Adam Creighton, Voice & Film Actor (Ramblings)

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Adam Creighton, Voice & Film Actor (Ramblings) (Subscribe)

People, by nature, have some interesting things to say. Here are some of my things. Some about acting. All about living ...

Saturday, June 07, 2008

On creativity and composition

My last post was pretty hefty, and there's no easy way to step down from it in a measured way that wouldn't be more orchestrated than it was genuine.

So, instead, I'm goning to dive right in with my next post and talk about boobies.

OK, not per se, but at least I've set an appropriately low bar on the thematic weight side of things, and have much more ceiling.

Moving on.

I so dig snorgtees.com. I'm not associate with them in any way, but I've been a fan of the package that is their company and offering and product for a long time.

They make hilarious T-shirts, riffing or springboarding off of retro and pop culture love, and they do it in creative (if not brilliant) ways.

An all-black shirt that says, "There are 3 ninjas on this shirt [try to find them]".

"Your epidermis is showing."

(Two pictures of bags of ice and a picture of a baby.)

But like I said, it's not just the logos and the products -- it's the package that is the company.

Take this shirt, "I drink your milkshake":

(If you're unfamiliar with the deriving song, I envy your blessed naïvité.)

The shirt is funny by itself; it plays on pop culture, and has an odd, stilted old-school graphic juxtaposition against what's in essence a jug-happy metaphor.

But what finally prompted me to write about these folks are there ads (which I usually see on Kotaku.com).

I snagged a pict of this ad, because you could take almost any of them, and match what works alone in the graphic above, magnified with A) an appropriately attractive (but not stereotypical) model, who's B) animated and bought in during the shoot, but in a C) realistic, living, non-posed way.

Tie to acting? Creativity and "being" (not faking).

(Let along the obvious example of smart branding and leveraging pop culture.)

Kudos!

Labels: business, inspiration, media intersection, ramblings

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Saturday, October 13, 2007

My brand ...

OK, I've been meaning to write about this for a while, and a question over on LinkedIn.com inspired me to jump the gun a bit (shut up; I was going to write about it).

The initiating question was simple (ha!):

Is there one word, a pinnacle, that describes you? What is it? Why?

-if you have a package, show us that too!

First, yes, I laughed at the wording of the second part of the question. But that's because I'm horribly immature. And I just realized I want that on my headstone ("Adam Creighton: He was Horribly Immature").

So how do I respond to a question like this? Because, honestly, it's a hugely important question, and I take an active role in packaging "Adam Creighton" as a brand.

Just one word? How do you even do that? One of my pet peeves is the reductionism of the individual -- none of us can be reduced to one word.

One word? Maybe "Integrity" -- I'm willing to lose a job for my integrity, suffer the slings and arrows of critics, yadda yadda yadda.

Two words (and another facet)? "Professional Creative" -- It's a differentiator for me from many of the folks that are the former or the latter. Not that it's a competition (I've written on that many times before; read the whole post for the "competition nugget").

A "branding package"?

Yeesh / [snicker]. Uh, here are a few:

"Technology Manager. Independent Creative. Llama Wrangler."

"A Voice & Film Actor, living a Mortal life."

"Living a passionate, ecstatic, and urgent life."

I don't like the idea of answering this question, because I don't know how I keep it keep it from coming off as being self-aggrandizing or braggadocio.

But here goes. ;-)

Honestly, I professionally see myself (Adam Creighton) as a brand, and all of the things I do are products and services that are logical extensions of that brand. And I actively and constantly work on my brand.

Voice Actor Adam Creighton.
Film Actor Adam Creighton.
Business and Technical Development Adam Creighton.
Tipping Point Adam Creighton that connects people to create mutual opportunities (business, technical, financial, and support).
Video Game Adam Creighton (twenty thousand monthly readers can't be wrong; and wait for bigger things on this front).
Toy Collector Adam Creighton.
Guitar Player Adam Creighton.

Notice my site? Are you a regular reader of some or all of my 7 active blogs? Notice my logo? Notice the packaged consistency? Notice all of the things I do (and just wait, there are some bigger, more WTF ventures on the way)?

Do you know me personally? Do you find any common thread there?

Integrity? Professionalism? Creativity? Immaturity?

Erm (again). Very little good comes from late night blogging.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to do a still photo shoot of some new toys, and then play some video games. Because I just finished reading a 115-page script I'll be table reading for the Austin Film Festival Sunday.

(How's that for self-aggrandizement?)

Labels: acting, biz, business, ramblings, tools

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Monday, October 01, 2007

Nice headshot

You've probably noticed one of my new headshots gracing my Website. It's from the theatrical shots, which I like (the uncropped version is below), and my photographer, Rhea Willis, does a great job.
Adam Creighton Theatrical Acting Headshot

Another new headshot of which I'm particularly fond isn't mine -- it's a new one for Marc Hustvedt -- who was a fellow Austin actor who's now become a successfully working LA actor. This pict is by photog Dennis Apergis, and is a great dual-purpose (at least) commercial and comedic headshot (it almost screams, "Put me on 'The Office'!").

Marc Hustvedt Commercial headshot

Networking is awesome, but good headshots open doors when you're not there in person. (And it's necessary for you to have the professional and acting skills to follow through.)

Labels: acting, biz, business, headshots, other actors

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Tuesday, September 04, 2007

And the Award Goes to ... Mona Lee

OK, there should be more of this.

Below is a note actor, coach, and inspirational creative CK McFarland sent out to the Austin film community in recognition of fellow actor, coach, and inspirational creative Mona Lee, one of my film coaches.

I've asked CK's permission to post her note in its entirety here for broader awareness. I've added links for context. The commentary afterwards is all me. ;-)

For years I have wanted to see the Austin Film Community Host some Film Awards, similar to the ACOT Awards. Yeah I know they give them out at the airport to big name celebrities who have gone off and made us proud, and other celebrities who have passed through and made us look good.

But I'm talking about true Austin Awards acknowledging the truly great folks who have stayed, and not just actors, but other members of our community who have been dedicated, and worked so hard for us all. Oh yeah there are those few who continually get their name and picture in the paper , because they have helped put us on the map, and continue to do so. But there are also many other wonderful folks who have contributed in major gigantic ways to make a difference.

This is a tough profession, though not as hard as soldiering or coal mining. But there is perhaps no greater competition than being an actor, due in fact, to the sheer multitudes of those seeking dreams. Yet many (here) don't even have a clue what they are up against, the dedication to training it takes, or the number of actors they are competing against who have been thoroughly trained.

But within our multitudes, there are actual real live great actors living amongst us. Actors comparable to the best in our Movie Magazines. And some who even work a lot, particularly the men. Congrats guys. But I want to tell you about one actor I saw work on stage at UT a while back. OK, it was 30 years ago let's say. She was playing the outrageous role of Claire in A Delicate Balance by Edward Albee. Now I was in a special private acting school in California and was home to visit the folks. I went to the theatre and saw my first ever real true brilliant actor on stage. I had never in my life seen anything like this woman and the role she played, and it was breathtaking and galvanized my memory to this day. I believe she went on to Julliard from UT and made quiet a name for herself. Well I remembered her name - Mona Lee.

Mona Lee put us Austin actors on the film map. Our roots can be traced back to her. She is the source, the spring from which much of this sprang. When I moved here in 1980 and began a professional theatre ( with the Tuna Boys and Marco Perella) I hired her to coach the company. But she wasn't just coaching theatre actors, she was showing all the Austin actors how to transition to film and what we needed to do to accomplish that. She turned our heads right around and showed us we could be film actors right here in little ole Austin. And she's still doing that. And there is no better helpmate than her BIZ book - which every one of you should have by the way.

Now I am just sitting here at the end of the Labor Day struggling to figure out how to get my classes full, and thought of where it all started and why. It always goes back to Mona, my friend and my competitor (both as a coach an an actor). And I just might shoot myself in the boot giving her all this publicity, but I don't care. Because acknowledging people is so important. And so I acknowledge Mona, not just for her coaching and her BIZ book, but her history with us - a director writer producer and vital and amazing actor who lives amongst us.

She is the reason I have wanted to start some sort of Austin Film Awards So we could give her a the first one and say 'thank you Mona". Good God people need to be acknowledged and I just wanted to start at the beginning. I guess I'll go get something engraved.

ck

I studied with Mona in her beginning and intermediate classes. She had a subtle style that got a lot out of me. And despite being an active coach and working actor, she's also very available.

All of the stuff CK says is pretty inspiring by itself, but carries even more weight and import coming from her.

CK has herself and inspired and pushed so many actors in their craft, and done so much for the Austin creative community.

My current coach, Steve Prince, says of her,
"There isn't a more creative, Dynamic teacher around than CK. I have had the pleasure of teaching with her and I learned as much as I taught. I filled my notebook with thoughts and techniques I learned while listening to CK critique our students. Her workshop is a safe place to push yourself beyond your perceived limitations while inspiring confidence in your craft."
Casting Director Donise Hardy (CSA) says of CK,
"CK McFarland is an invaluable leader in our entertainment community. Over the past 8 years, I have had the privilege of working with CK and on many occasions have watched her film students work at Alleywood. I am always impressed by the growth I see. "
And you can even catch some of CK's work on YouTube (clip embedded below, and recorded before the recent passing of Texas film and interactive incentives legislation).

Every actor should be on set or in class all of the time -- regardless of our level. Austin has a great coaching pool, and a sub-set of those folks are of some of the best, most passionate mentors with which I've been blessed to know. I mention many of them regularly in this column. And Mona and CK are two more of the greats.

Let me know if you need either of their contact information.

Labels: acting, biz, business, other actors

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Efficient favorinepotism

I don't normally just post pointers to other blogs (I like to offer original content and maintain a select blogroll), but I like this post from LA Casting Director Bonnie Gillespie.

What initially grabbed me was this quotable nugget:

"That, in short, is why people who like to work together like to work together. Call it favoritism. Call it nepotism. Call it a closed network. What it is is an efficient, familiar, easier way of doing business when every second counts (and costs a bundle)."

In a nutshell, a great summary of personal and professional dynamics -- People like to work with people they like, and time is money.

A lot of the post resonated with me for several reasons. Bonnie touches on research, active listening, confidence, authenticity, and other topics that fall pretty close to where I live, and, frankly, are staples of good business networking, regardless of vertical market. (For more on my take on authentic networking, see this previous post of mine -- one of my most read and most republished.)

You've probably heard, "It's not what you know, it's who you know." I actually think it's "what you know and it's who you know".

It can be pretty frustrating to lose out on a gig or a job because they auditioned or hired someone they knew, rather than you. But it's a great thing when you're the person they know.

I'm sure we've all wanted to instant chemistry with someone at some point or another. Think of that personal or professional contact that you really wanted to get to know better, after a "non-sexual professional flirtation" (Bonnie's words) interaction.

It's not like you can force chemistry, or this "relational shorthand" thing Bonnie talks about -- no matter how much you want to. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

Here's a quick positive and negative example from me.

On the positive side, I've always felt like in order to be "full", I need a complete set of mentor relationships around me. These can be on the relationship, spiritual, professional, creative, personal, or hobby side of life (or best, all of them). That means I actively seek out mentoring more junior folks, hanging around peers that encourage me and hold me accountable on what I can do, and meeting with someone who mentors me.

I met a guy who talked about things he struggled with that I struggle with. He showed video clips from and talked about my same favorite movies. He was a comic book fanatic. He was a toy appreciator. He was a small business entrepreneur. He was in life where I wanted to be in 25 years (with the important stuff; not money or recognition or any of the transients).

So I asked him to be my mentor. Thankfully, he said yes, and we've been meeting formally, seeing movies, and going to things like Comic-Con for almost 7 years.

On the negative example, there's a writer whose work I really like. Later I ran across his bio and some of his Web postings, and saw he had been reading, watching and listening to some of the exact same stuff at the exact same time I was (William Shatner, Johnny Cash, Death Cab for Cutie, Brian Vander Ark, Sandman, the Firefly boxed set, Batman the Animated Series, and so on).

I thought, "This guy's a lot like me -- a professional creative with great stuff of his own inspired by some of the same stuff I am; I want to know him."

I met him at a professional conference. He didn't know I was an actor, and he spent the entire time during a panel badmouthing actors. Not only was he vitriolic, the stuff he said wasn't opinionated -- it was false (and he was disrespectful of the panel members' time).

For a bunch of reasons, I still wanted to work with him, and with his company, so I hit him up for work (my clients know I generally introduce myself in creative ways). I then found he was making fun of my submission and deriding me within his company.

That's unfortunate by itself -- it dis-incents me from wanting to work with him -- but worse, because he's been unknowingly badmouthing me with people with whom I do have good rapport (which is how I know), which hurts him within his own company. I feel bad for him.

To be fair, I know I've probably been a version of an "unapproachable chemistry guy". I've received feedback in the past that I'm so focused and making so many things happen in the business world, or being so passionate and black and white with things like beating my "do the right thing" drum, it can be a bit intimidating to folks who don't get the chance to know me more personally. Because I care about improving as a person, that's feedback I take pretty seriously, and look for ways to to improve how I interact with folks in those contexts.

And there are some relationships (business and professional) where the chemistry just isn't there, for any number of reasons.

Anyway, those are some thoughts from me. But check out Bonnie's full post over at The Actors Voice.

Huh, I snuck some original content in there, anyway. ;-)

Labels: acting, biz, business

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Monday, August 20, 2007

Which new headshots?

This could be a mistake. But I haven't seen any actor put themselves out there and do it -- which, by itself may be reason enough for me to try it out.

It's time for me to get with the times, and attack the acting world with new my color headshots.

Question is, which to go with? Getting good headshots is tough. Picking good headshots after they're taken is probably tougher.

So, in a move sure to raise eyebrows and get comments, I'm asking you to vote on my theatrical and commercial headshots.

Do you know me? Which headshot looks like some version of the actor you know?

Don't know me? What headshot grabs your attention, and is "cast-able"?

Are you in the Biz? What do you like or dislike about each headshot?

Not in the Biz? That's fine -- same question (thought if you're not in industry, hold off on comments or critiques that're likely already taken as a given; yes, these are low-res, and they're un-retouched, and they can all be cropped differently, etc.).

Take a look at the two groups of headshots below, and send me a note (here) letting me know which Theatrical and which Commercial headshot you like. You can also send me comments.

Theatrical:

Adam Creighton Theatrical Headshot 1

Commercial:

Adam Creighton Commercial Headshot 1

CAVEATS: Property of Adam Creighton. For casting purposes only. Not intended for sale or commercial use.

This isn't reality TV, so your votes won't necessarily determine which mug of mine casting directors are going to see -- I'm just looking for (and value) input. There are other headshots in the running, and other factors such as agency input, preferences of target clientele in the pipeline, and which way the Biz wind is blowing at any given moment. These are unretouched shots.

All headshots are by my photographer, Rhea Willis (http://www.rheawillis.com/).

Labels: biz, business, headshots, tools

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Wednesday, August 15, 2007

AdamCreighton.com redesign?

Maybe.

It started as an infrastructure redesign to extend my properly formed (and utilized) XHTML and CSS across my Website, removed tables used for layout (a no-no), and improve the accessibility and usability of the site.

Then, inspired by Comic-Con (and my own inability to leave well enough alone), I started a comic book-themed redesign of my site.

Starting with the Photoshop mock up (below), I now have a working HTML version. And thanks to using CSS for shadowed containers, Web-safe colors on my graphics, and the like, the site is even smaller in download size than my current site.

Thing is, looking at the two side-bay-side, I think I like my "old" site. It's clean. It's informative. It's professional.

So, now I'm torn. The old site looks and works great. The new site feeds my inner fanboy (and took a couple of days to hash out), but I wonder if it's too cluttered.
What do you think?

A mock up for a proposed comic book redesign of adamcreighton dot com.

A screen capture of the current version of adamcreighton dot com.

Labels: business, site updates

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Sunday, August 05, 2007

Comic-Con: Sunday

Previously:

This was a short day, and we spent it basically just trying to make the most of the Exhibit floor. I talked to some more companies and individuals, looked for last minute schwag, and tried to help my buddy find some gift for his girls (I was useless).

Toys:

I took a few quick picts of the new DC toys from Mattel, sculpted by the Four Horseman , and looked longingly at the Hasbro Legends series 3 and 4 stuff one last time.

Other Cool Stuff:

Saw Frank "Thank you for Spider-Woman" Cho, and talked to Steve Lieber about Whiteout. Good for him. Greg Rucka's been super good for comics, and I'm glad to see a guy like Steve on the upside of it.

What Sucked:

Having to leave. Oh, and our Dallas connection getting canceled; but I spun on a dime and got us to Austin ... by way of San Jose. An hour later, but at least we got home.

Pictures:

Twitterings:

(Reverse chronology.)

Coming down to the real world ... 01:31 PM July 30, 2007 from web
Posting Comic-Con video game links: http://tinyurl.com/2vnwth 01:18 PM July 30, 2007 from web
Posting the first of my Comic-Con summaries: http://tinyurl.com/2ykqc9 12:56 PM July 30, 2007 from web
Back in Austin. Dowloading Xbox Live Comic-Con content I missed while away. 12:38 AM July 30, 2007 from web
"Amazingness" holds (so far). Delayed SJ to Austin flight, but at least it's not cancelled! 07:46 PM July 29, 2007 from web
:- 05:09 PM July 29, 2007 from web
Dallas flight cancelled. I am _amazing_ and have secured an alternate flight. 05:08 PM July 29, 2007 from web
Looking at 4 generations of Nintendo Gameboy in use as people wait for the flight. I see one PSP. 04:16 PM July 29, 2007 from web
Best marketing move at Comic-Con? Dark Horse free bags for swag. Bright yellow, & all over the city & airport. 04:10 PM July 29, 2007 from web
Looking at a audition details for Tuesday morning. 03:07 PM July 29, 2007 from web
Heading home from Comic-Con. Bittersweet. 01:35 PM July 29, 2007 from web
Talking to Steve Lieber about "Whiteout". 01:02 PM July 29, 2007 from web
Being followed by @Celebrity Watchdog. 11:41 AM July 29, 2007 from web
@luge Congrats! 11:39 AM July 29, 2007 from web in reply to luge
Getting ready to make the most of my last day on the Comic-Con show floor. 11:38 AM July 29, 2007 from web

Labels: acting, biz, business, comic books, Comic-Con, Comic-Con 2007, events, festivals, inspiration, toys, video games, voice acting

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Comic-Con: Saturday

Previously:

(Sorry for the delay; been wicked ill; as you were.)

Comic-Con on Saturday (July 28) was (oddly) less crazy than Friday. Maybe we just got used to the crazy.

And Saturday was fun. My buddy and I split up first thing, and he went to the Avatar panel while I hit the Exhibit floor to introduce myself to companies and individuals, meet up with folks I'd only previously known via Email and phone (like Mark Irwin, co-creator behind multi-format property Jack Secret; pitched as "Harry Potter meets Johnny Quest"), talk to a bunch of folks on Artists Row, pick up that Leinil Francis Yu signed Captain America "The Return" poster I'd eyed the day before, and so on.

Panels were great this day, too. The Marvel Spider-Man and Smallville panels, in particular, were what I expect panels to be. Poppy, unexpected, with panelists jumping in and out of conversations, having fun, and knowing their stuff.

Toys:

I picked up the "Ramathorr" figure from the Four Horseman's Seventh Kingdom, to complement the "Gauntlet of Vaskkh" figure with which I'd been gifted the day before. They guys offered to sign it, and were surprised when I told them I was actually going to take it out of the box for display.

Hasbro also added a bunch of their Marvel Legends series 4 figures to their show floor display case, so I snapped some picts of those, as well as their upcoming Japanese-derivative, 6-inch figures, which nonetheless look cool.

Panels:

The Marvel Spider-Man panel was a blast. It included writers, editors, and artist Dan Slott, Zeb Wells, Bob Gale, Marc Guggenheim, and Phil Jimenez, with Joe Quesada moderating. The panel was snappy, fun, well-moderated, and the guys are obviously having a blast (and taking seriously) the Spider-Man "One More Day" arc, then 3-times-monthly change-up. Writer Marc Guggenheim and artist Phil Jimenez are now exclusive to Marvel, and I felt bad that Jimenez let slip who makes out alive between Mary Jane and Aunt May.

And Dan Slott? Perhaps one of the funniest panel members I've seen. He was hilarious, punny, and having a lot of fun with the panel, and the absolute thrill ride that writing Amazing Spider-Man affords.

I also attended the GameTap "Re/Visioned" panel, consisting of Jim Lee, Warren Ellis, Peter Chung, Gail Simone, and Brian Pulido, and moderated by GameTap's Ric(k)ardo Sanchez. I'm really liking Simone's down-to-earth take on female empowerment, and it was fun to watch part 1 of Ellis's 3-part arc, at the same time he got to see it.

I also got to chat with Peter Chung and tell him "thank you" for the animated Æon Flux, and give him my voice demo. Very quiet, pleasant person. I was also able to meet the producer behind the Re/Visioned series, and let him know I was impressed with it.

The there was the Warner Bros. Smallville panel. Again, how I think a panel should be -- a lot of back and forth, people jumping in and out, playful, sexy people (Seriously -- Hartley? Vandervoort? Morris? Durance? Gough? Millar? Wow -- wicked sexy, all). The funniest exchange happened during the Q&A when a fan asked Hartley and Durance how they prepare for their steamy scenes -- and both of their spouses (and Hartley's daughter) were in the front row. Good feedback on the professional side of the preparation, though.

This panel was also a great example of how you video summarize an entire series, and tease the next season. Serious kudos to whoever pulled that off.

Other Cool Stuff:

Wow, what wasn't cool?

Talking with Leinil Francis Yu and getting the signed Captain America "The Return" poster?

Meeting writer/creator Mark Irwin in person and being the first to see the new Jack Secret preview art?

Talking with Peter Chung (and saying "thanks" for the animated Æon Flux; and giving him my voice demo)?

Chatting with artists like Chris Batista & Tom Nguyen?

The incredible (and incredibly redeeming) Marvel Spider-Man and Smallville panels?

Getting to meet and say thanks to Scott Porter in person for Friday Night Lights?

What Sucked:

Not having mentally linked clones of myself to run around the exhibit floor and attend all of the panels. Seriously, that's a good use for mentally linked clones.

Oh, and I was stuck in the Smallville line for forty-five minutes with a real-life, unfunny version of The Simpsons Comic Book Guy. Dude seriously hated every comic book arc since 1969, and every comic book TV show or film that didn't have George Reeves. I politely engaged him for 40 of those minutes, and expressed my opinions counter to his, until he started belittling someone in line merely for being born in 1982. I then told him I didn't understand why he was at Comic-Con given that he hated everything, and that we could either talk about something he actually liked about comic books, or something other than comic books. He stopped talking. Very sad, really.

Pictures:

Twitterings:

(Reverse chronology.)

Chatted with Scott Porter (Jason Street on "Friday Night Lights") today. Turns out we share things in common. 12:03 AM July 29, 2007 from web
@GabrielleSays Phil Morris. He is sooo cool. Super grateful about his gigs. Super articulate. 11:57 PM July 28, 2007 from web in reply to GabrielleSays
(This is the END of the "Smallville" season 7 panel.)
(GabrielleSays was asking who "Phil Mor¬" from my truncated Twitter post was.)
#&-!$+!! m.twitter truncation! 09:11 PM July 28, 2007 from web
Phil Mor¬ 09:09 PM July 28, 2007 from web
Girls love Justin Hartley ... 09:07 PM July 28, 2007 from web
Supergirl (Laura Vandervoort) joins the "Smallville" cast. 09:06 PM July 28, 2007 from web
At the "Smallville" season 7 panel. _That's_ how you tease a new season. 09:04 PM July 28, 2007 from web
(This is the START of the "Smallville" season 7 panel.)
Looking at the "Iron Man" movie gray (1st set) armor reveal. Impressive. 08:16 PM July 28, 2007 from web
Getting another Four Horseman figure. I may be have a problem ... 08:13 PM July 28, 2007 from web
I'm impressed with how talented and nice all the GameTap folks are. 07:33 PM July 28, 2007 from web
(This is the END of the GameTap "Re/Visioned" panel.)
Peter Chung, animator Robert, and GameTap producer Elliot all have my voice demo. 07:32 PM July 28, 2007 from web
Preview of all "Re/Visioned" (Tomb Raider), and Ellis's part 1. 06:57 PM July 28, 2007 from web
Chung criticizing U.S. animation division of labor. (In Korea, everyone is a generalist.) 06:52 PM July 28, 2007 from web
Chung talking his process. 06:51 PM July 28, 2007 from web
Gail Simone's phone just went off. 06:48 PM July 28, 2007 from web
Ellis's episode builds on british adventurism tropes. 06:43 PM July 28, 2007 from web
Mike's script is political. "Hey, there's politics in my entertainment!" 06:42 PM July 28, 2007 from web
Brian Pulido's episode is a comedy. Nice. 06:41 PM July 28, 2007 from web
Jim Lee is top-notch at saying why his style isn't animation friendly, and who at Wildstorm is. 06:41 PM July 28, 2007 from web
Gail Simone's Tomb RaideH 06:39 PM July 28, 2007 from web
(Should read, "Gail Simone's Tomb Raider is the anti-Laura -- 12 years old, pre-pubescent, and chestless.")
-- because it was shooting up the Vatican. 06:38 PM July 28, 2007 from web
Peter Chung's version of the Tomb Raider Buddhist temple shoot-em-up was rejected -- 06:37 PM July 28, 2007 from web
Peter Chung deftly deconstructs the Tomb Raider template, and turned it on its ear.
Peter Chung did this because it was a "chance to practice my craft... under ideal conditions". 06:32 PM July 28, 2007 from web
Realizing Warren Ellis never returned my Email ... 06:31 PM July 28, 2007 from web
Joke about Jim Lee being late ... to the panel. Yeah, _just_ the panel ... 06:27 PM July 28, 2007 from web
Warren Ellis's phone just went off. 06:26 PM July 28, 2007 from web
-- but they're a 06:25 PM July 28, 2007 from web
(Should read, "--but they're all in one place!")
I am a fan of Jim Lee, Warren Ellis, Peter Chung, Gail Simone, and Brian Pulido individually -- 06:24 PM July 28, 2007 from web
Attending ready the GameTap "Re/Visioned" panel. 06:20 PM July 28, 2007 from web
(This is the START of the GameTap "Re/Visioned" panel.)
_That's_ how you do a panel ... 06:15 PM July 28, 2007 from web
(This is the END of the Marvel Spider-Man panel.)
That Marvel Spider-Man panel was a hugely redeeming Comic-Con / panel experience..... 06:13 PM July 28, 2007 from web
Noticed among multiple comic panels, hot artists are younger, hot writers / editors are older ... 06:05 PM July 28, 2007 from web
12-year-old fan awesomely rips "Iron Spider" costume ... 06:01 PM July 28, 2007 from web
Writer Dan Slott is sooo funny ... 05:54 PM July 28, 2007 from web
Bob Gale surprised by geek letter he wrote to Marvel in "Tales of Suspense" #93, 1967. 05:52 PM July 28, 2007 from web
(I have a copy of this issue; and the letters.)
The Spidey decision (one team, one _complete_ arc) is a brilliant Marvel marketing move ... 05:39 PM July 28, 2007 from web
... but I had a preview discussion with someone, so I know ... 05:35 PM July 28, 2007 from web
Petey is on the outs with Jameson / Bugle, so people are wondering about a camera in Jimenez art ... 05:33 PM July 28, 2007 from web
Looks like Jimenez let slip who survives out of MJ and Aunt May ... 05:28 PM July 28, 2007 from web
Slide slip shows Guggenheim as exclusive ... 05:26 PM July 28, 2007 from web
Jimenez is exclusive to Marvel (announced yesterday) ... 05:23 PM July 28, 2007 from web
Slott, Wells, Gale, Guggenheim, and Jimenez are one the panel, and Quesada is moderating ... 05:21 PM July 28, 2007 from web
And Larroca. And I meant McNiven. I know. I'm twittering, give me a break. 05:16 PM July 28, 2007 from web
New Spidey creatives Jimeniz, Niven, Bachalo ... 05:11 PM July 28, 2007 from web
New Spidey creatives Dan Slott, Zeb Wells, Bob Gale, Marc Guggenheim ... 05:08 PM July 28, 2007 from web
At the Marvel Spider-Man panel ... 05:04 PM July 28, 2007 from web
(This is the START of the Marvel Spider-Man panel.)
iItandIn You are absolutely right! ;-) 04:06 PM July 28, 2007 from web
(This was supposed to be "@StandIn You are absolutely right! ;-) "; he was saying my "overheard" comment earlier should be the start of an "Overheard at Comic-Con" reveal.)
Grabbing a bite at The Tin Fish ... 04:03 PM July 28, 2007 from web
Buying a print from Allen Berman, Living Legend (Timely Comics) ... 01:41 PM July 28, 2007 from web
This is should be Allen Bellman; my sincere apologies for miss-spelling his name.)
Great meet-n-greet with Mark Irwin & his daughter. Super nice guy ... 01:40 PM July 28, 2007 from web
Great talk with Chris Batista & Tom Nguyen ... 01:14 PM July 28, 2007 from web
checking out the Sierra booth ... 11:40 AM July 28, 2007 from web
Overheard from girl on phone: "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm at Comic-Con and I have boobs." 11:10 AM July 28, 2007 from web
Waiting in line for the Exhibit floor. Ballroom 20 line is insane. Supposed to meet a writer for Biz work ... 11:08 AM July 28, 2007 from web

Labels: acting, biz, business, comic books, Comic-Con, Comic-Con 2007, events, festivals, inspiration, picts, toys, video games, voice acting

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Friday, August 03, 2007

Comic-Con: Friday

Previously:

Friday (July 27) was the first full-on "crazy day" of Comic-Con. Bodies everywhere. We showed up early again, and rather than wait in line for the exhibit floor, we were trying to find the line to San Diego's Hall H so we could catch the Warner Bros. showcase.

This turned out to be a bad, bad experience.

Why?

Because of the "Elite III" staff. Or, as I came to call them, "Those %&*^$#! Red-Shirts". Hey, they were nice and all; just incompetent, and gave very authoritative, contradicting information -- today and throughout the week/end. We were trying to find the line to Hall H, "if it wasn't too long". We got sent back and fourth to the two opposite ends of the Convention center -- two times each -- before I'd had enough. We decided to divide and conquer, and I had my friend wait in line for the Exhibit Hall while I tried to find the fabled "The Line to Hall H" (tip: It's not in the same location as Hall H itself).

This eventually led me outside to a line that wrapped around the entire San Diego Convention Center. I made it two thirds around the building, asking every %&*^$#! Red-Shirt I met if these folks were going to get it in. I finally found a guy who said, "No man. No way. Most of these folks are in line for the second or third show in the Hall. If they're lucky."

So I walked back to the front of the Convention Center, only to find the entry line even for badge holders now snaked off across the convention lawn. So I called my buddy, told him to go do whatever he wanted, and I would sync up with him whenever I got in.

After a half an hour in the sun, I ended up where I'd been an hour before -- just inside the front doors. And as I walked in, soaking wet from sweating (and angry), I was greeted by a smiling %&*^$#! Red-Shirt who said, "Welcome to Comic-Con! Can I help you with anything?"

He was so lucky I was out of hair gel.

That said, I'm a glass - is - half - full - and - how - do - I - fill - the - other - half kind of guy, so I quickly spun through the Exhibit Show Floor and met with people and companies that were on my list. As you can see from my Twitterings below, I was a machine, and really enjoyed touching base with these neat folks and companies with whom I'd really like to work.

Toys:

In my "go this way, go that way" crisscross of the San Diego Convention Center, I did pick up my Comic-Con exclusive "Vanishing Bugs Bunny" from DC Direct. This was the "official" Comic-Con exclusive for the show, and I'd paid for it when registering for the conference. It's a slick, well-done little sculpt, but I'm debating what to do with it, as it doesn't really fit into my collection, per se.

I also picked up some Shockinis from Shocker Toys (a custom and the Wizard World skeleton exclusive), and talked to the guys about using their toys for my stop-motion efforts. They were really nice, and very supportive of me using their toys, carte blanche. Which is better than some other toy companies have been with me.

My buddy sneaked away and got me the Four Horseman figure "Gauntlet of Vaskkh", which is a bad-a$$ looking rhinoceros warrior action figure, and part of the Four Horseman's own "Seventh Kingdom" line of toys. This is a perfect gift for me, and another Comic-Con exclusive. And it makes me want the Four Horseman to do figures from the Hip Flask universe.

Panels:

Mattel / DC Comics:

We attended the Mattel / DC Comics panel, which was fun, and way more upbeat and jovial than Thursday's Hasbro panel. They showed a lot of stuff from the Justice League animated series, and copped to the poor design that makes them top-heavy and tough to display. They also announced new six-inch figures (with build-a-figure components) from none other than Four Horseman Studios. Orion and Etrigan, in particular, look pretty cool.

I can't help but wonder if the fan support for Mattel is due to where they are with the license. They're comparatively in the initial stages, and haven't hit the over-under arc where the trade-off for collector and mass-market hits the fan, which is what I think was the tension under the Marvel / Hasbro panel.

Joel Silver: Return to House on Haunted Hill and Moonlight:

I only caught the last half of the "Joel Silver: Return to House on Haunted Hill and Moonlight" (the Moonlight part), which was a bummer. I'm not a gore fan, but I wanted to see the innovative "Navigational Cinema" stuff they're allegedly putting on the Blu-ray and HD DVD versions of the film. I'd like to see someone do something with the new technology.

Moonlight looks and sounds compelling, but it's going to need to work to stay out of Angel's shadow, and Blade's (the TV series) curse. This was my first time hearing Joel Silver speak, and he's pretty interesting.

Halo Universe:

I was semi looking forward to this panel, and semi expecting it to be a disappointment. Brian Michale Bendis doesn't disappoint, and he was talking about the new comic book series (I took picts, but I'm not going to post stuff before the series goes to retail), so that was good.

WizKids Brand Manager Mark Tuttle did a great emcee job, which was good, given his company had done the big Halo reveal the day before. The Topps trading card discussion was pretty mheh, and Eric Nylund, while a great author, was (like everyone) hamstrung by what he couldn't say. Since there were no Bungie or Microsoft folks on the panel, not much Halo 3 stuff was going to be revealed. (I did see them in the audience, about six rows in; with sniper rifles, I'm sure, should any of the panelists revealed too much.)

Warner Bros. Animation: The Batman / Legion of Super-Heroes:

This was a great panel, if for no other reason than Phil Morris, voice and on-camera actor, and comic fan; and Andrea Romano, single handedly responsible for casting some of my favorite voices in Batman: The Animated Series; Animaniacs; Pinky and the Brain; Superman; and Justice League. The next seasons of both The Batman and Legion of Super-Heroes looks to up the ante, get a little darker, and build on the intensity and team dynamics. I'm looking forward to it.

I even got to run alongside Ms. Romano as she headed to the Warner Bros. booth for a signing, so I could say "thank you" for her work on things like Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain, and for the extras stuff she shares on her craft on many of the DVD extra features.

Ray Harryhausen and 20 Million Miles to Earth: 50th Anniversary Edition:

Ray Harryhausen is a hero of mine. I've seen his films. I read his coffee-table crushing book. I was inspired to do my own stop-motion as a device for getting my voice out there. And 20 Million Miles to Earth was a film he'd wanted to do in color, but didn't have the budget to do so. 50 years later, we were able to watch the newly colorized version of the film -- for the same first time as Mr. Harryhausen -- and have him give live commentary on the film, his processes, and his views on fiction and criticism. He will probably not do this again.

From a Biz perspective, I arguably "should" have been at the Doctor Strange premiere, trying to connect with Craig Kyle, Marvel's senior VP of creative development animation.

But this film, with Ray Harryhausen, was historical. It was being there for a guy that informed a part of my creativity.

Other Cool Stuff:

I spoke with Leinil Francis Yu, mainly to say thanks for his work on New Avengers in general, and issue #22 in particular. Really pleasant, talented guy. I also noticed he had forward-thinking, hopeful "Captain America: The Return" print that I thought I wanted, but needed to think about.

The Four Horseman "Gauntlet of Vaskkh" gift from my buddy absolutely rocks, and hit me in a soft spot.

And the 20 Million Miles to Earth screening was a piece of history, and getting to attend it with a friend who gets it as much or more than me? Awesome.

What Sucked:

Those %&*^$#! Red-Shirts. And not having hair gel.

Pictures:

Twitterings:

(Reverse chronology.)

Checking out the Four Horseman exclusive with which I've been gifted ... 12:59 AM July 28, 2007 from web
Watching Ray Harryhausen "20 Million Miles to Earth". Angry that room is not packed ... 08:06 PM July 27, 2007 from web
(This is the END of the DC Animation panel.)
No go on getting a voice demo to Ms. Andrea Romano ... 08:02 PM July 27, 2007 from web
Next seasons of "Legion of Superheroes" and "The Batman" look more mature, with slightly doctor tone. 08:01 PM July 27, 2007 from web
No pictures, recording, or (maybe) blogging. Better play it safe ... 06:26 PM July 27, 2007 from web
Attending the DC animation Comic-Con panel ... 06:24 PM July 27, 2007 from web
(This is the START of the DC Animation panel.)
Panel is over. Pretty lackluster overall ... 05:15 PM July 27, 2007 from web
(This is the END of the Halo panel.)
Halo Comic-Con panel -- Idiotic comments paralleling Iraq War; separate demonizing of Microsoft ... 05:12 PM July 27, 2007 from web
Wonder if Bendis is serious he had to ask for the "Halo 2" cinematics because he couldn't finish game ... 04:43 PM July 27, 2007 from web
Halo Comic-Con panel - "Q&A" seriously lacking on the "Q". Glad the panelists don't suck ... 04:41 PM July 27, 2007 from web
Halo Comic-Con panel - Bendis and Nyland on handling the license ... 04:36 PM July 27, 2007 from web
Halo Comic-Con panel - Sitting behind most permissive father ever. Not good ... 04:34 PM July 27, 2007 from web
Halo Comic-Con panel - Now up: Bendis and the comic. Wonder if I can post the picts of the preview art ... 04:33 PM July 27, 2007 from web
Halo Comic-Con panel - Now up: Topps, and the new trading card game ... 04:25 PM July 27, 2007 from web
Attending the Halo Comic-Con panel. Up first: Wizkids / Halo Action Clix ... 04:24 PM July 27, 2007 from web
(This is the START of the Halo panel.)
Internally debating whether to purchase Leinil Francis Yu Captain America print and 2 Four Horseman figures ... 04:01 PM July 27, 2007 from web
Joel Silver is pretty entertaining ... 03:58 PM July 27, 2007 from web
At the "Haunted Hill" / "Moonlight" Comic-Con panel ... 03:57 PM July 27, 2007 from web
Hasbro's Marvel Legends wave 3 & 4 look like they woke up to design / quality problems of 1st two waves ... 02:10 PM July 27, 2007 from web
Four Horseman will also be doing Mattel's "Dark Knight" movie tie-in ... 01:50 PM July 27, 2007 from web
(This is the END of the Mattle / DC panel.)
Mattel announces 5 waves of 6", Four Horseman line and build-a-figure for 2008. Hasbro, take notice! 01:49 PM July 27, 2007 from web
Attending the Mattel / DC Comic-Con panel ... 01:32 PM July 27, 2007 from web
(This is the START of the Mattle / DC panel.)
Getting my picture next to a Jetfire / Skyfire cosplayer ... 01:30 PM July 27, 2007 from web
Talking to Funimation ... 01:10 PM July 27, 2007 from web
Watching "Clive Barker's Jericho" on the Xbox 360 ... 12:38 PM July 27, 2007 from web
Talking to The Behemoth ... 12:34 PM July 27, 2007 from web
Chatting with Sony Online ... 12:28 PM July 27, 2007 from web
Picking up some Shocker Toys for stop-mo ... 12:23 PM July 27, 2007 from web
Talking to Konami ... 12:23 PM July 27, 2007 from web
But at least I have "Vanishing Bugs Bunny ... :- 12:07 PM July 27, 2007 from web
Feeling _horribly_ uncharatable toward the San Diego Convention Center / "Elite III" staff ... 12:05 PM July 27, 2007 from web
Checking out the day's schwag ... 12:17 AM July 27, 2007 from web

Labels: acting, animation, biz, business, Comic-Con, Comic-Con 2007, events, festivals, inspiration, toys, video games, voice acting

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Thursday, August 02, 2007

Comic-Con: Thursday

Previously:

Thursday (July 26) was the first full-day of Comic-Con. We showed up early, and waited in line for an hour and a half to get into the exhibit floor. The plan was to get to the Hasbro booth to get tickets that let you get in line to buy stuff. Like convention exclusives.

That didn't happen, because they let the folks registering for one-day Thursday badges in before all of us that had already shelled out for four-day badges. That was poor, and it could have made for a frustrating day. That is, if I hadn't been willing to pay folks (and my buddy hadn't been willing to front me the cash) who did have tickets to buy exclusives they weren't going to buy for themselves. Like the super hero My Little Pony. (What? I'm a sensitive guy.)

The exhibit floor was better than on preview night, because people were split between attending the panels and the show floor. that was an improvement.

And I totally blended in with my fellow geeks, as airport security had confiscated my gel (I suspect they thought I would use it to make deadly hair spikes and gore fellow passengers), and I was breaking out like a teenager (probably from the stress of them blocking my goal of goring fellow passengers). Nice.

Thursday was ostensibly about toys and Halo.

Toys:

There were a whole bunch of new things at the Hasbro booth that hadn't been out the night before, including three things for which I've been waiting.

First up was Marvel Heroscape. I like the craft and extensibility of the existing Heroscape, but it's this comic-book themed release for which I'm been waiting since it was announced in January -- of 2006. So, 1.5 years later, it was nice to see in person, and since it's finally going to retail, I didn't worry about purchasing it.

Next up was Marvel Legends. Hasbro took over the fan-favorite line from Toy Biz, and promptly unfan-favorited it. Seriously, the sculpts for series 1 and 2 were poor in quality, appropriate articulation, and likeness. But I've said before, series 3 looks to improve upon the formula, with a 1940s Captain America, and a Hydra soldier (and variant) that look like they'll nicely complement my Baron Von Strucker Face-Off variant. (Or compliment Von Strucker: "Ja, Herr Strucker, you look wery nice!"). And series 4, announced at the panel, look even better.

Then there were the additions to the Marvel Super Hero Squad, a semi-super-deformed offering that I dig. Made for kids, the series has found new life with collectors and fanboys. There are a ton of new offerings, and I'm interested in the upcoming new Mega Packs, which add the likes of to-scale(ish) Galactus and Sentinels, and (revealed at the show) Apocalypse and Ultimate Giant Man.

I wasn't so gung-ho on the Hasbro Comic-Con exclusives of Marvel Legends renditions of Stan Lee and She-Hulk (picts below). I'm glad Stan's getting an action figure, but the whole changing him out of actual clothes makes him a little too ... doll-like to me. I fight that battle enough as is. The good news is (as of right now) those two exclusives are still in stock on HasbroToyShop.com.

Halo Action Clix:

Yeah, this gets its own section, both because -- just by impact relative to their size and scope -- WizKids owned the show floor Thursday. And because they owned a big chunk of my afternoon as well.

I was there for big reveal of the Comic-Con exclusive version of the Halo ActionClix scarab (it was one of the big things to which I was looking forward at the con). This is a battle-damaged, limited edition (500 total) version of the largest, playable clix-type figure WizKids makes. It is stunning and brilliant, and that plus the fast-paced version of the Halo entry, over the already stellar HeroClix, has got be pretty stoked. And, since I won a ticket that allowed me to purchase one of the limited edition monsters ... I did. And I spent a ton of time in line, or checking the booth to see if I'd won, when I could buy, when I could give them my shipping info (thing's a freaking monster), and whether I won an on-the-spot version (didn't).

I'm still weighing the purchase, but for me, things are bought to be used and played with -- not resold at markup. Besides, I'm a community kind of guy, and if I have the scarab, that helps me draw and center Halo ActionClix tourneys.

And the WizKids folks? Top-notch, every one of them. Brand Manager Mark is a machine, and Rae and Jenny (both of whom I'd known earlier only via Email) are phenomenal, and super-community and super-business minded. I made sure to introduce myself to all of the WizKids folks, who were all kind and helpful.

And (without me asking) they hooked me up with a Target exclusive two-pack of the Master Chief and Arbiter. Normally you only get this by pre-ordering Halo 3 from Target. Look for that to show up on my toy blog soon.

And a guy in full Spartan armor was there throughout the day. Just for effect.

Panels:

Just two panels for the day -- the "Hasbro Marvel" panel and the "DC Group Therapy" panel.

Hasbro:

The Hasbro panel was a bit ugly. We missed the first few minutes of it, but there were some angry folks inside for some reason. It might be due to some folks being upset about the Hasbro take on Marvel Legends (kinda understandable), but there were some (2) vehement folks in the room. It felt more like they were mad because they're completests(ists?), and things like chase variant figures make it hard to be a completest. My thought is (a) don't be a completest, and / or (b) realize that if we didn't have at least the figures as chase, we wouldn't have them at all.

I think collectors need to realize that Toy Biz version of legends catered to the collector, but Hasbro is all about the mass market. There are trade-offs there. More on that when I talk about Friday's Mattel / DC panel.

Hasbro did reveal some really cool stuff, like the Marvel Legends Wave 4, which seem to even more improve on the line, and includes first-appearance Daredevil (and red-suited variant), Black Bolt (and blue-suited variant, but I wish he was yelling), Punisher (with Crossbones variant). Wal-Mart will be getting two-pack exclusives of Cannonball & Domino and Cable & Marvel Girl, and on the Icons side we'll be seeing red suited Daredevil (with a first-appearance variant), Phoenix (with Dark Phoenix variant), Colossus, and Nightcrawler. In the case I also saw what looked like an Astonishing X-Men Cyclops Marvel Icon.

There are also going to Marvel Legends of Tigra, Nova, and Astonishing X-Men Beast, probably before December.

I also met writer / columnist Troy from Newsarama.com, who was knowledgeable and very pleasant.

DC Group Therapy:

This was a fun panel, and while I'm not a huge DC fan, per se, I really like Dan Didio, and all of the panelists -- Geoff Johns, Sean McKeever, Gail Simone, Tony Bedard, Eddie Berganza, Mike Marts, Mike Siglain, and (especially) Dwayne McDuffie.

Other Cool Stuff:

I missed the Marvel / MAXUM Games "Demons of Mercy" panel, which I really wanted to attend to check out the comic book / video game interaction. But I was in the room a couple of panels after that, and found that someone had left their Comic-Con Demons of Mercy comic. So, score!

And I got to meet a ton of cool people, and connect with folks I hadn't seen for a while. The Cartoon Network MMO folks in particular, are a great group of folks, and were very helpful in letting me try out the "alpha" version of the game answer questions, hook me up with a prelude comic, and just generally have fun. I also talked to several game and animation companies on the voice acting front, and they were much more helpful and responsive than I've experienced (sadly) in Austin.

What Sucked:

We had big plans to see the Superman Doomsday premiere that night, and the panel following that would include Bruce Timm, Gregory Noveck, Brandon Vietti, Lauren Mongomery, and Duane Capizzi.

But remember the lines I complained about? This night, we were victims. After waiting in line for an hour, we were the first people not allowed into the ballroom. We're talking they literally stopped us at the door, we could see in, and they wouldn't let the two of us inside. And then things got ugly. People who allegedly had been inside couldn't get back inside. People who had friends inside that were saving seats couldn't get inside. Then the fire marshal was doing a sweep, said there were too many people, and they were going to eject more. After about a half an hour of this ugliness, we left, bummed to have missed the premiere and the panel with one of our mutual idols.

The silver lining? The fine folks at Microsoft made the panel available for download over Xbox Live. Score again!

Pictures:

Twitterings:

(Reverse chronology.)

"Linear Men are time, Monitors are MultiVerse. Two different things." 08:57 PM July 26, 2007 from web
(This is the END of the "DC Group Thereapy" panel coverage.)
(Didio said this like it was common knowledge. Funny.)
Not having characters get together in DCU likened to avoiding "last season of 'Moonlighting'." 08:53 PM July 26, 2007 from web
While I'm not a 08:48 PM July 26, 2007 from web
(Noticed m.twitter started truncating posts. Should have read, "While I'm not DC fan, per se, I'm a fan of these creatives, and the process is cool.")
Wow, some fans are incredibly brave asking questions. They look almost out-of-there skin nervous in public ... 08:46 PM July 26, 2007 from web
Didio on the spot for leaking "52" ending ... 08:42 PM July 26, 2007 from web
Creators share there 2 favorite character / interactions to write (Hal Jordan & Batman for McDuffie, etc..). 08:33 PM July 26, 2007 from web
Brief derailment on classic ("Lightning Lad") versus modernizing ("LiveWire") debate ... 08:29 PM July 26, 2007 from web
Perception is everyone's killing everyone on the DC team books ... 08:23 PM July 26, 2007 from web
Wolfman / Perez Outsiders may be making a return. More on Sat.... 08:16 PM July 26, 2007 from web
Dwayne McDuffie joining the DC panel ... 08:12 PM July 26, 2007 from web
Interesting to hear DC's Didio cop to Marvel's market dominance ... 08:10 PM July 26, 2007 from web
Live Blogging the DC group therapy panel at Comic-Con ... 08:07 PM July 26, 2007 from web
Listening to DC's Geoff Johns, Sean McKeever, Gail Simone, Tony Bedard, Dan Didio, Eddie Berganza, Mike Marts, Mike Siglain ... 08:05 PM July 26, 2007 from web
(This is the START of the "DC Group Thereapy" panel coverage.)
Seeing Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) ... 06:06 PM July 26, 2007 from web
Watching someone really pull off a Black Cat costume ... 04:35 PM July 26, 2007 from web
Spider-man 6" _and_ build a figure coming from Hasbro this fall! 03:17 PM July 26, 2007 from web
(This is the END of the Hasbro Comic-Con panel coverage.)
Attending the Hasbro Comic-Con panel ... 03:16 PM July 26, 2007 from web
(This is the START of the Hasbro Comic-Con panel coverage.)
In line to purchase a Halo Action Clix. Feeling a little insane ... 02:22 PM July 26, 2007 from web
Getting ready for Wizkids Comic-Con reveal. See my video gaming blog ... 01:29 PM July 26, 2007 from web
Taking a bath on Comic-Con exclusives ... 12:40 PM July 26, 2007 from web
Breaking out like a teenager. must be Comic-Con sympathies ... 10:29 AM July 26, 2007 from web

Labels: acting, biz, business, comic books, Comic-Con, Comic-Con 2007, events, toys, voice acting

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Monday, July 30, 2007

Comic-Con sum-up ...

Picture of San Diego Convention Center chair

I am freaking exhausted. But it's that great "I - just - worked - my - tail - off - had - a - blast - met - brilliant - inspiring - people - maybe - have - new - relationships - and - opportunities - on - the - horizon" kind of exhausted.

So I feel great.

In a previous post, I said I was hitting Comic-Con as a comic book & cartoon fan, toy collector, video game aficionado, voice & film actor, for professional (technical and management) opportunities, and for camaraderie.

Other than the last item, these were the roles under which I was going to play at Comic-Con, but as an abstraction, I was going to Comic-Con for camaraderie, passion, and potential.

Camaraderie:

Like I said, "I'm looking forward to sharing this experience with someone who gets all of this as much as I do." I've been meeting with a mentor pretty much every week, for at least six years. Not only is he a life / religious / business mentor, but he's an incredible friend and comic book and cartoon nut (like me). We mutually encouraged each other (led astray?) to go to Comic-Con this year, and we each probably would not have done it without the other. We were a great pair. There were things I was interested in and he wasn't (largely gaming), and we'd go to our respective panels, then re-sync and share. Or, there would be two panels we both wanted to go to, so we'd "divide and conquer" and fill each other in. Or we'd attend each other's event of interest, and broaden our horizons. Or there were panels or experiences we both wanted to do, and we'd experience them together. That last was the best, because we both "get it", and had common, amazing shared experiences. And we were there with like 100-150 thousand other folks who get it -- to some degree or another -- like us. And we realized we are far less geeky than some other human beings.

Passion:

Make no mistake, I am a huge fan of all of this stuff. I wasn't there to placate a friend or to exploit people for work. I am a lifetime comic book, toy, cartoon, video game, and film fan. Comic books and toys informed my creativity and story telling as a kid, and continue to inspire me with their artistry. Cartoons and video games got me into voice acting. Film got me into my current on-camera work as I bust my tail on the training front, and come alive under the lights.

I want to act in cartoon, comic book, video game, and film properties because I'm a voracious consumer of all of this stuff. I get it, and I want to give it. I'm like Phil Morris (I so admire and am happy for that guy).

Comic-Con was the place to be to get an inspirational re-charge, get closer to the creative and logistical process that gives me these things I enjoy, meet the folks responsible and say "thanks", and see what stuff is coming down the pipe, before anyone else knows. Sure, stuff makes it out on news wires and such shortly afterward, but it's nothing like being there and watching it for the first time it's ever been shown, with the creators (often seeing it themselves for the very first time), and talking to them afterwards.

Opportunity:

I am a working professional. I work ridiculously hard at creating opportunities for acting, for technical development, and for management. I do this for me, I do this mutually for other people, and I do this for people independent of whether there's anything for me. I almost never stopped moving at Comic-Con as I tracked down the right people to whom to give a voice demo, head shot, or resume. I hit up the companies I'm passionate about from a creative or business perspective, and there were so many of those, that I didn't hit many "new business opportunities" while I was in San Diego. That means I was hitting up the folks whose stuff I love, and asking to work for or with them.

There were more than 50 companies and people I wanted to meet in the four days. I knew this was shooting for the stars, but not only di I connect with roughly 30 of those, but some additional, unlooked-for, awesome, what could become "I was discovered" kind of moments. Great stuff.

I also sought out the PR or events folks for booths that I was particularly impressed by, just to say, "Good job." It is important to give the workers their due.

And my new demo has (so far) been very well received.

What sucked:

Nothing bad happened that can take away from the overall amazingness. Plus, I'm going to send a thoughtful note each to Comic-Con and the San Diego Convention Center calling out some of the challenges and offering some suggestions.

But yeah, it wasn't all roses. The "Red Shirts" -- folks who were supposed to help attendees out, were very disconnected and caused some serious pain to my buddy and me. More on that later.

And I had one of those "This is Hollywood, be-otch!" experiences with a biggie that was a good reminder for that I wasn't in Kansas anymore. I reset and changed my tack with a couple of opportunity folks that seem to be not so relationship-oriented. Seriously, I manage multi-million dollar, international programs and services, so if people want to go toe-to-toe on that hard-ass front, I can play.

Oh, and too many people. Lines kept us out of things we'd liked to have seen and done, because the prospect of hours in line with no guarantee of getting in didn't appeal to us. And we had a bad Thursday night experience. More on that later.

Not that we were going to see everything anyway. Between my split personality roles and passions, a top-notch packed programming and events roster, and my working so hard to make sure my opportunities didn't impact my buddy, I knew we were going to miss stuff. Which is fine. As in the rest of life, what should have happened did; what shouldn't have, didn't.

So what happened?

I'm a big tease, so I'm not going to tell you.

Actually, I will, but this post is already too long, so I'll do separate, day-by-day posts of Wednesday through Sunday. I'll try to hit them from the perspective of the roles and abstractions that were my "filters" for attending, and I'll also try to break stuff up by summary, cool stuff, genres, panels, twitterings, and pictures.

As far as pictures, there will be some, but not many, and they won't be overly high quality. The reason is I honored the "no-flash" rule during panels and reveals (I think I may have been the only one). Between that and popping my hand up and down quickly to snap a pict (so as not to block people behind me), the picts are a bit blurry.

And there are some things I snapped picts of that have not been released to the general public, so I won't be posting those picts. Creative and business folks work hard for their IP, and I'm not going to do them a disservice by leaking stuff they're working to release in a controlled, exciting way.

More later ...

Labels: biz, business, comic books, Comic-Con, Comic-Con 2007, events, festivals, inspiration, other actors

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Monday, July 16, 2007

New headshots today ...

Today, I had a session for new headshots from the incomparable Rhea Willis.

Rhea was my original headshot photog, and we've both gotten even better since that first set, when I was starting out in the Biz.

She's now doing all-digital and color, and I'm a lot more authentic and good at taking notes while working, which made for a great, painless, and even fun (imagine!) afternoon.

We ran the gamut, from serious to goofy, blue to white collar, approachable to intense, and commercial to theatrical.

Rhea's great, because besides being such a pleasant person, she's super talented, and does everything from the shots, to makeup, to touch-up of the final selections. And she's a partner in the whole effort -- giving great feedback on everything from wardrobe to poses, which makes the whole effort more collaborative, and more productive.

I'm totally stoked for the CD and proofs this Wednesday, and should have new headshots in the next couple of weeks (I'm in San Diego next week for Comic-Con, so there's at least a week's delay).

Check out the picts on her Website -- she does great work.

Labels: acting, acting process, biz, business, picts

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Thursday, May 17, 2007

Audio and video updates ...

I made some changes to the audio and video portions of my Website.

On the audio side, by popular request, I've added my recent "Comic book demo", which came together from some comic book inspired auditions and personal projects.

On both my audio and video pages, I streamlined information for readability and formatting (I'm sure you can assume the .MP3 and .WMA versions of my Character demo are both 1:08 in length).

And on both pages I added links to my newly launched SCHTICKFAS.com site -- because there will be a bunch of voice over and video coming from that ongoing effort.

Labels: acting, business, site updates

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Wednesday, May 16, 2007

HB 1634 call to action ...

UPDATED: The Senate passed the bill May 18, with two amendments (one in particular which I felt was needed). Confidence is high the House will concur with the Senate changes. Then we just need the state budget bill funding this legislation. No more calls are needed.

It's time for the next community effort for Texas film and interactive incentive legislation House Bill 1634.

It's time to calmly, courteously, and professionally contact your senator and ask them to kindly consider voting "Yes" to HB 1634.

Contact TXMPA.org (the "info" or "legislative" addresses) to get information on the best way to appropriately identify and contact your state senator.

You can also read the text of the bill here.

Labels: biz, business

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Monday, April 30, 2007

Networking tools for Biz folks ...

OK, so here's the post I was going to do when I stepped back and wrote this philosophical post instead.

If you haven't, read that post, first.

There are a couple of tools that serve me well on the contact / relationship / opportunity front, and I leverage those tools for my Biz work, too:

The first is a contact synchronization service, and the second is a resume / profile / contact management service. Both have free versions that are pretty robust and useful.

By way of caveats (besides telling you to read the original post first):

I'm not associated with either of these companies.
These are only a couple of the tools I use. I cover my bases pretty liberally with intelligent, safe, proven software, services, and social networking sites.

Plaxo:

Plaxo, again, is a contact synchronization tool that makes it wicked easy to have the latest version of your contact's information, and make sure they have the latest of yours.

Ever change your Email address? Switch from using your home address to a P.O. Box for your Biz work? Want to stay "on the radar"? If you use Plaxo, and your contacts use Plaxo, you'll both have each other's most current info. And you'll be notified of any changes.

If you're a Plaxo user, you enter your contact information -- professional and personal -- and decide what you want to share with whom. For example, I share just my business information, and I choose to share it with all Plaxo users (whether I know them or not); my personal (home) contact info only goes to family and close friends.

Then, any time I change anything (like when I switched my business address to a P.O. Box for anonymity), I updated that info, and my Plaxo contacts got it right away.

The beauty of Plaxo is if you (and your contacts) are using it -- and have it integrated with your mail clients. As you add Biz contacts to your Email's address (contact) book, you'll be notified if they're a Plaxo user.

As far as "staying on folks' radar" , if you update your Plaxo contact info (like your "personal message"), and your contacts have elected to receive notifications, they'll get updates about you, too.

It's not perfect, and you have to remember to update your Plaxo info. But it's a good, pretty simple tool.

Oh, and don't be that person who updates they're personal message every day / week / month. I remove those people.

LinkedIn is a professional relationship management site. Sounds wonky, but think of it as a social networking site for professionals, with the tagline, "This isn't networking—it’s what networking should be."

Think an entire site based (loosely) on the Kevin Bacon / six-degrees of separation idea. You use the service to stay in contact with people you know, create and participate in opportunities with each other, and extend your networks to create more opportunities for each other.

With LinkedIn, you can build a profile for yourself, a resume, and a "personal network" of folks you know. You can see folks in their network, and request invitations to them. You can endorse folks. You can get endorsements. You can recommend people for jobs. You can job hunt.

And when you update your profile or other LinkedIn information, if folks in your network have elected to receive notifications, they'll get 'em (think ("co-star, 'Friday Night Lights'").

People use LinkedIn in different ways. Many people use it just to create opportunities for themselves. Others are trying to get as many people in their network as possible, gotta-catch-'em-all Pokemon style.

Not me.

I use LinkedIn to create mutual opportunities. I made all but a handful of contacts in my network personally.

And I try to diligently write applicable, meaningful recommendations for people, and never request or expect an endorsement in response. (As an aside, two folks who previously worked for me were hired -- at least in part -- due to my LinkedIn endorsements, as the hiring companies used my LinkedIn recommendations in lieu of reference checks.)

LinkedIn's not perfect. It only let's you have one profile, though I'd much rather have separate "Corporate Professional" and "Actor" profiles -- right now, my profile is a mix of the two.

If you know me and want to connect, check out my LinkedIn profile. If you don't know me but would like to connect, you can do so via LinkedIn, or you can drop me a note, and we can go from there. Remember, I like to know people as part of networking.

Oh, and check out Guy Kawasaki's blog for details on specific ways to leverage LinkedIn:

Increase your visibility.
Improve your connectability.
Improve your Google PageRank.
Enhance your search engine results.
Perform blind, “reverse,” and company reference checks.
Increase the relevancy of your job search.
Make your interview go smoother.
Gauge the health of a company.
Gauge the health of an industry.
Track startups.
Ask for advice.
Integrate into a new job.
Scope out the competition, customers, partners, etc.

Labels: acting, biz, business, tools

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Friday, April 20, 2007

Comments to "Networking for actors ..."

I received a number of comments on my "Networking for actors ..." post.

Evidently, I struck a chord with folks, and I've received a bunch of positive (and not negative) Emails. That never happens.

Like this nugget from Peter K. O'Connell, President of audio'connell Voice Over Talent, and a top-notch professional voice actor (Peter gave me permission to reprint his note in its entirety):

Usually, those folks who assume someone "giving" to another business person has an "angle" express such behavior because that indeed is how they think. THEY approach a networking opportunity with their angle and assume that's how everyone does it; that of course, is not true.

These "anglers" are also lousy listeners; networking is about receiving and transmitting in equal parts for both parties. Anglers don't get that. Networking is also about forming lasting relationships (the business kind, not lovey-dovey, mushy-mushy).

Years ago I belonged to a networking/lead generation group called BNI whose premise was "givers gain". While it seemed to fall on deaf ears to many in the group making the chapter I was in not as successful as it might have been (hence the term “premise”), the concept was spot on. Those giving leads, those supporting others in the network would receive leads because people want to do business with and refer business to people they like and trust. To a point, a giver is both likeable and trustworthy.

Finally, supporting again what you've said, asking about the other person a lot in a networking conversation and talking about your business not as much will have a more positive impact on the budding relationship. This is because of your demonstrated selflessness AND the fact that when you DO speak, chances are the other person is more interested in what you have to say and also in actually helping you. By listening, you've formed an early trust, appeared likeable and become someone they want to do business with or refer business to.

The best news is even if an “angler” reads this, it won’t ring true to them. Its not how they’re wired. More leads and better business relationships, then, for the rest of us.

Nice post.

Best always,
Peter

As an aside, the reason I don't allow automatic comments on my blogs is because it can be such a can of worms (same reason I don't currently do MySpace). I'm rethinking that, based on recent feedback and dialog I've been getting from folks I like a respect.

Maybe I'll turn comments on and approve or moderate them? We'll see.

Labels: acting, acting process, biz, business, other actors

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Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Networking for actors ...

I was going to post another "Acting Tools" type post about tech networking tools I use on the toy job front and how they can be used for acting, when I realized I should probably back up and talk about networking in general, first.

So, this is also a soapbox post. You've been warned.

Networking is a pretty harped-on skill set for any vertical market; acting is no exception. Networking helps me figure out what opportunities are out there. Networking creates opportunities for other people.

I used to be really good at networking. I mean, really good. A few years ago, on both the high tech and acting fronts, you would have been hard pressed to not find me everywhere. Sometimes, I was at different places at the same time. Seriously, I was that good.

But then I stopped doing it.

Why?

Because I honestly didn't like how good I was at networking. I got into situations and saw people doing the networking thing, and they weren't sincere. They were looking at opportunities for themselves, and didn't give a damn about the people they were meeting. They were superficial. They were exploiters. They were users.

I so didn't want to be them.

So I did sort of an over-correction. Scaled back. Took some time for me. Worked on the relationships I'd built, and the relationships I wanted to build. Met people through people I knew, and met some wicked cool folks. It nicely coincided with some life stuff and me being just generally tired.

It's not like I was working any less as an actor. On the contrary, I was working harder as I was still busting my tail (yes, I have a tail) on the marketing, training, craft, performance, and business side of the Biz.

And then, some time after my "over correction", I came to a realization that I wasn't "that guy", and I got back to focusing on networking that makes sense for me. Contrary to how that sounds, that's not selfish networking. I call it "mutually beneficial relationship building" (which should be redundant, but unfortunately isn't") -- networking that fits in with my personality and style and values.

Here's how it works for me.

I meet someone, and we talk. I find out what they do, what they'd like to do, and what makes their day worthwhile. And I talk about what I do, what I'd like to do, and what makes my day worthwhile. And we figure out if we've got stuff we want to do together that makes our days worthwhile together.

That's right, kids, we have a conversation.

And then, independent of whether we can do something together, I try to keep that person in mind when opportunities come up for them, even if there's no benefit to me.

And here's where it gets a little ... weird.

Just like I'm good at networking, I'm also good at recognizing opportunities. I was at a networking gig a couple of weeks ago, and as a room full of people talked about what they wanted professionally, little light bulbs were going off left and right (up and down?) in my brain, and I saw opportunities for them with relationships I'd built, and I got that information to those people, made introductions with other people, and so on.

Oddly, lately, people have been complaining about this.

Why? Because they're sure I have an "angle".

It got back to me recently that a group of folks had made me the topic of conversation as they were trying to figure out how I benefited from the things I'd tried to facilitate for them individually.

How sad.

I mean, I guess it is a little weird.

I had a company approach me recently for a job. I then met someone who was looking for the same kind of job for which I'd been sought out, and I pointed him to the company, told him to research them, and if he was interested, I'd get him in touch with my contact. In essence, I was bringing a competitor in for a job I had a shot at.

But you need to understand where my heads at. I genuinely like helping people. I like solving problems, and seeing opportunities and synergies and acting on those is solving a problem, with better bennies (helping people). And I don't care about competition, because my competition (professionally or acting or running or whatever) is me. No one else.

And I feel convicted that knowingly keeping someone from a gig of any kind is tantamount to fixing a game or throwing a fight -- it's not a legitimate win.

Now I'm rambling.

The net-net is I think networking -- really effective networking -- shouldn't be exploitative "what can you do for me" usury. It should be relationship building. It should be mutually beneficial. And when it's not mutually beneficial, it should be beneficial for the other person.

If everyone had that mentality, what kind of cool world would this be?

Hmph. Time for me to go hug a seal.

I warned you this would be a soapbox.

Maybe tomorrow I'll do the tools post ...

Labels: acting, biz, business, ramblings, rants

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Thursday, April 12, 2007

HB 1634 passed ...

Update from this morning:

HB 1634, part of the Texas incentives legislation, passed unanimously today.

Good news, and now there's work to be done on the companion senate bill (SB 782), and some additional work for interactive entertainment. But I think I'll write about the latter on my video game blog.

Labels: acting, biz, business

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Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Status of Texas incentives legislation

I'm trying to find out the status of HB 1634, the current incarnation of the Texas incentives legislation.

The bill was supposed to be rescheduled for yesterday (4/10), but the current bill status reads, "Placed on General State Calendar".

More info as I get it, but you can also check the Website for the Texas Motion Picture Alliance for updates.

Labels: acting, biz, business, video games

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Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Texas incentives legislation rescheduled ...

House Bill 1634, which I mentioned yesterday, will likley be rescheduled for vote for next week.

Nothing wrong with the substance or content of the bill. According to information forwarded by the TXMPA, this is "just a garden variety snag or bump".

Looking at the history of the bill, it looks like the bill hasn't yet been rescheduled for consideration, but here's a blow-by-blow of legislation's day today:

H Placed on General State Calendar 04/03/2007
H Read 2nd time 04/03/2007
H Point of order sustained 04/03/2007
H Returned to committee 04/03/2007
H Posting rule suspended 04/03/2007

Thank you to all the folks who acted yesterday, and for those folks who talk time by mail and phone to get a hold of me and chat about this effort.

Labels: acting, business

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Thursday, March 22, 2007

"It's time User Generated Content grew up ..."

I read an the article about 'A Swarm of Angels' crowdsourcing film production, and am hugely encouraged that there are groups pushing new business models in the film making world.

First, unequivocally, the rules and technologies for media production, marketing, distribution, and profit have changed. And (this may sound elitist, but I really need to make a point) I would argue 95% of the world doesn't see that. Things like Web 2.0 are leaving people who don't adapt in the dirt.

I'm an actor. But I'm also a technologist. And a bit of a futurist. And I've been nearly crawling out of skin at the clusterf**** of missed opportunities between technology and media content (which is much bigger that just eye-candy special effects).

Seriously. I've got people that don't even understand what these ancient things called blogs are. And I've even had Biz folks suggest my Website and blogging's "not that critical a part of your personal marketing campaign". I find it very hard to regard those folks. But I do pay attention to (and get a hold of) those production, marketing, advertising and other houses that -- never talking to me -- use my Website and its posts to further their marketing at a grassroots and community level, build buzz, teach classes (at Harvard, no less), and so on. Those are folks who get it.

And while there are these ridiculous baby step battles being fought on the fair use and DRM put-down side of the house, and tepid Web site offerings for film and media distribution (YouTube? Please. That's Sooo 2005), it looks like 'A Swarm of Angels' is doing the appropriate techno / marketing / distribution / fair use leapfrog.

Back to 'A Swarm of Angels', which is the brainchild of Matt Hanson, a UK filmmaker / producer / author. The goal is "to 'crowdsource' the funding, production, and distribution of a $1.9+ million dollar movie" -- putting the principles of open source software to film making.

"The idea is we become a self-sustaining entertainment community with an unprecedented amount of freedom over the films we create."

And there are some other big guns advising: Cory Doctorow (culture advocate and technology futurist), Warren Ellis (writer of graphic novels, short fiction, novels, television, animation, screenwriting, journalism), and Tommy Pallotta (film producer behind A Scanner Darkly, etc.).

To play, you pay a ~$50 non-expiring membership fee (it's in UK pounds-sterling, but PayPal will do the conversion for you), and you then get to participate in the creation and other decisions for the project, created under the auspices of Creative Commons licensing.

At a high level, here's what you get for your money:

"In return for their investment, 'angels' get to have a say on all aspects of the creative process, access exclusive content, and in some cases even become part of the film crew. As the project progresses, the aim is to recruit 50,000 'angels' (hence the million-plus dollar budget). The finished movie will be released under a Creative Commons license so that it can be shared and remixed freely."

But you get other benefits. They'll be building the film crew as much as possible from the membership. You get to influence and greenlight a film. You get media and downloads along the project's way.

And it's totally screwing with the current distribution / revenue model, eschewing it for the chance of a greater creative payoff:

"Our project is about a Return on Entertainment, rather than a Return on Investment. If it's about a capital return then that interferes with creative decisions, and the fact we want to give it away, and let people remix it. My emphasis is on creating a model for cinema that can produce more distinctive creative work rather than being boxed into commercial genres in order that it make its money back."

It's not that it won't make money, per se, but that's not its restrictive goal.

And Hanson's parting shot:

"Here's my big pitch… If you're sick of being sold 'product' by mainstream media, and are serious about the power of the web and social networks to create cultural change then you need to become a member of the project. A Swarm of Angels is a revolutionary process to create the future of film. Join, and you can make it happen."

If you do want to join -- do it quickly. They're getting to cap the first 1,000 attendees with special privileges, and they're near that cut-off mark.

And, yeah, I'm a member.

Links:

'A Swarm of Angels' crowdsourcing film production (ZDNet.com)
'A Swarm of Angels' (Official Website)

Labels: acting, biz, business, tools

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Saturday, March 03, 2007

March is going to rock/suck ... join me ...

Adam Crieghton March 2007 acting and video game calendar

Every year, March is one of my biggest months, and this year, it's going to be a lion.

Here are some of the big events -- try to catch up with me at one or more of them.

STAPLE! The Independent Media Expo:
(March 03)

I'm starting today with STAPLE! The Independent Media Expo.

I'm a comic book guy, really enjoy the freedom and gutsiness of the independents, and am blessed with meeting new people at the event each year.

And this year, an animation panel should prove pretty insightful.

Plus, there are more than 60 exhibitors (many of whom I've met over the years), and the chance to check out some top-notch ongoing talent not normally known the mainstream.

UPDATED: Read my lengthy initial summary here.

Game Developers Conference:
(March 05-09)

No, I'm not going this year, but GDC is a big deal for me each year, both because of my video game propensity, and my voice acting.

This year looks to be a big year, with the now-gen console battle in full swing, and no E3 for developers and publishers to make big announcements. I suspect I'll be blogging a lot.

south by southwest:
(March 09-18)

I'll be doing all three parts of SXSW this year. While I'll be doing the Music Festival for fun, I'll be doing the Interactive and Film Festivals for work -- with the former being a combination of more video game interests and testing the employment waters, and the latter being a combination of work and supporting fellow Biz folks I know.

UPDATED: I forgot to mention the ScreenBurn Festival happening in parallel with SXSW Interactive. ScreenBurn events are March 10-13 and require SXSW Interactive registration, but the ScreenBurn Arcade events (March 10 and 11) are free.

VOICE 2007 Conference:
(March 27-31)

This one's a hopeful maybe (and if I don't go, I solidly lay blame on BigHugeCorp).

VOICE is the big international voice over related conference, and I've got a lot of folks I know (including some past coaches) going this year. We'll see if I can get this one to fit into my March.

So, crazy month. Good crazy. Come be crazy with me.

It's not called being a "working actor" for nothing....

Labels: acting, biz, business, comic books, events, festivals, other actors, toy job, video games, voice acting

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Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Shockwave ...

(Title refers to the metaphorical application of the seismic phenomenon to life events; not the Transformer.)

Today was one of those wicked hefty kind of days.

It started with me getting to work late, because I was picking up a video game (we all have our priorities).

Then it was a loyalty kick to the head at BigHugeCorp, followed by a Meisner workout that was incredibly effective, and therefore incredibly effectively emotionally draining.

Then there was me being demotivated and going home to play the aforementioned video game (Crackdown), which, I suspect, will become like digital crack, and consume my life.

Finally it was off with a bunch of fellow actors (the beautiful ones) to watch my Meisner coach's film, Pineapple, which addressed real-world crack (among other things). I don't want to trivialize the film at all by saying too much or little about it, but suffice it to say (for now) I think it's an important film. I'll hopefully write more about it sometime this week on my "I'm Seeing ...." blog.

UPDATED: I've posted my thoughts on the film here.

And we talked about the chance to be in on the ground floor of a big Biz opportunity in Central Texas. Something that at the least will be important and have and give meaning, and at the most will send shockwaves throughout the film scene (Austin and beyond).

Shockwaves. Again, the metaphorical application of the seismic phenomenon to life events. Not the Transformer. The bad a$$ Transformer.

Labels: acting, biz, business, events, inspiration, meisner, other actors, ramblings

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Sunday, February 18, 2007

Web heartburn and updates

Regular visitors and subscribers to my Web site and related feeds probably saw an obscene amount of weirdness and activity on my site this weekend.

First and worse, the site was down for most of Saturday, thanks to an outage from my Web hosting company that made my site and domain-related Email unavailable.

This really sucks, because the Saturday after I send out my traditional Biz Valentine's cards is usually a huge traffic day for me. So, thanks, Earthlink -- you cost me marketing opportunity.

The other craziness is I finally built out my sitemaps (XML and HTML) and formally loaded them into Yahoo and Google. They've got some great tools for Web administrators.

Speaking of great tools, I found a free sitemap generator that rocks. It's not perfect, but it's free, and once I figured out a few of the idiosyncrasies, it saved me a ton of time. Click the icon below to check it out yourself.

Doing sitemaps right isn't trivial. I spent a ton of timing cleaning up dead links, republish blog entries that weren't migrated correctly by Google when they purchased and upgraded Blogger.com, making sure annoying stuff (spacer images, etc.) weren't included in the sitemap, etc. This meant there was a lot of republishing of blog entries and related RSS, atom, etc. news blasts. Sorry.

Finally, I added my new blog about toys to the right side "I'm [whatevering]" sidebar, "Blogs" sub listings, and Feed pages.

Oh, and I updated my copyright to 2007. Like you care.

Labels: acting, business, site updates, tools, toys

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Thursday, February 15, 2007

50,000(ish) served ...

I've been working through my 2006 Web traffic statistics for the last several weeks.

I sifted through all of the data my Web hosting software gives me -- weeding out duplicates and anomalies, search engines and Web spiders, pulling out anything I'm pretty sure is me or family. And so on.

And what I net out with is it looks like I had around 50,000 unique visitors last year to AdamCreighton.com -- not total visitors (that's a whole lot more) -- but unique visitors. Which, honestly, is pretty freaking amazing.

Far and away, it looks like people are coming directly to my Website, with referrals being much lower. This means folks likely have my site bookmarked, are coming from Email or direct market mail, or are typing the address directly.

Second biggest area of entry is from people subscribing to my RSS feeds. Lot o' subscribers, which is good to see. People efficiently getting my info, which is nice, since one of my big goals for 2006 on the Web front was to get away from direct Emails and mailing lists (I'm mostly there). And that's just the people who come to my site from their RSS reader. For most of my blogs, I publish the entire post, so there's no need for folks to come to my site, per se.

As far as referrals go, I'm getting a lot of traffic from blog aggregators, acting biz-related sites, and (recently) links from friends', colleagues', and (recently) some professional Websites.

I'm also seeing some nice, regular traffic from folks. Not to out anybody, but traffic from game companies, production studios, and related industries.

Glad you're looking folks -- now hire me! ;-)

Truly, though, thanks to everyone for looking and listening.

Now, this year, I'm actually going to market the promote the Website and its sub-sites as product. Hang on to your hat ...

(This post is duplicated on both my Acting and Gaming blogs, since it pertains to the whole of AdamCreighton.com.)

Labels: acting, biz, business, site updates, tools

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Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Happy Valentine's Day!

Like it or hate it, it's a national holiday.

Three years ago, I started making personal, borderline inappropriate Valentine's to send to my past and future clients.

My first feedback from a producer was, "I'm not sure whether to be impressed or disturbed that I got a Valentine from you."

Now, they kind of expect it.

So here's this year's rendition, which went out to 100-plus folks:

Adam Creighton 2007 Valentine (Front)

Adam Creighton 2007 Valentine (Back)

Labels: acting, biz, business

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Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Send out your holiday cards!

Acting is a business, and I'm amazed at how amazed people are by the business side of my craft.

Like me sending out holiday cards to my past and potential clients and co-creative folks.

"That sounds like a lot of work," someone told me. Yes, but The Biz is 90% business. In any other vertical market, it's pretty typical to send cards to your professional contacts, and it's an opportunity to connect with people, refresh contact info, and stay on people's radar.

So if it's not something you normally do ... get over yourself ;-)

Send at least a handful of cards -- to the professional Casting Directors for which you've auditioned, your agent(s), and your coach(es). For most folks, that's under a dozen cards. That's doable. And it's another chance to say, "Thank you."

And for the most part, send holiday cards -- not Christmas cards. We live in a diverse world, and some folks aren't comfy with what they may perceive as a judeo-Christian holiday being shoved at them. You're not necessarily shelving your values, but you're being sensitive to other folks' sensitivities.

There are exceptions, of course, I'm sending out a diverse mix of cards this year, and chunk of them actually are Christmas -- violating a rule I've followed for the years. But they're classic scenes from The Grinch, Peanuts, and Loony Toons, and (I'm sure) palatable to Biz folks.

Anyway, send your cards -- you have a day or two left.

Labels: acting, biz, business

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Monday, December 11, 2006

How weird is this?

I'm struck by how natural all of this unnatural stuff is.

I received notice over the weekend for a Monday a.m. print audition.

So, I printed commercial headshots and resumes yesterday. Early this morning, after shaving off my Albanian mob boss beard (for a film audition) I stopped off to get a hair trim (gotta look crisp for print), and went without coffee (the smile is so important in print). In the Casting Works LA parking lot, I put on makeup while sending some Biz-related Emails. on the way inside, I said hello to Gabe Folse (perhaps one of the nicest people alive) who was there casting for his film.

Once inside, I had a conversational hello with Donise Hardy (CSA), looked at the "Fridge o' Adam" to which she pointed me (she is beyond generous), talked to Gabe again (he wished me well on my print audition), hung out comfortably with model types (of which I am not), got a few pictures of me quickly snapped for the audition, said good-bye to Donise, stopped off to wash the makeup off my face, and sent a couple more Biz-related Emails from the parking lot.

It wasn't until I was driving back to my BigHugeCorp toy job that it struck me how weird all of this is.

I get paid to be creative?

I hang out with film makers models?

I wear makeup?

How weird is that?

I'm having such a blast ...

Labels: acting, acting process, business

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Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Toy Job resume lies ...

Wow. This hasn't happened to me before.

At BigHugeCorp, I just got a resume from a guy who wants me to consider him for work.

The problem is the latest entry on his resume is for a project that I own, and the entry is ... ah ... less than accurate.

Understand, a expect a certain amount of upselling on resumes I'm considering. As a matter of fact, I prefer it, because when I tear into it during an interview, I'm able to plumb the experience depths of the candidate pretty quickly, and see how confident in (or arrogant of) their abilities s/he is.

This was ... different. We're talking so overblown and inaccurate and taking credit for stuff he couldn't have done ...

It was sad.

I can't be specific without risking outing the guy, but it's seriously something analogous to this:

"Created and influenced detergent particles to work synergistically against refuse particles non-conducive to automotive cleanliness."

Translation: "I cleaned cars."

Except he's taking credit for creating soap, too.

Not good.

Labels: business, toy job

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