ACTOR ARTIST DESIGN BLOG
A new summer, a new trailer, a new movie made from the mind of an incredibly motivated actor.
It has been my pleasure to work in the Daytime TV world for 8 years now. During this time I have had roles on All My Children, As the World Turns, Guiding Light and many more (mainly U-5 work). In fact, I have a brief appearance on July 22nd on All My Children as a paramedic…but don’t blink – it’s a fast U-5.
During this time, I have had the great privilege of meeting some of the hardest working actors out there. Memorizing large scripts on a daily basis for Daytime TV is no easy task – especially in an economy where the speed of production can make or break a bottom-line for a TV show. Guiding Light announced they are going off the air at the end of the summer. So missing too many lines, means costing someone a lot of money.
One of these actors is Grayson McCouch. If you research on the internet – you will discover that McCouch has been hard at work since the early nineties. Yet, even today, he is not waiting for someone to cast him in a amazing part that will make him a household name. He is doing it himself. He wrote an amazing screenplay and is currently shooting a trailer for it. McCouch is one of those incredibly talented people that spends every second of every day figuring out a new formula to advance his already-successful career. He doesn’t wait for anyone else to give him a thumbs up.
He makes movies using his own resources, and therefore doesn’t depend on someone else to open his doors. You may have seen him in Armageddon – he is one of the astronauts and cuts the wires on the nuclear bomb while they are on the asteroid. You may have also seen him in Legacy, or in All Souls. You may have seen him in Throttle – an indie movie made on a small budget, one location (a parking garage) in 8 weeks and then released in Blockbuster. He never stops.
McCouch also had several TV pilots with incredible scripts, but they have been up against other incredible shows (i.e. The Shield) and just missed several times. Yet he knows he just keeps putting himself in the right place, and the right time will strike – whether it is his own project, or one that casts him.
My point is this: actors need to create their own opportunity while simultaneously seeking every existing opportunity possible. Again, I refer to the Dov Seimens ‘Hollywood Film School” DVD set for the best example of expert advice from A-Z on how to put your own project together on a minimal budget without depending on anyone else.
No matter how established an actor is right now (yes, there are a few exceptions – there always are exceptions) an already competitive industry is now even more intense. So create your own material! Film actors are bumping down to TV roles, TV actors are bumping down to commercial roles, and rising actors are forced to compete with bigger resumes and star power in an economy producing limited opportunities. It is the perfect time to produce your own material.
Speaking of producing your own material – check this site out: placevine.com – they look for original content and connect it with major brands looking for such content. It’s a great resource if you qualify.
Thanks for reading! And good luck!! Feel free to post any resources you have found here that might help those producing original content to get exposure.
Jason C Small
AKA Jason Alan Caine (stage name)
Business Development Manager
http://www.ActorArtistDesign.com
Actor Artist Design, a division of Great Young Minds, LLC
www.greatyoungminds.com
*Jason has worked as an actor in New York City for seven years appearing on All My Children, As The World Turns (3 years as “Lou”), Guiding Light, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Good Morning America, at Radio City Music Hall, in the New York Fringe Festival, and in many more productions. He has more than 15 independent films to his credit, and has managed an acting studio for a celebrity in NYC, and served as Marketing Director for one of the top casting websites in the New York market. Jason owns and operates Great Young Minds, LLC, a graphic and web design company servicing the entertainment industry, with offices in New York City.
