Tonight I just finished shooting my scenes for the short film “Making Sense out of Non-Sense”. It started off with an audition, then a callback. Afterwards, I was offered the role of Luke. Then we had a rehearsal where we mostly prepared for this long, uncut scene in the film.

We used both Saturday and Sunday and started off with a shoot in an apartment. Then today we were at Supermarket, a restaurant/bar in Toronto, hosting live musical acts. Both days went really well, with us finishing way ahead of schedule. Everyone on set was great to work with (I know this happens to me a lot, I guess I’m a lucky guy) and the actors were all naturals. I saw some footage (esp. of that long take which they reviewed on set) and it looked pretty good!

All that’s left from me is voice overs that will happen in a few months from now. Once those are done, the film should be close to being done. I’m pretty excited to seeing the finished product!

On Tuesday, I took part in my second music video for another indie band. I’m gonna save all the details about the band and their song for when the video is released (end of the month, so not too long from now). Doesn’t mean I won’t tell you about the shoot and some of the people involved though!

Our director, Ante Kovac, has worked on music videos of other Canadian talent such as Matthew Good (one of my favorite musical artists) and The Tragically Hip. As for the director of photography, he looked familiar to me… and I wondered why… then it finally came to me. Both Michael LeBlanc and I worked on a Much Music commercial before. The same one where I met director Trevor Francis, who was trying to track me down to shoot the Corel video. Then I started recognizing some of the other crew members from that shoot! What can I say… This big city of Toronto is starting to get a little smaller!

So as you can see, once again I had the pleasure to work with people who I met in the past. But as always, I met lots of great new people. From the band, to the woman playing my girlfriend and the rest of the crew, people were for the most part pleasant and professional. Another great day on set!

As for the role I played, well how about I share the story of this short film like video with you. My character comes home and notices a white van. He becomes paranoid and searches the house, along with his girlfriend, for a listening device while the band members are in the van, listening to the couple. Actually, Ante wrote me today and said the footage “looks amazing”… I’m definitely looking forward to seeing it. Of course, I’ll be sharing the video with you when it’s released!

Just last Friday, I shot my second Harlequin cover, again with Robert Gagnon. Not only will I be wearing a nice tux, but I wasn’t alone as the shot also featured a young woman… and in the background is San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge! This one should be available mid May, 2010. Once again, I had a good time working with Robert, the other model and the rest of the people involved. As for the picture on the right, it’s actually the cover from the last shoot back in April! The book is called “Mistletoe Hero” and is written by Tanya Michaels. Check out the Harlequin website to see a larger size of the cover and get more information on the book.

As for acting, I recently had a second audition (or a callback) for an ambitious short film shooting in Toronto. This is always good news as it means that you’ve made it to a short list of actors being considered for a role. Well, just today I’ve received the even better news that they are offering me the role! They also gave me great feedback on my audition. Looking forward to working on this project… more details to come!

Last week I shot a print campaign for Twixrix, a vaccine to protect against contracting both hepatitis A and B. Everyone on set, from the people representing the product and ad agency to photographer Darrin Klimek and the crew were great to work! Had lots of fun during this one, and was even offered a ride back home (I had taken the subway to the job and one of the guys was headed to my area). Anyway, it should be released by the end of the year, in magazines, brochures and on the Internet. We went through a lot of pictures, angles, setups and different expressions that I can’t tell you exactly what to expect, but in all cases I play a chef, dressed in an all white chef’s outfit, complete with hat.

I also went back home (Ottawa-Gatineau area) for the Thanksgiving weekend, but it wasn’t all just pleasure. Well maybe it was, because the audition I had, along with the little photoshoot I took part of were both very enjoyable. First I auditioned for Parktown Productions‘ upcoming feature length film and was happy to see some familiar faces. You may know them as the producers of the Live 88.5 commercials (Bathroom, Stereo) and the Calvin Klein Grand Prize winning shot film “2@2“, both which I act in. Then I met up with Kevin McMillan (who I’ve also worked with before) to take some pictures for his promotional materials he’s putting together to get funding for his TV pilot that he wants to shoot in China! If this goes through, Kevin has offered me one of two lead roles.. which would be a blast to shoot. Combining acting and traveling.. awesome!

Other than that, I still audition on a regular basis and doing great! I actually just got news of a callback for a short film I auditioned for before the weekend. Will keep you updated as usual!

The Corel Digital Studio campaign has now been launched in North America! Created and produced by Hooplah, short film style clips are used to promote Corel’s new product: Digital Studio 2010. That’s only part of the extent of Hooplah‘s marketing campaign (which you can read more about on their blog entry titled “Corel Digital Studio 2010: Remember When?”, dated September 9th, 2009). I play the lead, Josh in his late teens to late twenties, and I’m featured in all the clips (but you won’t see much of me in the first one). Now to share the videos with you!

To watch these short clips, you can either watch them all as a one clip on the Digital Studio homepage: http://www.cds2010.com. Simply click the still image with the play button, the “Watch Full Video” link on the left, or “Watch the Film” on the right. You can also watch the clips individually by clicking the corresponding still.

Or…watch it right here on YouTube:

Lastly, you can read my entry about shooting this campaign here. Hope you enjoy these videos!

Just at the end of July, I had an audition for this project. The director Trevor Francis who came and walked me to the audition room was the same one behind the Much Mobile Missions commercial spot I did over two years ago. Right away, I remembered him, how much fun we had and our great rapport. Trevor then told me how he was trying to track me down for this video production and couldn’t get a hold of me (since I changed agents when I moved to Toronto). He was glad that my current agent submitted me for this, and said I was the guy for the part (all this before the actual audition process). Well two days later, I got a call from Teri congratulating me on the role!

This project for Corel turned out to be a promotional video with the style of a short film, created and produced by Hooplah. The concept is that my character Josh, puts together a video using Corel‘s new software with footage spanning over 20 years. I played Josh from his late teens to his late twenties, while Mila (hair/makeup), Kendra (woredrobe) and their assistants worked to make me look the right age. I even went through a haircut during the shoot, and trimmed/shaved my facial hair.

We started off on Friday, shooting at a house in the West end of Toronto and continued in that same location Saturday. On Sunday, we shot a scene at the Greyhound bus station then at a soccer field. Finally, saving the best for last, we had our final day at Kew Beach. Of course, every day was great (not without some slight roadbumps that we encountered, rain being one of those) but what a nice way to finish off this four day shoot.. with beautiful weather at the beach!

I have so many pleasant memories from working on this project.. I could write pages about these four days. The cast and crew where all hard workers and great people. I don’t think I could of asked for better! Trevor’s easy going but professional approach made it easy for us to have fun while putting out good work. I had the chance to see some footage that was recorded and… let me tell you this is going to look great!

This was simply a great experience for me, filled with great moments and laughter. Ask any one of the 40 plus people that worked on this project, they’ll tell you how much fun I was having. I also got to work with a few familiar faces, while meeting lots of cool people. Of course, I’m looking forward to seeing the finished product and sharing it with you!

Just last week, I was able to get my hands on the 2008 TV movie called “The Watch”. The reason being? I had an uncredited appearance in it! This means you won’t find this in my resume or the movie credits.. but this is more than just a background role. I have non-verbal interaction with the lead along with a shot of just me. Check out the clip below!

I’m referred to as “Marathon/Finance Guy” by Andrea (Elizabeth Whitmere) while talking to her friend Cassie (Clea DuVall). This scene was shot in 2006, was directed by Jim Donovan and written by Ben Ripley.

More information on IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1166118/

Once again I’ve gone a long time without any updates. Well, this is because I’ve decided to move to Toronto at the beginning of this month! I’ll do my best to summarize most of what has happened since.

The first thing I had to do was find a place to live. Once I did that, I moved and took a few days to settle in. From that point, I started my search for a talent agent. I had already went over a list with a friend back home. So when I was finished with the move to Toronto, I submitted my photo and resume to some of those agencies via email. Shortly after, I found out that most agencies prefer a hard copy submission. So, I decided to print some pictures and resumes, then deliver them as I biked around town.

After this, I started getting some responses from agencies. Either they were interested, or their roster was full and weren’t actively expanding. As these were coming in, I had secured an audition for a upcoming TV game show called “ManUP!”. Also, Jamal Hashemi drove from Ottawa to shoot a short video. Also involved, Umid and Nawid Orokzai, two brothers from Toronto who I met on Jamal’s last project, “Under the Influence”. We met together to discuss the project, then shot it the next day.

Getting back to my agent search, from the interested agencies/agents, I was very happy with Teri Boyack from Hines Management. When I sat down with her, I realized she was everything I was looking for in an agent.. and more. We had a really good rapport and by the end of our meeting, I knew who I wanted to work with! So on Friday, I made it official and signed with Hines Management. Even to this day, I’m still getting contracted by other agencies who I’ve submitted to, expressing their interest in meeting with me. This is because some of these agencies get hundreds of submissions in a short amount of time, and take a while to get back to the talent. Regardless of that, I feel I made a great decision by signing with Teri, and I’m grateful for having her as my agent!

I also attended an acting workshop on the 18th, which featured Toronto casting directors Crystal Kramer and Lori Pearlstein. Not only did I get a refresher on things I knew already, but I also learned a lot, worked with some nice people and had a great time. Crystal and Lori did a great job and it was nice meeting them along with the other actors!

More recently, I started auditioning again (thanks Teri), which I’m very happy about! As for the ManUP! audition, I was contacted to be a contestant! Actually, the episode I was in was just taped on Saturday. Basically, I competed against two other guys (Mike and Konrad) in a series of challenges, as well as some trivia questions. It wasn’t really about the points, but more about the comedic and fun aspect of the program. In the end, the guys at RedFish Entertainment, the production company behind ManUP!, put together a fun show for us, and were very appreciative with our participation. This was my first experience as a game show contestant, which turned out to be really fun. Plus, I didn’t leave empty handed! I’m not saying who “won the show”, but there were prizes for each challenge. A big thanks to the guys who put this together!

As if there wasn’t enough to read already, I put together another self-shot and self-edited picture of myself. This one, shows a more serious side of myself, and also serves an alternative look to my head shot, as I have a beard in this one. In addition, just last week I signed up for a martial arts class! Without mentioning who the master is, I will say that he used to work in film, with stars such as Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, back in the 70s and 80s. He has long retired from the film scene, and now teaches in his school here in Toronto. I feel very lucky to have found such an amazing teacher, who despite almost being in his seventies, is extremely capable and young at heart! Did I mention hilarious? Well that too.

A week ago, shooting for “The Comet” continued. We actually had to change locations and use another house. Thankfully the footage we covered from the last time had my character, along with Jess who plays my wife, walking into another room. This saved us from having to re-shoot that last bit. We ended by finishing up all of Jess’ scenes in time, which was our goal because it was a long commute for her. Despite her inexperience in acting, I felt Jess did very well.

Later that week on Friday, I worked mostly with Nancy’s daughter, who actually plays my daughter in the film. I think Rhiona was one of the youngest people I’ve had to act with. She was great for someone who’s never done film before, and made her mom proud. This day covered the rest of my required footage since the meat of the film is actually a visual narration of an experience in my character’s childhood. When the film is shot and partially edited, I will then need to add a voice over narration over those scenes.

It was great working on this film, having a lot of first time actors. This gave me the opportunity to guide them, which helped me grow well. I find that we tend to remind ourselves of what we’ve learned, and even learn new things, when it’s our turn to do the teaching.

I spent the most part of this last weekend, both Saturday and Sunday, doing ADR (basically, re-recording the dialogue on top of the original) and voiceovers for Raied Ghanam’s short film, “The Loyal Lucifers”. This project was formerly known as “The Portal”, which we shot close to a year ago.

Working with Raied again (along with soundman, Gareth Williams of course), was a great experience. Despite our occasional creative differences, I really appreciate Raied’s dedication to his project. His strong work ethic and desire to excel are qualities that I appreciate very much in a person, especially when it comes to someone I work with. It’s very encouraging and also makes it easier for my best to come out as well.

There’s still a lot of work left to be done to this film. More ADR with the other actors (as Raied wants all dialogue to be re-recorded), background environments for the green screen scenes, etc. I know this might seems like a long time, but within another year or so, it should be released and I’m sure the wait will be worth it. A reminder than this is an independent film project, and Raied is dedicating his free time, outside of work, to this movie!