I got picked for an international shoot for a UK beer brand this week. The commercial promised to be exotic, given the scale and that the costume trial was at the Taj with some really funky clothes on the rack. We were made to sign a form and everything seemed swell until the night before the shoot, when I received a text saying, “Shoot cancelled, sorry”…
All that glitters is not gold!
It’s very unethical for the production team to back out of a shoot at such short notice. Usually, an actor’s dates are blocked when they’re on for a shoot — at times, even at the cost of another opportunity. Unfortunately, most commitments are verbal contracts — whether it’s amounts, dates or the extent of the role. And there’s really nothing we can do to protect ourselves from fraud.
If you can’t beat them, bitch about ‘em!
An audition is about showing the casting director, producer and director what you look like and whether you can act. It’s about standing there and convincing them with your persona and performance, and that you are the one they are looking for. This week I walked in to audition for the lead of a movie, where I was asked to talk about my favorite film. I stood there and began to express my undying love for the Raj and Simran DDLJ love story and even threw my trivia linked to the film, like bumping into Chutki at my gym!
The art of being brilliant
The art of being brilliant
Considering we are given a brief and left to it, an actor also needs to become director/story writer for auditions like these. Being able to grip them beyond the first 10 seconds on camera is basically the challenge. We are also evaluated by our appearance, since it’s a screen test. Whether we like it or not, the human brain apparently makes over 27 judgments about another person within seconds of meeting them based on posture, voice tone, eye contact etc. Thanks to my mock auditions on my handycam, I’ve become more aware of how expressions and face angles translate on the camera!
MadAngles
Two days later, while I was lazing at home, I got a call saying I was shortlisted for the movie! My meeting was with the casting director that evening. I landed up at the restaurant to find the casting director at a table accompanied by a dozen other starlet-types! We had all passed the first screen test and were gathered there to be given a “talk”.
More on the StarletSeminar next week…
To be continued…
For more updates on Miss K, follow her on Facebook at Starlet and More.
The Beatroute
What: Alternative groove rock band
Where: Hard Rock Café, Bombay Dyeing Mills Compound, Worli
When: December 22, 9.30 pm onwards
Entry fee: Free
Contact: 2438 2888
The band is the brainchild of feyboard player Eeshan Tripathi and drummer Gopal Dutta.