Hello beautiful people!
Let’s do some lines.
Even if you’re not yet 100% set on what it is that defines “Brand You,” I am certain you have a sense of what stories you were born to tell. There’s someone out there whose words call to you, whose eye speaks to you, whose creative vision feels aligned with your own. There may even be a lot of those folks out there for you.
Now, you certainly have work to do between the “THIS is my story!” level and where you currently stand (namely, a few years of co-stars and small supporting roles in which you may not be crazy in love with the lines on the page, but you do enjoy that meaty paycheck, the professional footage, and the furthered path to the next tier) but this is a great time to get fluent with the lines on the page of the work you aspire to do.
Today’s work: Transcribe a scene from a current target show or a not-so-current show, film, or play created by a writer or writing team whose words you know were meant to come out of your mouth. The act of hand-writing and then typing up the lines will put the information into your brain in a more concrete way, and you’ll find you’re more prepared for your next audition using material written by this writer because you GET how the scenes are structured. Bonus points for seeking out the actual scripts and comparing your transcription abilities with what was on the page. (This is also a great way to learn which shows allow for “in the moment” adjustments vs. which ones are absolutely the writers’ playground, not the actors’ playground.)
Need to seek out scripts? Here are a few favorite resources.
https://imsdb.com
http://simplyscripts.com
http://script-o-rama.com/snazzy/dircut.html
http://dailyscript.com/links.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20200210053629/https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk
https://sites.google.com/site/tvwriting/home
http://scripts.tv-calling.com
https://voices.com/blog/voice-over-sample-scripts
https://edgestudio.com/script-library/unregistered
http://okbjgm.weebly.com/downloads.html
Extra credit: Rewrite the transcribed scene into something that is a slam-dunk for your brand, at your current tier, that could possibly be a showcase bit of footage to teach the buyers what you’re capable of doing so we can start envisioning you as exactly right for that sort of thing when we next have that need.
Here’s a great example of how this is done — albeit in this example with a far-too-popular scene for my tastes (more on that below). First, the scene, from the pilot of The Newsroom.
Next, the scene the actor created after having transcribed that iconic scene.
Now, I’m not gonna nitpick what I’d change about the self-produced vid because what I want to celebrate is what got accomplished here. An actor who knows he was born to do Aaron Sorkin’s lines — but who always gets cast as other-worldly vampire types — took the rhythm and the cadence of the scene from The Newsroom and put it into his on-brand world and brought it all to us as the vampire Lestat, explaining why new-school (Twilight-era) vampires aren’t the greatest monsters in the world.
Should you feel up for the challenge (and OMG, I hope you do, because this work will instantly improve your reel and effectively communicate to your target buyers exactly what you’re capable of immediately OR tiers from now, and that’s never a bad thing), I’d recommend you go with a far less well-known scene or do more to change it up (like flipping genders, for example) so buyers aren’t immediately drawing comparisons between you and an award-winning actor who did it under perfect conditions. We want your work to be the focus, and you want us to make the subconscious connection between you and the type of work it is you were born to do.
This has never been easier. Will you make it happen?
If you’re not ready to full-on DO the scene for yourself, take that transcribed scene and make a list of what you need in your arsenal (credits, footage, looks in your headshot gallery) to be perceived as the best possible choice to do exactly this type of work next time it comes around.
Lots o’ good stuff here, y’all!
’til tomorrow… stay ninja!
