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A Breakdown Is Coming!! (And no, not the emotional kind….) – Five keys to success…

09 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by in Casting, Pre-Production

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Next week, I’ll release a breakdown of some of the characters from “Inside-Out, Outside-In” as I cast our December reading for invited guests and potential investors. I’ll be putting the breakdown right here on the blog, as well as on our Facebook fan page a few days before sending it out over traditional avenues like Breakdown Services to give our motivated collaborators and fans a chance to get the one-up on submitting for parts.

What is a breakdown exactly? Well, it’s a summary of short descriptions of characters and their essential qualities for the purposes of casting, along with some contact information. Filmmakers send them into the world with the hopes that agents, managers and quality actors will submit candidates (or themselves) to play a part that matches what we’re seeking. Here’s an example of a breakdown from the web series “Dumbass Filmmakers!” – Fatelink’s last project.

Character breakdown for “Dumbass Filmmakers!”

There are a few questions that naturally come up when writing these breakdowns. First of all, how much information do you reveal about the character? How much plot? I generally think fears of other people stealing your ideas are a bit paranoid. Let me clarify. I do think people might try to steal your ideas and characters, but the chance for them to pull it all off before your film is finished is not too high. And good luck to them! But still, as an artist, one of your assets is knowing what you’re trying to build, while others do not. So while I don’t like to fall into the trap of being paranoid to reveal any information, I don’t want to reveal too much. And plus, at this level, you need people to get excited about the project and become a little curious about it, so giving out a little information works in your favor. If you’re already Woody Allen, well then, you probably think I’m a dumb shit and aren’t reading this blog anyways, but if you are in that position, I don’t blame you for keeping everything about your story an absolute secret.

In terms of actors submitting to breakdowns, here are my pet peeves as a director. So I offer them with the hopes that they might help somebody more effectively respond to a breakdown, mine or anyone else’s.

Top Five Director’s Pet Peeves at Dealing with Breakdowns (and how to successfully navigate them):

1. Receiving submissions that are “way off” in terms of the character description. Trust me, I’ve given a lot of thought to why a character is a certain gender, age, nationality, temperament, etc. So please don’t completely disregard the breakdown and submit yourself if you’re clearly wrong for the part. And if you are going to gamble and submit against the character type, take the time to explain to me why you believe you’re right for it even if it goes against some major part of the description. (In my life, I have changed a character from male to female once based on an actress’ audition, but this is rare and she was right for the part in all the other aspects). If you at least offer an explanation, I know that you have something in mind, rather than just rudely disregarding what I said that I needed.

2. Receiving high-resolution photos that mess up my email account. Please be kind. I’m dealing with an email account that has a limited capacity for space. So if you send me your headshot as a 24 GB file, I’m going to hate you for a minute and may not even wait the requisite time for it to download. And here’s a hint – if you send in a hard copy of your headshot/resume and I like it, I will file it and keep it. And I do go over those files every now and then. Maybe it’s retro, but if hard copy is available as a submission option, I believe it’s worth it. If you don’t know how to size down your headshot to a jpeg of reasonable email size, please teleport back to the late 1990s.

3. Feeling “guilt-tripped” by friends trying to get a part. If you’re my friend, I already think you’re talented and amazing, so don’t ask me to prove it by giving you a part out of guilt. “Hey! You’ve NEVER cast me in anything,” complain some people. Or others, “I came to see both your plays! Isn’t it time we worked together?” I value my friends. I value people who support my work and take time to see it. And I want to work with my friends, all things being equal. But hey! I don’t owe anyone a part. And it’s not fair to guilt me into casting you. If you’ve supported my work in the past only to get a role in the future, well at least be savvy about that and don’t tell me. Know that if there’s ever a part that’s on-the-money for a friend that I know can hit it out of the park, you will likely get the part, all things being equal. If I’m not sure you’re on-the-money for it, it’s just business and we have to see if it will work out or not.

4. Liking an actor for the part, only to later discover he’s unavailable for the dates required. Listen, I know these sound like basic things. But believe me, actors disregard them all the time (or the agents do by not knowing the schedules of their own actors). Our reading is going to take place in December. So if you’re going home to Nebraska for the entire month, please do not submit! We’ll catch up on the next project, the next breakdown and c’ la vie! I really do understand the desire to expand your network or take an audition just for experience, but when you do so knowing that you are ultimately unavailable to work, you are in bad faith with the casting director/producer/director calling you in and this is a reflection on your character. And to an indie film director, character counts because we often don’t even carry insurance on the actors, so we are relying on you to be truthful and forthright about your schedule. So I say, “Don’t submit unless you are available for the dates required!”

5. Having actors flake because they are uncomfortable with the material. Listen, I have produced a number of projects and films with an LGBT element. I’m also from Texas and a family filled with “red state” Christian conservatives. So I really do understand if an actor isn’t comfortable with material I write. If you see in the breakdowns that it’s a gay character, then it’s a gay character. I’m not going to change it. And if you don’t want to play that character, don’t submit for it in the first place. Or, if you do submit, then read the sides and decide you’re not comfortable, simply call and cancel or email and cancel with enough notice for us to fill your slot. What is not cool is being so uncomfortable that you can’t man up (or woman up) and let us know you’re not coming to the audition. It’s also very rude to your fellow actors. That slot could’ve been filled. There are plenty of amazing actors – gay, straight, bi or questioning – that have no issues playing gay roles. And one of them could’ve auditioned for us in your place. A no-show/no-call is almost a 100% guarantee that you won’t be called in for anything in the future. Again, as indies, we don’t always carry insurance on the actors and I simply can’t risk someone flaking and not showing up on set. If you’re uncomfortable with the character, but  cancel your audition respectfully, I might get a better sense of you and might bring you in for something different the next time around, no hard feelings. That’s how we do it in Texas.

Ok, so that’s my advice for submitting for roles and avoiding running into a director’s pet peeves (at least this director’s pet peeves).  Now, look out for the breakdown next week, which will be released to this blog and to our Facebook fan page. And hope you all keep making movies.

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Hunter Lee Hughes is a filmmaker and actor living and working in Los Angeles and the founder of Fatelink. His current feature film Guys Reading Poems is touring film festivals and this blog is dedicated to the process of making his second feature film, “Inside-Out, Outside-In.” If you enjoy the blog, please support our team by following us on Facebook, Twitter (@Fatelink) or Instagram (@Fatelink).

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Choreography, Part 1: Jamie Benson on bringing the dance to the movies

09 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by in Interviews

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I’ve known Jamie for about four years.  Formerly the membership director of Highways Performance Space, Jamie helped support our run of ‘The Sermons of John Bradley‘ at the space.  After our show – which included a five-minute segment of choreography with no dialogue – Jamie commented that he liked the intensity and even brutality of the movement between the characters.  I felt so grateful that someone noticed the quality we worked so hard to infuse into the piece.  After that, I began supporting Jamie’s work in independent theatre when I could and noticed that his original choreography in “Mass Transit” focused more on the unique humanity of each of his dancers rather than a perfectionist aesthetic ideal.  And yet, when required, Jamie could choreograph intricately beautiful moments.  This was precisely the quality that made me feel he might be the right man to bring the moves to “Inside-Out, Outside-In.”  So I brought him on to choreograph the initial workshop performance of the climatic scene of ‘Inside-Out, Outside-In.’  And he did an amazing job. Now, I’m just suffering a bit of Jamie-withdrawl since he’s moved to NYC to pursue his fortunes there, but check out our talk about dance and the movies.

Hunter: OK so not only is “Inside-Out, Outside-In” my first feature as a writer-director, it’s the first time I’m incorporating movement/dance choreography into a filmed piece.  Any advice for the newbie?

Jamie: Make sure that you really allow the movement some time in full frame. It seems fast cuts are real popular in the flashy world of feature filmmaking and sometimes the dancing is lost. That and after seeing the Wim Wenders film “Pina,”  it’s only a matter of time before we all should be presenting dance in 3D. Just sayin’.

Hunter:  Well not sure our microbudget will stretch to 3D just yet.  You mentioned that you love seeing people talk and dance on screen, that it’s satisfying to see people work something out through movement.  Tell me about that.  What are some of your favorite movies with choreography?

Jamie: Dance is designed to reveal simple truths. But if you’re able to add words and a linear scenario or context, you have so much more texture to experience as a viewer. If a couple is fighting while dancing a romantic waltz, there is so much more wit and intrigue to the juxtaposition, for example.

Hunter:  I like that.  What drew you to help out with ‘Inside-Out, Outside-In?’ Was there anything in the story there for you or did you just basically get roped in because we’re friends?

Jamie: Ha! A little of both – life is layered or something. I was curious as to whether or not I could deal with the challenge of a limited time-frame AND inform the meaning of the script within the script through simple gestures and movements. A bit of a puzzler but that was part of the fun.

Hunter: We had an issue where a straight actor became uncomfortable with dance with another man while workshopping this piece.  It brought up a lot of feelings of anger and inadequacy in me because I felt I tried so hard to make him comfortable.  Is this a common problem in the dance world?  What is your suggestion for working with actors in the future on this?  On the one hand, the character himself is straight and unsure about his feelings towards this other male so a little discomfort is interesting, but when does fear of intimacy or even homophobia damage a piece or prevent its full realization?  Your thoughts?

Jamie: Most dancers, whether straight or not, are a.) around a lot of gay people because, let’s face it, we’re talking about dance. Cliches, just like a good joke, have some truth to them. b.) Dancers are notoriously underpaid and will usually do just about anything to continue “working” whether that means sidling up to another guy or not. I’ve had to grab a straight guy’s ass in performances before. Honestly I think it was a great chance for the guy to enjoy the flirtation without being totally accountable for it. A sort of, “well that’s what the director wanted” sort of thing. I’ve helped produce a gay-centric play before and the straight guys we’re totally cool about it. There should be some awareness going into it for them and if there isn’t, how can you really combat an actor’s denial during the courting process? They probably want to do what they can to get the part at that point. I wouldn’t worry too much. It’s given you a fire to push forward with the work and material to blog about the movie-making process. Hell, there’s a few press releases there. That’s valuable. In our quick digestion of drama, turmoil can be an asset. Its part of the story and intrigue of the film you’re making.

Hunter: The piece has an element of life-imitating-art-imitating-life.  When you choreograph, how do you draw from your own experiences while still staying true to the situation at hand for the characters?  In other words, when does your personal expression need to be channeled into something more-or-less objective versus when it is okay to allow your personal story/demons to be expressed in a very raw, direct way?

Jamie: Making whatever story arc I’m presenting complete is of top priority. This is not unlike making a film. Sometimes the best lines or scenes must be sacrificed for the greater good of the storytelling. I fear that being an “artist” has an inherent “self-indulgent” quality to it anyway so I have no intention of running away with the fact. I have to constantly ask myself if each moment serves the whole of the story. “Why would she do that here?” or “Who is this character like and what is my experience with that type of person?” “What do I believe is the truth of the scenario I’m creating?” The scenarios I’m compelled to create are somehow personally satisfying for me to present. It’s satisfying to include personal observations I have into the work but it all has to inform the story somehow. I hate going to shows where there is no sense of editing. I’m sensitive to that.

Hunter: You and I have talked a bit about valuing the exploration of the humanity of – for lack of a better word – “the little guy.”  I’m thinking of your piece “Mass Transit” and also the webseries “Dumbass Filmmakers!” on which we collaborated.  Tell me about “the little guy” in your own work and how it might apply to ‘I-O, O-I.’

Jamie:  I am the little guy – at this juncture – so that P.O.V. surfaces in the work at times. I also find a certain innate hypocrisy in the entertainment world and strive to demystify things because of it. Ballerinas are flawless porcelain dolls, or rappers are so so cool or models so sexy yet at the end of the day, they still have body odor, cry themselves to sleep sometimes, or get insecure. That is humanity and our culture seems to deny or exaggerate/exploit it. My work is often aimed at the reveal of these truths under the illusion of the day-to-day performance we are all a part of. Usually, it’s done in a humorous way to help from being preachy.

Hunter: Now, you moved to NYC!  And so…..we’ve had to pick up the pieces without you.  😦  How’s it going out there?

Jamie: Hectic! But good! Internship in the marketing department of the Paul Taylor Dance Company, performance of my satirical ballet “Bowel Movement” in a couple of weeks, just won a Martha Graham video contest and more to come. I’m really enjoying my time here. We shall see. Thanks for your time here!

To learn more about Jamie and his dancing and choreography, please visit www.jamiebenson.com. His latest piece – “Bowel Movement” – runs April 12th and 13th at the Triskelion Arts Aldous Theater in Brooklyn.  Take a look at the trailer here.

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Hunter Lee Hughes is a filmmaker living and working in Los Angeles and the founder of Fatelink. His current feature film Guys Reading Poems is touring film festivals and this blog is dedicated to the process of making his second feature film, “Inside-Out, Outside-In.” If you enjoy the blog, please support our team by following us on Facebook, Twitter (@Fatelink) or Instagram (@Fatelink).