To Move, or Not to Move...

There are intelligent questions. There are silly questions. There are rhetorical questions. Then, there are loaded questions.

You might not think "hey, when are you moving to NY or LA?" is a big deal, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I hadn't thought about it at all until it was asked.

Central Ohio (of all places) actually has a thriving film community all its own, and periodic boosts when big-budget movies take advantage of the tax credits to shoot part or all of their movies here with local cast and crew. I've managed to get myself into a few of those, but I'll save the stories for another post.

Lots of commercials, film school projects, community theaters, film competitions, big budget Hollywood movies, and low budget indie films contribute to the huge (somewhat dysfunctional) movie-making family that is the Ohio film industry. For a hardworking actress with a few unique skills, it's quite the playground, if you can get your foot in the door with the cool kids. The great thing is, once someone who is established in the community likes you, word of mouth between the indie folks can get you places no talent agent can touch (hence, my first commercials for Germain Used Cars, my numerous episodes of Framelines, and a handful of Production Assistant jobs for various projects), not to mention small-medium budget indie films who typically don't go through local agencies to cast their films.

That's not to say that having a talent agent is a waste of time/money in this market; it's not. Through my agent, I've done things like a guest spot on WWE Raw, been a featured extra on a TV movie (airing this spring), and (though I've not yet been selected for one of these) auditioned several times for TV and movie jobs for some of the biggest named casting directors in the Midwest/New England regions.

But NY and LA?

Money, of course, is always an issue. Do I have enough money to fund a move? Yes.
Do I have enough money to live in cost-prohibitive NY or LA? Nope.
Do I mind living in my car? Not really, and I love camping.
Do I have friends in the area? Two in LA, none in NY.
Do I have any pre-established contacts in the industry? Other than distant friend of a friend of a friend?
And, I still have some film commitments here in Ohio that I would fulfill before considering a move.

Well, those are some of the negatives. The positives?
LA is sunny.

Having never actually been to LA, that's the only positive I can definitively give.

Part of me is very excited at the prospect of a move to LA (can you tell I'm not that keen on NY?), but at the very least, I have to finish some film projects here and my Subaru has to be paid off. If there's a chance that I will have to live in my car, I'd like to not owe anything on it.

I suppose that's the long answer to that question. There is a lot to do here in Ohio, and there are other growing film markets besides just the Big Two that I could consider as stepping stones. Louisiana has a fast-growing industry thanks to their tax incentives, and Texas is making strides in bringing film into their state as well.

So, I'm keeping my options open, learning new skills, and working my butt off where I am, taking advantage of what Ohio does have to offer, which is quite a lot if you know where to look.

Like a Good Dessert...

I'm writing a screenplay. It is about two people (a guy and a girl) who find one another in a post-economic collapse situation. When I started telling a friend (who also writes screenplays) about this story, he asked if the two main characters were going to end up together. I almost immediately got defensive about it. I told him, "it's not a love story!"

He said, "well a producer reading this script is going to see a guy and a girl and wonder why it's not a love story!"

He's right, of course.

And, of course, it is a love story, but it's also so much more than that.

I started thinking about it, and I remembered the beginning of the "Princess Bride" when Grandpa is trying to convince the kid that it's a cool story; "...fencing, fighting, torture, giants, mosters, escape, true love, miracles..."

My story is like that. Not the fencing (mine has guns, not swords); not the giants or monsters (it's the midwest, not Middle Earth); and the only miracle in the story is that two people can find each other, even in the most insane of circumstances.

I like analogies. I'm not talking about those terrible things in English class - "desk is to chair as tree is to..." No, not that kind of analogy. This kind of analogy:

My mom makes my absolute favorite dessert. It's really very simple, it's crumbled chocolate cake, chocolate pudding, and whipped cream in layers (and if I get my way, it also has a few raspberries hidden in the whipped cream). It's got layers, it's got textures, and it's got surprising bursts of flavor when you least expect it.

That's the kind of movie I'm writing. It's got cake, the texture, a little dryer than the rest, the rougher bits that add definition to the story. It's got pudding, it's smooth and flows well, common elements that make the story palatable and enjoyable. It's got whipped cream, the fluffy stuff... the romance. But even in the fluffy romantic parts, there are raspberries - chunks of outstanding flavor that lend a depth to the love story that might be missed if it were just plain old whipped cream.

So, yes, it is a love story. And no, it's not a love story. The love story is just one layer of the dessert. Each part on it's own might be just OK, but take all those very simple things and put them on top of one another, and you've created something greater than the sum of its parts.

I'm still working on assembling the ingredients, but it shouldn't be too terribly long before it's ready to be served, love story and all.

A Departure From the Norm...

For some unknown and probably unknowable reason, I was inspired today to find examples of some of the worst romance novel covers I've come across in my three years of bookstore service. So, working our way up the ladder...

I wasn't going to include any of the Harlequin series romance covers (they're all pretty bad, but usually it's the titles that are the worst part of a Harlequin cover), but this one pushed it just enough over the top that I had to add it. This is the 5th Runner Up...

 We're getting chiropractic adjustments from our lusty highland lovers now? Meet the 4th Runner Up...

Really, honey? The ship is sinking! Untie the man and let him batten down the mainstay. 3rd Runner Up...

 No self-respecting Viking would end up in this position. This one made the list on principle. 2nd Runner Up...

In the spirit of the season, he stole Santa's boots before heading home. 1st Runner Up...

 Now, sadly, in the midst of all this giggle-inducing badness, I could not find an example of what I consider to be the very worst romance novel cover of all time. So, until I find it, you are stuck with the runners up. Take heart though; I'm still searching, and I won't give up until I can present the Grand Prize Winner here in my humble blog.

Modeling for the Photography Clinic

I have twice now worked for a photographer who occassionally hosts clinics to teach outdoor photographers how to use studio lights. This last time was particularly interesting; it was the first time I've actually worked with another model. Because they managed to book a male model to work with me, Jim (the teacher) decided that he wanted some "beach" photos. So I, in my purple swim suit, pretended that I didn't care that I was in a swim suit. Apparently I'm a very good actress, because the male model (Han) had no idea that I had never worked with other models before. Matter of fact, if I'm any judge, he was much more uncomfortable than I was, especially when Jim asked if Han would pick me up (of course, that discomfort could have been because Han only weighs about 20lbs more than me, and I'm a lot more solid than I look).

The best part of the shoot was when I changed into my black dress with the big skirt. It's my own fault for suggesting it, but I thought it would be cool to get a picture of me spinning with the skirt flaring out. Now, it was very cool... until I realized that it wouldn't be just the one picture. There were five photographers who all wanted that shot. I spun for several seconds until I couldn't stand anymore, then I spun the other way for a bit. I fell more than once and hit the wall full force. But I wound up with some lovely shots from that series, so it was worth a little dizziness.

I enjoyed working with the ladies very much, and as always, Jim was wonderful to work with. He's going out of his way to accomodate a shoot I've been wanting to do, a series of shots with me and my gun. He even contacted a range to see if we can do the shoot there and provide them with copies of the shots, which they can in turn use for advertising if they like.

Another friend of mine got me in contact with a photographer who does ads and spreads for gun magazines and manufacturers. I may be doing another gun shoot before too long.

I will be filming my part in a short film this coming weekend, and I have an audition coming up for a local collaborative production. I've been asked to help an acquaintance with some youtube videos, and I'll be submitting myself for a speaking role (or an extra role if I don't get a speaking role) for Ironman 3, which is filming in North Carolina next year.

Basically, the moral of this blog post is...When opportunity knocks, open the bloody door!

New Photos

An, you may notice the new haircut, as well. The first three photos are courtesy of JD Mitchell Studios, and the fourth, the black&white, is from Ellis McKay. To see more, check out my Facebook fanpage https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Jocelyn-Jae-Tanis/199260820127141

Positive Experience

As someone looking to get into a new business, I did a some looking into the whole modeling game before I decided to use it as a stepping stone into acting. Now, there are plenty of stories about perfectly normal experiences with very normal people and few to no major problems... Then, there are the horror stories of models being taken advantage of by absolute creeps, photographers pushing for shots the model isn't comfortable with (or photoshopping them when he can't get them naked enough), photographers telling a model they will never get anywhere in the industry unless they will pose nude. Honestly, the horror stories are enough to put anyone off the idea of even trying it.

But I tried. And guess what? In a two month period, I have had five fantastic experiences with phototgraphers.

Tonight, my good friend traded work shifts with me so that I could go to a photo shoot. I was called at the last minute (on the recommendation of a photographer I met a few weeks ago) to replace a model who dropped out on short notice. This photo shoot was actually a workshop-type deal, with one experienced photographer teaching a small group of amateur photographers how to work with indoor studio lighting.

I had three outfit changes in front of a variety of backdrops, and six photographers playing with various lighting techniques and posing me (or letting me choose poses). One other model was also there (with her mother - she was underage), and between the two of us, we kept the photographers in a constant rotation around the studio. It was a lot of fun, and a nice confidence booster.

The best bonus of the night (besides the fact that it was a paid gig and I get copies of the top ten photos from each of the six photographers) was that three of the photographers asked to shoot with me again. Much as I'm looking forward to the day when a guy asks me for a shoot and he means "at a range with guns and ammo," I'll certainly take shoots with cameras for the moment  :)

Same as last time, I'll post at least a few of the pictures when I get them back.

My First Real Foray into Modeling

Moday, I did a photo shoot with a local photographer in Reynoldsburg, Digital Grace Photography (check out his facebook, he does good stuff). This photographer has done mostly weddings and senior pictures in his career, but recently decided to get into more model photography. Since we're both trying to build our portfolios, the shoot was done in trade (TFP).

The cool part is that he does body painting. I was painted like something between a ninja and a comic book heroine with a samurai sword. It was actually pretty cool, there's one shot in particular I can't wait to get back from him (a week or so from now - I will post it as soon as I get it). It was a fun shoot, I would definitely work with him again. He still does senior pictures and weddings (which is almost a specialty after 20 years), and his rates are reasonable. He also does videography for weddings, and he has shot music videos for local artists. Being in Reynoldsburg, you can imagine that most of the music has been r-rated rap and not at all family friendly and he hasn't posted any of it on his site for that reason. But I'm hoping he'll have something to show off pretty soon, as I've been talking for a while about filming a music video of just me and my guitar. It'll be something I can show to filmmakers I'm trying to work with, and it'll be something he can feel safe putting on his website.

I appreciate when local artists are able to help each other out. Any branch of the performing arts industries can be extremely cutthroat, but I feel better about getting into the industry when I meet such wonderful people who are coming up at the same time as me. I have two friends who are very capable screenwriters who both helped teach me how to write screenplays; not threatened by potential competition, just willing to share what knowledge they have.

I know that not everyone I meet on this road will be as good as the people I've met so far, but this is my foundation. If my foundation in this industry is solid and is layered with the memories of people who were good to me when I was nothing, then I can whether anything... and that's not true of just my road into performing, it's true of my whole life; if my foundation is solid, I can whether anything.