Survey Says...Time to Film!

Filming a TV show is not always confined to a sound stage. Location shoots happen all across the city of Los Angeles and these shoots involve the arrival of film crews, equipment trucks, actors, security and blocked roads.

A TV show filming in a building near you can be a surprise if you're not paying attention to signs posted in the area near the location shoot. I'm not talking about signs that are posted the day of the filming. There are signs alerting people to the upcoming production posted anywhere from a few days to a week in advance of the filming dates.

One of the signs/notifications is a filming survey and it looks like this:

This filming survey was posted in the lobby of our building a few weeks ago. The form is not the one used to request the approval of filming activities. It is posted so the company that coordinates filming permits for on-location shoots will know if anyone has any concerns about the proposed filming location, dates or times.

The amount of complaints or concerns they get varies per production and neighborhood. Some people just don't care because location filming is a part of daily life in Los Angeles. It can be a pain at times because traffic can be stopped and parking can become an issue thanks to the production trucks. Overall, it is not that big of a deal.

However, some people HATE filming that takes place on their street. They don't like the extra vehicles and activity and they seem to view it as a major inconvenience to their lives even though most film crews go out of their way to be respectful to those that live in the impacted neighborhood.

The only time I hate having film crews on our street is when they take a lot of the extra parking spaces.  We have two parking spots in our building but we have three vehicles.  I park on the street because I want Dana to be able to easily park in our garage and enter our building since she leaves early in the morning for work (and it keeps her safe). I let Zach park in the other spot because he is coming and going at all hours thanks to school, acting, stand up gigs, auditions and hanging out with his friends. I don't like the idea of Zach having to find parking late at night and walk through the neighborhoods to get to our building.

We live in a nice area but I am concerned with keeping them safe.  Plus, they both drive nice cars and I feel the odds of someone stealing my truck with 160,000 miles on it are pretty low compared to their vehicles. I can usually find a spot close to our building but there have been times that I've parked three or four streets over thanks to a large number of cars in the neighborhood.

FYI...The production crew did film some scenes for "Good Girls" near our home. It wasn't too bad because they were on Ventura Blvd in a restaurant so they were already filming on a really busy street. The production trucks didn't make that much of a difference in the daily traffic of the neighborhood because is is already a busy area thanks to restaurants, retail shops and grocery stores in the area.

I've never watched "Good Girls" but I might have to start so I can see our neighborhood on TV.

This actor has been on location many times for TV and movie shoots.

A Random Up Close And Personal Celebrity Encounter

Helicopters are a common sight in Los Angeles. It seems like police helicopters are in neighborhoods on a weekly basis aiding in manhunts. News helicopters are out a few times a week covering police chases. Helicopters are so common that it takes a little while to realize something out of the ordinary might be happening when they are flying around my neighborhood.

I heard two helicopters flying overheard last week. They were in the neighborhood for so long that I eventually realized something more than a police chase was going on that afternoon.

I went outside and looked around but couldn't see them in the sky. I did notice smoke filling the air a few streets over from my place. I walked towards the smoke and was able to spot two helicopters hovering over the hills of Sherman Oaks. I eventually ended up standing in the parking lot of the McDonald's close to my home. The parking lot was full of people trying to get a glimpse of the house on fire up in the hills. One helicopter was making an effort to put out the blaze while the other one looked to be a news helicopter getting footage of the action.

I walked to the edge of the parking lot where a guy was standing by himself watching the fire. He was wearing an ill-fitting shirt that didn't quite cover his belly, black shorts and white socks, I didn't pay much attention to him but he eventually said "Look at those two helicopters. You'd think the wind from them would help put out the fire."

There are some people you've never met in your life but you instantly know their voice from TV and movies. This was definitely the case once the guy started talking to me. I agreed with him but didn't turn to look at him. He then said that the house looked nice and maybe the fire didn't do much damage. I turned towards him to reply and said something that I don't remember. What I do remember is my first thought when I looked at the celebrity with the recognizable voice:

"Jon Lovitz is not that tall in person."

Admit it. Now that I've told you the name of the celebrity, you can hear his voice talking to me about the fire,

I never let on that I recognized him. I did mention the sound of multiple helicopters made me think a giant police chase was happening. He laughed and said the fire was not as exciting as a police chase. Plus, he remarked the smoke from the fire was now white and that probably meant the fire was close to being out. His other theory about the white smoke was:

"It could mean they've elected a new pope."

It hit me then how odd that moment was for me. I'm standing in a McDonald's parking lot listening to a former SNL cast member do stand-up comedy for an audience of one (me) about a fire we were both watching.

We continued to chat while he made jokes about the fire decreasing the resale value of the homes in that neighborhood. After a few minutes, I politely excused myself so I could go home and finish some work. I walked home thinking that my encounter with Jon Lovitz was the most "Hollywood" thing that has happened to me in months.

Celebrity sightings are commonplace in Los Angeles because of the number of movies and TV shows shot in the area. However, it's rare to get a private comedy show from a person you've watched on television since the 1980s. I should say it's rare to get that opportunity without having to pay big money for an appearance fee!

This Actor Hopes To Be An SNL Cast Member In The Future.

An Audition Road Trip Story

Most of Zach's auditions take place in and around the Los Angeles area. However, he had a recent commercial audition that required a road trip to San Diego. The amount of money for the role was enough to make the trip worth our time so we hit the road to the former home of the Chargers. 

The only areas of San Diego I've spent much time in are the downtown area and Point Loma. Both of these areas can be reached by driving the 5 from our area of Los Angeles. I decided to use the Waze app to monitor any traffic issues, Imagine my surprise when the app decided to not put me on the 5 going to San Diego. My journey took me from the 101 to the 134 to the 210 to the 71 to the 15 to (briefly) the 79 and then back to the 15. 

In other words, I had no idea where I was going in terms of getting to San Diego. 

It was a fun drive because I got to see parts of California I didn't know existed as well as the locations of a few casinos I had heard of but didn't know where they were located. The trip took about two and a half hours which isn't bad for a drive to San Diego.

We found the audition location in the Sorrento Valley area of San Diego. Zach entered the building and came out about 15 minutes later drenched in sweat. He explained that part of the improv audition involved acting like he was passing out and having water thrown on him in order to revive him. He seemed to feel good about his audition and I left the studio with a wet kid in search of food.

Even though I didn't know it at the time, that is when I made my big mistake of the day.

There is a place in San Diego that has tofu with a great thai peanut sauce. Since I was in town, I didn't want to pass up the opportunity to eat there. The restaurant was about 10 minutes away from the audition location which took me just far enough away from the 15 that Waze decided to put me on the 5 going home. 

Good news: Easy to navigate all the way home

Bad news: Traffic on the 5 is often a nightmare

Remember how I told you it took me two and a half hours to go the 135-140 miles to San Diego? It took me almost double that time as I spent over four and a half hours driving the same distance on the 5. On the plus side, it gave me some serious bonding time with Zach in the truck. 

Whether or not he books the commercial, it was nice spending the day with him since he is always off on an adventure at school or a comedy club or acting or with his friends. He even stayed awake and talked with me the whole way. A teenager talking to a parent for more than 5 minutes! What are the odds of that happening???

New Zach Louis headshots on his IMDb page.

It's Easy To Audition When The Studio Works

Dana and I have been lucky enough to have a voice-over studio for years in our home. It is very helpful making extra money doing commercials and VO projects for industrial films and on hold messages for business owners. It's also helpful when Zach has a voice-over audition because we can record it at home and email the MP3 to his agent.

I should say...It is great when the studio is actually working.

We recently moved from one part of Sherman Oaks to the other and decided to upgrade our studio. While the old setup sounded fine, the studio was rapidly becoming "old school" with more equipment than necessary these days to have a functioning and modern studio. As part of our move, we decided to get rid of as much old equipment as possible while still keeping our mic. It's a sweet Neumann mic that is worth more than all of the old equipment combined.

We took our old gear to Guitar Center to see if we could trade any of it towards new equipment. They ended up taking everything we brought and gave us $250 worth of trade towards new gear. It's funny how I took a backseat full of equipment to trade and ended up walking out with everything I needed in one small box. It's definitely the digital age of audio recording.

We've had two issues with setting up the new studio:

1. Dana went on a business trip to New York and I wanted to wait on her because I trust her ears more than my own when it comes to audio
2. We were both fighting the flu during the moving process and were too wiped out to do anything extra 

No big deal about the studio not being set-up yet. It's not like we need to record audio anytime soon.

Or not.

Zach got a VO audition while our studio was down. The audition came in after hours on a Friday night so I spent most of the weekend trying to get confirmation from his manager that Zach could record the VO at her office on Monday morning. I was doing my best not to drive her staff nuts but I needed an answer because the MP3 was due at noon on Monday and they don't open until 11am.

I finally got the confirmation on Sunday direct from Sundance where his manager was attending the festival. Zach arrived at 11am on Monday and had his part recorded by 11:20am. The MP3 was emailed at 11:50am and there was no need to worry about the studio before Dana got back to Los Angeles. 

You know where this is going...He got another VO audition that came in after hours on Monday night. I emailed the management crew and got him set-up to arrive at 11am (again) because the MP3 was due at noon (again) on Tuesday.

Thankfully, that was the last VO audition of the week. Dana is back from her trip and our main goal this weekend is to get the studio up and going so we have the ability to record auditions again.

It was a bit stressful last weekend trying to make sure he had a place to record his audition since all of the parties I needed to reach were out of town or off work for the weekend. It all worked out in the end and I have a new appreciation for having a home studio.

I should say...I will have a new appreciation for having a home studio once we get it up and running again!

This actor feels good about both of his VO auditions.

Sometimes The Artist Is Such A Teenager!

As Zach continues to get older, we are letting him take the lead on certain aspects of his career.  He writes all of his own stand-up material, chats with his manager about YouTube activities, pays for his acting class and sometimes drives himself to auditions.

The decision on driving himself depends on where the audition is located. It's not so much distance to the audition as much as ease of parking once he gets to the location. I took him to an audition near the Beverly Center because it was an area of town with little street parking and too many daytime parking restrictions in the surrounding neighborhoods. I didn't want him to deal with the stress of finding parking when he needed to focus on the audition. However, there are other audition locations where it is easy for him to park near the casting office.

Dana took him to an audition on Friday in Santa Monica. Her office closed early for the 4th of July holiday so she had time to get him to the casting office. While he was waiting to see the casting director, he discovered his buddy Jake was at the callback. Jake and his parents live near us and they offered to give Zach a ride home so Dana wouldn't have to kill time waiting outside.

Great!!! This was around 3:30pm and Dana was eager to avoid as much Friday rush hour traffic on the 405 as possible. What could go wrong with this fantastic plan?

Flash forward to 4:50pm. Zach called and was close to being dropped off at home. He had a stand-up gig at Flappers that night and had to get ready for his show. He did have one problem to take care of before getting ready for the show:

He left his acting folder at the casting office.

Plus, the role he was trying out for had him dressed in athletic gear so he had to put his wallet in his acting folder.  This meant that his driver's license, debit card and all of his acting paperwork was in Santa Monica. On a Friday. At 5pm. In rush hour traffic. On a holiday weekend.

We quickly called the casting office and hoped they weren't closing at 5pm that day. Thankfully, they were still casting for other projects and would be open until at least 6pm. Zach couldn't drive back to Santa Monica because he had to get ready for his gig and be at the club by 7pm. Plus, he didn't have his license and I didn't want him to risk getting a ticket.

I jumped in the truck at 5pm and hit the 405. Santa Monica is a great city but it is also a giant pain to get in and out of on a daily basis. From Sherman Oaks, you have to take the 405 to the 10 or the 405 to Wilshire or Pico or Olympic to get to Santa Monica. It's one of those destinations where all routes seem to be backed up at all times. This was not going to be a short, or easy, drive to the casting office.

I quickly discovered I was going against the flow of traffic and was actually making pretty good time. The drive that took Dana 65-minutes earlier in the day took me 30-minutes on the nose. Traffic going home looked to be a nightmare but at least I was going to make it to my destination and get his stuff before they closed.

I walked into the casting office and was greeted by the sight of about a dozen guys all over 6-feet tall wearing tight athletic clothing to show off their muscles. I was wearing a baseball cap and a t-shirt I've owned for about 4 years. I was definitely the answer to "one of these things is not like the other" from Sesame Street.

I walked over to the girl who appeared to be in charge and said I was there to get a folder they were holding for my son.  She looked at me with relief and we had the conversation below:

(Girl): "Thank goodness you made it here to get the folder."
(Me): He couldn't drive here because he has a stand-up gig and his license is in the folder."
(Girl): "His license is in here?" (Looks in the folder) "Is that his wallet????"
(Me): "Yes it is."
(Girl): "Wait...Is that all of his paperwork?  Coogan account and Legal 18 paperwork???"
(Me): "Yep."
(Girl): "How could he forget all of that and his wallet????"
(Me): "I guess you don't have a teenager or you would know the answer to that question."
(Girl): (Hands me the folder while laughing) "Tell him the folder was lost! That would be funny."
(Me): "I'll just steal from the wallet and tell him the cash was already gone when I picked it up."
(Random Guy In The Room): "That's a great idea!!!"

My adventure was only half over as I had to figure out how to get back to Sherman Oaks in less than an hour because Zach needed to leave by 6:30pm to make it to Flappers by his 7pm talent check-in time. I left the casting office and was able to get a good view of the 10 which was completely stopped. Rather than relying on Google Maps, I decided to make it up on my way home.

I went from the casting office to Pico and made okay time as I passed McCabe's Guitar Shop and other landmarks. I was getting near the 405 but there was a large backup to get to the exit. I randomly decided to turn left to see where it would take me and I ended up passing Cotner Ave. Cotner took me to the same 405 exit I had bypassed by turning left but in half the time. I was now on the 405 and it was around 6pm. Traffic crawled along and I could feel myself losing the battle to make it on time. Once again, it was time to try a different route so I made a last minute exit on Moraga Drive and headed down Sepulveda Blvd. I raced down Sepulveda and made it back to my place at 6:27pm!

Zach got his wallet and headed to the comedy club. I still had time to go inside and get ready. Everyone made it to Flappers at their expected arrival times. He had a good set and I was able to brag to our friends at the show that I made it to Santa Monica and back in just under 90-minutes.

I would have been out of luck if it hadn't been for traffic being off a little bit thanks to the holiday. Having said that, I'm glad I was able to help the kid as well as beat the clock during rush hour on a Friday!

I did not take the money out of the wallet of this actor.