Gearing up to shoot our new WB web series "Exposed" on 9/8/08. Here are two teasers promoting the new site...
Check it out TheWB.com.
-Blake
If you're an actor please do the following:
1. PUT A DEMO REEL ONLINE FOR PRODUCERS TO SEE
2. BE ABLE TO VIDEOTAPE YOURSELF FOR AN AUDITION
We live in the "Internet Age", yet I'm constantly surprised that actors do not have an online reel, or that they can't shoot video of themselves. I understand if you don't have footage for a reel - okay. But you should AT LEAST have a MySpace page with pictures, resume, etc. Yeah sure, if you have an agent they'll have this stuff too. But market YOURSELF.
And today with productions happening all over the map it is IMPERATIVE that you have a way to tape an audition. I use the word "tape", but today there are tons of "tapeless" options out there such as the Flip Mino. It is about the size of a phone and shoots excellent video - especially for online. Tons of YouTube folks use this camera. It's only $180. A small investment to be able to easily tape and upload or send auditions. If you don't have a Myspace page or a personal web site, then just upload audition to YouTube. You can easily pull it down afterwards.
If you're serious about acting, then you should be serious about getting acting jobs. And these two small things can greatly help.
-Blake
Nice mention of our new show "Exposed" in Variety today...
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117990615.html
Check it out when you have a moment.
-Blake
Check out the latest teaser video from "88 Hits" right now on YouTube. Show premieres 09.09.08.
-Blake
Got this notice today from Revver...
We're featuring your video "88 Hits" on Wednesday, 8/13 on RevverLive, our new live web show produced in collaboration with LiveVideo.com. The hour-long show airs live daily at 1pm PST and features the best and most conversation-sparking Revver videos, with rotating hosts using LiveVideo's robust social video platform to interact with viewers in real-time via video and text chat.
The immediacy with which fans can participate in conversations about your videos makes this a unique opportunity for audiences to engage with your work and with each other, and is a great way to help you promote your work. Feel free to join in on the coversation or watch from the sidelines to see what viewers think by checking out the show here (if it's not live, check out the archived episodes):
http://www.livevideo.com/liveshow/Revverlive
Tell all your friends to log in and watch live and comment! ALSO, since the show is produced daily in Hollywood, we'd love to have any of you LA-based creators come in to the studio on the day of the show to introduce your video and talk about it a bit with the show's host and viewers.
If you're able to tune in, we recommend creating a LiveVideo account with the same username as your Revver account and then joining the chat so that host and viewer alike can interact with you.
Let us know if you have any questions about this, or want to get involved in the show!
So that's pretty cool. I hadn't heard of this kind of thing before, online anyway. I'll be tuning in, and if you can check it out or visit their show archive to listen later.
-Blake
Hulu is owned by FOX and NBC. So we're very happy to have "Pink" on the site. Later in September it will all be in HD too (and will eventually include our new Season 2 episodes).
Check it out:
http://www.hulu.com/pink-the-series
Thanks!
Blake
So this is not filmmaking per se, but it does deal with visual effects...
Some of the fireworks during the Olypics opening ceremony were evidently fake! Hmmm. I realize it's entertainment, but it's also a "news" event. So that is really close to crossing the line IMHO.
Read entire story here.
-Blake
UPDATE 8/12/08: So, another fake out by the Chinese! Now they're saying the little girl who sang during the opening ceremoney didn't really sing! They pulled a Milli-Vanilli on the entire world... read it here.
If you haven't checked out Vimeo yet, you should. It's another one of many web video sharing sites - but this one is different. Mainly because it is one of the first to allow users to upload HD video. And it also plays it back for viewers in a streaming flash player that looks really good.
I have a new page on the site:
www.vimeo.com/blakecalhoun
I currently have the first "DIY's Guys" episode up and the "88 Hits" teaser (this was shot in SD though).
Anyway, definitely check out the site when you have a moment. Oh, and also be sure to click the "full screen" option on the lower right hand side of the HD player, that way you'll get the full HD experience. :)
-Blake
First few days of casting have gone well for "Exposed". We're continuing to cast this next week too. So if you are an interested actor, or know of an actor who fits one of the roles. Please contact me at loudpics[@]yahoo.com.
See previous post down this page for character descriptions.
The main roles we need more folks to audition for are ALICIA, HENRY and CARLOS.
Thanks,
Blake
I found this story to be interesting and pretty funny too...
August 6, 2008 - MEXICO CITY -- This weekend, thousands of Mexicans will line up at theaters to see "The Knight of the Night," "Super Agent 86" and "The End of Time." Never heard of them?
Those are the literal translations of the Spanish titles given to "The Dark Knight," "Get Smart" and "The Happening," examples of the marketing tactics that can leave cinephiles baffled as Hollywood reaches out to increasingly important foreign audiences.
Depending on the nation, moviegoers are watching Steve Carell of "Get Smart" in "Max the Menace" (France), "Agent Smart: Casino Totale" (Italy), "Is the Spy Capable or Not?" (Taiwan), or "Confused Spy" (China).
Titles often are tweaked to suit local tastes. Last year's comedy hit "Knocked Up" was given the gentler title "Slightly Pregnant" in Roman Catholic Peru and the gloriously blunt "One Night, Big Belly" in China.
Hollywood has taken a more active role in translating its titles in recent years, says David Weitzner, a former chief of worldwide promotion for 20th Century Fox and Universal. Some films make half of their money overseas, and studios are increasingly doing "global launches" to generate buzz.
"We have to pay much more attention to the foreign market than we used to," Weitzner says.
The translations used to be left to foreign film distributors, with dubious results. Some titles gave away key plot points, such as when "Rain Man" became "When Brothers Meet" in Latin America.
U.S. film titles for foreign movies often are odd, too. "Open Your Eyes," a Spanish film about a man in suspended animation, became "Vanilla Sky" when it was remade with Tom Cruise.
-Blake
Good article called "They're Spinning Their Own Web" in the LA Times about web series productions. I know several of the filmmakers, distributors, agents, etc. mentioned... good group of folks.
THE SCREEN ACTORS GUILD and television and film producers see eye to eye about hardly anything these days, yet on one thing they can agree: The Web is the battleground.
Talks between SAG and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have ground to a halt, and a possible work stoppage looms. But as the parties caucus with their lawyers and negotiators over next steps, production on the very thing that divides them -- entertainment created for new media platforms -- continues at a fever clip across town.
Click here to read entire article
-Blake
We had a Street Team (aka Hot Chicks) at Comic-Con handing out and applying temporary PINK tattoos. They supposedly handed out around 4000 and applied 1000. I didn't get to go to the event, but it looks like it was a good time...
We're now casting for "Exposed" - the new web series for TheWB.com.
Primarily looking for these roles:
1. Henry - Caucasion/20-25/Athletic
2. Alicia - Hispanic/18-22
3. Chase - Caucasion/20-25
4. Gail - Caucasion/18-22
5. Carlos - Hispanic/40-50
6. Dimitri - Caucasion (Russian)/17-21
7. Ulanyov - Caucasion (Russian)/45-55
8. Priest - Caucasion/40-60
We also have a lot of day player roles we'll be announcing soon too.
If you are interested please send an email to loudpics[@]yahoo.com with your headshot and a link to your demo reel, if available.
Thanks!
Blake
