Cosmote Greece #FlashbackFriday

It's Flashback Friday again and I came across these great pics from a commercial I shot years ago for Cosmote, the largest mobile network operator in Greece.

It was a very large commercial produced by Foss Productions and shot over several days, all in the same location. We filmed in a closed-off street in Johannesburg, where each day the team turned the street into a whole new fantasy world for each of the 4 lead characters; a romantic 'love in the air' couples everywhere scene; an awesome night-club party scene in the street; a full on winter-wonderland-snow-filled skiing world and a huge movie set scene - complete with cowboys, can-can girls, aliens, cops and robbers, a bus exploding, guns firing and stunt people jumping off of buildings, through windows and being set on fire! It was awesome!!

I was involved in the all night shoot of the 'party scene' and froze my tushi off dancing in a sequined mini all night, and I also got to play a can-can girl and watch all the crazy stunt men do their thing, it was epic. I'd love to do some stunt work, I love the adrenaline rush and to learn the skills it takes to 'pretend' fall/shoot/fight for several takes in a row! All in a day's work 'ey!

It's Friday, enjoy the weekend peeps!!
Speak soon!

King Pie Psycho Girl #FlashbackFriday

For some reason I have often booked work where I gotta get a little crazy and not care too much about being/looking/feeling a little ridiculous in front of the camera. And those are usually the most enjoyable jobs!

So here is a great flashback for you guys to a commercial I shot in 2009 for King Pie entitled 'Psycho Girl'. That says it all!

Have a psychedelic weekend!
Chat soon,

Crazy Castings #ActressLife

Have you ever looked back at your career and really, no I mean really thought about some of the auditions and casting moments you have been faced with??

There have been some weird and wonderful requests and experiences during my career as actress... One that comes to mind was an audition for a soap where I had to portray a completely psychologically disturbed women in a hospital, who shoots her love interest during the scene, locks herself in the bathroom and threatens suicide. Which wouldn't be strange on the actual set but in the casting room with only one other person and absolutely no props or actors reading opposite you - it can get a little interesting!

Or you end up auditioning with a poker-faced monotonous 'actor' reading in the lines (often they're the wrong sex for the character). I once had to actually eat the actual (dry) cereal in the casting room with a spoon which all the other auditionees had already used, oh... and then deliver a line afterwards. I've had to pretend to speak to imaginary digital characters, fall in love with a mannequin, get pretend hi-jacked and dance like nobody's watching. I have had to do a full on made-up-on-the-spot yoga routine, pretend my finger snaps bring imaginary items to life, pretend I'm surfing and pretend I'm playing tennis (well)! I've had to moonwalk to work, dance like a robot, a drunk party animal, a cheerleader and a ballerina. I have had to imagine a horrific crime scene and become emotional over it, have had to memorise pages and pages of script for one character - by the next day and speak in several different accents, sometimes even other languages. And I wouldn't have it any other way!

What a crazy wonderful job, never quite the same and certainly never ever dull. Even once you get booked for the job, there is a large amount of the set and warderobe that isn't actually physically there (often added in post) which must be created by the actors' imagination and ability to put themselves into that possible reality. And sometimes your co-actor can not be part of a take due to space, availability or a type of camera angle for the shot. Think of a bedroom scene where the lens is filming the POV (point of view) of the person lying at the bottom, or a POV during a fight, a telephone call etc... There are many such instances where the actor doesn't have the luxury of playing off of another actor's lines or reactions.
Personally I have found that working as an improv actor has greatly improved my skill with these situations and auditions.

I hope you enjoy some of the mad pics of castings I've been to over the last while...

Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeext!!!!

Bye for now!

Buy Smart - Enterprise Lifestyle Commercial #BehindTheScenes

I had such a fun day on set of the commercial shoot I did a week ago for Buy Smart - Enterprise Lifestyle. And it was completely surprising and lovely to have several familiar faces on the team as well as fabulous new people to meet.

It was a real blast from the past to find out my 'husband' would be played by my friend Dean Roberts, who was my colleague and fellow 'bohemian' in the South African and touring musical theatre production of We Will Rock You (also read We Will Rock You - A Tribute) some years ago! Deano is an absolute scream, he has the best sense of fun and humour to have around on set and wow he's so great with kids! What an absolute pleasure angel!

I got to play #mommyforaday and had the most gorgeous-looking family!

Just look at my gorgeous little girl Amika and cute dimple-face boy, Levi. (So this is what my offspring would look like if I married a blonde!) And lemme tell you, the camera looooooves Levi! There's something to be said for the pure innocence of kids that age, they have absolutely no limits, fears or airs. Almost oblivious to the camera he just 'is', his whole little being speaks of joy and freedom of spirit. It's magical and inspiring!

I met Aileen Joubert at our wardrobe fitting at the Wardrobe Studio and we were chatting about my sharing the Joubert surname (maiden name) and having lived in Northcliff, but I never quite put two and two together.

On set she was telling me about having worked with primates earlier in life, and I got all excited telling her about this lady who was my neighbour in high school who also rehabilitated monkeys and how my sister and I did school projects on them. After a great pregnant pause, she announced "That's me!"

Well, I could have hit myself! Of course she was! I don't know how I missed it before, I mean her name should have rung a big bell! What a wonderful 'coincidence'! And what a good-looking on-screen mom to have, go-figure - we do look like we could be family!!

I just adored my beautiful red dress and styling by The Warderobe Studio and enjoyed the pleasure of working with Nerine Pienaar and her team once again, feeling familiar and well looked after in their hands. Fianca Barnard was attentive on set all day, making sure I looked fabulous.

And the lovely Bianca Pelser who did hair and make-up was a gem, and it was just as fascinating to realize we have so many friends and connections in common.

It was a wonderfully smooth day of filming and I enjoyed the slightly more improvisational style director Andrew Cleland used to get the best performances out of the kids. As an often behind-the-scenes crew member myself, I always pay attention to and try to honour the unsung crew heroes who actually make it all happen at the end of the day. It was an immense pleasure to work with the great AD Darryl Fuchs, DOP David Pienaar and their teams.




I must also compliment the catering by Anton from Aquarius, who made the most yummy and mouth-watering coconut-covered, jam-pocketed, cereal-flaked, impossible-to-decline dessert. (no other way to describe it!)








Well, in a blink it was all over and I had enjoyed such a joy-filled, love-what-i-do day.
It's heaps of gratitude that spill over and await the next time I can walk onto a film set and enjoy telling you all about it!









Chat Soon Peeps!

Ukraine Commercial #BehindTheScenes

Last week I had such fun on set, shooting my first commercial for the year. As with most of these projects we are committed to confidentiality requests, but I guess I can tell you that the ad is for a bottled water brand and to be aired in the Ukraine. (Apparently I qualify for a Slavic look) We were only 4 cast members, one male lead and 3 featured extras and filming two small scenes that will ultimately form part of a larger adventure for the lead male.
I always have super amounts of fun on set as an actress, and this experience did not disappoint.
First off at the wardrobe fitting the day before, I was basically playing dress up and had to model about 10 different outfit combinations and options. And not just any clothing, think Zara, Forever New, Mango and so on... yes please! And then, the Director asked for a make-up and hair test to be done on me... So what to do if you just got all made up by a top make-up artist... lunch with your man of course!

At the stylist's home playing at being a mannequin...

My call-time on set in Braamfontein was 4.30am, ouch. It was pouring torrential rains in Jhb and I had to arrive with my hair wet, naaaaice. At least that saved me a few extra minutes of sleep not having to blow dry at home, not that I got much sleep knowing what time I had to get up again. But somehow I find all of that exciting and agreeable for the sake of being able to do what I love and enjoy.

This is a pic of where we shot in a very misty Joburg with the Nelson Mandela bridge in the background. 

The hurry-up-and-wait factor is always very much a reality and perhaps even more so on a commercial set. So David, also one of the 3 featured extras, began teaching us his on-set games to pass the time. One of which was 'the movie link' game. It works like this: the first person mentions a movie title, then the next person should pick a movie title that contains an actor from the movie just mentioned. Then the next person does the same but may not use the same actor again. And so on and so on, until someone is stumped. Which then means the person who gave the movie title that stumped the next person, receives a point. You can also keep score of these points to finally pick a winner. (If you are ever able to stop, it's quite addictive) Eg. Person 1: Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Person 2: Se7en (from Brad Pitt) Person 3: Kiss the Girls (from Morgan Freeman) Person 4: Olympus has Fallen (from Ashley Judd) etc. It certainly passes the time, but is much more entertaining (and educational) if you are playing with some serious movie buffs! Gonna try it at my next dinner party :)

Sneak peak of me getting my make-up done.

It's such a great feeling being on set, it always lifts my spirits and energizes me. So once the commercial is out and online, I'll try to post the final product for you guys!

Chat soon,