What is Pilot Season? (Showbiz Term of the Day)

Big Bang Theory Was Cast in Pilot Season 2007, Image via Flickr

There is a lot of talk about “pilot season” right now in Los Angeles. That is because pilot season is going on right now.

The time referred to as “pilot season” used to be much more well-defined than it is now. But it does still occur.

My daughter and I have been friends with several young actors who landed roles on pilots during pilot season.

Pilot Season Has a Big Effect on the LA Area

It is at this time of year that masses of people, mostly actors, descend on LA hoping to be able to take advantage of the increase in activity in the entertainment industry here in LA.

It always seems that LA Traffic gets crazier, and certainly the entertainment work permit office gets busier. And a larger number of Coogan accounts are probably opened at this time of year as well.

And headshot photographers and reproductions offices get busier trying to help all the talent that has just flooded into the area get their headshots ready for distribution as well as the local talent doing the same thing.

Talent Agencies and Talent Managers

Talent agencies and talent managers also get busier. And many agencies and managers in the LA area who work with actors who come here at this time of year become somewhat distracted from their local talent as they focus on sending their seasonal talent out on as many auditions as possible during the short time they are here.

In fact, just about all businesses involved in the entertainment industry get busier at this time of year.

Let’s hope that with the economy in the state that it has been in lately, this will be a great pilot season, and the entertainment industry will come out of the slump it seems to have been in for a while.

So, “What is Pilot Season?”

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What Is SAG? (Showbiz Term of the Day)

SAG in LA, Wikipedia

You’ve probably heard the showbiz term “SAG” with regards to actors, awards, and projects.  You probably not only wonder what SAG is but probably also wonder “What Does SAG Stand For?”

I know “SAG” was one of many terms/acronyms I often heard and wondered about when my daughter and I first came to Los Angeles.

So, “What Is SAG?”

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How Do You Create Videos of Acting Auditions to Submit to Casting Directors?

Video of Acting Auditions for Film or TV

My daughter just got an audition request from a casting director where the acting auditions must be submitted on video. This is for a theatrical audition (see “Do You Know What Theatrical Acting Auditions Are“  for more on this topic)  for a feature film.

We’ve created a number of videos of acting auditions since we’ve been in Los Angeles. It is a little more work than just showing up in person for the audition, but there are some advantages.

Creating videos of acting auditions is fairly common for actors not living in the LA area.  It is less common for most of us in the LA area, though it seems like it has become more common lately. So many projects are being filmed in places other than LA these days.

We’ve created videos of acting auditions in various ways when they’ve been requested.  We’ve created videos of acting auditions ourselves, had friends help us create them, paid acting coaches and teachers to create them for us, and gone into a small studio to have them created.

If you pay someone to do it for you, it can be expensive, but the quality of the resulting video is likely to be quite good.

Some of our friends are good at creating audition videos at home. If you have a friend who has good equipment and is into creating videos,  they might be willing to do it for you for free.

With a little practice and some decent equipment, you can create good videos of acting auditions yourself.

So, what choices do you have when submitting videos of acting auditions?  Should you create your own audition videos? Or should you pay someone to create an audition video for you? You really have to weigh the pros and cons.

If you’ve gotten a request to submit an audition video, you are probably wondering “How Do You Create Videos of Acting Auditions to Submit to Casting Directors?”

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How Do You Renew Your Child’s Entertainment Work Permit?

Office for Entertainment Work Permits, Van Nuys

I just drove to Van Nuys today to renew my daughter’s California entertainment work permit. Her work permit was going to expire on September 27th.

I like to always keep my daughter’s entertainment work permit up to date so if an opportunity to work comes up, we don’t have to worry about it. Since things can pop up suddenly in the entertainment industry, not having a current work permit can result in a missed opportunity.

If you are not sure if you need a work permit for your child actor or model, refer to “Do You Need an Entertainment Work Permit for Your Child Actor?”

Fortunately, the process of getting a work permit is much better now than it used to be. It used to be a nightmare! (See “How Do You Get a Child Entertainment Work Permit in Southern California?” for additional details on the work permit process.)

Allow Extra Time for Work Permit Renewals

I had to take the work permit application to her new school (she moved from elementary school to middle school this year) to have it filled out and stamped. I did run into a snag there as the registrar informed me that they only fill out work permits after progress reports are issued (and that is still a couple of weeks away!). My heart sank.

When I explained that my daughter’s work permit would expire in a few days, she said they might be able to approve it prior to the progress report if a child was an exceptional student. I assured her that my daughter is an excellent student.

Thank goodness my daughter is very serious about her schoolwork. The school registrar then told me she’d look back at her school records, and if it was true, she would go ahead and complete the work permit application by the next day.

I am just warning you to keep this sort of thing in mind when dealing with public schools and work permits. They can make getting a work permit a little more difficult than we’d all like it to be.  Your child needs to keep his/her grades up.  And you need to avoid procrastination when it comes to getting work permit applications filled out, so you have time to deal with all the little issues that can slow the process down.

Things Are Good in the Van Nuys Entertainment Work Permit Office

Fortunately, the work permit process in the L.A. area still seems to be running smoothly, just as it was 6 months ago.

I had a good drive down to Van Nuys, and managed to be in and out of the work permit office in only 25 minutes.  I did have to sit in traffic moving at a snail’s pace for an extra 20 minutes on the way home, but that is par for the course here in the Los Angeles Area.

I completed the whole trip to the work permit office and back in just under two hours. And in my hands I now have her new work permit that is good from today until March 24, 2010. I am so glad that is done and out of the way for another 6 months!

So, “How Do You Renew Your Child’s Entertainment Work Permit?”

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How Do the California Wildfires Affect Your Health?

California Wildfires, Image by Getty Images via Daylife

When we made the move to Los Angeles for an acting career, we did not anticipate dealing with the California wildfires. But over the last 6 years since we’ve been here, we’ve had to learn how to deal with them.

The Good News — Wildfires Getting Under Control

It is good news that the California wildfires in the Angeles National Forest are now 42% contained (under  control).  The humidity is up, the wind has died down, and the temperatures are a little cooler and heading down.

The slight weather changes should allow the firefighters to continue to make gains in the battle with the wildfires that have been going on for over a week now in the Los Angeles area.

Fortunately, in our area, the air is a little better today than it was yesterday. With the cooler temperatures predicted for the weekend, that trend is likely to continue.

The Bad News

The bad news about the California Wildfires is that over 140,000 acres of the Angeles National Forest have burned, two firefighters have died, people have been injured, people have lost their homes, and the fire is still burning. And even worse, it is believed that the fire is the result of arson. And now there is some talk about there having been some toxic fumes in the air in one of the areas where the firefighters were stationed.

And now there is a new fire South of Los Angeles near Lake Elsinore.

The air quality continues to be extremely poor, and it is not likely to improve much for quite a while.

The threat of additional fires also still remains high, so residents in the L.A. area need to continue to be prepared for evacuation and need to think about the quality of the air they are breathing. (See Are You Prepared for the California Wildfires? for more information.)

Breathing In Smoke and Particles in the Air

Yesterday, when I ventured out to take kids to school, my eyes, nose, and throat were burning, and the windshield was covered in flakes of ash. The whole area was covered in a fog of smoke.

As a parent of a child actor, I am continuing to drive all over the area to auditions and rehearsals and to take care of other tasks related to my child actor’s acting career even with all the smoke and fire nearby.   This is yet another negative of making the move to the L.A. area in pursuit of an acting career for my daughter!

Life still goes on. But the smoke is taking its toll on all of us. We are all suffering with minor symptoms of smoke inhalation, and I am hoping it will get significantly better soon.

I took some time to do some more research on protecting my family from the dangers of breathing in the smoke and ash. I read all about the effects of the California wildfires and how to prevent health problems related to them. I’d like to share what I’ve found with you.

So, “How Are the California Wildfires Affecting Your Health?“  and what can you do about it?

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Are You Prepared for the California Wildfires?

California Wildfires, Angeles National Forest (Flickr/donielle)

I remember our first experience with California wildfires. My daughter and I were living in Burbank when one of the first California wildfires of the season erupted on a nearby hillside.

It was October of 2003 and we’d only been in LA for a couple of months.  I was frightened and stayed glued to the tv day and night wondering what I’d do if we had to evacuate.

There were fires scattered all about the area. The air was full of smoke.  I went out and bought white face masks and filled the van with gas, preparing for the worst. This was not something I was expecting when we made the move to L.A. for my daughter to pursue an acting career!

Santa Ana Winds Fuel the Wildfires

The wildfires were being fueled by the fierce Santa Ana winds, making it difficult for the firefighters to contain the fires.

The air quality was so poor that the kids couldn’t go out for lunch or recess. There was a thick haze of smoke, and pieces of ash were falling from the sky. It almost looked like snow falling…

California Wildfires 2009

Now it is 2009. We are once again dealing with California wildfires (as we have most years since 2003).  The Santa Ana winds are not blowing, but the fires have burned many acres in the Angeles National Forest and are continuing to spread.  As I stepped out of my house this morning, I could not only see the smoke in the air but I could smell it.

My family and I drove to Dick Blick Art Supply in Pasadena yesterday. We weren’t thinking about the fires, but as we headed close to the burning areas near the 210 freeway, we could see flames on the hills and huge, dark clouds of smoke filling the air.

Stay Tuned in to KFI/640 for Updates on the California Wildfires

We kept the radio on KFI (640 am) to hear the ongoing coverage of the fires. As we listened to the evacuation orders for a number of nearby areas, I thought of all the people being forced to leave their homes.

We saw people lined up outside of their vehicles watching the fires, possibly shut off from their homes near the burning areas. We watched the fire helicopters dropping water and retardant on the fires.

Time to Get Prepared!

All this made me start thinking about the need to get prepared for the fires and smoke spreading closer to our home and the possibility of needing to evacuate.  The fire season is just beginning, so these issues are likely to continue for the next several months.

If you are in Southern California, you are no doubt concerned about the wildfires and with good reason. How will the California wildfires affect you?

Are you prepared for the California wildfires?

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What Does a Child Give Up to Become a Child Actor?

Image by respres/Flickr, Spend Hours in Traffic to Become a Child Actor

When we decided to help our daughter become a child actor, we did not think much about the cons of acting — instead we were focused on giving our daughter the opportunity to do what she seemed to enjoy most — entertaining others.

At the same time, helping her become a child actor seemed like an exciting and fun thing to do. And Los Angeles seemed like a cool place to be. (See “What Should You Do If Your Child Wants to Become a Child Actor?” and “Should You Move to Los Angeles for Your Child to Become a Child Actor?”  for more on this topic.)

As we started our journey into show business, we knew there would be some sacrifices, but it was not until we moved to L.A. and began auditioning that we started to really understand the sacrifices.

A Birthday Party

I remember one particular time when my daughter was 7, and she was invited to the birthday party of one of her best friends at school.  It was a pool party, and all of her friends were planning to be there. She was so excited that she could hardly think or talk about anything else.

An Audition

When the phone rang the day before the party, and it was her talent manager, my heart sank. As I feared, my daughter’s manager informed me of an audition scheduled at the same time as the birthday party.

It had been a while since my daughter’s last audition, and I knew I really needed to agree to it.

Perhaps I should have turned it down, but instead I asked if we could change to a later time.  I was able to postpone it for two hours, but it still meant she’d have to leave the party early.

I dreaded telling my daughter about the audition and wondered how I could get her to rehearse her lines, much less be cheerful and happy in the audition.

Changing Plans

When I told her, first she said “No, I am not going!”   She was very upset, but after a few minutes of thinking, she seemed to understand that it was something she needed to do. She immediately began working on learning the lines for the audition.

I still remember having to tell the mother of the birthday girl that we’d be leaving early for an audition. I also remember how she looked at me when I told her.  Most people really don’t understand about this sort of thing.

Doing What You Have to Do

When I arrived back at the party to pick up my daughter, she was in the pool laughing and playing with her friends, and I hated having to take her away from this.

I still remember how sad she looked when she saw me there. But she got out willingly, and then, amazingly, cheerfully left with me.

Making Plans is Difficult

This was only one of so many occasions when plans were made with friends and then had to be canceled due to auditions.  Sometimes I was almost afraid to make any plans for my daughter for fear of an audition resulting in us having to cancel.  I even started warning the parents whenever plans were made that if an audition came up we’d have to cancel.

Some of the other parents and I joked about it saying we needed to make plans to go somewhere if we wanted our child to get an audition.

Interference with plans made is just one of a number of things that a child has to deal with when they become a child actor.

Have you thought about what your child will give up to become a child actor?

“What does a child give up to become a child actor?”

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Will You Miss Your Family If You Move to L.A. for Your Child to Become a Child Actor?

Chau-Ram Park, (via turbojoe/Flickr), Leave Family to Become a Child Actor?

My two kids and I just returned from a two-week trip to South Carolina to visit our family.  We travel to South Carolina twice each year to visit family ever since we moved to L.A. for our daughter to become a child actor.

The thing I’ve struggled with most after moving to L.A. for my daughter to become a child actor was leaving all our family behind.

I know people leave their families all the time, but I’ve always been close to my family and spent a lot of time with them. And I really miss that.

And my kids really miss doing things with our relatives.

While we were in SC visiting, we did all sorts of things with family. We went on boat rides, went swimming in the lake, and went tubing on the Chauga River.  We went blueberry picking at a nearby blueberry farm.  We went to a cousin’s birthday party, too. And we just hung out with family–watching tv, playing video games or other games, and just talking.

We spent a lot of our time visiting my mother who is not in the greatest health. She misses having us around.  We try to cram a year’s worth of visits with her into the 3 or 4 weeks we are in the area each year. She hates it most of all that we moved so far away.

For us, being far away has meant that we’ve missed weddings, funerals, birthdays, family reunions, holidays, and many other events.

Sure, we have friends in L.A. But friends, no matter how good they are, typically come and go.  With family it is different — at least for us it is.

At times, I really just want to drop everything, and just take off to return to the Southeast.

If you are considering moving to L.A. or New York for your child to become a child actor, have you considered how you’ll feel when your family is so far away?

How much will you miss your family if you move to L.A. or New York for your child to become a child actor?

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