Tangents

First, I have to talk about this week's episode of Medium: "Lucky in Love". I thought it was a powerful and touching episode, and I was impressed by both Ryan Hurst and the actress playing Leah (the episode isn't listed on IMDb yet, so I can't look her up yet.) Especially at the end of the episode. The moment when Leah remembers her death was spellbinding. She is looking straight at Allison (Patricia Arquette), her eyes clear and calm, then her brow furrows slightly as she suddenly begins to remember, and her eyes water and she can hardly speak. I was breathless watching her. Then at the end of the episode, Leah visits Michael (Ryan Hurst) in the hospital and they are saying goodbye, wishing they'd met sooner, she leans over to kiss him, the nurse walks in and Leah is gone. The nurse asks Michael if he's okay, and in that moment, he was so raw and vulnerable. "No, Ma'am." he replies, swallowing the lump in his throat, eyes watering. "But I'm getting there." I know I'm describing it more overly dramatic than it was. But for both moments, Leah's and Michael's, the acting was subtle and deeply honest.

And watching that, I've realized I'm no where near ready for that caliber of acting, to play such an emotionally intense scene. I've attempted a couple of scenes in my classes last year that were emotionally intense, and I haven't been able to connect with either of them very deeply and remain honest. Doesn't mean I'm going to back off getting my career on track, just means I still have a lot to learn, and a lot to work on.

Yesterday evening, I got a call for an infomercial I had submitted for (through Hollywood OS), they were checking my availability for Saturday. I said, "Yes, I'm available." The CD said, "Okay, thank you." so I asked, "Does this mean I'm booked?" She said, "They'll probably book you. I'll call you back with the details." After I hung up, I remembered that Ron Michaelson had taught us about this in my Acting For The Camera class. If they call to check your availability, they are considering you for a role, and once you've committed your availability, you have to stand by that commitment until they let you know if you've got the part or not. So now I'm waiting to hear, but I've been flying high all day because I'm being considered for a role!! I didn't even realize I was submitting for an actual role, but I assume that's why they would check my availability, they don't usually check for background work. All I know about the infomercial is that it's non-union, it's for a Total Body Fitness program, and they were seeking "attractive people who are NOT fit." That's me to a T! Don't know if there are any speaking lines or anything like that. But hey, I'm being considered!

I also submitted myself to work with film students through Craig's List. I guess the students have blocking assignments each week for the next 7 weeks, and the scenes are 2-5 pages. Obviously they can't pay me, but they said they'd cover gas, and I thought what an awesome opportunity for me as well, to learn more about working in front of a camera. I e-mailed them last night with one of my new headshots and a mini-resume, but haven't heard anything back yet. Guess that means they probably won't use me, but I'm gonna keep my fingers crossed just in case.

As for the saga of my headshots: It occured to me this morning that I've put my headshots up on Shutterfly for viewing, and Shutterfly also prints your photos from wallet size to poster size. I could easily have them print my 8x10 originals. I've checked out the FAQs on their printing process, it looks like they will be quality prints, but I e-mailed them to ask what DPI they use for printing, and how well color/brightness/contrast will match what I see on screen. Because I went to my Uncle's office today, and one of my friends there is a Photoshop pro, and he said that image resolution has nothing to do with how well a picture prints out, it is the DPI that counts for printing. He also said that it'll be very difficult to get a color/brightness match to what my photos look like on screen with a personal home color printer. So if Shutterfly uses a good DPI, I'll have them print my 8x10s. Next step after that is to find a printer for the litho reproductions. Slowly but surely, I'm getting there.