Cannon Fodder

I was asked by Julie Crane, the Denver SAG rep, to write a piece for the newsletter on the process of becoming a SAG series under their New Media contract. I figured I could kill two birds with one stone–update my blog with the piece I wrote for Julie! (Why do I have to kill the birds? Why can’t I just feed them with one crumb, or something less violent?)

So, here ’tis:

When I decided to create a web series, it was mostly to keep myself working on my craft. In smaller markets like Denver, we don’t get quite as many opportunities as we might elsewhere. I’m a short redhead—and no one seems to be needing those ’round these here parts!

As I started looking into the process of making a web series, I discovered that my little project could become a SAG signatory, thus raising the level of production, acting, crew, and maybe even our status in the eyes of those who listen to my occasional babblings.

SAG? Yes, please! Maybe this could be what helps me become SAG eligible! (I was right about that!) So off I went, dragging my friend Jazz Copeland (Jazzy K Productions) along for the ride.

And what a ride it was! First stop: turning in the Preliminary Info Sheet. Okay, that was a breeze to fill out and fax back. We turned it in well before the week before starting production, which is what SAG asks for. Excellent! Now what?

Well, we waited. And waited…and waited. (Reminder to self: pick up the phone to check on the status next time.) But finally we heard back from SAG, and were given our very own New Media Rep, Maria. Marvelous, Magnificent Maria. She let us know we were approved to begin the next step!

Maria emailed us the paperwork needed, which included production company documents (this can also be done by individuals), a pre-production cast list, and a line item budget.

Uh…okay. Part One: just fill out what it says! Great, done. Part Two…same. I needed each actor’s name, social security number, and agent info for this list. Part Three: Budget? We don’t have a budget! I’ll admit I started freaking out at this point. What if I put down a number, but I can’t pay anyone? What if I just put “zero?” Will they reject our application?

With New Media contracts, there are no minimums and pay is negotiable. This is both good and bad. Good for self-producers like me, with no money and no rich uncles. Bad for actors (also like me!), because we could technically work for very little pay, though the work involved is no different than any other project.

I ended up putting down what I hoped to be able to pay at some point, which is Ultra Low SAG scale. The actors all understand that we cannot pay this upfront, but that they will be paid.

Someday.

At any rate (or no rate, as the case may be!), we sent those back to Maria and we eventually got our SAG Contract Packet in the mail. You’ll have to forgive me—I’m pretty foggy on the dates—I can’t remember how long we waited for each packet. It was a while—so fair warning: when they say start it a week before production, you might want to make that two months.

Back to our packet: Oh, happy day! We’ll sign a few papers, send them back, and find out we are now a SAG production!!! Jazz and I got together with our notebooks and our pens, all ready to sign and send. Aaaaand then we went through that packet. At that point all I wanted was a hookah, so I could create a huge question mark in the air, a la Lewis Carroll’s Caterpillar.

What did this packet include? Here’s the rundown:

1. New Signatories Instruction Sheet
2. NM BG Actor
3. NM Performer
4. Exhibit G – Time Sheet
5. Final Cast List
6. P&H Waiver of Ownership Interest
7. Pension & Health Adherence Letter
8. Taft Hartley-Principal
9. New Media Information Sheet
10. New Media Transfer of Rights
11. New Media P&H Weekly Contribution Report
12. Signed AMPTP Agreement w-Rate Sheet
13. New Media Agreement
14. SAG Logo
15. Taft-Hartley form

WOW.

Thank goodness for that instruction sheet, which included a Step 1, 2, and 3 to help us fill everything out. We still had questions on a few things, but Maria was always very helpful and fun to work with. A lot of this was Fun Bedtime Reading (I’m looking at you, AMPTP Agreement Tome), but we managed to get everything signed and filled out—and sent back to Maria.

And in another week or so, we got the Big News. We were now officially a SAG production! Despite all the paperwork, and the amount of time between sending in our Preliminary Info sheet and actually getting approved, it was a pretty easy, straightforward process. The reps in the New Media department are there to help you every step of the way.

Next up: Turning in the Taft-Hartley forms for our non-union actors!

New Media projects are a fantastic—and legitimate–way for actors in small markets to continue working. We all know Denver gets dry spells on occasion, but this is a way to not let that affect you anymore. No one’s casting me? Okay, fine. I’m going to write my own projects, produce them with some talented friends, negotiate with local businesses, and pitch the series to various websites! I’ve got Mr. Blue Bird on my shoulder, folks, and he’s singing along with me!

We’re still in pre-production at the moment. Because of the level of talent we have, we’re aiming high on this series, so we have to be the absolute best we can be! The support from the Denver community has been amazing, and we can’t wait for those cameras to start rolling!

Now…how to get my Irish short produced, with Cillian Murphy attached (playing opposite me, naturally)? Hmmm… stay tuned. That just may be my next article.

For more information on the SAG New Media process, you can go to: www.sag.org/new-media-contracts



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First thing’s first: No callback. That’s okay. “Move on dot org,” as my mom would say. I also had to turn down an audition Friday, as it films during job training. Unfortunate, but the reason I have the job is to get to LA, not to be successful in small commercials in a small market. I will do as much as I can here, and make it work as much as I can–and I’m not poo-pooing anything in the Denver market, not at all. But…oh, you know what I mean!

On to Laci!!!

So if you’ve been keeping up with my blog, you know I’ve started a webseries loosely based on a modern Ricky and Lucy. We have a disclaimer from CBS and had originally planned to keep the same first names, but we decided it would be better to change them entirely.  It’s called  i <3 lac;)   (I Heart Laci, in text-ese.)

Last week I attended the monthly CASA Mass Focus meeting, where I was able to fill people in a bit on what we’ve been doing…and for the first time after an industry meeting, people were waiting to talk to me. Normally, I’m always waiting in line to talk to other people…this is all very exciting for me! It’s the little things, you know.

Anyway, after speaking to a few people, we now have a PR/Marketing guru, so I don’t have to stress about that anymore! *whew* I had ideas to get us out there, and things we should do, but it’s so much easier having someone who does this for a living…knows what will work and what won’t. And one less thing for me to worry about. Now I can focus on other things!

We also have a script guru! We were writing them ourselves…maybe one of us would write a rough draft, and the rest would make suggestions. But we’re all busy and trying to get even just the second script written was difficult. So Kevin was a gift from heaven! (Oh, that rhymed!)

Our first meeting with the both of them was today, and we’ve squared a few things away, worked more on our characters and what we’re hoping for the series…Kevin’s going to pitch 10 or so ideas for a couple of episodes, and we’ll choose one (hopefully two) to film next Saturday.  And just keep on goin’!

There’s also a lady on a local PBS program who would like to get us on…which would be fantastic! Hey! I’ll be on PBS! That’s *close* to BBC, right?

So…things have been going slowly for a while. We’ve hit a couple bumps–had to re-cast our Ricky (now Richie)–schedules are tough–etc. But we are on a roll now!

We’ve generated so much interest so far, and we don’t even have anything up yet! We’ve got high hopes for our little series. Originally, it was going to be for fun, and something to get us SAG eligible. But it’s turned into something bigger than that and I can’t wiat to see where this goes! I won’t tell you what I’m hoping…once we get our website started, we’ll keep everyone updated on what’s going on. So you’ll just have to stay tuned, I guess!

We’re going to be scheduling a photo shoot soon, which I’m excited about. A proper photo shoot!!!! For something that I created! This was a little idea in my brain, and now I have a cast, and a crew…and not just any cast and crew, either. Everyone is so dedicated and helpful–the cast is all experienced and professional (you have no idea how much easier that makes everything!). The crew knows exactly where to go and what to do.

And something else awesome about our cast? Multi-ethnic. Very proud of that.

Now I need to think about a short little jingle to be the theme song. Anyone wanna write something for me to sing?

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Lots of changes this past month!

First, we’ve changed the Lucy web series name to:    i <3 lac;)  (I Heart Laci.)    We changed the names of the major characters, just in case. We do have a disclosure ABC gave us to include in each webisode, but we don’t want anything else to come back to bite us. So: Laci, Richie, Frank, Eve and two new characters: Jimmy and JoJo are eager to make your acquaintance!

We’re almost finished with all the SAG paperwork. I’m pretty excited about it–but wow! That’s a lot of paperwork! I can’t imagine having to do this for a feature film! It’ll all be worth it, though. We’ll have a SAG production on our hands, and the possibility of being able to Taft-Hartley ourselves into SAG. Well, I don’t plan on joining quite yet–but just having “SAG-Eligible” on my resume will be fantastic. I won’t join while living in Denver…there’s not enough SAG productions out this way to keep me employed!

We’ve finished our first “official” webisode, and would like to shoot a couple more before putting them online. Getting everyone’s schedules to mesh is the hardest part. All of us are pretty busy and it seems like we’re only able to film about once a month at this point. Nevertheless, we’re going to get started on marketing and fan pages pretty soon. I’ll let you know when we’re ready to debut the first episode! You’ll finally be able to figure out why we have pie all over our faces!

I’ve started a new workout routine. I’ll be the first to admit I can be lazy in the fitness aspect of things. I’m not overly fond of working out, and that’s putting it mildly. But I have to. Not only do I feel better about myself when I’m toned and fit and healthy, I also look better on camera! It’s kind of necessary to my “type” to stay toned and slender. I’m doing Jillian MIchaels’ 30-Day Shred video and find that it really kicks my arse!!! No kidding! It’s about 25 minutes everyday, but in that time, you’re really working hard. Please note–I am neither endorsing this video nor asking you to buy. The link is so you can see what it is and read other reviews!   I’m really liking it, though. I can’t use time as an excuse anymore, as it’s less than thirty minutes. I get strength, cardio, and abs 5-6 days a week and hopefully in a few weeks, I’ll start noticing small changes in my body!

My last blog had mention of EYE OF NOOR, a vampire vs. paladin movie I had accepted a role in. Due to several reasons, I had to bow out. I won’t go into any details, but I hope all the best for the production!

If you’ll notice in my Blogroll, The Actor’s Voice is among the links I’ve included. Bonnie Gillespie is an LA-based casting director. Though I can’t claim to actually know her, I have been able to talk a bit with her through email and Facebook, and I follow her weekly column (AND advice!). These past couple of weeks, she’s been asking us actors for resumes, headshots, websites, etc. to critique. I’m sure she gets asked all the time to critique materials, but she decided to dedicate a couple of her columns to the critiques, in order to help us all out. I submitted my website, because I feel it’s just a bit boring. There’s a few things I know I need to fix professionally, and I will do that…but I feel it needs a bit more of my personality to it, without going overboard. Anyway–imagine my surprise to open her column these past couple Mondays to find myself !!!! She has critiqued both my headshot and resume so far. And *whew* So far, so good. I’ve fixed my resume–except that darn formatting issue which always screws up!

I’m just excited knowing that an LA casting director has looked at my stuff! Does it mean she’ll call me tomorrow when a breakdown fits me? Sadly, no. But when I do get to LA, there’s at least one casting director who knows my name and a bit of my work.

Which brings me to an issue I’m having. Not a huuuuge deal, but frustrating, nonetheless. I’m ready to create my reel–a short video of some of the films I’ve been in–but am having trouble getting footage (whether raw, edited, whatever) from my gigs. Having a reel on my website and on Actors Access will help so much, but I can’t do it right now. About once a month, I ask various directors for anything to use. I don’t want to annoy them, but it is my career. Reels help showcase an actor’s work, and do more than a photo and resume would to get in the door. So I’ll just keep asking, I guess!

Something exciting may happen: Andy and I might move! We don’t know when or where, though! It could be overseas…or it could be LA. As much as I would love moving back to England, right now I need to be in LA. If I’m going to be successful at all, it needs to be LA. That’s just the way it is.

We won’t move for a little while, and it’s really all dependent on Andy’s job at the moment. But within a year, we could be in LaLa Land!!!

And I’m back to having a Survival Job. I had a few months after India of blessed freedom, but bills don’t really disappear. I wanted another part-time job, but I found a full-time job (evenings) that I can do from home. Saves moolah on gas!!! I may not be able to audition as much, anymore, but we’ll see what happens! This will help so much in getting to LA–and it’s really there I need to be auditioning, not smaller markets. But I’ll be out there, Denver and New Mexico, as often as I can!!!

Oh–before I forget! Please visit my IMDb page as often as you can. Just once a day helps a lot.

www.imdb.me/christacannon

It may sound silly, but the more visits I get, the higher my “star rating” is. And don’t forget–this business pays attention to who’s popular. A bigger way of driving up my star rating is to talk about me on the message boards! As much as I’d love to log in under assumed identities, I have to leave this in your hands.

What are STARmeter & MOVIEmeter?

STARmeter^TM and MOVIEmeter^TM are rankings of every person and title in IMDb. Available only on IMDbPro, our website designed for people who work in the entertainment industry, STARmeter^TM and MOVIEmeter^TM provide industry professionals with insights into the popularity of film and television productions as well as the people who make them. To learn more about our rankings, sign-up for an IMDbPro two week free trial. To start your free trial, click here.

What do the rankings mean?

Plain and simple, they represent what people are interested in, based not on small statistical samplings, but on the actual behavior of millions of IMDb users. Unlike the AFI 100^TM or Academy Awards^TM, high rankings on STARmeter^TM and MOVIEmeter^TM do not necessarily mean that something is “good.” They do mean that there is a high level of public awareness and/or interest in the title or person.

How are these ratings calculated?

IMDbPro uses proprietary algorithms that take into account several measures of popularity for people and titles. The primary measure is who and what people are looking at on the public IMDb.com website.

The rankings are updated on a weekly basis.

So keep clicking away!!! You have no clue what a help it is.  This week I went up to #43,049 from a dismal #87,355. Is Sam Mendes or Baz Luhrmann taking note? Again–and sadly–no. But they will!!!

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