Wednesday, June 29, 2011

The Seminoles

Currently reading: The George Carlin Letters, The Permanent Courtship of Sally Wade
Listening to: The Naked and Famous- Young Blood

What has happened in the last few months? Well, let’s see…

As far as work goes, I have read at least 200 scripts, sent over 1,000 emails, listened in on hundreds of calls, and scheduled, cancelled, and rescheduled A LOT of meetings. I feel like a completely different person than when I first started. I have more confidence than I even know I possessed and have learned so much just 3 months time. It is overwhelming to say the least-- I didn’t realize how much of an effect this new job would have on me emotionally, and physically. Now that I am settling in though, I am doing much better. Kelly has taught me so much, she is a wealth of knowledge and I plan to take full advantage of everything she has to offer me. There are so many people in this business, and somehow she has managed to navigate through and make sincere connections along the way-- and people respect the hell out of her. There is always so much going on-- between the 2 shows we have on the air and a dozen in development, there is never a dull moment. I get to go to Comicon with PSYCH at the end of July, and shooting starts for MAN UP in the beginning of August. I am in a really good place right now, ad have a lot to look forward to.

What else? Well, I turned 23—and my birthday weekend was better than anything I could have expected. Erin and Robert came down, which was amazing. Alex spent the whole weekend with us, and my new Seminole crew was so much fun, and made my birthday very special. Ahh yes, the Seminoles—where do I even start... I moved to Venice, got Char back (thank god) and now am officially in a Florida State bubble… and it’s really not so bad. In fact, I love them… yes all of them… yes, even Tyler. Little did I know when I met them for drinks 2 months ago how much they would mean to me, in such a short amount of time. These guys are the best, I mean the absolute best. There are 8 good looking--yup I said it, good looking guys all from Florida-- West Palm and Tampa to be exact and 3 of them are my roommates. During the few months I have lived with them, here are a few things I have learned:

- the meaning of the word “beast” and the correct way to use it in a sentence, see: regal?

- how to pop bottles

- “The Show”

- how to tell the difference between West Palm kids and Tampa kids

-“I don’t want to go to the Brig” means we will for sure end up there

- guys either take 2 minutes, or 2 hours to get ready to go—nothing in between

- never go to Home Depot if you don’t plan on spending hours looking for nothing and NOT asking for help, ever.

- the name “Alex Baker” is supposed to mean something to me

- when in doubt, say something vulgar or racist

No matter how stressed out I am from work, or from financial bullshit, there is always the crude comment or ridiculously inappropriate stunt that makes me laugh and pulls me right out of my funk.. I am thankful to have them in my life. On the weekends, I drag them to the farmers market (which I think they secretly like) and in the afternoons we head to the beach. I love Venice, the people, the atmosphere, all of it. This weekend for the July 4th I am going to the Entourage wrap party—oh how my life has changed.

I know I am right where I belong and can’t wait to see what’s next.

Peace and Love always.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

tagline pictures.

Currently reading: Bossy Pants- Tina Fey
Listening to: Breathe Me- Sia

Where do I even begin? In these last few months, my life has turned upside down… yet again. After Criminal Minds wrapped in Jan., I jumped onto No Ordinary Family. From there, I worked on 3 pilots back to back- Common Law, My Life as an Experiment, and Man Up!-- all wonderful experiences. I had the chance to work with Jack Black, Donald Sutherland—and Modern Family’s director Mike Spiller. Doing 3 back-to-back pilots was a lot of work, but trust me it was all worth it. While I was working on Man Up as the set PA, I met Kelly. Let me just say this lady is the most badass executive producer I know—and she’s my boss. :)Basically, we met and the stars aligned. It was one of those surreal moments that you realize you are exactly where you belong at the exact right place and time. Everything happened so fast—in just 15 minutes my whole life had changed.

I miss PA’ing—all the different actors, locations, and the excitement of being on set. Most of all, I miss my team- especially Jason. But soon enough, we will be working together again and we both know I am right where I need to be. I no longer work 18 hour days, no more coffee runs, and no more walkies. My days are now filled with scheduling pitches, sending emails, reading LOTS of scripts, and rolling phone calls with agents/writers/producers… you name it. Kelly does exactly what it is I want to do, and she is great at it. This is the opportunity of a lifetime for me and I plan to take full advantage. At first, I was completely overwhelmed but I absolutely love my job and every day I get more and more confident. Just last night Kelly took me to the screening of Bridesmaids—our company represents Annie Mumolo who co-wrote the movie with Kristin Wiig. I got to meet the director Paul Feig (he directed The Office and Knocked Up, and created Freaks and Geeks). It was awesome!

So that is my work life…and I don’t have time for much else. I am moving closer to work, and closer to the beach- Venice to be exact. This is great for 2 reasons: 1. No more hour and a half commuting to work every day, and 2. I GET CHARLI BACK. I am moving into a huge house with 3 guys- all hilarious and wonderful in their own unique way… I can’t wait to move in!

Being away from my family and friends isn’t getting any easier—but they are super excited for me and I call them as much as I can. I am going to Vegas with the girls this weekend and I couldn’t be more excited. Erin is graduating in a few weeks and I am so very proud of her. I can’t wait to see what she is going to do!

So life is good, really good. I am trying to keep my feet on the ground and take everything one day at a time. If I have learned anything in this business, it’s that anything can happen—anything.

Peace&Love

Sunday, January 23, 2011

edit mode.


Currently reading: Personal Finance in your 20's for Dummies
Currently listening to: I'm Good I'm Gone- Lykke Li

Well, the show has officially wrapped and I am adjusting... well doing the best I can anyway. I have a lot more time for myself now, which has been both a blessing and a curse. I have been able to catch up with friends, read, see Black Swan, (and yes Natalie Portman totally deserved to win)workout, etc., however, I am still practically a stranger here- and I've been a little lonely at times..BUT, now I have a movie to edit! Thank god! Through one of the directors on the show I was able to meet a fellow aspiring filmmaker. I get to edit her short film and today I got to go to the shoot. To my surprise, one of the shooting locations was at my boss's boss's boss's boss's boss's boss's boss's(the executive producer) house. It was the most beautiful place I have been to in LA! They even had horses! And, according to "The Secret", it is important to surround yourself with success- and lets just say today I was swimming in it, even better shooting in it. It was a nice reminder that all this hard work just might pay off someday... So for now I am editing, and even though I have been doing it for a while, each project presents new challenges. Each time I edit I learn something new, the craft is always evolving and the possibilities are endless. Even though I absolutely loved my job as a set PA, I have been craving some sort of creative responsibility. I need to be a part of the creative process, and editing this short is letting me do just that! It came at the perfect time, and I am excited to be a part of the team. I was also presented with the opportunity to PA on an upcoming pilot which I couldn't be more excited about! I will be working with a great group of people and I am counting the days until it starts! I will brag about it more once the pilot officially starts and I know more about it!

I leave you with 2 video links, both are great in their own way. The first is a sizzle reel of Criminal Minds Suspect Behavior, which is the show I just wrapped. A friend recently told me that during the filming of Vanilla Sky, after locking up Times Square so it was completely empty, (an incredible shot) Tom Cruise went on the walkie and thanked the PA's saying they wouldn't have been able to get the shot without them. Even though its a small part, we definitely do our part and when I watch this trailer I feel so proud to have been a part of this amazing experience! The second video, is for anyone who is interested in transcoding footage from a 5D or 7D through a program called MPEG Streamclip (which is free to download online) so that you can edit it in Final Cut Pro. It is a really important step in the process and if it isn't done right- it can screw up the whole project. I found this video to be very straight forward. The only thing I do differently is that I use Apple Prores 422 to covert. So if anyone cares, anyone at all, this little tutorial is for you. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=913MYPAZ6jw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kxo5YWz7_dw

oh yea, one last thing! i am officially on IMDb and it is a wonderful feeling! Life is good.

PEACE&LOVE.


Wednesday, January 5, 2011

"If music be the food of love, play on..." William Shakespeare





Currently reading: No More Tomorrows by Schapelle Corby
Listening to: Pursuit of Happiness- kid cudi cover by Lissie

Right now, I am in a weird place. I just returned home (LA home that is) from a 2 week break in Northern California (my other home). I split my time there between the Bay Area, Tahoe, and Sonoma. I felt at home and completely at peace up there. I have the best family and I am so thankful for them, they are so supportive and I wouldn't be where I am without them… not even close. I was able to see my closest friends whom I love and adore. My friends have my heart, and unfortunately thats in Sonoma. When we get together, its as if no time has passed, and we pick up right where we left off. And then there is Char.. I am better when I am with her. This is the first time we have been separated since I got her 3 years ago.. We are so close it is hard to describe. I never knew it was possible to have such a strong connection with my dog, but that little bearded ball of love really is my best friend. Leaving was hard this time, harder than usual. For me, my work life is in LA, but the rest of my life isn't. So I guess its just a weird transition for me trying to figure how to balance these two completely different worlds.
For two weeksthere was no mention of set, first team, background, the bucket, or call sheets, and then as if no time had passed I jumped right back into it, and I was happy! I absolutely love set, every part of it. I know that this is where I belong. As hard as it is to leave my family and friends, this is where I need to be right now, this is where I thrive. We are approaching the last week on CMSB and that honestly scares the shit out of me. I have grown attached to the cast and crew, and this life is all I know here in LA. These people had faith in me and gave me a chance to be a part of something incredible. Film and television have the ability to remove people from their lives and take them somewhere else, another world, one that I helped create. It's pretty magical really and it is exciting to be even just a small part of it.
So thats where I'm at right now.. and I am not gonna lie it's a little overwhelming. I need to slow down and take it one day at a time. AND, I also need to accept the fact that even though I do my best to be positive and happy, not everyday is going to be a good day. It's okay to have bad days too, thats just the way it is. I'm doing the best that I can, and I really do plan on giving LA a chance. So far, its been good to me. I know I have a lot to look forward to as I plan my next move. And as soon as I figure out what that is, i'll let ya know…
Peace and Love