Who is Ambitious B?
Keeps Me Going...
2.04.2010
Great News: Stephen got a new job- praise God!!!
This is a huge deal because it means we can move out of my grandmother's house {we were supposed to be here only 1 month and it's now approaching 7} in the next 6 weeks and into our own digs. He just started this week and will be working in Marina Del Rey so we're looking at the Culver City area. We've found a lot of places in our price range that seem very family-friendly and although I'll have to take the horrible 405 to get to the valley, it's the best option that makes the most sense for us. So Yay Stephen!! I'm so proud of you! :-)
As far as auditions go, since he's gone all day I now have to find childcare immediately if I want to attend any audition that's held before 7pm- which 98% of them are! And until I do, I have to pick my submissions very very wisely. Sure my granny can watch the baby if I have to go to something very important {i.e. that pays}, but he's such a fireball of energy that he really needs to be with other kids. And since I just found out that I booked the internet game show that I auditioned for a few weeks ago {A laptop & a 5 day trip for 2 to the Caribbean is up for grabs- woo-hoo!}, I've gotta get things rolling immediately.
One final good news tidbit- I was interviewed by NY actress Brittany Pooler for her blog's Spotlight feature- take a look here.
Logging off now to schedule some appointments with centers & home daycares that accept drop-ins. And if any of you can recommend someone in Central LA or on the westside please email me asap- brandi@brandiford.com. Thanx!
2.03.2010
I read this BRILLIANT article last night that tells the plight of the actor during pilot season in such a fantastic, funny, honest way that I had to share:
Here's an excerpt-
Your agent submits your name. The casting director may not think you’re right or not be a fan and you’re dead. Assuming you’re over that hurdle you’re invited in to read. There usually are a hundred or more actors reading for every role. Great odds, huh? In these initial sessions you’re usually reading for a committee – the writer/producers, the pod producers, a couple of studio representatives. All you need is one of them to not like you and you’re toast. And by “not like” that could mean “too tall”, “good but we’ve seen him in things”, “he was my waiter last week at the Daily Grill and was terrible”, and “guys are not going to want to fuck her”.
I'm not quite at the level of being submitted during pilot season yet, but when I get there I will appreciate this article even more.
Great news though- I got my second SAG voucher on Monday. Woo-hoo!!!
2.02.2010
Got my retouched headshots last night. Very excited to see how well these do for me in terms of getting more auditions. What do you think?
Thanks to Adam Parth of Silver Gecko Photography for shooting these for free. Sometimes craigslist can hook you up! By the way, if you're in need of new headshots and are short on cash contact Adam asap. He's still shooting freebies for a limited time to build his portfolio {let him know you were referred by me} so get in where you fit in while you can.
Looking for another day job? Consider registering with the following agencies to do promo work. If you've never done it before it's pretty easy. The hardest part is standing on your feet for long periods of time but for $15 - $20 per hour I'd say it's worth it. The following info comes from the awesome newsletter Alex's Info:
PLACEMENT AGENCY’S - For those of you looking for TradeShow work, catering, bartender and more. Here are several, with more to come. I believe you will need to go into each of these agencies and register. Remember to be a pleasant squeaky wheel, follow-up in a professional manner and create a genuine connection with someone at the agency. Friends help friends. AttackMarketing.net,BartenderWaiters.com, BeautifulBartenders.com, CreativeChannel.com, DevolutionSolutions.com, EncoreNationwide.com, GrandCentralMarketing.com, Productions-Plus.com (I was with them when I booked my XM Satelite Radio gig that I did for many years), OnTheRocksModels.com , NCIM.com
Also- The government is hiring for Census Takers so if you don't mind going door to door to take surveys {there are many different neighborhoods to choose from} this one's for you- http://2010.census.gov/2010censusjobs/
Would love to take advantage of this deal but Hollywood is not ideal for families. So those of you living in LA who are childless and looking for a sweet deal, here it is:
LOW INCOME HOUSING FOR HIGH END APARTMENT - In Hollywood, a limited number of apartments have been set aside at 1600 Vine St. Apartments (corner of Vine St. and Hollywood Blvd.) for low-income households. Thru February 4th (or until all applications have been distributed), a total of 500 housing applications will be distributed at the following three community centers: Hollywood Worksource Center (1680 Vine St. Suite 206) , Frances Howard Goldwyn Los Angeles Public Library (1623 Ivar Ave.), Hollywood Community Studio (6671 Sunset Blvd., Suite 1517). A housing lottery will take place after the application period closes.
1.31.2010
I've created an Audition Tracker to help me clearly see the progress that I make this year. The idea came from the Parade of Delusion blog- thanks Justin! While it'll be posted & updated daily in the sidebar of my blog, I figured I'll share it with you at the end of each month along with the rest of my monthly progress. So without further adieu here's January's recap:
AUDITION TRACKER
Student Film: Nightwalkers, Candace (really, REALLY wanted this one but what can you do?)
Short Film: Bring Me Back, Sheryl
Print: Sugabunz, Spokesmodel (CB!)
Web/New Media: Untitled, Karen
Web/New Media: Untitled Game Show, Contestant (BOOKED!)
Feature Film: Inner City High, Lanisa
Industrial: Merck, Principal
Commercial: Vaccine Advocacy, Principal
Web/New Media: Lenox Avenue, Kia
Commercial: PNC Bank, Principal (BOOKED!)*
*= Booked as an extra with the possibility of being upgraded to principal
TOTAL AUDITIONS: 10
CALLBACKS: 2
CB SUCCESS RATE: 20%
BOOKINGS: 2
BOOKING SUCCESS RATE: 20%
I can't think of any other profession where a success rate of 20% is actually okay...then again acting is unlike any other profession so I guess it is what it is.
FITNESS
I've enrolled in a fitness bootcamp that meets bright & early Monday - Thursday and on Saturdays for one hour. The gymnastics facility that we work out in smells like socks {yuck!} but I love that we're on a springboard floor, excellent for our joints. I plan to go 3-4 times a week until around mid-April. I figure by then I'll be in great shape and can swap bootcamp for dance class.
HEADSHOTS
I posted an ad on craigslist asking photographers to do a TFP or TFCD headshot shoot with me. TFP means Time For Prints and TFCD means Time For CD so basically I was offering to shoot with them for free {they won't pay me for my Time} and they will give me either the Prints or the CD for free as well {I won't pay them for theirs}. It's a win-win scenario if you get a photographer who needs your look for their portfolio AND knows what they're doing. This is a great idea for those of you who, like me, are a little strapped for cash right now. No I'm not suggesting you do this in lieu of hiring a professional photographer, I'm saying this is a way to have SOMETHING until you can afford to make that investment.
Anyhow, I shot with Adam Parth of Silver Gecko Photography and it was quick & easy. I'm still waiting on the other 3 shots that I selected for him to retouch but in the meantime here's my new commercial headshot:
I'll be using this shot to seek commercial representation so I hope it catches the eyes of multiple agents when it lands on their desk {or in their inbox}.
CLASSES & WORKSHOPS
This is the one area where I missed the mark and it's partly my fault. I agreed to do some light cleaning for one of the companies who hold CD workshops in exchange for 2 free workshops per month. The cleaning was very easy- mainly dusting so it seemed like it was going to be a sweet deal. The problem? When I tried to use one of my credits to register for a workshop with Scott David I was fed bs. Here's how it went-
Employee: Hi I'm returning your call to book you for the workshop next week.
Me: Great! I'm so excited as this will be my first CD workshop ever.
Employee: Awesome. Let me explain to you how it works...blah blah blah...now I'll just need to get payment to secure your spot.
Me: Oh I'm Brandi. I have a credit with Owner's Name.
Employee: Great. Let me just check with him really quickly.
PUT ON HOLD FOR AWHILE
Employee: I'm sorry but all of the slots are full.
Me: What do you mean? You just wanted to take my credit card number 5 minutes ago. All of the slots can't be full all of a sudden.
Employee: {awkwardly} I think you'll have to talk to Owner's Name. The way it was just explained to me is that I have to take all of the paying customer's first and if there's any room left then we can fit you in.
Me: What the hell? I'll send Owner's Name an email then because if this is how it's done then I'm not interested in working with him.
And from there I sent him an email asking him why he never told me this stipulation before I agreed to work with him. After all, this would mean I will only be able to schedule my workshops at the last minute IF they don't sell out- NO WAY! He lied to me then, telling me that his employee gave me the wrong information and that the workshop really was full. Of course he didn't expect her to call me back the next day trying to get my credit card information for the workshop once again. She forgot to remove me from her callback list and that's how he was busted in his lie. Moral of the story- when bartering be sure to get as much information as possible! I failed to ask if there were any stipulations to using my workshop credits and got burned in the end. Since I still have 2 credits with this company I do plan to use them sometime over the year but for the rest of my workshops {the ones I'll be paying for} I plan to go elsewhere. I don't give my hard-earned money to shady people.
So that's the update for the month of January. Not bad.
1.29.2010
Major props to my TSU friend Trecia and her X-Treme Motion crew who performed on the Season 5 premiere of MTV's America's Best Dance Crew, otherwise known by it's loyal fans as ABDC. I was rooting for this crew because all of the members are former MOTION majorettes and so am I. For those of you unfamiliar with the term majorette {don't worry before I moved to Houston I was too!} they are the young ladies who dance in front of the marching bands of HBCU's. And by dance I mean they GET DOWN! If you've seen Drumline you have an idea. Just watching them on TV last night made me get up and do some old 8-counts- and promptly sit down as my energy level isn't anywhere near their's anymore. :-)
Take a look...
Although they were eliminated in this round I am VERY proud of them for making it this far and look forward to what they have to show the world in the future.
Congrats ladies!
Yesterday I had my first live interview on the KTLA morning news to talk about my experience on the What I Hate About Me show. It started off with me being picked up at 7am by this beautiful black sedan. Car service- what!
For whatever reason my stomach was full of knots as I rode to the studio {probably a combination of nerves & the fact that my driver was very heavy on the brakes} so I used the breathing techniques I learned in childbirth class to keep as calm as possible. Yes those little breathing tips are still coming in handy!Once we got on the lot I met Gerald, the top-notch publicist for Style Network, who put this all together. I couldn't believe he'd been in PR for 10 years- he looks like a college kid!
After giving us a quick rundown of our segment, the producer took a shot of us getting ready...
Getting mic'd...
Live on the air...
And here's the clip...
And just like that it was over as quickly as it began.
I had a great time and all of the anchors, staff and interns were very nice to me. Plus I got to meet Billy Zane while waiting in the green room- he was much taller and nicer than I expected.
Hopefully there'll be a lot more opportunities like this in the near future.
1.27.2010
SUPER EXCITED because my family & I are on AVAIL for a national commercial. A national, SAG commercial- yes this is a very big deal for me! We're so close to booking this that I can taste it...and yet, it's not in the bag already so I really should be thinking "realistically" rather than having my head in the clouds. But I'm sure you all know by now that I keep the clouds in my eyeline at all times so it's a little too late for that. Optimism can be both a strength and a weakness when it comes as naturally as it does to me. I think a lot of creative types can relate.
Anyhow fingers have been crossed and more importantly, prayers have went up. Now all we can do is wait- and hope.
We'll see.
1.21.2010
Feels like I'm back in Houston with flooding like this...
And they say it never rains in Southern California.
Oh well, guess we can't have perfect weather every single day of the year so 350 out of 365 will do.
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