Would you be an actor given the chance?

Would you become an actor given the chance? A chance at making lots of money and fame sounds good to a lot of us but are you willing to give what it takes?

The fact is that getting the opportunity to act in a motion picture movie or even a thirty second commercial sounds great, but it also involves long hours in front of a camera and production crew under hot lights. Most of us work an 8-10 hour day and go home with weekends off, where an actor can work up to 16-20 hours per day, seven days a week for months on end. Then of course there is the photo opportunities you must take and all the hard work involved in remembering your lines and putting 100% of yourself into the character you will portray with many takes over and over again on the same scene.

Most of us only thing of the fortune and fame and not really think of what it takes after your in the business. Getting there is only half of the battle.

Are you willing to add weight for a roll? or loose weight for that matter. Are you willing to do what it takes to get there? This is a question that you should ask yourself if you are thinking of getting into the business. Some people spend thousands trying to get into the business and the truth of the matter is that it just takes persistence.

Keeping on top of all the agents you submit your picture to is key.

What I would like to get are some comments on those that have been in the business and if you have give some comments on how someone can break into the business themselves. What are your thoughts?

Special effects studios

Special effects studios are responsible for creating believable creatures, making another world we have never seen before, and or a multitude of other illusions. The most recognized company in the film industry to accomplish these tasks is know as Industrial Light and Magic.

Industrial Light and Magic was created by George Lucas after he found out that 20th Century Fox had closed their doors on their own special effects studio. Lucas found himself in an awkward situation especially it happening after getting the go ahead to start his Star Wars movie. He decided to create his own company ILM or Industrial Light and Magic.

The company has created dozens of effects for several other movies over the years since 1975. Their latest work was on the film Iron Man due in theaters soon.

Los Angeles Film School

The Los Angeles Film School is a great place to start if you are interested in pursuing a career in the film industry.Not to mention its in the heart of where most movies we see today are made. Of course there are many film schools out there however why not go to a school that is much cheaper then Full Sail has to offer and the Los Angeles Film School is located in Los Angeles where Hollywood movie executives and studios are located. The real kicker here is it cost about $30,000 cheaper to go to the Los Angeles Film School then Full Sail does.

There are many other film schools in the Los Angeles area as well as the entire state of California. However for this article I decided to do some research on the Los Angels film school to start out.

The Los Angeles Film School was founded by Hollywood professionals. The school is located off Sunset Blvd near Vine Street in Hollywood California. The Los Angeles Film School offers a one year "hands on" experience into the program.

However before the building became a film school it was RCA's recording studio where all the greats would record their albums including Elvis Presley.

The current tuition cost to attend the school is $42,000 and the requirements are that you must have a high school diploma or GED pass their test they have. If you are under 18 years of age a parents consent.

Multimedia production software

Multimedia production software is used to edit films, tv shows and more. So what is it? Multimedia production software such as Avid Technologies and Final Cut Pro are used quite often in the editing room. Here is a look into the editing softwares commonly used.




Film editing has been done has been around for many moons and is the process used to clean up the final film. It is used to delete scenes, add other scenes in different sequences then it was filmed and splicing in frames among other tasks. The Final Cut Pro software is used with Macintosh based computers and was created by Apple. Of course there is also the Final Cut Express which is more streamlined for the amateur starting out. It is much less to purchase then the Final Cut Pro edition but doesn't have everything the Final Cut Pro edition has in it. These editing softwares are also highly used in deleting backgrounds and adding others such as the use with green and blue screens.

Below I added some videos on the use of these programs and what they are capable of doing in the film industry.

Jaws movie

We all remember the old movie Jaws, and some of the younger generation remember Jaws not from the movie but perhaps from the attraction at Universal Studios. The thing we may not know is the many failures encountered by the film crew during the production of the movie.

The Orca boat used in Jaws

This is one of Steven Spielberg's earlier movies that proved to be more of a nightmare to make then anything else. There where 2 mechanical sharks made that where named by the film crew Bruce. However due to the fact that the sharks where used in salt water there where many mechanical problems during production.

Martha's Vineyard where filming took place

Not only where the sharks a problem but so was the boat Orca that was used in the film started to actually sink and take on water also during production. This proved to be quite a task and the crew nicknamed the film Flaws instead of Jaws. Nonetheless Steven Speilberg did pull through.

Bruce the Jaws shark used in production

Bruce still does exist in Universal Studios, but has been stored for many years under the hot sun and has been showing its age.

Below is a video from the film crew.

Spider-man behind the scenes

Spider-man shooting began on January 8th 2001 in Culver City. Filming for the movie was in New York and California. The scene where Peter gets bit by the spider was filmed inside the National history museum in Los Angeles, California , shooting for the interior of Norman Osborn's home was at the Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills, California, and shooting for the interior shots of the Daily Bugle was in Pacific Electricity Building also in California.

National History Museum Los Angeles(Where Peter gets Bitten)

The Sony soundstages 27 and 29 where used for the complex scenes in Time Square where the Green Goblin and Spider-man fight.

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Pacific Electric (Daily Bugle Scenes)

The original costumes that where created for Spiderman where stolen during productions and Sony had put up a $25,000 reward for the return however they where never returned. The webbing that came from Spider-man was a computer generated one or also called CGI effect. During the scenes of the Green Goblin and Spider-man fighting in the air was done in separately with the two characters. Spider-man was actually filmed with a green screen where the Green Goblin was shot with a blue screen and then where combined later in film editing.

Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills (Norman Osborn's Home)

I decided to put in some videos of some of the bloopers from Spider-man.

Terminator four coming out

Terminator movies that we all remember starring Arnold Schwarzenegger where ones that everyone remembers. Now theres even talks about Terminator 4 coming out in 2009 believe it or not.

The last Terminator three movie was partially funded by Arnold himself to make it all happen.He originally wanted James Cameron to direct the movie however Cameron declined the offer but told Arnold to accept no less then $30 million for the part.The movie was going to be filmed in Vancouver British Columbia however Arnold wanted to keep the movie to be made in Los Angeles as part of his campaign for office. It is said that Arnold paid $6 million of his own money to film the movie in Los Angeles.

Below are some videos of the making of Terminator movies. Both past and present.

I am Legned movie

The I am Legend movie originally thought to be filmed in Los Angeles, the director Akiva Goldsman whom signed on to direct decided to move the locoation to New York. However the studio executives didn't think that New York would be a good place to film the movie. It wasn't until Goldsman decided to go to New York and film some spots in time square and have the people digitally removed that the executives had a different frame of mind.


Will Smith

Much of the weeds that grow in the cracks in New York where flown in from Florida. During the filming of the movie there where also a lot of New Yorkers whom where not so fond of the filming location the studio chose. They had to close a lot of the areas around New York off for filming. Will Smith is said to have never seen so many middle fingers pointed at him in his career during the filming.


Brooklyn Bridge

The most expensive part of the filming was on the Brooklin Bridge which is said to have cost in Five million dollars. Below are some videos on the behind the scenes look into the making of the film.

Titanic movie

James Cameron's Titanic movie was a both major success and was also thought on the same note by the media to possibly be a major flop due to the fact of its late arrival. The film was a major accomplishment for both Cameron and Fox Studios whom acquired the area needed to build the set itself.

Production began on the modern day scenes with the actual Titanic ship under water. The ship used is called the Akademik Mstislav Keldysh and is an actual Russian scientific research vessel. Cameron had gone to Fox Studios to get the movie under way and they had gone out and purchased an area in which the recreation of the ship was built in Playas de Rosarito


Russian scientific research vessel used in the film

The set is basically a few buildings surrounding a hugh water tank. However, due to keeping cost down the ship was more or less a shell and was dismantled and sold as scrap after the sinking scenes.


Reconstructed set for sinking of the ship

The undertaking of such a project was a great big responsibility and there where a few stunt men that did get hurt in the production along with a few actors including Kate Winslet and Leonardo de Caprio that got sick during filming.

Below are some videos of the actual making of the film.

Clerks

The movie Clerks was written and directed by Keven Smith whom before making his film worked in a convenience store in Leonardo, New Jersey. He had started working in the store after dropping out of film school he was attending.
It wasn't until 1991 that he got the idea to write a script for a low budget movie that he thought he could do from a movie he saw called "Slacker".
The movie Clerks was said to have cost Keven Smith $27,575. To get the money he had needed he maxed out all of his credit cards and also borrowed some money from his parents to make it all happen.
The movie was filmed in the same store Smith had been working in as a convenience clerk. The owners allowed him to film during the night hours while the store was closed. Due to the yellowish green lighting in the store it was filmed in black and white. All of the blinds in the store where closed to not give off the fact it was filmed at night.


Kevin Smith

During the making of the film Smith did have to continue working as an actual clerk during the day at the store and film at night. Due to this he didn't get much sleep but of course as we all know it was well worth it in the end. Filming lasted a total of 21 days to shoot and with a few changes made to the movie it was picked up by Miramax.

Prefer to be an actor or director?

The movie business or entertainment business for that matter is not an easy one. Most actors work longer hours then most of us do at our regular jobs. Hours consisting of 5am sometimes even earlier and working 15-18 hour days sometimes 7 days straight. That goes for directors too sometimes even more hours then actors do since they are involved in every aspect of movie or television work.

Showbiz is a hard business to get into but even harder to work in it. There are a lot of others out there that want to do the same thing you may be wanting to do yourself. But nonetheless it is possible for anyone to get into the business with persistence. The keys to any success. One common mistake a lot of people make is paying to get into the business. I have seen it time and time again. You go to some get together for someone to tell you if you have it or not, keep you in a room for those who get to stay and tell you it will cost X amount of dollars to go see producers that will be at a specific function. Now how these people know whether you have it or not is them just picking and choosing who they think will have the money to go on to the next round. It is the biggest rip off going on and lots of people get shafted for it. Don't fall for it.

If you really want to get into show business here is some helpful advice. There are websites out there that list auditions happening all over the US that I have seen. All you really have to do instead of spending hundreds on a portfolio is take some poloroid or simple snap shot of yourself with NO MAKEUP on. The agents want to see your actual face , not a make believe one. Next you mail it to talent agents. They are listed on both your local telephone book and online.

If the talent agent thinks he/she can get you work they will pay for your portfolio not you! The agent makes a percentage of what you make. Its there business to get you work.

Also start off in city plays, if you are still in high school join the drama club. Colleges and University's also throw plays so try and join. It helps in your resume. Most of your first works may be in commercials.

If your interested in directing you may want to take some college courses on learning what you can. Another alternative is to volunteer to work on sets or for film production studios to learn the business.

Got any other questions? Perhaps I myself or someone else that comments can help you out on your quest. Networking is key so get to know people.

So what would you want to be? Director? or Actor?

Breakfast Club

The Breakfast Club

We all remember the movie Breakfast Club from back in the 80's so here is a little known things about the movie.

The school used in the movies exterior shots was the same one used in Ferris Buellers Day off. The director John Hughes that also came up with the idea for the Breakfast Club thought the actors should eat lunch with the students in the school to try and stay in character. However Jud Nelson was said to get into character even off screen so much that he was almost fired. Below is a short video featuring both The Breakfast Club and Ferris Buellers Day off filming.

Here is what they all look like now

Behind the scenes of Back to the Future

Back to the Future was an idea hatched by Bob Gale whom was one day going through his fathers high school year book thinking what it would be like to meet his father in that time period. Only difference is from the movie and in real life is that the characters had been reversed. Bob Gale was more of the nerd going through high school and his father a class president and highlyrespected in school.

Some of the shots for the movie where shot in Universals backlot in California such as that of the courthouse. The houses you seen in the movie where actual houses in the neighborhoods of Passadena.

Courthouse in Universal Studios Backlot

The original character for the movie was suppose to be at the beginning Micheal J. Fox which did play in the movie, however at the begining they could not get him because he had a prior obligation to finish up Teen Wolf and Family Ties at the time. Erick Sholtz actually played the character of Marty Mc Fly for the first 4 weeks of filming until Steven Spielberg had come back from being out of the country decided that Eric Sholtz was not right for the part of Marty Mc Fly. By this time Micheal J. Fox was available and had finished filming Teen Wolf, so they got lucky enough to get him to play the part of Marty Mc Fly.

Micheal J. Fox (Marty McFly)

Of course Eric Sholtz is not seen in the movie, some parts of him being in the movie are still there and where never cut out. Such as the scene of him driving the De Lorean through the mall parking lot is of him. The producers thought since you couldn't see his face why should it be cut out.

Crispin Glover (George McFly)

In the original script for the movie Doc Browns name was Professor Brown and instead of him having a dog named Einstein he had a chimp. The script was pitched to several companies including Disney only to be turned down. Universal did pick up the script but made some changes to the script into the finished product you see on screen.

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Christopher Lloyd (Doc Brown)

Lea Thompston ( Lorraine McFly)


Thomas F. Wilson (Biff)

Ghostbusters set

We all remember the memorable Ghostbusters movie, but do you know where it was filmed? Well the buildings that where used in the movie such as the apartment buildings and firehouse are actually in New York.

Firehouse used in the movie

The idea for Ghostbusters actually came from Dan Aykroyd that had a fasinaction with the paranormal and wanted to do a movie based on it. The original thought Dan Aykroyd had for the outfits where somewhat like SWAT Police wear however it was later decided those brown suits we all know of where used due to keeping cost down.

Apartment in New York used in the movie

Check out behind the scenes video below...

The Munsters TV Show House

"The Munsters in color"

The famous tv series " The Munsters" was a 1960's family made of monsters mixed with a character that acted as a normal family. The actual house that you seen on the tv series is located on Universal Studios backlot in California.

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The actual Munster house used for exterior shots

The first pilot was about 13 minutes long and was used to pitch the idea to CBS. It was filmed in actual color but was never aired on television. The house above was used for only the exterior shots and the interior was shot on an actual soundstage. The Munster house is actually just a shell.

The originally idea for the show was made up by animator Bob Clampett and was suppose to be a cartoon. In the 1940's he sent the idea to the studios only to never get a reply back from them. It wasn't until 1964 when Universal came up with a script and started airing the show with actual actors and cartoon was ruled out. The show ran until 1966 airing 70 episodes. Below are some more pictures of the house and the actors.

Al Lewis (Grandpa) The Munsters

Yvonne de Carlo (Lily Munster) The Munsters

Beverley Owen (Marilyn Munster) The Munsters

Butch Patrick (Eddie Munster) The Munsters

Fred Gwynne (Herman Munster) The Munsters