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He blows things up for a living. And he floods things, sets things on fire and smokes things.  If you need a gag on camera, you call Steve.  Steve has been a stuntman.  He is an actor.  But his day job is Special Effects Coordinator. Some of Steve’s SFX credits include: Necessary Roughness, Bonnie & Clyde, Captain Ron, A Promise Kept, A Killer Within, Living and Dying, and work on shows like Walker, Texas Ranger and Wishbone. The way it works is that Steve is sent the script and he goes through it, tagging what might be on-camera special effects (different than computerized “visual effects”).  If the script reads “it explodes” or “his body is riddled from the bullet hits,” Steve takes note and starts preparing. In one of the Serendipitous Film’s movie (“Striking Range” with Lou Diamond Phillips), Steve…

This is our series on Screenfighting, taking place in Dallas-Fort Worth on March 24-25.  Cost is $49 per class (four classes total, with a discount if you sign up for all four). For registration, go to http://s-films.com/store .  Space is very limited. Doug Williams Doug will be teaching on Saturday March 24, both classes.  He will be teaching weapons basics in the morning.  This involves safety on the set, difference between military and law enforcement regarding weapons use, and handling of hand guns.  This is a hands-on workshop, so you’ll be handling real weapons (please do not bring your own or have any live ammo on premises). In the afternoon, for Weapons 2 Intermediate, Doug will teach about rifles and how they’re used and carried.  If time allows, we’ll workshop movement as individuals and teams. Doug has trained at some…

The most feedback we’ve ever gotten with the seminars and workshops has been for the screenfighting one.  So we’ve scheduled a full weekend course for the Screenfighting Series.  Coming Feb 18-19, time to get your fight on and come on down to the Studios121 for some workshopping.  Class size will be limited (we had too many the first time), so it’s first come first serve. Weapons for Actors Police officers do not hide behind the corner pointing their pistols up into the air… that’s not where the bad guys are.  They don’t have a tea-cup hold on the gun either.  Unless they’re idiots.  In today’s television and film, the quest for authenticity is in full gear.  And if you look like you know what you’re doing in that audition for the law enforcement character or the military character, you’ve got…

What Goes Into a Good Actor Demo Reel Today, an actor needs a good demo reel. Many agents won’t even look at representing an actor if they don’t have one. So what are the elements that need to go into a demo reel to make it effective? Brevity. Us directors and the casting directors don’t have a lot of time. I’m not going to sit through a 6 minute demo. I will make it through a one minute demo. And that might even leave me wanting more. Which is what you want. Quality of Acting. I want to see beats or turns. Not just effusing drama. So you can cry. What caused your character to start crying? That’s what I want to see. Quality of Production. I understand that many actors use what they can get– that the filmmakers have…