Working as an extra on TV shows and Movies is how I fill my time between stunts and filmmaking. In this video, IÂ was sent to the LA Convention Center!
My day was filled (as it usually is) with a lot of waiting around, and drinking coffee! 🙂
I’ve been in LA for 5 years, and I still fill my free time working as an extra. This is a highly flexible job, that is a prime choice for actors, stunt people, and filmmakers.
A “cattle call” is a nickname given when a TV show or Movie has a particularly large call for extras. It’s when you feel like you’re just being a bunch of cattle, being herded. But this was a particularly pleasant day, and everyone was nice. (Sometimes you run into ADs that treat you like subhuman)
This was also the first time I decided to bring a camera onto a set while doing extra work (aka, background work).
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As someone who is working hard to reach my goals, I do extra work in between all of my other projects. What did you guys think of this video? Let me know in the comments! 🙂
Here’s an action comedy short film (fight scene) that I made recently, about a guy who takes his coffee addiction too seriously! We came up with the name, 13 Pumps, during the filming process. Some people love their coffee creations just right, and get really upset if they don’t get them the way they wanted.. I used to see people like this all of the time when I worked at Starbucks in the past, and have always wondered what would happen if a real fight broke out.
So without further delay, please check out 13 Pumps below!
We came up with, and improvised the story with my stunt friends Vaughndio Forbes and Andrew Dismuke. My wonderful girlfriend Mary ran action camera for her first time, and I think she kicked some butt!
We filmed this fight the day after I watched the Keanu Reeves movie, John Wick, for the first time. I was really impressed by the fight choreography put together by the 87 Eleven Action Team, especially how they incorporated several good Judo throws into their fight scenes. My main martial art background is in Judo..so on the day of filming 13 pumps, I decided I wanted to try and incorporate some throws into my choreography, as well!! Vaughndio (the guy I’m fighting) did really well in learning and performing the throw on the spot.
This was also the first time that I’ve incorporated a “scorpion kick” into a fight scene. Made into reality after a good suggestion by Andrew (the guy in the white shirt), I was pleasantly surprised in how the movement turned out on camera! And Vaughndio’s impact-ful front fall that followed, made for a nice sequence in my eyes.
Another interesting movement that I was grateful worked out on camera, was the last breakfall in the fight. The reaction my character takes from Andrew’s spinning hook kick is called a “sayuchi” in Hong Kong stunt terms. I had only ever done it in a gymnastics gym before, and though it was a little nerve wracking the first time, I was pleasantly surprised with the end result. You feel so embarrassed that you cannot get it up again despite ample sexual desire in https://www.unica-web.com/archive/980721ci.htm purchase cheap cialis you.
STUNT TIP:The secret to doing the Sayuchi stunt fall, (in my personal way of thinking), is to perform it as a “header” stunt fall where you break your momentum by touching your toe to the ground first and slowing yourself down. Then from there, you add a little rotation to the beginning part of the movement, and land it like a traditional judo side breakfall.
Thank you again for checking out 13 Pumps – A Coffee Fight Scene! I hope you enjoyed it.. Recently, I have started making a conscious effort into expanding my youtube channel, so if you get a chance please check it out! And if you like what you see, subscribe! Otherwise, I would love to hear your feedback in the comments, so I can keep learning and improving as a filmmaker.
Hey guys, today I’d like to share with you my first ever national commercial!
Back in May, I landed a role in a national commercial for Chex Mix. It started airing on TV several weeks ago, and you can check it out here if you want to see it! – http://ispot.tv/ad/7RRh/chex-mix-decoy-bag
The shoot was super fun and simple. We filmed about 3 different versions of the commercial (one without me going through the window, one with, and one with me playing a completely different character!). Everyone was very professional, fun to work with, and easy to talk to. The day went by fast, and we were out of the studio before the sun set! Also, director Roderick Fenske did an amazing job. He was fun to work with, gave good direction, and loved our improv moments. I really hope to again work with him in the future!
[Group Picture coming soon]
Over the last 3 years of living in Los Angeles I must have auditioned for over 100 commercials, and it was an amazing experience to finally land a national commercial! I feel very blessed, and thankful to everyone who has helped me get to this point. Thank you Kimo Keoke for finding me the audition, you’re always looking out for me! Thank you to my friend Surawit Sae Kang for coordinating and rigging up the wire I was suspended on, and to Jeff Pruitt for keeping me safe! And thank you to my agency, Mavrick Artists for believing in me, negotiating, and helping me to land the part!
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I learned something from this experience.. find something you love doing, and focus your energy on doing that! One day you will get your break and realize that hard work which you invest in yourself is always worth it!
My other character which never got included in the final version.
Have a great day, everyone!
I was originally wrote a longer version of this article with an in-depth explanation of the whole process of being in a national commercial, but I think I am going to leave it for a future update if anyone shows interest..
Let me tell you about a very cool project I worked on last year! For starters, here is the finished product..
In February 2012, my friends and I started training Kali Escrima with a really cool guy named Kimo Keoke. We would have training sessions once or twice a week in his backyard, and our martial art backgrounds allowed us to start picking this new style up relatively quickly. After training there for several weeks, an opportunity presented itself. Kimo was to coordinate stunts on a commercial which was looking for a lead actor who could also do his own Parkour/Freerunning and stunts. I was recommended, and sent my 2011 reel off to the director..
Tim Hendrix (the director) loved what he saw and asked me to play the role of the protagonist. He sent me the script, along with a video storyboard he created. I was immediately interested in working on this project, the whole endeavour projected excitement onto me, and reminded me of the videos I used to make for Kouro Media when I lived in Scotland. Also, I had just booked my first lead role, AND I would get to do my own stunts? Sign me up!
The first meeting I went to was between the director (Tim), stunt coordinator (Kimo), and myself. We checked out the planned locations at the south campus of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. Afterwards, Kimo and I went around and felt out the possible movement achievable within the space. We created a handful of stunts which would fit in with the storyboards, that we would later show to production. After the meeting was over and everyone was happy, I found I had a couple of days to prepare.. Wardrobe called me that evening and got my sizes, and I went for a training session at the Tempest Freerunning Academy.
Wardrobe brief was “geeky”
Morning, day 1. Spirits were high and everyone was excited to get to work. I warmed up with Kimo in a corner and we started choreographing the final sequence. The first shot of the day was to be the last shot of the action sequence, where I run up a wall to grab the “pill”, flip, and destroy one of the ghosts. I did about 10-15 variations of wallflips with different “finishing moves”, and once the director chose his favorite, we were set.
Takeoff..
Flip..
Pose!
I don’t think I will ever forget those first 2 hours. I think I did somewhere in the region of 50-60 sprints/wallflips/finishing move combos in an hour and a half window. I remember the wardrobe lady (Amber Wrigley) would come up to me and help me hang my shirt up between takes, as we only had 2 and I was getting pretty sweaty in the intense atmosphere.. I also remember misjudging where the wall stud was. I kept thinking the beam holding up the drywall was in one place, but once I saw the wall start to cave more and more on each take, I changed my footing. The outcome was inevitable either way, and I ended up putting my foot through the wall. I’m sure the footage is still floating around somewhere, but we found out the hard way that the wall beam was of a new design, and only one inch wide.
Super secret Foot-Through-Wall attack!
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No matter, noone was hurt and the shoot went on!
RUN!
The remainder of the first day was dedicated to filming the rest of the action sequence, with me scaling walls, sprinting down random hallways, leaping up and down sets of stairs, and playing around in an elevator. (We could only use the elevator for a 30min window and ended up blasting through that part)..we wrapped around 2pm on the first day, and I drove to my girlfriend’s house to relax and wait for day 2.
Kimo’s elevator pushups
The 2 day shoot took place in Pasadena, and the 40 minute drive I had to make each morning at 7 am was mostly uneventful, except for the highway tire blow-out (I used to drive a 99 Volvo convertible with shot shocks and a roof that didn’t work).. So, on the second morning of the shoot, as I was getting on the 210 (I drove from Santa Clarita), I felt a sudden shaking take over the car. A glance at my passenger mirror showed me flying chunks of rubber coming from my car. I made my way off of the highway and parked. This was at 7am on a Sunday morning, and I am still extremely grateful for the gentleman who answered his doorbell and let me borrow a jack to switch out the stripped rim for a spare. Anyways..the second day of the shoot was dedicated to filming all of the acting scenes. We were set up in a makeshift hallway, and the day was carried through with interesting conversations from the production, other actors, and various people all around.
Kimo and me!
We got all of the shots we needed, wrapped on time, and everyone said their goodbyes to newly found friends and colleagues. The excitement from those 2 days in Pasadena still stays with me, it was definitely one of the funnest projects I’ve worked on to this day. I found everyone’s work ethic, skill level, and sincerity to be outstanding, and I couldn’t wait to see the final project! Unfortunately there were some complications with post-production, but Tim Hendrix pulled through and edited the finished product you see at the top of this page 🙂
Final shot of the action sequence
This past year, I was lucky enough to get to work with Kimo Keoke several more times, and on another project with Tim Hendrix. The second project with Tim and Kimo was the music video for Koan Sound’s “80s Fitness”, which you can see here.
Anyways, thanks for reading and I hope you have a great day!
