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Tuesday December 14, 1999
Audition, Callback and On Avail
I had an audition for
AmeriTech Cellular
with a callback for Thursday the 16th.
I received the call Friday the 17th that I was On Strong Avail for the SAG spot (for one of the principal roles...).
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Monday December 14, 1999
Booked
I got the call that I'd booked the AmeriTech Cellular spot (paying at SAG scale and a half), shooting Tuesday and Wednesday, making me an immediate
SAG
Must Join.
I had my wardrobe fitting over at Ivar, which entailed being put in various outfits, each and all of which the director veto'd as he wanted me in the clothes in which I'd auditioned.
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Tuesday December 21, 1999
Shoot, day one
I arrived an hour early for my 11:00am call (as, with my car having died two months earlier, I had to bus there, my always being early for auditions and shoots anyway notwithstanding...).
I'd rather be an hour early than a minute late.
I spent that first day "lounging about," as throughout the day, my part of the commercial was not shot.
We were there in case they did get to our shots, which was fine by me.
The first day wrapped at 5:30pm.
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Wednesday December 22, 1999
Shoot, day two
I arrived 40 minutes early for the 7:00am call.
For the commrcial's police line-up, I am Suspect #2, and as Jorge Colletti was Suspect #1, they panned from him to me and onwards.
The spot indicates the woman, played by the familiar
Beverly Sanders
(who would eventual have a supporting role in the LAFS film
Behind the Curtain,
in which I also worked),
has called everyone in the line-up which stretches apparently into infinity.
We wrapped at 4:45pm so not only was I able to attend the private Yule gathering that evening (that I was pleased I did not have to miss), we (the actors there that day) all got about an hour fifteen minutes of overtime.
I learned that this is to be a "regional wild spot," to air in Indiana and Illinois.
I quickly notifed my Chicago friend Bob
to keep an eye out for it.
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Wednesday January 12, 2000
Private-sector compensation for labour
The session-fee check for the spot arrived Tuesday the 11th; I picked it up at my agency and cashed it, immediately calling SAG for an appointment to register as a SAG member.
I went to SAG and with the $1242 fee in hand, I registered (I even added an extra hundred "in advance" to handle the "flat" annual dues),
making me a fully paid member of the
Screen Actors Guild.
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Wednesday January 26, 2000
SAG orientation
I attended the SAG orientation meeting, outlining the features and benefits of SAG, after which I had two commercial auditions (one of which had me in for its callback). I also attended the Saturday the 29th meeting, the topic of which would be discussing then then upcoming February 2000 contract negotiations for commercial work.
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Thursday, February 17, 2000
Airing
By mail my Chicago friend Bob indicated that the AmeriTech spot is airing, but that he didn't spot me.
This could be a case of his simply not realizing he was seeing me in the line-up.
I replied to clarify how/where to spot me and I will contact the ad agency to see if I can get a copy of the completed spot(s).
An online friend Bix
(in Wheeling, Illinois), reported seeing the spot, but as with Bob, she only saw the latter part and not the beginning.
As presumably I am in the opening shot or two before the camera begins to move down the line (I'm only the second guy in the Line-Up), she has also missed seeing me.
Emptying my
rental box,
I found I'd received a February 11th [2000] residuals check for the commercial, my first such.
Considering its amount, it probably aired quite nicely...!
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Thursday, May 4th, 2000
Copy
Lisa Fields
of
O2 Ideas,
the ad agency that made the commercial, called me back to let me know they would be sending out to me a video tape copy of the commercial.
It was VHS, DVD not yet becoming the industry standard.
It had two versions of the spot, a :60 spot and a :30 second spot.
I am only in the full :60 spot.
When I can transfer it to DVD format, I'll place it here for viewing.
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