marcusharwell.net » acting

That’s a Wrap

Marcus — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 05:10:45 +0000

I didn’t get much chance to blog the film while it was in progress, since we were shooting 15 or so pages a day and I was a wreck when I got home every day. But we had a blast, and the cast and crew were all terrific human beings who took their work seriously and tried to make the best movie they could.

There are pictures, of course.

Craft services was a good spread, but since I was in a swimsuit for the whole film, I stayed away from Doritos and cookies.

A few cast members let me snap them in candid moments.

More to come…

Movie Time

Marcus — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 06:04:43 +0000

I’m starting the first day of shooting on the feature film I’m in tomorrow. It’s called Pooltime. I’m excited and a bit anxious, hoping I’ll not only remember my lines, but also how I want to say them, while being open to something different happening in-the-moment with my fellow actors. I’ll be posting a bit when and where I can about it.

Wish for me to break a leg.

VO Audition in NoHo

Marcus — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 07:09:04 +0000

Last week was a blur of auditioning, starting with a TMZ-style voice-over audition. Pretty straightforward, except for the rapid-fire nature of the readings. Holy crap. I walked into a room full of guys waiting to be heard, which is not uncommon, but the producer/director in charge was running us through at about two minutes apiece. They called me in, didn’t even want me to slate (in industry lingo, that’s where you say your name, and sometimes the role you’re reading, before the audition so they have a kind of meta-tag to identify your clip amidst a tape full of them), slapped headphones on and pointed for me to begin. I read through four pages of short, snarky quips, they thanked me, and I was out. Whoosh! In the time I was in the little room, another half-dozen guys had shown up. I do not envy the playback.

Double 6 Auditions

Marcus — Sun, 24 May 2009 18:10:32 +0000

It was a weird coincidence, but I had two auditions in a row that used the number six in their working titles. Otherwise, they were totally unconnected.

The first was for a student film called Room 6, which was kind of a heist gone wrong that became a kidnap thriller. I was late. I was later than I’d ever been for an audition. Traffic was awful, the freeways were jammed, and I had to travel overland out to Santa Monica. Luckily for me, they didn’t care, and mentioned that most everybody had been late, and that they probably wouldn’t be doing any more mid-week afternoon auditions. Still, it was inexcusable, and I should have left an hour (!) earlier. I read for a weaselly con man, scared of my big, dangerous partner. The director & his AD were terrific guys, and had me read a scene from Snatch, complete with accent, which they liked a lot. We’ll see what happens.

The second was, in contrast, a mere mile from our house. It was titled Agent 6. I got to sleep in a bit, rolled out of bed an hour before the appointed time, and had a leisurely breakfast before a casual drive a few blocks over. Nice. I probably could have walked.

I was playing the part of a CIA agent, tied up and beaten by a thug who didn’t realize who I worked for. I read for the part in a warehouse full of film equipment, while my scene partner walked around me, pushing me as I panted and tried to get her to see reason. Lots of fun, that one.

Now, let’s never be late again.

Video Game Audition

Marcus — Thu, 14 May 2009 05:19:54 +0000

Before I catch up on some overdue happenings, I wanted to jot down my latest audition note. This one was for several voices for a video game, and the auditions were held in a music studio in Santa Monica. I love voice auditions. It’s a chance to create characters I would otherwise have no chance of pulling off on camera without heavy makeup, and sometimes not even then.

I did forget to fill in the talent “card” (really just a sheet of paper with blank spaces next to personal info and measurements), and they bumped me one slot while I scribbled. Embarrassingly amateurish of me. One thing seemed odd, they asked for my birth date and Social Security number. Uh, sorry, I’ll be happy to hand over my Social once you need to write me a check, but until then I’ll keep that private. And asking for my birth info is just gauche.

But they didn’t blink at the missing bits, and were all smiles and handshakes as they ushered me in. I gave them a young hothead, a sneering goblin, a kindly old man, and a scholarly 50-year-old who seemed to me like the Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons. I stayed far away from an impression, of course. It’s best not to sound like anyone else’s nerd.

They liked what I did for the lead character, or at least they heard something that made them want me to try the arrogant punk character. It’s always encouraging to be asked to read for additional roles.

Since this was for a game, there was a lot of shouting for spells, battle cries, and the like. It was hard not to snicker when hearing lines like, “eeeeEEEEERAAAAWKAH!” float past the door as the guys ahead of me did their thing. Some of them really screamed their heads off, and the rest had almost no inflection. Do these guys not play games? It seems to me it’s the quality of the shouts, not the volume, and they’re delivered with some passion in the games I play. Often the acting is pretty sub-standard, but I think the game companies still use in-house employees for some things. It’s only recently that the voice acting has been examined by reviewers and critiqued by players.

If I don’t get this, I’ll have to check it out when the game is released. Maybe they LIKE the guys who scream their heads off.

A Real Live Job

Marcus — Mon, 04 May 2009 05:25:14 +0000

Acting, that is, specifically of the voice variety. Actually, it wasn’t so much acting as just reading, but voice work is voice work. Also, this time I got paid. Ka-ching!

I got the call early in the day Friday, and was in at VoiceTrax in The Valley post-lunch to lay down some bits for an accent reduction training program. It’s a terrific studio with friendly and professional engineers. It was a treat to hear playback in the booth, rather than having to rush back to the computer in the living room, as I do when recording at home. They liked me a lot (one take on the majority of the cuts). Apparently, I have one of the most “standard” American accents the director has heard. Yay?

Paid voice work is my holy grail. If I can get enough of it to make a living, I win.

Another Hollywood Audition

Marcus — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 05:52:46 +0000

I’ve been to this building before, auditioning for a voice part on a film about Columbine. Fortunately, it was Sunday, so parking was no problem. I walked in, signed my name, and grabbed the sides, as this was a cold reading. I hate those. I don’t understand what the director and/or producer think they gain by not letting their actors prepare the scene ahead of time. It’s a bit self-defeating. If we have a chance to study the part, we can give a better performance. If they want the audition to be more like an improv, why not just do that? Why set the actor up to fall on his face because he didn’t have a chance to figure out who he was in the scene. Ugh.

I played a creative writing teacher, overworked and frazzled, teaching an inner city group of kids to write. A bit ironic, it was, since I majored in creative writing when I attended the U of A in Tucson. It was a quick read, but I got to do it with another actor, which is almost always better than reading with the director or an assistant. They had me do a small adjustment, I read a second time, and they said, “cool. Thank you.” And I was out.

Directors, please give us at least a few hours to study your scene. I promise you will get better auditions and be better able to pick your cast.

Nothing’s Happening

Marcus — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 05:56:19 +0000

I’ve had no auditions since wrapping the short film. My intuition tells me I’m doing something wrong, and should fix it. But intuition isn’t always right, and it’s likely just a random break, for no reason. My headshots are the same, my resume has one more credit on it, and submissions are still being sent. Such is the way of the film industry, I’m told.

Time for a surf, I’d say.

Audition in Valencia

Marcus — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 05:32:05 +0000

I don’t have much to say about this one, except that I was a bit late due to, not one, but two accidents on the 5 that had been cleared, but still had the residual slow traffic remaining. Still, it was easy to get in and out of Cal Arts, and the director turned out to be a transferred Scot. It’s always fun if I feel comfortable enough to throw the director’s accent back at him/her.

He had me do the sides three times, slightly differently each time. I was playing a guy at dinner with his parents, shocked to find out they planned to forgo my paid-for European vacation to visit a nudist colony. Good times.

It’s a lot of effort to drive thirty miles away just to sit in a room with a director for five minutes, but as long as I view them as a mini-performance I can justify the fuel expense and preparation time. As long as I’m logging auditions, I have a chance at booking something big. Or, better yet, something paid.

More Filming in Newhall

Marcus — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 06:06:25 +0000

Days two and three went quite well on the shoot. Saturday the director said he’d decided his original location wasn’t safe enough to dangle an actor from, so we headed to Vasquez Rocks (of Star Trek TOS and Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey fame, among many others) to try to steal a few shots before we were discovered by The Man and kicked out.

Things went pretty well after a short hike up to a lesser known outcrop. We got most of what Jason, the director, wanted before I spotted a figure in the distance below. He was wearing a white shirt and black pants. Possibly a Mormon, we surmised, but equally possibly an official of some kind. As the shots rolled along, the guy below kept walking back and forth, then sticking his head in an SUV that parked itself at the trail entrance. Jason decided he’d gotten enough coverage to edit the scene together, and rather than risk a confrontation, wrapped the set and we all split into small groups and hiked back down.

When we reached the parking lot, however, the guy in white turned out to be a painter who was merely framing his own shot for a watercolor.

We laughed like hyenas as we drove out. Paranoia does strange things to a person.

I don’t want to post too many photos of the sets before the film is out, so as not to spoil much. But here’s Sunday’s set, a funeral. This short has been great fun to be a part of, and I can’t wait to see the finished film.