Monday, April 30, 2012

This Month In Media: April 2012

Another busy month where my free time suffered, but I did at least get out to see a few shows, and was able to photograph a concert for The Rocket Summer & Switchfoot, which was pretty awesome (photos still to come.) Also, The Cabin in the Woods was brilliant and should be seen by anyone who even remotely likes horror movies.

Movies
  • The Cabin in the Woods (2012)
  • Knocked Up (2007)
  • The Dead Zone (1983)
  • The Toy (1982)

Music
  • Aranda - "Undone"
  • Atom Smash - "Erase Those Days"
  • Florence + The Machine - "Shake It Out"
  • Gotye - "Somebody That I Used to Know"
  • Jonas Sees in Color - "Help! Help!"
  • Unwritten Law - "Sing"
  • Will Chase - "A Song for You" (from Smash)

Concerts
  • The Rocket Summer & Switchfoot at The Castle Theatre (Bloomington, IL)

Theatre
  • Crooked at DePaul University (Chicago, IL)
  • D.C. Pierson Is Bad At Girls at Gorilla Tango Theatre (Chicago, IL)
  • Tea and Sympathy at Stage 773 (Chicago, IL)
  • TJ & Dave at iO (Chicago, IL)

Sunday, April 29, 2012

"Guilt Free"

Just finished shooting & editing a new digital short for all the fitness freaks out there!




Also posted on Funny or Die.

"Guilt Free"
Written by Justin Smith
Directed by Brian Work
Starring Katie Johnston-Smith, Kaitlin Fleharty, Bobby Hoffman

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Photos: Attend the Tale of Danny Tanner (Gorilla Tango Theatre)

My friends Katie Johnston-Smith and Chris Gorton wrote a musical based on Full House, Attend the Tale of Danny Tanner, that will be running at Gorilla Tango Theatre in Chicago on Wednesdays from May 9-June 27. It's a musical reminiscent of Sondheim's Sweeney Todd, and promises to be a really fun show.


I did the promotional photos for the show. I've posted a few of them below, and you can see the full gallery on the Brian Work Photography Facebook Page. Check them out and go reserve your tickets now!

The Tanner family
Danny Tanner has seen brighter days
Probably not what Joey meant by "Cut it out"
Show writers Katie Johnston-Smith & Chris Gorton as DJ & Joey

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Easter Wars: The Peepvolution


The Peeps had had enough. After years of malevolent treatment by their bunny overlords, the time had come… for war.

 Armed with spears and homemade weapons, the Peeps bravely took the field of battle, willing to give their lives for freedom.

As the Peeps lined up for battle, the bunnies huddled behind their barricades, guns raised and ready to take fire.

Cannoneer Bunnson hurled mockery and insults at his foes, confident in the superior firepower of the bunnies.

As his lieutenants guarded their precious eggs, Admiral Peepton took to the hill to rally the troops. “The time has come, my friends!” He shouted. “No more will we be treated as second class citizens! No more will we live in fear of these hairless hares! On this Easter Sunday, we declare ourselves an independent people!  Charge!”

The initial charge was bloody and fierce. Most of the frontline was wiped out by the jellybean cannon, but two Peeps managed to break through, skewering one bunny and causing another to turn tail and run.

An explosion erupted amidst the Peeps’ forces as an egg mine opened up, loosing rabid mutant mini bunnies on the unsuspecting Peeps.

Their prospects looking grim, the smuggler Davos Peepworth managed to escape the field of battle, taking several eggs with him to safety.

 Things were looking worse and worse for the Peeps. Could anything stop the bunnies’ assault?

The Peeps’ prayers were answered as a small special ops team known as the Magnificent Four scaled a cliff behind enemy lines, skewering a confused guard and sending a signal back to high command.

“They’re in place!” Yelled Admiral Peepton. “Ready the Cadbury Catapult!”

The delicious creme eggs hurtled through the air and destroyed the bunnies’ tank force with a loud splat. Before he even knew what was happening, Cannoneer Bunnson had been impaled on the spear of a brave member of the Magnificent Four.

Meanwhile, the remaining three members of the Magnificent Four had cornered Dr. Ears, who cruelly displayed the severed heads of the Peeps who had been held as hostages.

The members of the Magnificent Four gave no quarry to Dr. Ears, defoiling him and giving him a taste of his own medicine.

Back on the battlefield, Bunny Kong was running rampant, stampeding over Peeps and devouring them whole. The remaining chicks circled around him, waiting for their moment.

They would not have to wait long, as they leapt in the air with deadly precision and brought Bunny Kong to the ground.

Their forces decimated, the remaining bunnies had no choice but to surrender. Admiral Peepton gladly accepted, and a treaty was drawn up that gave the Peeps the independence they had so richly earned and deserved.

And that, my friends, is why we eat candy on Easter.

Big thanks to CJ Tuor for helping me out with the setups!

Saturday, March 31, 2012

This Month In Media: March 2012

As you can see from the sparsity of the list below, March was an extremely busy month for me. I had to finish editing a number of scenes for Uncommon Law, started writing a play on commission, had numerous photography jobs, AND I started a full time job that now has me working nine hours a day.

In a weird way, it's a little depressing to see that this was the first month in the year and half since I started doing this where the number of movies I watched was in single digits.

Movies
The Hunger Games (2012)
Mr. Wrong (1996)

Books
Side Jobs by Jim Butcher

Music
• Underworld - "Always Loved a Film"

 Concerts
• Geronimo!, A Severe Joy, & The That's That at Quencher's Saloon (Chicago, IL)
• Heath McNease at Cross Fellowship (Chicago, IL)

Theatre
Mrs. O's Drinking Fundamentals at Gorilla Tango Theatre (Chicago, IL)

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Audition Tips & Advice

I was recently asked for a list of audition advice from a student in the Audition Techniques class at my old stomping grounds, Valdosta State University. I decided to post them here as well, in the hopes that it may be helpful to some other actors out there.

These notes are more from my experience casting my feature film Uncommon Law than from my experiences as an actor. Several of these notes apply specifically to the submission process, before you even walk in the door (while sifting through hundreds of submissions, I was amazed at how much of an opinion I developed based solely on who actually followed instructions.)
  • If the casting notice asks you to send a preferred audition time, please do so, even if it's just to say you have no preference (this is fine with me, because it tells me I can put you wherever is slow.) If you don't make any mention of it, I'm going to fill slots with those who followed instructions first.
  • It's one thing to say which role you're interested in, but you don't need to tell me what types of roles you're normally cast as. I'll see it on your resume, your headshot, and in your audition.
  • Get professional headshots! Even if you can't afford a $500 package, you can still get quality headshots affordably. And believe me, it makes a much better impression than sending a photo taken with a point-and-shoot camera.
  • On that same note, get headshots that look like you! I want to know what you're going to look like when you walk in the room. If your headshot makes you look like an ingenue, I expect an ingenue when I call you in. If you're a character actor, embrace it! I did.
  • Format that resume! Looking at a resume makes it clear pretty quick who knows what a professional acting resume looks like. Basic format aside, it should never be longer than one page. Also, save your resume as a PDF file when emailing it. That way you can be sure it will preserve your formatting and be read on any computer.
  • A cover letter makes all the difference in the world. I don't need your life story, but something short, professional, and targeted (specific to my project) does make an impression. Sending a blank email that only includes your headshot & resume makes an impression, too, but the impression is that you're submitting to everything under the sun without actually reading the casting notice.
  • When submitting through email, name the files for your headshot and resume "Your Name Headshot" and "Your Name Resume," or even just "Your Name." I save these to my computer for future reference, and would rather not have to rename all of them from DSCF_001829. I don't hold this against anyone, it just makes my life simpler.
  • Be prepared! If you are sent sides in advance, READ THEM. I don't expect you to be off book; in fact, I'd prefer that you weren't because I don't want you focusing on remembering the words. But read through the sides and be familiar with them. If you aren't given the sides in advance, show up early so you can familiarize yourself with them.
  • Make a definite choice for your reading. Even if it's not what I'm looking for, I want to see that you've put some thought into it. It's easier to direct someone who's made a choice than someone who's playing it safe.
  • If you don't understand something, whether it's a line or a direction, please ask. I want you to have the best audition possible, and don't want you to flounder because you're confused.
  • If you ask to improvise off the script, you'd better be able to improvise. Don't get thrown off because the reader improvises along with you, and it doesn't go in exactly the direction you'd imagined in your head. Also, if the reason you want to improvise is because the written lines aren't things you would personally say in that particular situation, you may want to keep that to yourself.
  • Be friendly & personable! If I like you, I'm much more likely to want to work with you. This factors in more than you may think.
  • That guy in the lobby who signed you in? No, you aren't paranoid. He is listening to you.
  • If for whatever reason you can't make it to the audition, call or send an email saying so. Yes, I keep a list of people who no show on me without notice. No, they won't be getting an audition slot in the future.