Casting We have lift off!!!

We had the casting session yesterday, Huge thanks goes out to Mike, man I don't know how I would have done it without you!! I do not envy CD's at all!!!!

We got the opportunity to see some really good actors, as well as some *ahem* actors. It's going to be a difficult process to whittle down the characters as a lot were really good!!!!

As an actor myself, I tried to make the session as fun as possible hoping that I could alleviate some of the nervousness that's associated with auditioning. Some of the actors, I could tell got a little discouraged when they saw who their competition were and it showed in their auditions. Please my fellow actors, you can't let these little mental things get the best of you, just stay focused and aware of your character.

We auditioned for 4 hours and man, we pretty much used every bit of that time seeing actors back to back. All in all it was a real eye opening experience and really nice to get a chance to see the other side of the wall.

Audition Week

In getting all this together I have not been submitting myself for any auditions, primarily due to time constraints and not wanting to make any commitments that might prevent me from shooting my pilot.

Had a great and informative meeting with a fellow actor yesterday Mike Hahn and his lovely wife. Really look forward to working with the two of them. It's rare to find down to earth people in this business we call acting, hence my very limited pool of "acting friends".

Thursday is casting day at Cazt and I'm really looking forward to it. Out of  over 1000 submissions, I'm only able to squeeze in about 100 (that's only if people don't do the famous dance, "The Los Angeles Flake"), but overall I see it being successful. I have a great crew, now It's time to get a great cast to bring this thing alive.

Yesterday Mike and I talked about Insurance for the shoot (you don't wanna be held liable for anything that happens on your set) and after talking to another acquaintance of mine, I've decided that it will be too out of my budget. I know I'm running a real risk here, but in a smaller market, it would be doable. Unfortuantley this is L.A. and the cost jumps tremendously, especially for small budget productions as the risk is greater.

It's Monday and I'm going to be going over some paperwork and contact my DP. I'll report back tomorrow-Peace

Location, Location, Location!!!

Two of my  three of my shoot locations are a lock. Hopefully will get some good news tomorrow about the third!!!

Please read Carefully...Keyword on CAREFULLY!!!

I know we as actors tend to get a little frazzled when we have so many time commitments, especially when it comes to auditioning, but please READ THE ENTIRE AUDITION NOTICE BEFORE EMAILING CASTING.

I have set my auditions for casting to be next Thursday 10/28/2010, but for some reason I keep receiving emails from actors stating they can not make it to the audition today (10/21/2010) because of blah, blah, blah.

I responded to my breakdown from my own AA account and selected myself, just to make sure the date on the cmail says Thursday 10/28/2010 and you know what? It does!!! I even put it in the body of the message.

I myself as an actor know  how it is, so I'm a little more accommodating, but is this what most CD's go through? not reading something and just skimming through it makes you look bad as an actor, are you going to have problems following direction? etc. I spent literally 5 hours yesterday replying to emails to tell them that the audition is for next Thursday, not this Thursday

This is just a plea to please don't skim over the message and to read it and even mark down the date.

No rest for the Weary

I work evenings, mostly 2pm-11pm and usually don't get home until 1am or so. My 9-5 is that of a remote support tech, which means I spend 8 hours a day repairing peoples computers remotely. I love what I do and the pay is really nice. The hours can be taxing, because after I get off of work I like to go to the gym for about 45mins-1hour which translate into my getting home at the latest 2am.

I say all this because sometimes I feel like there's not enough time in the day to do what you need to do, especially when you're dealing with a project such as this. No matter what, I still keep on truckin' !! I know the end result will be that much more satisfying!!!

Casting 10, 9, 8, 7,6, 5..... and a P.S.A. to boot!!!!

Wow, this is pretty hard. I see why CD's are always pressed fro time. Note to some actors: It's great that you've chosen this art form as either a profession or something to do in your spare time, but for the love of cheese get professional headshots!!!! I hate to be a headshot Nazi (can I say Nazi?), but candids in this business/market just does not cut it. How is a CD supposed to call you in if you can't even have enough respect for the art to get professional headshots done??? I teruely wish everyone had a fair shot, but unfortunately that's not the way it is. Please do us all including yourselves the favor and look the part!!!

I'm off my soapbox. Well, looks like I'll be spending the next 2-3 days picking who I want to see at auditions. This will be fun (In Mens Warehouse voice) "I guarantee it".

You must follow Up!!!!

This is not an attempt to bash SAG at alll. I know they are overwhelmed with the amount of paperwork they receive for new productions, especially within the New Media dept.

I had to call my rep again as I haven't received any paperwork as of yet, which is cool but I'm ready to cast this thing lol. I received the pre-cast worksheet which I need to fill out after casting.

On a even better note. I'm in talks with a DP for the project by the name of Jacob Swanson . This beast is coming to life!!!

Posted the breakdown on Actorsaccess, already an overwhelming response. Time to put on my CD hat. I know it's still early in the submission game, but I have a lot of SAG actors submitting. I would really like to bring someone in that's ready to make that jump to SAG-E (of course with a solid resume and reels), hmmmm we'll wait and see

On to the next one

The DP I was looking to hire decided to pass on the project. Oh well. I posted a help wanted ad on Craigslist and already have over 30 responses. I'll probably spend this week reviewing each one.

Luckily, I found my sound guy. I worked with him previously on a film I had a supporting role in entitled "Pirate Jenny". He's a really cool guy and down to earth, which is two of the most important qualities I seek in a crew member. 

Gotta work a little extra hard

Gonna have to pull a extra day at the J.O.B. next week to make sure I have a surplus of expenses for the production. I'm getting a little nervous. I was able to speak to my SAG rep yesterday and she said I should have my paperwork by Monday and to not post my breakdown until I'm in the pending stage. I have booked space to cast on the 28th. I hate racing the clock.

Dogs are a Woman's Best Friend

Got a chance to speak to my SAG rep today!!! she's going to send my paper work hopefully by Monday and told me to hold off on casting until my production is in the "pending" stage of the application process.

Spoke to my potential DP, would love to work with him.

Verizon Wireless Grrrrrrr....

Welcome to "Dogs are a Woman's best Friend" a web Dramedy

Hi and welcome to "Dogs are a Woman's best Friend" a webseries about Jamal, a man who is ready to settle down. He's trired of the dating scene and wants to meet that Mrs. Right. In comes Jasmin. Jasmin is everything that Jamal wants. Smart, Sexy, Educated a true lady, but there's one thing that's standing in Jamal's way......


This will be an ongoing blog of my new web series. From pre to post production and everything ugly in between. I aim to educate the reader on the process of self producing a web series on a shoe string budget and under the SAG New Media contract. The shoot will take a total of two days, Please Oh Please let this be the case lol.Let's kick this off with what I have so far:

I'm trying to stay under a $1500.00 budget which I believe I can do.   My pilot only calls for 3 different locations in which a friend of mines apartment has most of the scenes taking place. In producing this under the SAG New Media agreement, my actors are going to be $100/day deferred. As an actor, they pay doesn't really bother me as long as it's a quality production. Being on a shoestring budget, does not mean the final result looking as if it were filmed on a 1980's VHS camera. I do wanna give a shout out to Brandi Ford Brandi's Website for helping me out with some questions I had as she has just finished her very first webseries pilot episode.


10/11/2010 - Submitted preliminary Information sheet to SAG. I am not that familiar with a line budget, but I did enough research to learn what goes above the line as well as below.  Be aware that you have to follow up within 48 hrs to confirm that they have received you worksheet, Line budget, Script and ID. I also called a prospective location I would like to shoot a couple scenes here in Van Nuys. I need a office. The lady tells me $250 for 4 hours and I will need to have a certificate of Insurance(Whatever that is) and a $250 Cash Deposit which I will get back at the end of the shoot day. Emailed my prospective DP, told him I will give him a call Wednesday. Locked down my casting date and facilities for 10/28/2010, Thanks Cazt www.cazt.com you really provide a invaluable service to the acting community!!! I'm really looking forward to the casting session, it's gonna be nice to be able to sit on the other side of the table for once MUHAHAHAH!!!


10/12/2010 - Made some revisions to my script, Ugh.... I have to format this a lot better. Started story-boarding, this is a lot harder than I expected. I also came to the realization that I really don't have any industry friends. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I've always been a firm believer in if I don't know how to do something, I will teach myself to do it. I'm definitely going to shop around for an editor now.

10/13/2010 - Called SAG this morning and was told that I have been assigned a Rep and she will give me a call in the next few days. I'm excited and nervous at the sane time. I'm not sure how many SAG actors you have to use in your production as that was one of the questions on the preliminary. It's a relatively small cast of only 7, and as far as the crew goes the DP I have my eye on also has his own lighting equipment which means I will probably have to find a sound guy. My lovely wife did a lot of P.A., producer, etc work in the Philippines (Which has a major Film/TV market itself) where she is from, so she's really going to help me out a lot and wear many different hats on this production as well. Andrew from Backstage West saw a post I had made on the message board there and asked if I wanted to comment on actors using the New Media approach to obtaining their SAG/SAG-E status. Looking at what types of food I want to cater. Big Mamas and Papas Pizza has really good prices, everyone loves Pizza, wings, pasta and salad!!!!