MicroVisions Reminder

Just a reminder... There is less than 3 days left of the MicroVisions Charity Auction, and there are still some unbelievable steals available! Time to get serious about bidding: HERE

Why Non-Union Actors Should Submit For Union Projects

Written by casting director, actor, director, etc Paul Russell, check out this informative article via Backstage, after the jump.

True or false?

Excluding cattle calls (open calls, ECCs, EPAs) only union actors can audition, and be hired, for union projects.

Survey says? False.

Big-time false.

A non-union actor can audition for and be hired for a union project. And depending on the project plus governing union, the actor can easily be hired either as union or non-union.

"Really?" you ask.

Yes, really.

The myth that non-union actors are barred from principal casting consideration for union projects originates from a non-union actor’s misconception of the audition process. But the non-union actor is not alone in perpetuating this myth. Casting notices for productions governed by Actors’ Equity Association spread the fiction as well.

Trade publications often list union notices under a banner for the correlating union (SAG-AFTRA and AEA). At the end of most AEA casting notices is a reference similar to: “Always bring your Equity Membership Card to auditions” or more ominously, "Seeking Equity ONLY for these auditions." Once a non-union actor sees such they think, "I'm not wanted or allowed to attend that audition."

Wrong.

Want to know who places that little membership tag onto a casting director’s breakdown?

The union – even when those union auditions are by appointment only, solely set-up by the casting office. That potential tag dissuader added by the union is prompting non-union actors from doing what they need to do as actors: seek work to pay bills.

I have never once known of a casting director who demands union cards to be flashed preceding auditions-by-appointment. We seek talent not membership identification.

A casting director holding auditions by appointment for a union project can call in whoever they want. Got that? If not, let’s try this again but with an expansion.

A director, producer, writer, casting director, or anyone hiring for a union project and holding auditions-by-appointment can call in whoever they want. I could call in a non-union dog for a human union role if I was so insane (but I’d lose my producer client quick).

However, non-union actors attending union "open calls" (ECCs and EPAs) is an entirely different matter as covered in "ACTING: Make It Your Business." (And by-the-by AEA audition administrators hate when I reference an EPA or ECC as an "open call." For many casting directors when we’re not calling in actors for an appointment, the auditions are then an ‘open call.’)

So when you, as the non-union job seeker, see a casting notice for a union project which is having auditions-by-appointment do not, repeat, DO NOT, hobble your career ambitions by ignoring that casting notice. Submit yourself. If the project is having an EPA, ECC or whatever-the-acronym-for-an-open-call: Submit yourself. Get the land-mail and/or e-mail contacts for the casting office and place yourself into consideration. Casting offices, like mine, do not post all information publicly about our projects. Casting offices often post publicly only what unions require of our clients or to expand the talent outreach beyond talent agencies and managers. If a casting office is holding an open call there's a high probability they're also holding auditions-by-appointment.

If you doubt a non-union actor can audition for a union project that has on its union-tagged casting notice "Only seeking union members," I have many previously non-union actors turned union via my casting union projects you may want to meet.

Never curtail your ambitions. Too many other people will restrain your ambitions for you. Go after every audition for which you’re a match – be it union on non-union.

Paul Russell’s career as a casting director, director, acting teacher, and former actor has spanned nearly thirty years. He has worked on projects for major film studios, television networks, and Broadway. Paul has taught the business of acting and audition technique at NYU and has spoken at universities including Yale, Temple, and the University of the Arts. He writes a column for Backstage and is the author of "ACTING: Make It Your Business – How to Avoid Mistakes and Achieve Success as a Working Actor." For more information, please visit www.PaulRussell.net. 

- Lena

Spectrum Live and Updates

By Justin Gerard

Many things are happening... The first is Spectrum Live in 2 weeks. Will you be there?



WILL YOU BE THERE?



WE WILL!

Second, due to increasingly hostile demands, I am currently having my 2010, 2011 and 2012 sketchbooks reprinted. They are being printed as we speak, and will be available for order sometime next week. Please, no violence! I can get you the goods!  

The 2011 and 2012 books are the same as the previous printings.  However, the 2010 is special.  This time I am printing it on much high quality paper, and am also including a number of extra spreads of many of the sketches and sepia paintings that have not been seen before.  (And that I had always wished I had been able to put in the first printing.)  

As soon as they come in I will announce it on my blog and put them up on my etsy store. I am going to do sketches in the first 10 orders of each book! BE PREPARED. 

And third, TLC Workshops are running an early-bird special in conjunction with Spectrum Fantastic Arts Live! If you register for the Justin Gerard/Cory Godbey workshop before the event is over on May 20 you will receive 10% off the regular tuition price. Contact Tara Chang at TLCWorkshops1@gmail.com if you have any questions. Check it out here.

The workshop is going to be a ton of fun. Why? Because I will be there and Cory Godbey will be there. That is twice the action, twice the intensity, twice the sensational juggling. To get a preview, or to judge wether or not Cory and I really exist in the real life, come visit us at booth #513 at Spectrum Live. 

Sam Weber Interviews Lauren Panepinto

In the latest installment of Sam Weber's brilliant podcast, 'Your Dreams, My Nightmares', Sam interviews the Creative Director of Orbit Books, Lauren Panepinto.



Lauren is educated in the arts, has years of experience as both a Graphic Designer and Art Director, and is very active in the SFF community. All of which attributes to a really charming and really insightful interview.



You can listen to it right here:

Devil in the Details

By Paolo Rivera

Coyote Studies. 2012.

Ink, blue pencil, and watercolor on bristol board, 11 × 17″.

If you've ever drawn a comic (or any large project, really) then you know the most fun part is doing preparatory sketches and studies for it. That's where the ideas happen — the rest is just execution. You need both, of course, but a solid foundation is key; it bestows purpose to each of the hundreds of hours needed to give true life to a project.



Pictured above is a page of studies for a new Daredevil villain, Coyote. He wasn't "brand new," as his powers stemmed from an existing villain, the Spot, but he was meant to be a sleeker, more menacing version of the classic Spider-Man foe. Furthermore, his powers and relationship to the Spot were not to be immediately apparent in the narrative, so I wanted his look to have subtle cues to his origin without revealing his true identity.

Daredevil #1, Page 4 (The Spot Attacks). 2011.

Ink(ed by Joe Rivera) on bristol board, 11 × 17″.

To accomplish this, I inverted the old costume: mostly black instead of mostly white, his portal spots dominating to the point where the negative white shapes became positive. This left me with a pinched triangle motif that I employed on the eyes, hands, and chest. Eventually, I treated the spots as giant discs that were draped over his body, peeling up to form sartorial embellishments.

Daredevil #19. 2012. Ink(ed by Joe Rivera) on Marvel board, 11 × 17.25″.

Step-by Step

As things turned out, I ended my exclusive contract with Marvel before drawing the 4-issue arc that featured the villain. Fortunately, I was still able to contribute covers, and the story, written by Mark Waid, was beautifully rendered by current Daredevil artist (and one-man factory) Chris Samnee.

Daredevil Character Sketches. 2011. Pencil on bristol board, 11 × 17″.

As for our eponymous hero, I didn't deviate much from the classic interpretation of the character, just added a few touches here and there to make him my own. In order to update his white cane, I elongated each section and added a crimson spare, 3 in total. The other major change was making the cane rotate into a square hook. (Part of me still wishes I had use the curved version, which makes less sense when it transforms, but looks more elegant. At the time, I didn't realize it worked like that in the earliest issues.)

by Gene Colan (words by Stan Lee)

Daredevil #1 Cover. 2011. Gouache and acrylic on bristol board, 11 × 17″.

Time Lapse

I also changed his belt slightly, having it hang at an angle across his hips, alla Han Solo. I changed it yet again in later issues, extending the diagonal across his body for a more swashbuckling look (example below). Again, these were very subtle changes — I really just copied my predecessors: David Mazzucchelli, Wally Wood, and Gene Colan, among many, many others.

Daredevil #8 Cover. 2011. Ink(ed by Joe Rivera) on Marvel board, 11 × 17.25″.

Step-by-Step

Perhaps you've seen the latest set pics from The Amazing Spider-Man 2? I did some style guides for the movie earlier this year (used for marketing and licensing purposes, I presume) and was happy to see that they reverted to the classic look. I love complicated costumes with intricate details as much as anybody, but it's not until you draw these designs over and over again that you realize the power of simplicity. They're not just easier to draw — I find them more memorable.

Griffin vs. Blood Demon

-By Jesper Ejsing

This is becoming an old painting. It has never been printed except for in Spectrum 19. The product it was made for has not been published, and Atari who commissioned me to paint it has now closed down.



Here are some of the stages I go through.



I keep the thumbs around 8 cm tall. I end up submitting the one I like best. In this case the image with the griffin pinned down, Blood demon holding it by the neck about to throw the killing blow. If you look closely you see I placed the female rider on its neck/back readying a spear thrust, right before she herself is crushed. A last chance perhaps.

The thumb was rejected because it reminded too much of the counterpart cover that I was commissioned to do at the same time. It had a silverdragon crashing down a mountainside with a mindflayer and a purple knight. Also I kind of misunderstood the sizes of the two adversaries. The Demon needed to be much smaller. I still wanted to do a dynamic almost falling fighting scene to make it theme up with the other one. The next thumb I submitted was the one with the demon hanging on the back of the griffin while punching it to death. I tried adding three tops to pull the action into the part where they are just about to crash compared to the first one up in the sky. In the end I got frustrated with it. One of the guys at the studio came in while I was transferring the sketch to a board and said “ It looks more like the demon is riding the griffin cos they are friends. Not that he is killing it.”. I sat in silent fury for an espressos time and then started erasing the whole thing. Next time I'll show you how it ended.

Point is, sketching is an ongoing process, like an excavation of muddy soil where you try to reveal the truest form of a story or setting by chiseling away nonsense and unclarity by using the tip of a pencil. The further you dig, the bigger the treasure.

Mrs Green Logo

-By Serge Birault

Here's a logo I did last year for a website(I even don't know if the website is on line or not ...). So this picture no longer belongs to me.



As you can see, this picture is less precise than my usual work; Well, it was for a website (and small stickers), so I didn't have to work with a high level of details. Keep in mind your picture has to be good looking at the size it will be used.



As usual, I worked with PS.



Hope this painting is not too sexy for this blog (it seems some of our readers are easily offended by sexy pictures ...), but the clients asked me to do a sexy pin up. A red hair lady with glasses. She had to be .... voluptuous , you know what I mean ...

The concept. A very quick sketch, validated by the clients.

As usual, I started with the face. I use splatter brushes with low opacity then the airbrush, with low opacity, once again.

The hair was very simple and "cartoon".

All the denim part was not so easy to to. I started with a flat area of blue.

The denim texture was quite long to paint but challenging ...

Same technique for the watering can, I started with a flat area.

I changed the tones a little bit because the clients wanted a green background.

I did the font with Flash (saved the file in .ai then imported it in PS).

I added some details and it was done.

"Eden" Now Available Everywhere!

The SXSW film festival hit EDEN, starring Jamie Chung and our very own Naama Kates, is now available everywhere to see! Rent or purchase the film via iTunes, Amazon VOD instant streaming, and on cable TV! Eden is coming off of its current theatrical release.

Eden, a young Korean-American girl, is abducted near her home in New Mexico and forced into prostitution by a domestic human and drug trafficking ring located outside the bright lights of Las Vegas, Nevada. Throughout the two years she is held, Eden reluctantly ensures her own survival by carving out power and influence within the very organization that has imprisoned her. Inspired by the harrowing true story of Chong Kim, EDEN peers into the darkest corners of America and attempts to discover the humanity within.

Here is the trailer:



Rent/See on iTunes
Stream via Amazon
Official Film's Website
Film's Facebook Page

- Lena

19th Century Masterworks at Sotheby's

by Donato

Sotheby's and Christie's Auction houses hold so many quality sales of art that it is like having temporary museum shows pop up every month.  One such exhibit will be coming in May 2013, the 19th Century European Art sale.  I have included a few of the highlights, with my favorite being the Bouguereau work in progress - I love artistic insights.  One of the wonderful aspects of these sales is that moderate resolution files of the art are placed online for the buyer to better assess the work.  This buyer greatly appreciates the scans!



Enjoy!



Ps.  Does anyone have $400,000 I could borrow for a few decades.  I'll pay you back, I promise!

Exhibition in New York: 

1334 York Avenue,  New York 10021

• Fri, 03 May 13 | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM


• Sat, 04 May 13 | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM


• Sun, 05 May 13 | 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM


• Mon, 06 May 13 | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM


• Tue, 07 May 13 | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM


• Wed, 08 May 13 | 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM

William Bouguereau   L'ETE

Jules Breton

FRENCH

1827-1906

LE SOIR DANS LES HAMEAUX DU FINISTÈRE

Julien Dupré

FRENCH

1851 - 1910

THE REAPERS

Jean-Léon Gérôme

LE TIGRE ET LE GARDIEN

Jean Béraud

FRENCH

1849 - 1935

LEAVING MONTMARTRE CEMETERY

MicroVisions 2013

This year's MivcoVisions Auction is officially LIVE!



There are some amazing steals at this point, so bid early, and bid often. Remember, 100% of the proceeds go toward scholarships for art students.



Click HERE to bid.



We gave you a sneak peek at a few pieces already, here are the rest:

Scott Fischer

Red Nose Studio

Teresa Fischer

Joao Ruas

Joao Lemos

Cory Godbey

Allen Williams

Kekai Kotaki

Paolo Rivera

Bill Carman

John Hendrix

Mike Mignola

Petar Meseldzija

Daniel Coffeen Reviews "10 Commandments of Chloe"

Here is one of the best reviews we've read for our feature The 10 Commandments of Chloe, directed by Princeton Holt and co-produced by & starring our own Naama Kates. Check it out after the jump!

 At first, this seems like a familiar — if quite beautiful — indie film in the mumblecore vein. Young hip artist types drinking, smoking pot. Casual, realistic dialogue. And our heroine, overcoming obstacles, realizing things about herself.

But this will never have been that movie. All the familiar trappings swirl around Chloe, trying to bring her into that movie, into that life. But neither Princeton Holt, the director, nor Chloe, the character, are having any of it. They divert and toss aside cliché with a deft hand.

In many ways, this is a film about the temptation of cliché. Throughout the film, both Princeton Holt and Chloe ask: Is this a story of all too human interests — life, love, self discovery? Or is all that, as she suggests in one scene, irrelevant? Are there other forces — of music, of life, of the landscape — that are more interesting, vital, engaging? Just as Chloe can never remember anyone's name, Princeton Holt can't seem to focus on the banality of human beings for very long, his camera voraciously relishing the scenery.

These may be the 10 commandments of Chloe, as if she were the one in control. And while she may well be a formidable force, there are forces that exceed her. Her troubles and relationships vie for the focus of this film just as they vie for her attention. But other forces keep pushing her — not out of the frame but into the intense, and intensive, landscape of Nashville's musical swirl.

For this is a film, first and foremost, of the landscape. Indeed, it opens with an homage to Woody Allen's Manhattan, giving us monolithic, mostly black and white shots of Nashville. Chloe is nowhere to be found. When these give way, we are greeted with the first commandment: Assimilate. And that is what this film gives us: Chloe's overcoming of herself to assimilate into the landscape of Nashville, an assimilation that does not mean her oblivion but, on the contrary, her becoming herself.

After this tell tale commandment, we are confronted with a sumptuous blur of Nashville at night. Blur can be so powerful, so beautiful, effacing the strict borders of form; blur is the image of movement, of flow, effacing the strictures of form. Throughout this film, the image hovers between blur and focus, forms becoming flow, flow taking form before being torn asunder once again. Such is the tension of this film: the movement between form and flow, human concerns and indifferent landscape, focus and blur.

As the image begins to come into focus, we hear an older woman addressing a younger one — yes, Chloe. But it's as if the camera is trying to focus on her but keeps being drawn to the surrounding city. When the frame finally comes into focus, we see Chloe at the periphery, her back to us, walking across the frame and out of sight, the city still holding the camera's attention.

The camera does not track her, not at first. We see her go in and out of clubs trying to get gigs as a musician. The camera does not follow her in but hovers at the door, eavesdropping on her conversations. She is part of something bigger, a system of gigs and musicians and audiences and histories and relationships and club owners that exceed her. She is not the force that takes them by storm; she is trying to join the maelstrom of which they are a part.

And this, alas, is the tension for both the film and Chloe: Focus on the form of Chloe, be human, all too human and dally in the concerns of people — family, life, love, work, relationships. Or overcome human concerns, blur them into the landscape, and discover the affective force and flow of music and life. Just as the film itself moves between having Chloe and Nashville at the center of the film, Chloe herself moves between being a woman with the familiar trappings of a boyfriend and being a musical force that ruptures and breaks such bourgeois ties.

Even in the most romantic, humanistic scenes between Chloe and Brandon, her would-be boyfriend, the landscape of Nashville looms large as if threatening to topple down on them, the Parthenon's columns less a support than a threat. He wants her to focus on him, on him and her, and talks of getting out of there. But she diverts his focus and insists on being in Nashville. She will not be clear with him. He is form and she, alas, is in the act of becoming blur — an image of flow, a force in motion seeking out the seething of Nashville.

In a sly move, the film keeps us thinking that this might be a movie about Chloe and how she finds herself in this new city. But it keeps blurring that vision, literally and figuratively. When she meets new people, she can never remember anyone's name — and doesn't seem to care, as if she had no time for such nonsense, as if she were of another dimension, as if she were moving and they would always be static. She is elusive towards her new boyfriend who is constantly revealing himself and demanding that she do the same.

At first, perhaps, we are tempted to side with him. What's wrong with her? we wonder. She is so guarded and indifferent, as if hiding from love and life. But, in an incredible scene about two-thirds into the film, he confronts her and their dynamic shifts: I've told you things about myself, like about my family, my mom...I want you to know who I am...apparently you don't want me to know who you are because you hide every single thing. I mean, who is Chloe? I don't even know.

Read the rest of this great piece here!

- Lena

Promo Poster for ABC's "Mistresses"

Here is a sneak peak of the fantastic promo poster for the upcoming show Mistresses starring Rochelle Aytes with Alyssa Milano! The show premieres on June 3rd at 10pm on ABC!

- Lena

Mark Ryden's Pinxit

-By Dan dos Santos

Several years back, Taschen Books released a comprehensive monograph of Mark Ryden's work, called 'Pinxit'. Thick, oversized, and beautifully produced, this book quickly sold out. Ever since, it's been selling for about $1000 USD on the secondary market.



Just this month, Taschen released a reprint of this book.



This book is HUGE! It is 11 x 15 inches, canvas and gold embossed cover, over 350 pages of art, and lots of double-page spreads and gatefolds throughout. Seriously, art books don't get much nicer than this! Aside from not having a slipcase, it is nearly identical to the original, and a total steal at the new price of $42.



The book is already enormous, but the design makes it feel even bigger than it is. Often times there are small details of a painting blown up into 20 inch wide spreads, with great clarity.

The work inside is basically a complete retrospective, right up to, and including, Ryden's last show 'The Gay 90's'. There are a lot of preliminaries included, and several of the paintings are photographed within their frames (Which if you've ever seen a Ryden show in person, you'll know is integral to the pieces).



I have a feeling this book is going to sell out again rather quickly, so I snagged mine immediately. If you're a fan of Mark Ryden's work, I suggest you do the same. Trust me, you will NOT be disappointed.

There are a lot of sellers that carry it on Amazon. I bought mine from Book Rack (BooKnackrh) in South Carolina since it wasn't available directly from Amazon yet. Unfortunately, I wasn't thrilled with the packaging, as the book arrived with severely damaged corners. Admittedly, shipping a 10 pound book is difficult. However, it now appears that Amazon stocks it, which I would recommend using instead of a third party supplier.