally updated. The camera crew people (which now included an add on) having it the worst as our new call time was actually 11:30am. So yes, I was 3 and a half hours early for work. People were actually pretty calm about the situation, frustrated not so much by the lack of communication and the fact they had a ton of time to kill now, but more by the fact they still couldn't get their vouchers, so they couldn't get their coffee and bacon. In the end it was Christopher Gray who determined the solution by buying us all Starbucks. I was satisfied since I drove and added a bagel to my order, so I got fed and got an adventure. Plus, as an added bonus, now both Christopher and the casting assistant (Who happens to be named Chris) know who I am. So that was cool.
The day itself was pretty easy once it got started. The highlights being the nice extra who let me share her headphones with her as we sat in the stands staring toward the mountains and fantasizing about a picnic in the shade, the crazy extra who couldn't handle walking around an AC tube and getting to know more people.
Note: You may notice that I leave a lot of details about the actual workings of the shows and the stars in them. That is because I don't want to be sued. We all sign contracts every time that says we won't disclose anything that is going on regarding the show. Ask me in person though and I will totally gossip with you. ;)
Thursday night I hit up Afrofunke once again. Musically another solid night and a typical dance more than date kind of night for me. Maydee, who I danced with the last two times I was there was home sick, so I was stuck making new friends and avoiding the regulars I didn't want to engage with. Unfortunately I'm already too well known there, which sucks since I like to be anonymous so I can just focus on dancing. I may have to take a break and find a new scene for a while.
Friday I slept in and my friend Mona, who is between SF and LA with no permanent home, but plans to move to LA, came over. Initially I was going to drive up to SF with my friends that day for a weekend of partying and the How Weird Street Faire; one of my favorites. Unfortunately rides didn't work out the way I wanted, so I decided to stay. I was actually happy to stay since I'm broke and focused on my career right now, so I felt good about the decision.
Mona and I ran some errands and then mixed up some pina coladas and sat by my pool. It was a great way to spend a Friday afternoon after my work week. Very relaxing. So relaxing that Mona actually fell asleep for a while. I'm surprised I didn't since I had woken up around 8am that morning since that was the schedule I was used to. After Mona took off around 7pm, I told myself I was going to write and then promptly fell asleep.
Saturday was the Doo Dah parade (http://www.pasadenadoodahparade.info/) and a BBQ at my friend Jess's house. The parade itself was pretty interesting and a nice substitute for me missing the How Weird Street Faire. I didn't think the costuming was too out of control, but then again, I'm used to burning man people. Back at Jess's house we hung out, played with her new dog, drank and ate lots of carne asada. Day two of relaxation accomplished.
Sunday's relaxation did not disappoint either with a walk around the park with Maydee, picnic food (goat cheese, baguette and strawberries) and more carne asada and Guatemala guacamole for dinner. I may have over eaten more than one day this week...
Today has been about getting back to the grind. I've been submitting for projects, did my taxes and got my exercise in. I've already booked gigs for Wed and Thursday (A Marie Antoinette reenactment and Hung respectively) and am hoping that I will have some work tomorrow and Friday as well.
Thank you all for tuning in, until next time...
You know those moments you have where you have a very slight impulse to do something, but you are quickly distracted and forget you even had the impulse until it comes into play later? Welcome to my Thursday morning.
A call time of 8:30am once again didn't do much for added sleep, but I had gone asleep super early the night before, so actually felt pretty good when I woke up. I ate and got dressed and had plenty of time. Then I had the passing thought that I should call the hotline to see if anything had changed in my call time. That passing thought was replaced by the passing thought that I didn't have the number to call since I had never received it from Extras Management and then that thought was replaced with, it is probably the same number, but you know, I talked to the man in charge when I left, so I'm sure it is fine and if not, it's on them, right? (Note: I'm not a fan of the phone.)
So I headed out the door, got to set early and once again pulled off at the mall for a quick meditation and then drove over and parked my car. It was 8am. One thing I noticed that was different was that there was security set up by the breakfast trailers. Nobody seemed to be around, so I walked over to the honey wagon (set name for port 'o potty truck) and on my way back heard a guy being told he couldn't have breakfast until he had his voucher. (Apparently all the employees of the race track were taking advantage of the free food.) So I kept walking back to the sign in trailer and saw some people hanging out and started chatting. We were all asking the same thing, "Where is Christopher Gray?", "He is usually here by now". My other camera crew extra, Ron, showed up, which made me feel better about my decision, and we stood around wondering together. I'm not sure exactly when the collective knowledge that they had changed the schedule happened, but I know that when the casting assistant showed up the salivating of the ten or so extras that had arrived early was enough for him to be clutching his notebooks tightly.
Soon after Christopher showed up and the real questioning began. Apparently several of us were verbally told when to show up and were never verbally updated. The camera crew people (which now included an add on) having it the worst as our new call time was actually 11:30am. So yes, I was 3 and a half hours early for work. People were actually pretty calm about the situation, frustrated not so much by the lack of communication and the fact they had a ton of time to kill now, but more by the fact they still couldn't get their vouchers, so they couldn't get their coffee and bacon. In the end it was Christopher Gray who determined the solution by buying us all Starbucks. I was satisfied since I drove and added a bagel to my order, so I got fed and got an adventure. Plus, as an added bonus, now both Christopher and the casting assistant (Who happens to be named Chris) know who I am. So that was cool.
The day itself was pretty easy once it got started. The highlights being the nice extra who let me share her headphones with her as we sat in the stands staring toward the mountains and fantasizing about a picnic in the shade, the crazy extra who couldn't handle walking around an AC tube and getting to know more people.
Note: You may notice that I leave a lot of details about the actual workings of the shows and the stars in them. That is because I don't want to be sued. We all sign contracts every time that says we won't disclose anything that is going on regarding the show. Ask me in person though and I will totally gossip with you. ;)
Thursday night I hit up Afrofunke once again. Musically another solid night and a typical dance more than date kind of night for me. Maydee, who I danced with the last two times I was there was home sick, so I was stuck making new friends and avoiding the regulars I didn't want to engage with. Unfortunately I'm already too well known there, which sucks since I like to be anonymous so I can just focus on dancing. I may have to take a break and find a new scene for a while.
Friday I slept in and my friend Mona, who is between SF and LA with no permanent home, but plans to move to LA, came over. Initially I was going to drive up to SF with my friends that day for a weekend of partying and the How Weird Street Faire; one of my favorites. Unfortunately rides didn't work out the way I wanted, so I decided to stay. I was actually happy to stay since I'm broke and focused on my career right now, so I felt good about the decision.
Mona and I ran some errands and then mixed up some pina coladas and sat by my pool. It was a great way to spend a Friday afternoon after my work week. Very relaxing. So relaxing that Mona actually fell asleep for a while. I'm surprised I didn't since I had woken up around 8am that morning since that was the schedule I was used to. After Mona took off around 7pm, I told myself I was going to write and then promptly fell asleep.
Saturday was the Doo Dah parade (http://www.pasadenadoodahparade.info/) and a BBQ at my friend Jess's house. The parade itself was pretty interesting and a nice substitute for me missing the How Weird Street Faire. I didn't think the costuming was too out of control, but then again, I'm used to burning man people. Back at Jess's house we hung out, played with her new dog, drank and ate lots of carne asada. Day two of relaxation accomplished.
Sunday's relaxation did not disappoint either with a walk around the park with Maydee, picnic food (goat cheese, baguette and strawberries) and more carne asada and Guatemala guacamole for dinner. I may have over eaten more than one day this week...
Today has been about getting back to the grind. I've been submitting for projects, did my taxes and got my exercise in. I've already booked gigs for Wed and Thursday (A Marie Antoinette reenactment and Hung respectively) and am hoping that I will have some work tomorrow and Friday as well.
Thank you all for tuning in, until next time...
Sunday, May 1, 2011
The week in review - part 1
Hello!
So apparently although these blogs keep getting longer and longer, I continue to wait to write everything down. Before I start, I would like to say "Thank You" to all of you who have said you are reading my blog. I very much appreciate it.
So, going back, Monday was a pretty mellow day. I got my exercise in and got to recenter myself from the long weekend. I'm sure if this was one of the first weeks since I moved to LA, lots of things would stick out about the cute girl at the grocery store or an interesting store I walked by or the fact that Zombies seem to be everywhere and yet no major studios are actually making any Zombie movies (that I know of; and I know subscribe to Daily Variety). As it is, I really don't remember much about Monday except that I got a job Tuesday working on a mini-series for HBO with a call time of 6:30am.
The thing with a 6:30am call time isn't that it is early. I'm not the slacker I once was, but any call time before 8am is going to be early at this point. So I already know I'm going to lose sleep. The problem is that when it is a 6:30am call time and you live in LA and have to adjust for travel time and traffic, giving yourself enough time to get there 15min-30min early, you have to get up at 5am. Getting up at 5am isn't even really the problem, although I do hate getting up in the dark. The problem is that getting up at 5am means going to bed at 9pm the night before to get 8 hours of sleep, my minimum for being a happy camper. The problem with going to bed at 9pm is that it is anywhere between 2 and 5 hours earlier than whatever schedule I am on. So now, even though I know I'm a light sleeper and haven't slept through an alarm since college, I have to debate about taking an Advil pm or not for fear I will oversleep. I almost always go with no. Then of course you are nervous about the job the next day and your mind gets preoccupied and you can't sleep anyway. A parallel for you non actors and non frequent fliers is if you had to get up early for a flight that you couldn't miss.
The shoot was in Arcadia at the Santa Anita race track, a beautiful horse racing track set against an even more beautiful mountain backdrop. Once again I was reminded of one of my favorite things about acting, getting to go to places I wouldn't normally go.
My background role of the day was Camera Crew, a role I would play for less than an hour in what would turn into a 3 day gig.
The beginning of day one was pretty straight forward, sign in, go to wardrobe, go to holding. We got pulled from holding pretty quickly and went down by the stables. They proped up the spectators, but didn't have anything for the 3 camera crew besides some badges that were already on the cameras, so they just told us to stand aside. The PA came and took a group of spectators, but left us and a few others behind. It quickly got hot in the sun and I had to duck next to an info booth to find some shade. I usually am pretty reserved day one on a set, getting to know my surroundings and trying to be as good as possible and unfortunately feeling stressed when others are not behaving. I kept to myself by the info booth for quite some time. I even tried meditating for a little bit, but having everyone around was pretty distracting. A few hours in, they brought the rest of us over and asked camera crew people to just be spectators since we would be so far away anyway. We did one pass and then they told us to hold off because we weren't being seen.
I won't bore you with the rest of the day since it was pretty typical for background work and I only got anywhere near a camera once. One "highlight" was when an older man that had seen me meditating earlier came up to me and, upon declaring that he was shy preceded to tell me he was religious and prayed a lot and asked if I was praying or meditating. I told him meditating and this launched him into more questions regarding religion, meditation, spirituality, agnosticism, and how he only had just one more question to ask. For the most part I didn't mind the conversation and felt like I was helping, but he did get shushed by a crew member, which set off my own alarm bells for fear of getting in trouble.
Before I had even signed out for the day, I was told I was being recalled for the next day, something that didn't surprise me since I hadn't played a camera crew person at all that day. The call time for day two was to be 8am.
You would think that 8am would be a great call time in comparison to 6:30am, since it is an extra hour and a half to sleep. Wrong. At best it is an extra half hour of sleep because traffic increases exponentially around rush hour. What I didn't realize was that the direction I was heading (East from the Valley) was a reverse commute for most people, so hardly had any traffic. I arrived an hour early and instead of going right in I parked at the mall and did a quick meditation.
Day two was even hotter than day one, a fact that quickly registered with me as I stood in the winners circle behind a camera that wasn't turned on. It was my big moment to be camera crew. I had been paired with a guy named Robert and another named Ron, both of whom I would get to know pretty well by the end of my portion of the shoot. Robert has had some success as a voice over actor, among other things, and was sharing some advice with Ron about how to break into the field. I didn't engage them since I was tired (Day two of getting up is always worse than day one.) and hot and the AD had asked us to be especially quiet while the camera set up. (If I can digress for a moment, sometimes I feel like ADs and PAs are like bad parents that tell you to do something, but then let you get away with it all the time, but then get mad when you don't listen to what they say.) I did however listen intently and made mental notes.
As it turns out, my crankiness would be unfounded since instead of a day in the hot sun, I ended up being outside less than two hours before they sent everyone inside while they worked on another shot. As it turned out, the three of us would be in holding for the rest of the day, but of course at the time, we didn't know that. That is one of the hardest thing about background work, the not knowing. It would be so much easier if someone could just tell you, you will be sitting in the same room for the next 5 hours, do what you want, just don't be disruptive. Instead, you sit there and you spend most of your mental energy wondering what would was going to happen next. Something I'm hoping to alleviate some when I get better at meditation. I did in fact try to meditate at one point during the down time, but I couldn't concentrate, even when they took all the extras except for us 3 camera crew off to set.
So my afternoon was spent getting to know Robert and Ron better, reading, sitting outside and staring at the mountains and watching out for El Oso.
At one point Robert decided to lay down on his suit bag and close his eyes while I returned to my reading and Ron was off on his PSP. Quickly he began to snore, loudly. At one point I walked to the bathroom and came back and could hear him all the way at the edge of this large cafeteria. As I walked back in the security guard goes to me, "Watch out for the Bear. You'll get eaten." Apparently the snoring went on for some time too since I went outside for about 15 minutes and when I came back Robert was just getting up. The security guard, who was latino, razzed Robert about it and from then on we were all on high alert for El Oso.
So apparently although these blogs keep getting longer and longer, I continue to wait to write everything down. Before I start, I would like to say "Thank You" to all of you who have said you are reading my blog. I very much appreciate it.
So, going back, Monday was a pretty mellow day. I got my exercise in and got to recenter myself from the long weekend. I'm sure if this was one of the first weeks since I moved to LA, lots of things would stick out about the cute girl at the grocery store or an interesting store I walked by or the fact that Zombies seem to be everywhere and yet no major studios are actually making any Zombie movies (that I know of; and I know subscribe to Daily Variety). As it is, I really don't remember much about Monday except that I got a job Tuesday working on a mini-series for HBO with a call time of 6:30am.
The thing with a 6:30am call time isn't that it is early. I'm not the slacker I once was, but any call time before 8am is going to be early at this point. So I already know I'm going to lose sleep. The problem is that when it is a 6:30am call time and you live in LA and have to adjust for travel time and traffic, giving yourself enough time to get there 15min-30min early, you have to get up at 5am. Getting up at 5am isn't even really the problem, although I do hate getting up in the dark. The problem is that getting up at 5am means going to bed at 9pm the night before to get 8 hours of sleep, my minimum for being a happy camper. The problem with going to bed at 9pm is that it is anywhere between 2 and 5 hours earlier than whatever schedule I am on. So now, even though I know I'm a light sleeper and haven't slept through an alarm since college, I have to debate about taking an Advil pm or not for fear I will oversleep. I almost always go with no. Then of course you are nervous about the job the next day and your mind gets preoccupied and you can't sleep anyway. A parallel for you non actors and non frequent fliers is if you had to get up early for a flight that you couldn't miss.
The shoot was in Arcadia at the Santa Anita race track, a beautiful horse racing track set against an even more beautiful mountain backdrop. Once again I was reminded of one of my favorite things about acting, getting to go to places I wouldn't normally go.
My background role of the day was Camera Crew, a role I would play for less than an hour in what would turn into a 3 day gig.
The beginning of day one was pretty straight forward, sign in, go to wardrobe, go to holding. We got pulled from holding pretty quickly and went down by the stables. They proped up the spectators, but didn't have anything for the 3 camera crew besides some badges that were already on the cameras, so they just told us to stand aside. The PA came and took a group of spectators, but left us and a few others behind. It quickly got hot in the sun and I had to duck next to an info booth to find some shade. I usually am pretty reserved day one on a set, getting to know my surroundings and trying to be as good as possible and unfortunately feeling stressed when others are not behaving. I kept to myself by the info booth for quite some time. I even tried meditating for a little bit, but having everyone around was pretty distracting. A few hours in, they brought the rest of us over and asked camera crew people to just be spectators since we would be so far away anyway. We did one pass and then they told us to hold off because we weren't being seen.
I won't bore you with the rest of the day since it was pretty typical for background work and I only got anywhere near a camera once. One "highlight" was when an older man that had seen me meditating earlier came up to me and, upon declaring that he was shy preceded to tell me he was religious and prayed a lot and asked if I was praying or meditating. I told him meditating and this launched him into more questions regarding religion, meditation, spirituality, agnosticism, and how he only had just one more question to ask. For the most part I didn't mind the conversation and felt like I was helping, but he did get shushed by a crew member, which set off my own alarm bells for fear of getting in trouble.
Before I had even signed out for the day, I was told I was being recalled for the next day, something that didn't surprise me since I hadn't played a camera crew person at all that day. The call time for day two was to be 8am.
You would think that 8am would be a great call time in comparison to 6:30am, since it is an extra hour and a half to sleep. Wrong. At best it is an extra half hour of sleep because traffic increases exponentially around rush hour. What I didn't realize was that the direction I was heading (East from the Valley) was a reverse commute for most people, so hardly had any traffic. I arrived an hour early and instead of going right in I parked at the mall and did a quick meditation.
Day two was even hotter than day one, a fact that quickly registered with me as I stood in the winners circle behind a camera that wasn't turned on. It was my big moment to be camera crew. I had been paired with a guy named Robert and another named Ron, both of whom I would get to know pretty well by the end of my portion of the shoot. Robert has had some success as a voice over actor, among other things, and was sharing some advice with Ron about how to break into the field. I didn't engage them since I was tired (Day two of getting up is always worse than day one.) and hot and the AD had asked us to be especially quiet while the camera set up. (If I can digress for a moment, sometimes I feel like ADs and PAs are like bad parents that tell you to do something, but then let you get away with it all the time, but then get mad when you don't listen to what they say.) I did however listen intently and made mental notes.
As it turns out, my crankiness would be unfounded since instead of a day in the hot sun, I ended up being outside less than two hours before they sent everyone inside while they worked on another shot. As it turned out, the three of us would be in holding for the rest of the day, but of course at the time, we didn't know that. That is one of the hardest thing about background work, the not knowing. It would be so much easier if someone could just tell you, you will be sitting in the same room for the next 5 hours, do what you want, just don't be disruptive. Instead, you sit there and you spend most of your mental energy wondering what would was going to happen next. Something I'm hoping to alleviate some when I get better at meditation. I did in fact try to meditate at one point during the down time, but I couldn't concentrate, even when they took all the extras except for us 3 camera crew off to set.
So my afternoon was spent getting to know Robert and Ron better, reading, sitting outside and staring at the mountains and watching out for El Oso.
At one point Robert decided to lay down on his suit bag and close his eyes while I returned to my reading and Ron was off on his PSP. Quickly he began to snore, loudly. At one point I walked to the bathroom and came back and could hear him all the way at the edge of this large cafeteria. As I walked back in the security guard goes to me, "Watch out for the Bear. You'll get eaten." Apparently the snoring went on for some time too since I went outside for about 15 minutes and when I came back Robert was just getting up. The security guard, who was latino, razzed Robert about it and from then on we were all on high alert for El Oso.
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