Friday, April 25, 2008

Bill & Andy's Pirate Journey!



This past week I had the adventure of a lifetime! Well, the adventure of an afternoon, at the very least. Under the clever pseudonym of Andrew Ryz, I journeyed to a far away land called Marina Del Rey to join forces with Alex Winter (of "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" and "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey" as well as the cult favorite, "Freaked") and fifteen other sea-faring Pirates. What was our meeting for? It was a shoot for the upcoming "Flapjack" cartoon on Cartoon Network.
 
Now, you may wonder why a guy like myself, who is particularly live-action, was involved in an animated show... Well, you'll just have to wait for the air date to find out. When is that air date? I don't know. The rumor going around the pirate bar was within 3 weeks.

It was a fun day, though. Lots of food and interesting Pirate conversation. I even found a Wench who offered to smoke me out with some special Pirate Herb. I did not, however, partake because I may or may not be taking a "break". It's not something I want to discuss at this time. Perhaps the next blog. For now we will focus on the fact that it was a wondrous day that even gave me a good look at the new indie-film-techie-nerd-item-of-the-moment: The RED Camera.

The on-site techie was kind enough to discuss the camera with me and even show me a reel of footage taken from several projects with varying conditions. It did make my loins ache. I have been trying not to think too much about the camera, but what's a guy to do? It's here, asking to rock my film life! I found myself a nice position behind the monitors as we were filming, too. The feed from the Steadicam looked like an already color-timed, finished product on the lovely HD monitors. Oh, the fun people will have with this camera.

Well, time is short, so I will wrap this up. Overall, things are all quite good with me. Several projects are rocking right along and I have been busy, busy, busy. I'm happy to report that along with cinematography gigs for others and my own writing and directing, acting has now become a happy little time consumer. It's a funny thing being on set as an actor. I have not yet been able to shake free of the immense guilt I feel when watching the crew fly in Four-By's or Tweenies. I keep wanting to let them know that I'm a G&E crew guy in my bones. I watch with guilt as I bask in the sun, drinking my second cup of coffee, eating
 several delicious cheeses and munching on anything I can reach with my new, actorly, Pirate hand. The life of an actor on set is not quite as challenging as the life of a crew member. At least when you're a background Pirate.

Times in Important Places