what to do to be an indie film actor

hello., please let me introduce myself my name is stephen from phoenix,az. . For the last year ive been really thinkin about attending an acting school. I really am a fan of the indie films and often see myself wanting to be an indie actor. My questons are, as a newbie. what pointers and tips can you give me on how to build this up for myself. I need to know the grounds of being an indie film actor From the beginning and building UP from there. i just want to know what i should expect and things i should prepare my self for. If anyone or all can give me some feedback i would really appreciate it. thnx.
 
'sup, good Stephen! :cool:

First step is to start taking those acting classes, not just thinking about it.

Not only will you get training to really help you improve as an actor, but you'll also be meeting people with similar interests. Networking is a very important part of almost every aspect of filmmaking.

Are you in high-school/college, btw?
 
S.A.M.,

First of all, ask yourself "why do I want to be an actor?" Unless it's because I just "have to" be an actor, then skip the acting lessons and just beome a celebrity.

Warning; acting school is hard, not a piece of cake. Developing the skills of an actor we want to hire to be in our films means talent and hard work have been applied to the standards of being a good actor. Whether it's indies or majors, the acting requirements are the same. Find a great school, or at least a good acting coach and start with the beginning lessons. Should be plenty in a city like Phoenix.

"Break a leg".

WC
 
yea as i sat and thought about it., ive alwasy been in interest in doing some acting. I did a little bit of theatre / drama in highschool like 5 years ago. It was a small drama play and there were roles that needed to be filled and at the time i didnt or havent even been taking any classes for this. i gave it a shot., they gave me an audition on to react towards stopping a friend from driving after he had been drinking.,.. i flipped the script on this approach, and instead of just being aggressive and trying to make him not drive like the way he was., i played with this his mind and kept it ona level of understanding than physically showing. made him think of what can happen if here was an accident., what can happen for his family, for his friends if he were to be killed while driving and drinking., what the future would look like, how much sorrow there would be., how much sadness and hardship we'd all have to go through.,and how selfish he would be leaving us all like this all because he wanted to be stubbourne and drive home drunk. ect. ect.

the teachers loved it adn were really amazed on how i approached this skit.

i gotthe part for the play and i guess i did ok but never really looked into actually continuing.
as a person i have alot of character, everyone admires how i can joke around and play different personalities just for fun and people say i should take some acting classes and see where it can take me.

i mean i wasnt sure becasue i hadnt had much motivation but ive been hanging out with a few good people who are currently taking acting classes and im really wantin to take a chance at this and see what i can do for myself. good or bad.

but i havent got the slightest clue on how to move into acting.. im a newbie at the age of 23 and i need help. school wise.?
what courses should i take ?
how long in school should i go for ? ect ect.
what do you guys think. ? thnx for your help.
 
im a newbie at the age of 23 and i need help. school wise.?
what courses should i take ?
how long in school should i go for ? ect ect.

Everyone's a newbie at some point.

I didn't really take a renewed active interest in acting 'til last year... and I'm a lot older than you. :blush:

(I did a lot back in high school/college, but it was all forgotten over time)

I assume your acting-friends will be able to tell you if they think their classes/courses are suitable for you. If not, there would likely be beginner classes at the same place.

Many places offer a variety of specialised classes... "Nailing The Audition", as an example. Probably not the type of thing that you would want to take first. That doesn't mean you shouldn't be looking around for parts when you feel ready, though. You might want to finish a course in the basics, for starters.

How long do classes last? I'm not sure if it's a standard, but both of the acting courses I take last 6 weeks... one day a week, for 3 hours. 18 hours total time per session. Might be coincidence, maybe not. That's my experience in CA, anyway.

There's no real "end" to the training and workshops.

_______

Get some headshots & resumes duplicated (don't panic if you don't have a lot of material for the resume... starting at the bottom like everyone else), and visit your local schools/colleges that have filmmaking programmes. They ought to have a department where you can add them to a folio of other actors. Student filmmakers often need non-students for various parts, and that's an easy way for them to find you.

Try out for local theaters.

Check out the regional section of CraigsList.org & Mandy.com , in the TV/Film/Video sections. (Or Casting section, for Mandy). Most the jobs will be no/lo pay... but it's experience and some footage to use to build a demo-reel. :cool:

...and never engage in a discussion about people you dislike. That's the darker side of the networking aspect. ;)
 
Hi,

Work for free only with the equally talented &ambitious. This will happen early on in a career, or perhaps before a career.
The line will need to be drawn about your pay at a point, or else you'll get a name as a guy who works for free. Who wants that??
Think of it this way: You do an apprentice scheme (an indie or 2), then command a fee.
After all, could you get a plumber to work for free? No.
 
The only thing worse than being an actor at the bottom is being a musician at the bottom. Be prepared to move to LA (expensive!), scour casting calls every day, drive thru traffic and audition unsuccessfully for role after role. The best actors tend to have a history of performing (doing theater or stand up comedy).
 
Work for free only with the equally talented &ambitious

I hope that's me you're talking about ;)

For those who were unaware kimo was one of the main actors in my last feature and is a very talented guy.

I've got to agree with him as well about it being OK to say no to projects. The film making community in any area is fairly small and people form opinions about directors and their work and by extension about the actors they work with.

So, for instance, there is a guy in my area who has a reputation for turning out lots of amusing, but badly scripted/acted films. He really likes that stuff, but the actors he works with are actually harming their abiltiy to get taken seriously and it does cost them work.

I think that as an indie actor the trick is learn very, very quickly the diference between a good script and a bad one. Like screenwriters, I think that indie actors should be reading professional film scripts all the time, so when some indie hands you something, you've got a point of comparison.
 
I hope that's me you're talking about

Of course!

there is a guy in my area who has a reputation for turning out lots of amusing, but badly scripted/acted films

LOL.!!

You're right on the money with being capable of spotting a decent script, and descerning the differences between it and a not-so-decent script. It's an essential skill.
I'd stress this point: When an actor hasn't been doing much for a while, she, or he is most likely to end up doing something substandard and for no money.
So an actor really needs to be "behind the 8-ball" if not much is happening.

Thank You for the kind words, Clive.
 
No need to thank me Kimo, you earnt them.

Anyway, I believe that the only way to learn the difference between a good script and bad ones is self education. That is by reading good scripts.

Some of the writers on this forum are reading "Bringing out the Dead" at the moment and talking about it in this thread

screenplay club

We'd be happy to have some of you actors join us and give your perspective on the script.

You can get scripts off the net for free, just google "screenplays" and the major sites pop up. Script Crawler is the one I use most. I'm hoping that we'll do a new script every fortnight.

Oh, by the way, just finished my new screenplay "True" a few days back. Very pleased with it.
 
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