Short films - long productions

Regular readers and fans (Doris and Sid Bonkers of Neasden) will remember that my very first casting after I started auditioning at the end of last year was for a short film, "The Players". In late December five actors and at least twice as many crew assembled in the freezing basement of an unused building in an anonymous part of Central London to shoot a ninety-second film about a surreal poker game.

That was quickly followed by small parts in two more films in January. The first was as a drunk in a bar in a music video where the star was a large teddy bear. The second was as a corpse in a student film in what I thought was going to be a sensitive exploration of a young man trying to rebond with his father, but which turned out to be a slasher film. (The glaringly obvious clue I had missed was the fact I played a mutilated corpse.)

My fourth stint in front of the cameras was in March, when I was chauffered to West London to feature in (well, to be in the foreground of) a Paddy Power commercial.

Now it is April. Behind me I have these four films plus two theatrical productions. Ahead of me? Nothing. Not even an audition for understudy in a Punch and Judy show on Clacton Pier. With no personal appearance scheduled, I would have liked to keep Doris and Sid (and any passing internet surfer) happy by pointing them in the direction of my film work. But four months after I first sat under the spotlights, nothing has been completed. Nevertheless are some updates:

The short film ("The Players"):
My first project - which has an imaginative premise, atmospheric setting and the potential for development into a series - had post-production problems. In early March they announced a new colourist, so I'm hopeful that the final cut will be announced soon. That's me on the right, pointing, on a set designed by Jane Brodie.

The music video ("Animal" for the Californian punk band Against Me):
There is a "making of" short film on Youtube shot in Shoreditch Courthouse. I don't appear in it, but the bear and I had a brief encounter in another locale.

The student film ("Witness The Beginning" or "Act I" - I've never known which is the title):
Their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/ActIFilm) is regularly updated and on 29 February they announced they had finished filming. Given that this is feature length, it will probably be several more months before it is completed - and given my minimal role and their shoestring budget, I'm not expecting to be invited to the red carpet reception or to have endless flutes of champagne pressed into my hand..

The Paddy Power commercial:
Sometimes my naivete and ignorance surprises me. It was only after the day of filming this advert that I realised that Paddy Power commercials were designed to shock and even be banned... Which explains why my finger was asked to do what it was asked to do. (Will my mother ever forgive me...?) The ad is scheduled to coincide with or appear earlier than the Euro 2012 football championships. I expect it will be on time. More details later.

And that's it for the moment. I'm off to Scotland for a week. It's not quite a holiday and I'll still be hunting for auditions and promoting myself where I can, but don't expect in-depth or exciting blogging while I'm away...