Episode Fifty-Four: The Business of Acting Part 1
Being an actor in Hollywood requires strategic planning as far as marketing and branding yourself and Rachel Lien and Bryan McClure have been busy doing just that. They both moved to Los Angeles from Omaha, Nebraska a little more than a year ago after co-staring in the independent film April Showers and have already landed some notable auditions and the attention of various casting directors and agents. We also welcome back Jenna Edwards fresh off the road from her midwest journey to hear about what’s going on at Mattoid Entertainment.
Jenna Edwards- Producer
Jenna Edwards began her film career in Minnesota where she was signed on as talent with Easter Hailey. Quickly after being signed Edwards was hired by the agency as a full time employee giving her a head-start on her Hollywood education. After two years of rising through the Minnesota film community Edwards made the move to Los Angeles.
Soon after Edwards moved to Los Angeles she was hired by Agent Jamie Ferrar. It was while Edwards was working for Ferrar that she developed an interest in the casting process, before long she had moved from talent agencies to working in casting with such industry leaders as Sally Steiner (Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Boy Meets World), Barbie Block (Jonas, Pepper Dennis) and Allison Jones (Super Bad, The Office). During this time Edwards was also able to gain valuable production experience working on shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Malcolm in the Middle, and working with studios like Disney, MTV, FOX and CBS.
After several years of successfully navigating her career through the Hollywood studio system Edwards made the leap to independent film with her first feature April Showers. After her success with April Showers Edwards formed Mattoid Entertainment with partners Jeremy McGovern and Andrew Robinson where they made, In the Darkness, the first narrative feature to ever premiere on Hulu.com. Most recently Edwards made her way back to Nebraska, where she shot April Showers, to team up with some new filmmakers on a comedy film called Trunk’d.
Mattoid Entertainment’s Website
Mattoid on Facebook
Rachel Lien- Actor
Born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska – Rachel’s desire to perform became apparent before the age of eight. She soon began acting, singing and dancing on the same stage where such legends as Marlon Brando and Henry Fonda began their careers – the nationally renowned Omaha Community Playhouse. By the age of 12, Lien was garnering praise from theater critics and audiences alike. Roles in The Miracle Worker, Gypsy, and Annie Get Your Gun would earn her the Theater Arts Guild Award for Best Youth Actress, and the prestigious Mary Peckham Award for her stunning portrayal of Helen Keller.
Although aptly described as “a bubbly ingénue who can sing and dance up a storm”, Lien’s dramatic talents began to emerge on screen as well. Appearing alongside other rapidly rising young actors such as Kelly Blatz and Daryl Sabara in the film “April Showers” (also starring Tom Arnold and Illeana Douglas), Lien’s depiction of Jessica earned high praise from director Andrew Robinson who described her as “One of the best raw talents I’ve come across in a long time.” Her role in “Ticket Out”, starring Ray Liotta (Goodfellas, Charlie St. Cloud) and Billy Burke (Twilight, New Moon), will further reveal her range of talent as the rifle-toting, orthodontia-challenged drugstore employee, Ellen.
With a year to go at the University of Nebraska – the urge to head to Hollywood was too great. Armed with a trunk-load of talent, along with a sparkling, fresh and determined spirit, Rachel Lien recently arrived in Hollywood. She is presently working on Young and The Restless in a recurring spot, and is decidedly on track to become one of our next great American actresses.
Rachel Lien’s Reel
Rachel’s Twitter Page
Bryan McClure- Actor
Ever since he was young, Bryan has been interested in the arts. He has studied many different art-forms over the years from studio art and graphic design, to acting. Bryan received his Bachelor of Arts degree at Creighton University in Graphic Design and now has his web business called Momentum Creative Studios. His acting studies began at The Omaha Community Playhouse, where Marlon Brando began his studies. Bryan was heavily involved in the The Nebraska Film Group and film community in Omaha, Nebraska prior to relocating to Hollywood. In addition to working with Tom Arnold in Andrew Robinson’s film, April Showers, Bryan’s other notable credits include Lucky starring Colin Hanks, Easy to Assemble with Illeana Douglas, and The Scientist with Adam LeFevre and Bill Sage.
Recently, Bryan was nominated as Best Supporting Actor at the 168 Hour Film Festival for his performance as Marko in the movie Bountiful. Additionally, he worked his way to the final audition (a Network test) for Nickelodeon’s new Power Rangers. He is currently studying the Meisner acting technique at the William Alderson Acting Studio in Hollywood.
Bryan McClure on IMDB
Momentum Creative Studios- web design
Bryan’s Personal Website
Bryan’s Twitter Page
Episode Fifty-Three: Choosing a Camera
In the film world, the camera is king. What you shoot on will affect everything that matters to your project including budget, schedule and workflow. This week our discussion centers around choosing the right camera for your project. Join us for some extremely helpful insight given by directors of photography Lore Haroutunian and Ace Underhill.
Lore Haroutunian- Director of Photography
After graduating USC’s School of Cinematic Arts production program, Lore began finding her way as a cinematographer through shooting independent short films, web and viral videos, and teaching. She spent some time as adjunct faculty teaching 16mm camera techniques at the Colorado Film School, and after that, joined Denver’s Binning Family Foundation to teach film as storytelling, as well as lead an after-school film school program for teens. She now lives and freelances as a cinematographer in Los Angeles, and writes a rather nerdy blog for cinematographers called I Should Write This Down.
Ace Underhill- Director of Photography
Ace Underhill has worked in the film and television industry for over 13 years, blending extensive technical knowledge with an award-winning artistic edge. He founded Brilliant Screen Studios, a full service film & television studio as well as a feature film production company. He has served on the San Diego Filmmakers Board of Directors and was part of the Advisory Group to the San Diego Film Commission. Brilliant Screen also supplies productions of all sizes with crew, consultation, and equipment.
Video
Video courtesy of Brooklyn Girl Productions.
Episode Fifty-Two Part 2: Actor and Filmmaker Promotion
One of the most important skills to learn as an actor or filmmaker is self-promotion. This is part 2 of the interview with film marketer Sheri Candler and actor/filmmaker Jenn Page. There’s so much information that we had to split it into two parts! Actors and filmmakers, you won’t want to miss this show!
For information about our guests see the Episode Fifty-Two Part 1 episode page.
Episode Fifty-Two Part 1: Actor & Filmmaker Promotion
One of the most important skills to learn as an actor or filmmaker is self-promotion. Join independent film marketer Sheri Candler and actor/filmmaker Jenn Page for this chock-full-of-good-info podcast. There’s so much information that we had to split it into two parts! Actors and filmmakers, you won’t want to miss this show!
Sheri Candler- Independent Film Marketing and Publicity
Sheri Candler is an inbound marketing strategist who helps independent
filmmakers build identities for themselves and their films. Through the
use of online tools such as social networking, podcasts, blogs, online
media publications and radio, she assists filmmakers in building an
engaged and robust online community for their work that can be used to
monetize effectively.
Jenn Page- Actor/Director/Producer
After obtaining her degree in theatre performance form Southern Illinois University Edwardsville she earned her wings in New York City acting in independent films including the multi-award winning short Off. With the intention of furthering her acting career she moved to Los Angeles. Shortly after her arrival she decided that the best way to get work was to make her own. She began producing projects for herself and formed her first production company. Since then she has acted, produced, and/or directed feature films, short films, music videos, and stage shows. Directing has become the main focus for Jenn as she found that not only does directing allow her to utilize everything she has learned over the years, but it is her true passion.
Luminave Films
Reel Star Makers
Important Information & Links
Facebook Vanity URL
Bonnie Gillespie’s Facebook Page (casting director)
Boosting your Google rating
1. First, find out who you are now
- www.onlineidcalculator.com (log out of Gmail first before you run it for
more accurate results)
- www.addictomatic.com (makes a dashboard of your personal mentions)
2. To Boost Your Rating
-Get a LinkedIn account, even if you don’t plan to use it
-Get on IMDB
-Join actor and filmmaker networking sites, not just Facebook and Twitter
Examples for filmmakers: Production Hub, Massify, indieProducer.net
-Leave comments on prominent industry sites
-Check Technorati or Alexa for well trafficked sites, and leave comments of value, do not just say “great post”. Make sure you fill in your name, email and website, this is good for building inbound links on your site and for raising your profile.
-Another site to check out to post yourself on many social networking sites in one go, Knowem. I don’t like it much myself as my goal is to only be on sites I actually visit, but if you do want to spread yourself out or you are just getting started on social networking and would like to go to one site and sign up for many at one time, try Knowem.
- Use Websitegrader to evaluate how you are doing with your site and see what can be tweaked to raise your score.
