CNGM Awards Night

Awards Night for CNGM Pictures! Until a year ago I was completely unaware that there was a small group of independent film makers, right here locally. Well last night was their first real fund raiser/screening/awards night & what a success it was! Cass Winery was there, wonderful tasty d'oeuvres and great friends I've met over the past year form various film projects, and held at Cutting Hall in Palatine.

That's Walt Sloan on the left, I played his wife in our first project together, a web based series we filmed last fall. Currently, he has been working on the Ambassadors series we've been involved in for the past 4 months, and in January, we'll again be a husband/wife team, albeit in a rather dysfunctional family. David Grelck has written & will direct "Seething Civilities", a 10 minute festival bound short. David is also a great photographer in Schaumburg, click on his link for samples of his work. If you need portrait, family, or actor/model shots, he's the one to go to! Local, talented, quick & fun to work with, you will get exactly what you need from him!

On the right, is Craig Sunderlin, I first met him when he played the lead in an independent film-"Utopia" and he too is currently filming with me in the Ambassadors series. Both these guys have done quite a bit of independent film,but unfortunately, sometimes it takes forever, if ever, for the end product to actually make it to market. These two have experience that will eventually be recognized as they continue to slug it out, doing what they love!

As to the evening, I saw many friends which is what makes any evening great. What was especially fun, was watching the trailers, & seeing all these people that I didn't know had a connection, together on screen! Imagine a movie and you know half the cast members, what fun!

A last note, everyone is using any number of different digital cameras these days, Canon, Nikon, the RED. This last photo is simply a capture from the last time we were shooting, using the Canon 7D, impressive quality, no? Thanks to Caleb for sending it to me! Until next time.....!

Ambassadors-the shoot goes on....and on!

"The Ambassadors" strikes again!

No, I mean we filmed another day. So there we were at 3:00 in the afternoon, and it was discovered that sound was not being recorded! The first couple takes had been checked and were fine, visually it appeared everything was good, then all came to a crashing halt! At least it was discovered before breaking everything down and carting it all to the lower level for the next scene.  And how very well rehearsed we were by then! No one had to worry about missing a line, but really listening became that much more important.

It seems like a simple thing, but ofttimes, you don't really hear the line being said before yours, you know what is supposed to be said, and you can just go on with the next line regardless. There must be recognition in your face that something was said, you have to hear it as if for the first time, each & every time, & the next time and the next time, we had a lot of those times yesterday!

Thankfully we have a great crew & work well together, because now there will be an additional day to film what was supposed to be the second scene yesterday. The only downside is going to be finding a day that everyone can fit this into their schedules with Christmas around the corner and the 168 Film Project right after that! We know it will all work out just how it's supposed to!

Anyhow, 2 new characters were introduced Maggie & Mimi, aka Roz and Joan, Liz's antagonistic friends. Luckily, in a sense, the day's shooting was messed up, this way we get to work together another day! Have to make lemonade out of lemons! Liz still has a bit of a quick temper, but is really softening & listening to George now, his words are really beginning to hit home, which concerns her girlfriends.

Later today a photo shoot at Steve Ewert Photography and then this evening another class at The Green Room.  Each session has been great & a super reminder of so many things that have been forgotten or glossed over along the way. Long day but a fun one!

PS Thanks Brittany from HOSFU, now you can see I have learned how to insert a link! Woo Hoo!

The Green Room-week 2

Great class at The Green Room again on Monday. More on-camera time and the chance to see the rut I've fallen into. Many years of practice to give a pleasant read, likable & professional. Well, it becomes more challenging to just be real! As Murphy said, "mess it up a bit". Now I understand why some castings call for only real people. I look real and act real, but way too polished, we'll change that soon enough!

One topic was the uselessness of asking for your framing on camera before the taping begins. Why is this useless? Because 9 out of 10 people do nothing with the information. If a semi wide shot, why not use the whole space? Don't stay rooted in one spot, take over, this is your audition! And if you are moving, it is up to the camera operator to follow you. Not to say you should be jumping all over the set, but give some indication of when & where you are going to move.

Spent some time working on one-liners, those almost throw away lines, sort of mid-stream thought. Often, you deliver them in groups of 3, giving 3 separate & different renditions of the same line. What is important is to create a distinct 3 dimensional character who is actually saying the line. This in not a stereotype of a type of person, but rather an actual person. It is not simply using a fake accent, but adopting the mannerisms that this particular person might use. And pull out 3 different ones, with a pause between.

The Pause, that is a very important aspect! Pause if powerful! It can serve as an emphasis, a time to collect your thoughts ("they" won't realize this is what you are doing).  A pause will keep you in control and give your reading power, make your delivery believable, and that is after all what we are after!

What's next? Back to filming for the Ambassadors series on Sunday. That's Craig Sunderlin and me from the last shoot, he's bugging me (not in real life, but his role!), and I'm recuperating from a night out on the town. Walt Sloan is in the background with Scotty, the sound guy! The upcoming script introduces a couple new actresses, my "girlfriends" in the script, with a more comedic bent to it.

And on Monday, a print ad for Restasis! I'm a happy camper! A bit chilly (1 degree!) but happy!

Until next time! Be natural, be prepared, be real!

Walmart Shopping/ shooting...I mean filming!

Church, dinner, a nap & off to Walmart to film a commercial! I remember the old days of Sears & Meijers commercials, we started after the stores closed, & had to get out before opening. With the current operating hours, it gets a bit tougher! Way back when, we would have a call time of 9 PM, tonight, it is midnight! Does that mean we will be out early? One can only hope!

Only downside, it is nonseasonal, so supposed to look like the temp is 50-60, but we were advised to bring something warmer to put on between takes....does that mean outside in the 30's? Yeesh, I remember those days too! Doing a photo shoot & the camera would freeze after several minutes of being exposed to frigid temperatures, not to worry though, the talent had warm blood to keep on going! Hah!


Behind the scene from the other day at Miller Stadium, doesn't look as cold as it was, but at least my jacket was team colors which meant I got to keep it on!

Time to get off & get on with the day!

Oh, & now we wait to hear back from Trost & HOSFU about their casting decisions for A Christmas Snow. Whatever the outcome, it will be an incredible film, a wonderful story!

Stay Tuned!

A Christmas Snow Audition

My wonderful friends Maiko & Ziggy met me to tape my audition for A Christmas Snow. We filmed at the home of my co star from Monster Ballad, (I wanted Anna to audition for the role of Lucy) and Walt Sloan, one of my angels, agreed to meet us there to read with us. Unfortunately, he is not available for filming the month of Feb, so he was just so thoughtful to come out just to help us.


Anna is a great little actress & she handled her character well, she has such a nice personality, & a great spark, plus she is so smart & fun to work with!

Now for anyone who has not kept up, A Christmas Snow is being filmed in Oklahoma during the first 3 weeks of February. It is a wonderful Christmas story that will be released next Christmas. It follows Kathleen and Lucy & new friend Sam through a few days, with a journey that crosses 20 plus years, and incredible heartbreak, sorrow, joy & forgiveness. No, it is NOT a sappy Christmas story, it is beautiful, charming, imaginative, REAL & so much more.

I must admit to only having read the scenes we would be filming & I also watched Tracy's character description.  I made certain choices about my portrayal, which I just felt right about ( of course I can be directed to other levels!!!) What a surprise that as I finished reading the entire script this morning, I still felt right about it. As I mentioned in my opening, each of us has been injured in our past, we all deal with those injuries in our own way. I felt for Kathleen on such a deep level. I do know exactly where she is coming from. These are personal thoughts and memories and a blog is not the appropriate venue to relive them.

TMP will be filming this, the casting has been handled for the first time by HOSFU, and online! As I mentioned to all my friends, not a crazy get everyone to vote for you scam, but a professionally done online audition. Now the waiting begins & the doubts creep, should I have redone it? Is this what they are looking for? Just have to trust, all things happen for a reason!

Stay tuned for updates, or better yet, pop on over to The Christmas Snow on Facebook, or Christian-Movie.com and see what all the excitement is about & check out the auditions online!