Los Angeles Film School

May 26, 2004 by Dennis Baker 

I am shooting another short film for the LA Film School tomorrow. I am planning on bringing the digital and getting some behind the scenes shots, of course I will post for your viewing pleasure. I am glad I went to the general audition. I was not expecting this much work out of it. The A.D. (film lingo for Asst. Director, but you know that) also wants me to be in the short film he is directing later.

I want to tell myself this is all due to the fact that I am a talented actor. While I may know this to be partly true I also tell myself they are using me because these students are in a one year intensive program and since most are from out of town they don’t know too many actors. It all means more film for me to put on my soon to be created reel.

Also I got a copy of the mockmentary I shot a couple of months ago. They are two three minute segments taken from the VH1 shown “Driven”. I will try to get it up on the site.

Filed under: Acting, Film, Los Angeles
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War

May 26, 2004 by Dennis Baker 

I am substituting U.S. History today. For two of the periods the students are watching the video Dear America: Letters Home From Vietnam. The documentary is good. If I was not sitting in front of a bunch of students I think I would be crying. The video is live footage voiceovered with real letters sent home along with the classic music of the time. Many times you are watching footage and pictures of the actual people who wrote the letters. The voice overs are done by some amazing actors: Dinero, Dafoe, Micheal J. Fox, Martin Sheen, Sean Penn, and Robin Williams to just to name a few.

I would recommend this video to anyone. HBO put this on back in 1988. HBO amazes me more and more with the quality of programming. Yea it can be argued they put on shows like Sex in the City, and The “L” Word. But they also put on make amazing shows such as The Sopranos, The Laramie Project, Angels in America, as well as this documentary.

I am currently sitting in front of a poster that compares the Vietnam War to the Korean War. Personally, two of the least talked about wars. In Vietnam there were 47,382 soldiers that died and 153,303 wounded. In Korea it was 54,246 wounded and 103,284 wounded. My initial thought would have been that Vietnam would have had more dead soldiers, shows how little I was taught about the Korean War.

While watching the video I can’t help but of thinking of the current war in Iraq. I don’t express my opinion hardly about it due to the main reason that my opinion seems to change daily (David Hopkins May 24th post does not help my opinion). But what I do think of is the weekend Karen and I went to Santa Barbara and people had set up a grave sight on the beach with a cross up for each soldier who had died in Iraq. There were too many crosses…

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Work begets Work

May 20, 2004 by Dennis Baker 

The old saying is true. While shooting the monologue for the LA Film School director, one of her crew members, a fellow first year director, wanted me to shoot his monologue. I will be doing that tomorrow night.

I also had an audition for a Mike’s Hard Lemonade today. The audition consisted of five friends at the bar chatting about life. A friend from school was there auditioning as well and we got to read together, which made for good chemistry. The casting assistant was the same person running the LA Film School audition on Tuesday. She totally remembered me. That was cool! It is all about relationships! I am off to a theater audition tonight for the LBCC Summer Repertory in Long Beach.

Filed under: Acting, Auditioning, Los Angeles, Theater/Theatre
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Stephon Fuller

May 4, 2004 by Dennis Baker 

You want to know the day in and day out struggles of a working actor? Read Stephon Fuller’s journal. It is well worth the long read as you will learn what it takes to be an actor in Los Angeles.

Filed under: Acting, Auditioning, Film, Los Angeles
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