What Do You Do Exactly?

Okay so I keep getting asked this....and so I decided to do a little post and share a few of the projects/shoots I've been working on.

Much of what I do revolves around interviews/movie press junkets/video content for our websites teen.com and gurl.com, but we also do sponsored campaign videos for various brands.

Here are a few interviews/projects I've done lately:

Fuze Los Angeles - Narrated by Cat Deeley:
http://on.fb.me/FuzeLA

Thor (Chris Hemsworth) Junket Interview:
www.teen.com/chris-hemsworth-thor-interview-video

Victoria Justice Behind the Scenes Interview for her new music video:
www.teen.com/victoria-justice-healthy-eating-diet-fitness-tip/

Bella Thorne & Zendaya Red Carpet Interview:
www.teen.com/bella-thorne-zendaya-summer-camp-plans-simmons-pastry-interview

My Day My Life: Ashely Tisdale:
www.teen.com/ashley-tisdale-hellcats-sharpay-exclusive-video-interview

Hope you enjoy those :)

When I Grow Up

When I was little, I knew exactly what I wanted to be. An Actress. Yes, there it is. I wanted to act. But it’s interesting how you change over the years. And how something you are so sure of at 12, can feel so unclear and ominous at 22.

When I first arrived at USC, I remember sitting in an assembly of fellow Film Production majors and being asked by a moderator, “how many of you want to be directors?” About 75% of the kids raised their hands. When you’re young and love film, being a director seems like the natural course of action. But as the years went on and we all learned more about the different types of jobs available in film, slowly we started to morph. We realized, maybe we didn’t actually enjoy working with actors that much, but had a real knack for sound mixing or editing or cinematography or producing. Film school opened our eyes to all these different specialties, that would still allow us to be involved in film, but maybe in a slightly different way than we had planned. I’ve come to realize that life has a funny way of panning out that way, though!

Before graduation, I feel like most of my friends could tell you more or less what they wanted to do with their life. But now, I feel like the resounding answer to “what do you want to be when you grow up” is “I’m not sure yet.” I’m no longer getting taller (and haven’t for almost 10 years now) but I’m definitely still growing and figuring out what I’m good at and what I like and what’s important to me. I’m hoping that as I gain more experience in the working world and observe others older and wiser than myself, the answer will become clear. But until then, I’m just trying to learn as much as I can, meet as many great people as I can, and most of all, just be happy with who I am and where I’m at now.

Something Good's Around the Corner

For half of February, I was feeling a bit down in the dumps. I finished up a project and didn't seem to have any other prospects lined up. The one job that I thought was going to come thru kept me hanging and didn't seem to have a start date in sight. It's stressful not knowing where your next job is going to come from!

But as I have come to realize, things really do have a way of working out. If you are hard-working, ambitious, [and likeable], something good is usually just around the corner. And if you really want to give luck a hand, I recommend booking a non-refundable trip....that'll usually do the trick :)

Jobless, I accepted my parents' invitation to go to Cabo, Mexico. The day after my dad booked the ticket, my dream company called me to come interview. Of course, I got the job and the most amazing part was, they told me NOT to cancel my trip. So I got to go to Cabo for a week and start full time the following Monday.

When I got back to the states this afternoon, I had several voicemails waiting for me. One to work on a freelance indie film, another to interview for a TV pilot, and one offering me an assistant job (something I had interviewed for like 2+ weeks ago). I am very happy with the job I already accepted, but it is always a confidence booster hearing a whole boatload of people want you! And to think, just two weeks ago, I was stressed and feeling utterly rejected.

Note to self: RELAX....good things will come to those who are patient and persevere.

How to Get a [Dream] Job in Hollywood

So I got a job offer from my dream company yesterday. I cannot tell you how long I've been waiting and hoping for something like this to fall in my lap....and finally it did.

Here's how you land a job in this business:

August - Volunteered to help a friend, who was a Producer's Assistant, during a pickup weekend by standing in as a hand model (please see my famous hands in Alloy's "Hollywood is Like High School")....got to know Producer.

October - Get hired by said Alloy Producer to act as Script Supervisor on reality Alloy's webseries, "Casting Call." Ended up playing a bunch of different roles--helping with interview questions, actually interviewing girls, jogging down judges notes to be re-hashed later, etc). While at lunch, Producer found out I was also interested in Directing and Producing.

November - Producer asks me to come onto their next project as Script Supervisor during production, but to also act as Director's Assistant beforehand (since he he previously found out I was interested in that kind of thing). I accept.

January - During Pre-Production, I spent a lot of time getting to know Alloy employees and execs during meetings, script notes sessions, etc.

February - "Talent" shoot

March - Friend at UTA sends me an ad from Alloy looking for an Assistant Talent Coordinator....I call up Producer who finds out who at the company to directly forward my resume, another Alloy friend I met on set hand-delivers my resume to the stack. Producer I'd worked with calls up the head of the department and gives him glittering review of me. Phone interview goes well, in-person interview is even better....and what do you know, a job!

So that's how it works. It takes a while for something great to land in your lap. But by golly, it sure does happen.

Good things happen to those who work hard and truly want them.

Diary of a Film Student

And so goes another wonderful day on the set of "Life After Film School."

Today I had the opportunity to interview producers Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson about their newest film, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules," based on the very popular book series by Jeff Kinney. It was an insightful discussion and I thought I'd share a few memorable points from the interview.

One of my favorite things that was said was Brad’s advice to “Get in the room with people whose jobs you want to have someday.” Always be there watching and learning from your superiors. Be attentive, enthusiastic, and most importantly—be likeable and you will rise thru the ranks quickly. I loved this advice because as I’ve matured I’ve realized and accepted that I’m not going to start at the top. I’m going to have to “pay my dues” as they put it….and I think I’m okay with that—as long as I am at a company that I’m enthusiastic about and love the work they are doing, I will be happy performing mundane tasks such as grabbing coffee and taking phone calls.

Nina and Brad both spoke about the importance to learning. Some movies are going to work, some will fail, some will never see the light of day, while others will go on to become surprise hits. Regardless of how a film performs, it is always a learning experience—an opportunity to take away valuable something. Brad spoke of an elderly director he had collaborated with who was still working in his 80s! Brad’s reasoning for this was that the director had never stopped learning and evolving. He was constantly asking what, how, and why. He was interested in learning about social media and wasn’t narrow-minded, despite being at an age where learning about newfangled things could seem daunting. This goes to show that learning doesn’t stop with graduation. In actuality, life is all a learning experience—and you are never too old to stop gaining knowledge.

I, personally, love kids and enjoy working with them. So I asked Brad and Nina about their experiences working with a cast made up almost entirely of children. They both smiled—it’s clear the event evoked fond sentiments. They told us that the energy on set was contagious; there is a tendency among adults to become jaded by movie-making, but kids are a totally different story. They all felt so incredibly lucky to be there. After all, they were getting to inhabit characters from a series that they themselves and all their friends had read and worshipped! Brad and Nina shared an occasion in which the little boy who plays Raleigh came to set one day to find that they were going to be wearing aprons in the scene. He loudly went running to his dad—“Dad! DAD! We get to wear aprons today!!!” His joy over such a seemingly silly costuming item had the whole crew rolling over laughing and brought smiles to their faces for hours. Kids have an innate power to subtly lighten the mood and remind grown ups of the simple pleasures in all of our lives--such as aprons :)

Stay tuned for video link in a few weeks! And make sure to go see Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules! It's a charming, funny film that kids and anyone who has gone through the awkwardness of pre-adolescence can relate to and thoroughly enjoy.

The Office vs. The Set

Well hello friends. Sorry for the extended absence. Life has been quite busy--I spent a couple months as a director's assistant for Alloy Entertainment's digital division during the pre-production of a rather large scale webseries, and then during production acted as script supervisor. The crew was great and I really am looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Now I am just pondering my next big move. I have long since heard that going the agency route is a wonderful way to learn about the industry, as well as to get to know future power players in the film world. The big agencies seem to be at the center of this industry, with scripts, actors, filmmakers coming into them and packages flowing out of them. Producers have told me over and over again that it is a great first stepping stone to take after getting out of film school.

At this time, I have an opportunity for a job at one of the big agencies. However, in spite of all the advantages, I am a little leery. Taking long term jobs is scary. So far everything I have done has been freelance....which is nice, because even if the gig sucks, you are done with it after several weeks and can go on to something else.

I guess the big decision right now, is the office vs. the set. I love being on set, but the freelance lifestyle can get a bit stressful--never knowing where your next paycheck will come from. However, on set, I get to perform a job that has a bit more prestige than being someone's assistant. As script supervisor on set, I have people bringing me coffee; as an assistant in an office, I will be bringing other people coffee. I am fine with that, but it is definitely something to think about.

Here is how it breaks down:

Agency (The Office):

• Great opportunity to network
• Fabulous learning experience that teaches you about all phases of the industry
• Rigorous, but really prepares you for any job you get afterwards
• Opens doors to many other career opportunities, thru the people you meet
• Many studio execs, agents, managers, and producers have started in the mailrooms at big agencies
• Consistant Pay
• Job security & consistency--knowledge of exactly where you are going to work each day and at what time
• Long hours but less than on set
• Low hourly rate (9-10/hour in mailroom, small bump once you become an assistant on a desk)
• Administrative work that does not have much of a creative component
• Possibility of interacting with difficult personalities and being subjected to subhuman treatment (not a guarantee, but one does hear stories....)

Production (The Set):

• Exciting and exhilarating atmosphere
• Getting to be an important part of a film and having a direct impact on the outcome of the film
• Opportunity to work hard for several weeks and then take time for yourself....can book appointments during the day and get things done on your off periods
• Each project brings with it new people to meet and contacts to be made
• Better hourly rate than most office-based assistant positions + lots of money for overtime
• There is a good chance of extended time periods with no work
• Very long hours (12+ hours a day)
• Being a key player on set right out of college is great, but there is not much upward mobility since Script Supervisors are the only ones in their department - so the experience does not lend itself to other jobs

Journey to the Biz

I am a host on Fox Movie Channel's "Life After Film School" program, where current film students interview current filmmakers. I thought I'd share a blog I wrote for the Fox Movie Channel website about my experience talking with Graham Yost.

If interested, check out one of my past episodes here! http://www.foxmoviechannel.com/screening.php?vid=50085527

And so goes by another episode of “Life After Film School.” This past week, I had the opportunity to interview Graham Yost, along with two other students. As a recent graduate of USC’s Cinema-Television Production program, these interviews are of utmost interest to me. It is scary trying to break into this business and talking to current filmmakers—who really are just normal people—that have effectively broken into entertainment, is incredibly encouraging. Every route is different, but hearing their various journeys to success is enlightening and something I will take with me as I, too, depart on a professional career.

The film business is unique in that there is no direct career path to becoming a director, or a producer, or a writer. It’s not like becoming a doctor—where one gets good grades in college, aces the MCATs, goes to medical school, and wakes up one morning as a full fledged doctor (forgive me for simplying what I actually do know is a grueling process). But the point is, you know exactly how to become a doctor from square one—and that you’ll be promised a healthy living when you emerge on the other end. I’ve never been a risk-taker and the road more travelled has always looked appealing to me. But my enormous love for I cinema is enough to make me gamble at entertainment. During his interview, Graham mentioned that everyone he had met, who really wanted it and kept at it, eventually found success. Words such as these give me immense hope, as I have always been one of the most hard-working and determined people you’ll ever meet.

While we were chatting in between filming, Graham mentioned that he had come from an acting background, the same as me! He said that understanding the actor’s perspective and how lines are prepared and spoken, was incredibly helpful to being a writer. This is something that I have always felt deep down, so it is great hearing an actual writer validate my theory. I will always be thankful that at 5-years-old, I decided to be an actress. My theatre and speech & debate background, I feel, made me a better writer and director when in film school, it also made me far more respectful towards actors—something that I sadly, don’t always see in filmmakers. When you first get to film school, everyone wants to be a director. But as the years pass and the scope of filmmaking broadens, your classmates start to realize that maybe they aren’t as good at directing as they once thought and maybe their true interests lie elsewhere….editing, sound, cinematography, etc. I didn’t come into USC necessarily wanting to be a director, but I, as well as my peers, was surprised to find that I was actually surprisingly good at directing. Something that I attribute whole-heartedly to my acting background.

So all in all, I’d say it that Episode 9 was a successful day, I walked away with new writing tips and hints to aid me on my own journey…. AND an invitation to go check out the writer’s room on “Justified”! I really do feel so lucky to be a part of Life After Film School., not only have a I gained a wealth of knowledge, but I’ve had the opportunity to meet some amazing filmmakers, as well as some future great filmmakers among my co-hosts as well! I wish Graham Yost the best in all his endeavors, and hopefully our paths will cross again someday shortly.

A Good Day

So just when I was getting tired of waiting around and boredom was setting in....I found another job. Funny how that works. So starting tomorrow I have another script supervising gig!

One of the things that I love about script supervising is that you can go right into the job as a key. No wasting time as an assistant or PA, where the work is flat out banal. Script Supervising, if you are good at it, let's you jump right in as a department head. Which is SUPER. This is not to say that it is for everyone....it's certainly not. But note-taking and intense attention to detail have always been my forte, so I enjoy it a lot! My class notes in school were so detailed that people would pay me for copies....who knew that that skill could continue making me money down the line.....!

The Unpaid Intern

I thought this was a good article from the New York Times on unpaid interns.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/03/business/03intern.html?pagewanted=2

I, myself, recently found myself in a situation where I was being given a ton of responsibility and not receiving pay. It took me a long time to decide what to do, because on one hand, I really enjoyed working at the company and liked all the other people. But on the other hand, I didn't think it was right to depend on someone to make a film and not pay them.

In the end, an inappropriate request involving jumping on a trampoline topless was the tip of the iceberg. I left the company. Another indication of how difficult it is to be a woman in this industry! You've gotta put up with a lot.

The Crazy Life

Long time no write! Life has been beyond crazy.

I did Wardrobe on a movie for SyFy Channel. Then moved into doing Casting with the same company, as well as some production coordination type stuff. Spent two days on that movie and then went to Script Supervise on a film for African distribution. So literally I have had no break. Today is my last day on "Okoto: The Messenger" and its a little sad. Despite all the oddities that have taken place on the Nigerian movie, I have been having a lot of fun and enjoy the company of the cast/crew/random entourage of Nigerians that are always hanging out on set.

Somehow I got pulled into acting in "Okoto"....yes, I am the only white girl in the Nigerian movie. I play a pediatrician to boot too! Haha, even though I kind of look 17. In my first scene, I had to make out with this Nigerian guy....I didn't know he was going to lean in for a makeout sesh after the lines, but he did, so being the professional that I am--I went with it too. He had the biggest lips I'd ever felt.

I also find it interesting that throughout the script there is tons of drinking and when filming, the actors NEVER use fake alcohol--it is always real. So we get a lot of drunks on set. Even in one of my scenes, I got brought a drink--which was then spilled on me by the same actor I had made out with. Yeah, so I smelled like an alci for the rest of the day. Joy.

Maybe I am being closed minded, but I cannot stand the smell of African food. We filmed in an African restaurant and the sight of goat head literally made me gag. Every time I looked at the plate I felt my stomach churn. We also filmed in an African food store and there were DRIED FISH just sitting on the shelves! It was so nasty. I cannot imagine anyone eating that. But I guess its a whole different culture.

I've been learning a lot about culture, and picking up a few words here and there. So that has been really fun; I love learning about different ways of life. I tend to ask a ton of questions, probably to the point of being annoying. But hey, I'm an inquisitive person!

I feel important on the "Okoto" set and that is nice. I always get a good spot within view of the action and the director comes to me a lot with questions such as what we should film next. I'm wearing a lot of hats, but I like that on a small set. I think this was a good experience and will lead to some future gigs. Yay!

Okay well better gear up for my last day on "Okoto"....ciao!