Conferences, Speaking Engaements and Workshops

The Arts Conference at CFNI went great.  Now we look ahead.  I'll be speaking in Dallas at a PROAct actors meeting on August 16.  THen we'll be doing the seminar on August 21-22, two weeks from today.

It's time for me to get focused on that a little more.  I'll be creating email flyers for the event and sending them out through local talent agencies.  IN the past, we've gotten great response for this seminar.

The plan is for a half day seminar on acting, totally from a director's pov.  I talk about what we look for in audition and on the set.  I talk about the things we praise you for in post and the things you did we curse in post, then cut you out.  Armed with this knowledge, I think you can have a better chance of surviving the cut.

On Sunday, we're going to have an all day workshop on Auditioning.  But instead of only giving you the do's and don'ts, I'm going to take you to the other side of the table. Everyone will audition, but also everyone will rotate through to Reader, Producer and so forth.  I we'll discuss the audition we just saw and you'll see what we talk about.  Again, armed with this knowledge, you can have a much better shot of landing the role.

FOr the seminar alone on Saturday, it's only $29 and you can pick morning or afternoon.  If you want to do the workshop, it's $150, limited to the first 12, and includes attending the seminar the day before.

More info at www.s-films.com/pov .

Band of Brothers

Ambrose used it to describe a Army Company's exploits in World War II.  It's an oft quoted source and for good reason.  Shakespeare captured in these verses a sense of fraternity that is difficult to describe.  In the book "Band of Brothers," Ambrose talks about the Easy Company from the 506th of the 101st Airborne Division.  He used that Shakespearean reference because it described the bond these soldiers had.

Some of you know I'm involved in a "Band of Christian Brothers" and it's an intense time of discipleship require a lot of discipline, transparency, humility and honesty.  Going through the fight with these guys has resulted in a better walk with God, being a better husband and father.

I pulled the original verse up and I just love the whole concept.  Historically, King Henry was in France at Agincourt.  He was outnumbered 5 to 1 and his guys were deadmeat tired, while the French were fresh.  It looked like it would be a slaughter.  And it was, but the complete opposite.

In one of the classic underdog stories of all time, Henry's forces slaughtered the French.  How did they do it?  By artillery.  The English utilized the long bow.  Henry sit up his archers in the woods surrounding the battlefield.  It had rained so the field was one big mud pit.  This equalized a lot-- the French cavalry became very bogged down.  As did the soldiers themselves.  The English archers had their way.

But the night before the battle, it looked like suicide.  So here it is-- from Bill Shakespeare:

WESTMORELAND
O that we now had here
But one ten thousand of those men in England
That do no work to-day!

KING HENRY V
What's he that wishes so?
My cousin Westmoreland? No, my fair cousin:
If we are mark'd to die, we are enow
To do our country loss; and if to live,
The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
God's will! I pray thee, wish not one man more.
By Jove, I am not covetous for gold,
Nor care I who doth feed upon my cost;
It yearns me not if men my garments wear;
Such outward things dwell not in my desires:
But if it be a sin to covet honour,
I am the most offending soul alive.
No, faith, my coz, wish not a man from England:
God's peace! I would not lose so great an honour
As one man more, methinks, would share from me
For the best hope I have. O, do not wish one more!
Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,
That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart; his passport shall be made
And crowns for convoy put into his purse:
We would not die in that man's company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is called the feast of Crispian:
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when the day is named,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian:'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars.
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispin's day.'
Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day: then shall our names.
Familiar in his mouth as household words
Harry the king, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remember'd.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember'd;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

Super Size Me

I don't think anyone needs to read the Bible.  I mean, why do all that hard work when you can go purchase the latest pop-Christianity non-fiction off the shelf at Lifeway?  It's great-- I don't have to do the math-- it's all done for me right there in those pages.  And there's plenty of "Word" in them-- they quote Bible verses and passages.  Then I can argue with friends about what the Greek says in this passage or that, because an NFL Coach wrote about it and already did the research!  Piece of cake.  Or french fries.

Awhile back, I wrote a blog about the importance of not just reading your Bible, but studying it.  And that directive is for me as much for anyone else.  I am amazed that when I've done some interviews, the interviewer is surprised that I know this verse or that verse.  What I don't understand is Disciples (or those that claim they are) who's only foray into the Word is on Sunday Morning for the verse of the sermon.  Or even worse, they read a verse in a John Eldredge book.  When has non-fiction contemporary apologists become the main feeding source for Christians?

Case in point.  A friend has been wrestling with some issues.  We talk for awhile.  Come to find out, the issues were brought out by a book.  So instead of tearing into the Bible and studying-- researching the original Greek, reading the verse and the context around it, and all the things Disciples (who have discipline), she relies solely on what this one person's interpretation.  She had started by claiming that she was reading the Bible.  When in actuality, she read the verse, printed in this book, completely out of context and pushed with the agenda of the writer.

For me, as a Disciple, I find it a daily struggle-- in my laziness, I'd much rather have people just tell me what God is saying.  I don't want to do the work myself.  I look to my mentor, my wife, my pastor for the shortcut, for them to do the math for me.  It's wrong.  I'll say it again, my Disciple friend, it's WRONG.

Do the work.  Get into the Word and out of the Zondervan book of the month club.  There's nothing wrong with Eldredge, Beth Moore or Crabb or even Warren (that pained me to write) writing a book.  What's wrong is when I or you use the book as a substitute for studying the Bible.

For those Disciples who study the whole Bible, they begin to get a more accurate feel for the character of God.  It's harder to be led astray.  It's easier to find some life answers.  For those who diet on the fast food of modern day apologetics, you'll spiritual die.  Even if you "super-size" your order.  One guy, with devastation all over his life, was reading five different books.  Here was a man eating jumbo orders of fast food and couldn't see why his body was dying.

The same goes for my movies, or this blog.  If the only Romans you're devouring is what I wrote about, you'll starve to death.

The Word.  It's not just for breakfast.

Social Network Marketing

I was in my twenties, newly married, and played guitar for worship.  So the associate pastor who had a Thursday night Bible Study for Young Singles, at his house invited me to be one of the leaders.  It was an incredible time.  We had some evenings where a hundred people gathered in this normal sized suburban house.

But as the months rolled on, a schism appeared.  There were two main camps-- the 18 to 22 year olds, and a new influx of the recently divorced and mid thirties type singles.  It had started with the younger group and they felt invaded by these old guys.  So they started leaving.  In droves.  From once what was 100 people, it got down to a handful of divorced older singles.  Then it was finally canceled.  And the time period wasn't that long from 100 to canceled.

So naturally, you might think I'm taking this towards the Corinthian conversation about body schisms and such-- but no, let's talk technology.  (Love a good non sequitar).

The hot thing in business right now is "social network marketing."  I visited a smart business that's jumping into this arena with both feet.  They're building and hiring.  They're signing clients left and right.  They have cubicles of people whose job it will be to surf facebook, myspace and all those to push the clients product, company or services.  See where I'm going yet?  No?

The young people are hanging out at the house.  The older people are starting to come.  The older people are the Business aspect of social networking.  It will be good for a short period of time here, before facebook gets inundated with business stuff-- or even worse-- it loses it's "cool" factor with this generation.  Look at MySpace.

Facebook is strong right now.  But June saw the largest decrease in members they've ever had.  Rightly so, Business sees these social networks as a gold mine for selling their wares.  And when the people leave facebook, they'll go to the next big thing, and business will be hot on their trails.

Is this the end of facebook?  Of course not.  But watch as the young people stop showing up because the older divorced types are coming.

Director to Actor

I get asked to speak here and there and to teach what I've learned in the movie business.  A year ago, with the experience of "Rising Stars," I talked to some local actors.  Why do producers bring in a lot of NYC and LA actors into North Texas to shoot movies?

Well, the Texan in me rises up and says that's not right!  But then I see the facts-- I've done it.  Why do directors and producers seek out experienced out of town actors?

I'm not even going to the "name factor."  Yes, us producers and directors need name recognition in our cast.  Nothing you local actors can do about that.

Instead of immediately going to a thought pattern that they're biased, consider some factors.  Experienced actors hit their marks more than inexperienced actors.  Experienced actors need fewer takes.  Experienced actors have more tools in their acting toolbox to pull from.  But if you're a local actor, you can get training.  And you can find experience.

So as I thought about what to say to local actors, I looked around.  There are TONS of seminars and workshops, but almost all of them are Actors to Actors.  I couldn't really find anything from a working Director to Actors.  Sitting on the set of Rising Stars, I remember talking to a NYC actor about how the auditions went from my side of the table.  She talked about her side.  It was really interesting.  And even more interesting was that few actors knew what we thought and talked about on the other side of that audition table.

So I decided to teach a seminar on Acting from the Director's point of view.  And, like last year, I'm teaming that up with an Audition Workshop where you'll get in depth and personal on what goes on on the other side of that table.

If you just want the seminar, it's Saturday August 21 for three and a half hours.  Pick the morning or the afternoon.  It's only $29. 

If you want the Audition Workshop, it's $150 for the all day Sunday event, but you also get to attend one of the Saturday's seminars-- just let me know if you're coming in the morning or the afternoon.

To register, click here (www.s-films.com/pov). I'm going to limit the Workshop, so as soon as the slots are full, I'm going to close it up.

Another Review of "The Imposter"

I really appreciate the people who not only watch the movie, but take time to write about.  And I really, *really* appreciate the ones that say good things!  Here's what Brian from EncounterThis had to say about the movie:

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Two generations now have grown up with a tv perspective on life.  We’ve all been infected with the notion that all problems should be solved within 30 minutes.  That same thought process carries over into the church.  Stay with me on this one.  There is a sense in that no matter where we’ve been and no matter what we’ve done, running down the aisle of the church will bring automatic release and removal of all problems.
Much like tv life, that is not realistic or true.

Our youth group, momentum, watched the movie, Imposter last night.  In the movie Kevin Max from DC Talk plays a Christian rock singer whose life spins out of control because of his addiction to himself.  The movie takes a very untypical approach in his return to his family, friends, and Christ.

There is no climactic, come-down-the-aisle scene.  There is no great reunion between him and his wife.  There is no weeping moment of reconciliation with his friends.  Instead there is a process of brokenness, a path of rebuilding trust, and a deeper change in a broken man’s life.  In the words of the dialog from the movie…

“God is more concerned that our hero go through a process than zapping him with spiritual morphine.”

How refreshing to see a real life approach to a man’s walk with God.  How genuine to see family and friends be slow to restore trust.  How honest to see a man wrestle with himself and humility.

A Two Camera Man

The last couple of features, I've become spoiled-- I've been using an A and B camera team on the movies.  For those who don't know how television and movies are shot, here's some standard practices.

For "film style" shoots, that usually refers to a single camera.  Everything is lit for that camera.  Sound prepares for that camera.  When you add a second camera to a film style shoot, it's usually more of the same.  Only you light for them both.  That's why when you bring in a second camera on a film style shoot, it's best to shoot in the same direction.  In other words, one's a medium shot and the others a close up.  If you shoot crossways-- for instance, two people talking to each other, one camera holds one person, the other camera the other-- this creates some big problems.  You have to light both-- and your lights for one might be in the way for the other shot.  Sound now has to get pristine recording-- which might require a second boom op.  All these things come in to play.

Generally, when shooting film style with two cameras, I shoot the same direction.  But there have been times I've had to shoot crossways.  On "The Imposter," we were shooting an exterior scene and the sun was setting.  If we didn't get them both right then, it would not match.  We had seconds to decide and we act to act fast.  Fortunately, it didn't require more than bounces on lighting and we close mic'd the actors (and later had to ADR anyway because it was on the side of a busy road).

For television, you have "film style" and "sitcom" style.  The show "Scrubs" has done a great job of showing both.  For a sitcom, they broke some major rules by deciding to shoot the show "film style."  So the lighting is more dramatic and they use one or two cameras.  Then for one show, they went "sitcom" and you can really see the difference.  A sitcom is lit flat with as many as five cameras.  The lighting has to be flat and even, or shadows will creep into one or more of the cameras.  When a sitcom is shot, they'll roll maybe twice through the show, with some pickups for flubs, then edit the five cameras together to get the finished result.  "Film style," you'll shoot one little shot until you have it perfect.

So in tv land, you might see as many as 12 pages a day shot.  For films it gets lower (the bigger budgets might average 2 or 3 pages).  For some tv shows, they still might shoot film style, but they move really fast.  Especially the dramas like "24," and "The Shield."  Think "movie" but at an incredible pace.  To accomplish this, the crews are a well oiled machine, and actors are dead on 95% of the time.  You just can't afford, neither time or money, to routinely get to take four or five.  Show runners will talk about how they were thrilled but concerned to land some famous movie director for an episode.  They are afraid a movie director doesn't know how to make a 12 page day when they're used to 3 page days. 

Anyway, I always had multiple cameras on stunt days.  But on "Striking Range," I started using a second camera.  By "The Imposter," I used a second camera almost the whole time.  The same for "Rising Stars."  It gives me more coverage and saves time.  I can make my days while getting plenty of coverage.