One of the things I love about working in TV/Film/Music Videos etc is all the “behind the scenes” action. Its so cool and interesting seeing how it all comes together. And if its interesting to me, chances are you might just enjoy a little sneak peek here and there too…

I have a fabulous friend who is a big casting director in LA. We met a lifetime ago when we were room mates in London. She’d just been at the Sorbonne in Paris, and I’d just finished Make Up School in London. We both wound up in Los Angeles, living these crazy Hollywood lives – a long way from my life growing up in New Zealand!

Anyway, I decided it might be fun to introduce to her to you, and do a little interview with her. I took up a bunch of time in her crazy busy day, and I’ve tried to think up questions that might be interesting to you, but feel free to send me more, we can always bring her back for round 2…..

So everybody, meet my friend Mia Levinson!

Isn’t she gorgeous? Tons of wild red hair, and one of those Julia Roberts smiles that just lights up the whole room

CB: So Mia, tell me about the process. How does a production find you?

ML: It largely happens thru existing business relationships with producers, directors, writers and studios. They call to see if you’re available for the project. Also the networks will contact casting executives who then take meetings with various casting directors who might be a good fit.

CB: How many read throughs of the script do you do before you start visualizing who you’ll cast? How does that all happen?

ML: Usually I start getting ideas on the first reading. I take notes while I’m reading it and make lists of potential actors for each part. I always have plenty of names on tons of lists. Sometimes I can be on page 20 and have cast the whole project in my mind.

CB: The job doesn’t end when the leads have been cast. What happens next?

ML: Well, you cast the first 10 then the smaller parts.
The first 10 are your leads, any big name actors attached to the project, and the parts that have the most shoot days.
You look at the “Day Out Of Days” (which is like a shoot schedule for the various characters). You see which roles have the most days on the D.O.O.D, then start casting the most top-heavy parts first, and work your way down.

CB: How does casting a movie differ from casting TV shows?

ML: The pace. On TV you might be casting 25 people every 8 days. On film maybe 25 people in 10 weeks.
With TV you may only see an actor the day before or two days before he shoots his scenes, in film you see them six weeks before (on average).

CB: We all know the big name actors, but how do you find the others?

ML: You get a good working knowledge of the actors who are around. Over the years you’re taking tons of meetings, doing endless auditions and readings. You’re watching all kinds of movies, agents are sending you recommendations. You meet people, watch their reels etc. They might not be right for the role you’re casting today, but they stay on your lists. You never know when something will come up that they’ll be perfect for.

CB: What are the hours like?

ML: Depends on what you’re working on. For example on Touched By An Angel it was 9.30
til 7 pm, Monday thru Friday. Life was 10 – 8 Monday thru Friday and some weekends. Movies can be 10 – 6 or 9am til 11pm – it just depends on the job.

CB: Whats your favorite part about being a casting director?

ML: Having a lot of creative input, and helping paint the picture and create the vision of the people who wrote the piece and are directing it.
And its cool, and its fun!!!

CB: You have met and worked with everyone. Is there anyone left who would you get a kick out of meeting?

ML: Johnny Depp. Meryl Streep. I’ve always thought Cate Blanchette and Emma Thompson would be cool. Javier Bardem.

CB: Who have been some of your favorites? (I’m including some production stills that Mia sent me, just to keep this nice and juicy!)

ML: Alec Baldwin – he’s just great. I had a fantastic day working with him.
Bill Paxton, Shia Le Boeuf (awesome guy! really good head on his shoulders)

John Travolta is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. Bruce Willis, James Franco.

CB: …more…more…

ML: Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are both super nice, really good guys.
Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, Courtney Cox.
Damian Lewis (from Life) Gabrielle Union (both Life and Nightstalker)

Robert Downey Jr is fantastic. He’s just great. Fun, nice and also really clever.

(CB is just beside herself here – Robert Downey Jr is one of my absolute, absolute favorite actors! I just LOVE him!!!)

ML: Steven Spielberg is cool, and Kate Capshaw too. Harrison Ford, I love Eddie Izzard.
Stuart. (Townsend who she cast in Nightstalker – that was me talking again…)

Mia and Stuart in her office.

ML: and I just love Lawrence Fishburne. He is just super, super nice! Really cool guy!

Lawrence Fishburn with Mia’s daughter Logan…

CB: Mia has worked on some really cool productions including:
Touched By An Angel
Life
Nightstalker
Kiss Kiss Bang Band (Robert Downey Jr!)
How To Make An American Quilt (Winina Ryder)
House of Wax
George of the Jungle
Firewall (Harrison Ford!)
The Greatest Game Ever Played
Murder at 1600
US Marshalls (Tommy Lee!)

If you’d like to see more of what Mia has done check her out on imdb.com

Thanks Mia!

Have you ever wondered how they make the animated faces work in video games? Not the Super Mario kind of animated, but the kind where it looks like real people animated? Well, frankly, neither had I. I can’t even do an excel spreadsheet, let alone play Call of Duty.

But then I got booked on a very cool job with a company called Captive Motion, and that is exactly what they do! They have become a great client of mine now and I work with them often.
Their specialty is animating faces and bringing them to life with all the facial tics, expressions and characteristics of a real person. Oftentimes a video game is designed to accompany a blockbuster movie, and so a specific actor has to be recreated. That, in and of itself, is a crazy difficult task.

Then Adam Kraver, the mastermind behind Captive Motion, came up with a brilliant new technology for creating faces on computers for video gaming, and all manner of other applications.
I don’t even pretend to understand it, but it is completely genius!

Without giving away the proprietary secrets, I can tell you that the actor comes into the Captive studio, and into the ‘make up’ chair, where I start coloring in the face for the computer. Its all actually very specific.

They then act out their scene on camera, the colored dots talk to the computers and next thing you know a face gets created. Either a brand new fictitious person, or the replica of the actor.

kinda creepy, huh?

inside the studio…

Fierce!

In order to really see what I’m getting at here, go to their website, www.captivemotion.com and watch the video demo.

Here’s a little teaser…

Its quite something! In fact, I’d have to say, it’s amazing!
I just love being a very (very, very)peripheral part of something as exciting as this break through technology, even if I cannot even begin to understand it…..

One of the things that Will and I have been working on lately is the pageant scene. Its really super good fun.
We’ve been working with a delightful girl named Monica on a variety of pageants.

This weekend we did two pageants with Monica, and were able to do all kinds of fun hair and make up.

Here’s little miss M on the first day.
She was going to be wearing an absolutely divine green and black dress that was quite sophisticated and needed the full beauty look to go with it.
The venue wasn’t large, and what I had to think about makeup-wise was how to have her carry off the fabulous dress and not be owned by it, while knowing that the judges would be quite close, making any makeup seem huge.

I used some MAC shadows and pigments to create the look. First up, a base color to go from brow to lashline. I used a shade called Grain.

Next I wanted to incorporate the deep green from the dress, but not match it, so I used a MAC pigment in Night Light, and gradually built the color over the lid area.
To give the eye added dimension and drama I needed something in a deep tone in the crease and outer corner. I didn’t want to go as heavy as a black as that would be too overpowering with the judges seeing her from such a close proximity, so I used a color called Smut.
Love that name! Smut, Smut Smut!!! (I wish I had the job of naming eyeshadow colors – oooh there’d be some badness!)
I built the crease up slowly, again making sure that I wasn’t using too heavy of a hand.

I smoked the liner to soften the look and pull it all together, then used some Pro lash Mascara and a strip of false lashes. (after all, its just not a party without lashes!)

Monica is such a pro in the make up chair! She can sit still and keep her eyes still for ages.

We were watching the endless coverage of the Michael Jackson story unfolding while in the hair and make up room, so the usual levity was broken up with moments of sadness.
That’s Will behind her tending to her tresses.

Isn’t she just gorgeous?

The dress was exquisite. I want one!

Day 2 of the pageant had all kinds of events, from interview to dance, to the grand finale.

I opted for a softer look with the make up. Still lashes (of course lashes!) but a much softer, younger eye. I love colored glosses, and tend to use them half to death, but they really do give such a soft and pretty mouth.

What do ya know? She won!!!

Monica is much more than just a pretty face though, which is part of the reason that Will and I just adore working with her.
She leads a very busy high school life. She is on the varsity cheer team (I have no idea what that actually means, but it sounds good!), in September she is returning to school as President of the Senior Class, she is captain of the Arizona Western College Jazz team, is an A student, a red cross lifeguard, and she has MS.
That’s right – Multiple Sclerosis. And you would never know it. She couldn’t be blamed for opting out of everything and feeling sorry for herself, but instead she has chosen to grab life by the horns and get everything possible out of it!
Monica has such a winning attitude. She wants to learn about everything and then master it.
I love that!

She has a fabulous family who travel to support her in her pageants. When I asked her why she keeps doing pageants she told me that she likes to work hard to accomplish something, and feels that win or lose she comes away from pageants gaining life skills as well as poise and extra confidence. And they’re fun!
She plans on going to college to study Marketing and Public Relations.

Isn’t she great? She tells me that she “just doesn’t let MS get in her way”. I think she’s quite the inspiration!

Will and I have become so vested in her winning, and if not winning, then at least having a blast doing it. And like her family, we too are so very proud of her.

I just wish the winner got three tiaras – Will and I would wear ours with pride, style and flair!

One last look.

Today Miss Arizona Teen, tomorrow the world!