I thought I’d be farther ahead at this point… This is too hard, should I just get a “real” job?… Maybe I wasn’t meant to succeed in this business… Are my goals realistic?… Should I go back home? … Is it time to give up on Hollywood? How many of you have been here? I’m in Sydney, Australia, currently looking out over the luscious greenery of Camperdown Memorial park. It’s a beautiful day. Warm rays shine down on happy people jogging, picnicking, playing… weird Australian games. Frisbee, maybe? But, in the midst of the fun, these questions swirl. It’s all…
Author: Kat Castaneda
The denotation of Life is that it is “a condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter.” But this word also holds a worldwide connotation for one’s own experiences, emotional and otherwise, and it can represent mortality (i.e. “Lifelong”). There are many ideas about life and questions as to its purpose. But the one thing we all know for sure, rich or poor, black or white, short or tall… we all succumb to good times as well as bad within it. Life is a tumultuous thing that changes with little notice. Sometimes it’s based on the actions we take.…
THE RESEARCH: There are over 100,000 actors living in Los Angeles, and that does not include non-union actors. Of the roles offered, around 75% of speaking roles are given to Caucasians, 11% African-American, 4% Latino, 5% Asian, and 4% other (or mixed race) ethnicities. While it’s no secret that Hollywood tends to favor Caucasians in front of camera, many, many aspiring actors still feel slighted because of their heritage or color of their skin. But what if you fall into the minority category even though the way you look can pass for something different? Alexis Bledel, Zoë Saldana, Cameron Diaz,…
Dreams shine bright. They make our days lighter and our hearts skip a beat. But a shadow hovers over us like a storm cloud threatening to snuff out the gleam of our dreams. This shadow has a name, tis the dreaded “Day Job”. We, as dream chasers, are in pursuit of our ultimate goals a minimum of 40 hours per week. Though, most of us, are putting in even more time than that. That’s great, because the more time we spend honing our craft, working the business aspect of things, writing, watching films, etc. the better and more knowledgeable we…
Networking can be a naughty word. It comes easy for some. Others would rather gouge their own eyes out then attempt conversation with a stranger. But, as in most any business, we can all agree it is vitally important to one’s success. Meeting the right person can mean a promotion, a job, a big meeting, it can even mean a finding the love of your life (don’t laugh, it happened to me). All is fair game in the world of networking and many things can come from it. We’ve all heard the old “It’s not what you know, but who…
Okay, you’re in the writing process of your amazing project. You’re not finished so you can’t officially enter the pre-production phase but there are things you can consider, and start feeling out, prior to having your scripts locked into a shooting draft. I like to call it the Pre-pre-production phase. 1) What’s your platform? You’ve seen everyone else’s webseries up on Youtube or their own website and you’ve figured that’s your platform as well. I mean, what else is there, right? Maybe not. You may have yet to realize, but now, before you go into production, or pre-production even, is…
Ah, the writing process, a lonely, self-deprecating process that brings out all your life long insecurities. They say writers, by definition, are introverts. I guess because when it’s just you, mono a computer-o, spending many, many hours translating inner thoughts and dialogue into words on a page, it can be rather non-social. Some are fine with this fact and even relish in the idea of not having to deal with other living souls. But I, myself, am not one of those types. I love to interact with others and even feel I gain more energy and creativity when surrounded by…
I researched many articles on writing a traditional television show. They all varied depending on the show. Some involved a writing room and others, surprisingly, involved no group writing sessions at all, but the head writer simply assigned episodes for writers to go off and write on their own. For comedy, though, they almost always had a writing room and more writers than any drama. Why? Because comedy is hard, it’s subjective, and the more opinions on what’s funny the better the chances you’ll actual create something funny. At least the audience you’re after will have some chuckles. All this…
So, I’ve decided to turn my monthly articles for “Ms. In The Biz” into a running blog detailing my web series journey from concept to creation. My hope is that it may inspire and aide you in the creation of your own dream project! For those who have been following from my previous posts, in September I completed a crowdfunding campaign that garnered me $18,000 to fund my project. It was tough and we fell short of the $25,000 we were initially after, but $18K is not anything to sneeze at. It’s enough to still allow us the ability to…
So, after an initial 48-day crowdfunding campaign, an unexpected 14-day extension, and still ending short of our goal – I am left wondering, “what went wrong?” What could I have done differently? And, what do I do now? I know I am not alone in this. As I discussed in a past post here on Ms. In The Biz about crowdfunding, it is a beast and many, many campaigns complete their run “unsuccessful”. So, what’s the takeaway? Well, allow me to reflect on my own campaign so that you, my child, may learn from my mistakes. Our campaign for a…
When I meet someone in “the biz” here in Hollywood there are many things they know or can guess about me; I am a woman, I am a small woman, I am a small woman who is an actress or something similar. What most fail to ever see is that I am also a United States Marine. I’m not active duty anymore, but as any Marine will tell you, “Once a Marine, always a Marine”. Ah yes, as soon as that surprising tidbit is unleashed, I find myself the center of interest – mostly from men who want to know…
This is my first article for Ms. In The Biz, and initially I had wanted to begin with an intro on myself and my military background; “what brought me from the Marines to Hollywood” kind of piece. Well, new friends, I will entertain you with that delicious tale on the next go-around. Today, however, I find myself compelled (yes… compelled!) to write about something I am in the trenches of at this very moment. Another type of war; a war with Crowdfunding: the two-headed beast. Crowdfunding, for some, holds the connotation of funding your project free from artistic-interference. For others,…