When it rains, it pours

I guess it's kinda funny the way things work out. For the past month or so I have been in search of work, looking high and low for an opportunity. I kept busy doing this and that, but it was nothing that would be able to keep me here in LA for any extended amount of time. I guess I was sort of biding my time till something worked out.

Well, that day has come.

Last Friday, one of the several Temp agencies that I applied to called me back. I am already with an agency called Apple One, but I'm not sure they'll be able to do much for me. They don't really focus on the entertainment industry, so I am just kinda part of their system. But this other temp agency is called Friedman Personnel and they are one of the better known agencies in the entertainment industry. They send people out to work temporarily at a lot of major studios and production companies. So I was pretty excited to hear they wanted me to come in for an interview. But I was about to be more excited for the phone call that I got a couple hours later.

It was from this company called Generate, whom I had worked for a couple of days not too long ago. Well, they remembered me and decided they wanted me to come in on a more regular basis. Basically full time. So I have a full time job now. Sweet! I'll fill you in more about it later.

The only kinda crummy thing is the timing for the temp agency and this full time gig was on the same day. Both are really good opportunities. And I can only do one. Lame.

Actually, it turns out to not be so lame. I went in for my interview with Friedman and had full disclosure with them. I told them the situation, that I basically did not want to give up my new full time job, but still wanted to be on board with them. I couldn't let either opportunity pass, especially since it had been so long since something good had come along, let alone two good things. So what they decided was that I would not be sent out as a "temp" but as someone who was looking for permanent work. This way, if someone comes to them asking for someone to fill a position for full time, they will get my resume. If they decided that they simply can't go on with out me working for them, I can put in my two weeks at Generate and move on to something better. So now I have a chance to potentially get an awesome job from them while continuing to work at Generate.

But I'm not going to hold my breath. If they find something for me, great, but for the time being I am more than happy to be with Generate. It will be a steady pay check and am learning a lot every time I go in. And right now, that works for me.

Sarah and the Sock Puppet

So, I though I would give a little update on the short film I am helping make happen.

It is called Sarah and the Sock Puppet. I won't give away too much about it, but I will tell you it is about a girl (Sarah, in case you couldn't guess) who is at the beach with some friends and there is a Sock Puppet involved (in case you couldn't guess that either). And that's only the set up. This film involves some pretty amazing things. Magical things. Things that will make you say "ooh" and "aww" and "huh?". Things that will make you.... oh, I guess you'll just have to wait for us to finish to see what happens.

Is that good marketing? Do you really want to see it now?

No?

Are you sure??

We have already made some pretty good progress. We have held the auditions for the main supporting characters and made our decisions on who will play those parts. Now we just need to do the call backs for the "Sarah" actors and pick the one we like best. We are using SAG actors, so they have all been really good.

Also, we are working on securing a location. It has been a difficult process, because we need to get a permit to make sure that we don't get shut down in the middle of filming. The only problem is permits can be kind of expensive, especially on the kind of budget we have. So, we are looking into the best, most cost efficient options. The story takes place on a beach and one of the better options we have found is using a State Beach. There is no fee to apply for a permit and all you need to pay for is a Film Monitor, to watch over us, and production insurance. Production Insurance. Kinda a pain but definitely necessary.

Also, the Director and the Director of Photography have been meeting together to work on the story boards and plan the shots we will need. This is important for us because we want to film everything in two days and there is kind of a lot to film, so we need to have a plan and be ready to execute it when we get out there. Efficiency is the name of the game.

And that is basically where we stand. The plan right now is to film in late September, although there is no definite time set. It is pretty exciting to see everything come together. We are trying our hardest to make this film the best we can.

Once it's finished we'll send it to film festivals and try to get some recognition and legitimacy. Gotta show the world how awesome we are. I mean, it's about time someone knew.

The latest

There is really no reason that I shouldn't be writing more in this blog. I mean, what else am I doing?

Well, actually, a few things. I am trying to keep as productive.

A big step I took to trying to find work is signing up with a temp agency, AppleOne. The company was recommended by to me by several people so I decided to give it a go. Now that I am with them, I just have to start calling in and seeing if there is any work available.

I also started working on my typing. I know may sound kinda dumb and trivial, but having an accurate, high typing speed is pretty important. Especially if you want to be an assistant or a secretary. You have to be able to keep up with the quick paced boss.

I have also been doing a good amount of reading. Trying to continue my education on my terms. The book I just finished is called "Good in a Room" by Stephanie Palmer. It is about how to deal with high pressure situations, among other things. It's pretty good because she was a creative executive at MGM, so I can only guess that she knows her stuff.

Also, the Motion Picture CoOp just finished the first round of auditions for a short film I am helping produce. We are going to have call backs coming up soon. I'll keep you updated on the progress of this project. It's going to be pretty sweet.

And lastly I have been watching movies. But not just for entertainment purposes. I watch them with this book called "Save the Cat", that goes along with the movie and breaks down the story so you can understand why certain things are written certain ways. It's pretty amazing, definitely a formula to how a movie plays out.


So that's the latest. Not too much going on, but also keeping busy.