One billion videw views.

Being interested in the entertainment industry I think is more than natural to want to learn about what is happening on that environment and what the trends are. I found an article on Lady Gaga and in it; the focus was how she has broken on record sales and video views. In fact, her first 2 hits reached 5 million sales. Hits such as Poker Face and Just Dance manage to break this record quite recently.

This fact to me is very interesting. I have mentioned in the past, on previous assignments, how the success of today’s artist depends a great deal on downloads. In fact, Lady Gaga has been referred to as the “queen of the downloads”. However, the article emphasizes how she is the first artist whose videos hit an outstanding 1 billion views.

Some of my views on the subject highlight technology and a formula Madonna used back in the 80’s to create her persona. To begin with, technology today has made it easier to view, download, buy, communicate, and more; faster than ever before. Think about a time when teenagers needed to buy records or tapes, or even listen to the radio to enjoy their favorite artist. This is definitely one of the reasons that billion views record was broken. Having said that, I do believe Lady Gaga has earned it hands down.

 This brings me to the formula I was talking about. When Madonna came out back in the 80s she was very outrageous. Her music, style, and clothes were so unconventional it became a sensation and has been ever since. Many artists tried to do the same but they failed. For example Cindy Lauper, she was equally outrageous but she failed to reinvent herself soon enough to keep her career going. Lady Gaga is following Madonna’s steps. She reinvents her self with every single, every appearance, and every video.

For someone like who is pursuing a career on entertainment management, it is important to know what is happening today and ask questions like: What sales today?, What do the public want?, How will your product reach the audience?, and such. To read more about the article go to http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1634663/20100325/lady_gaga.jhtml.

Central Casting

I chose to research Central Casting located in Burbank California. This organization also has a branch in New Your, NY.  This is organization I have consider joining. All you need to join is to fill out an application, the usual documents for employment in the U.S. and a $25 fee. I did some research and found out that the $25 fee is for a photograph that will go on their file, sort of a publicity still they will use to match your looks and features to different parts that may become available for actors. This organization does not require acting experience but it is a plus. 

This organization has been around since 1925 and according to their website they are today the largest provider or entertainment industry services and solutions in the U.S.  Their services go from complete background casting to payroll services. Their payroll services are provided by the Entertainment Partners, a sort of affiliate. Aside from providing Central Casting with payroll services they also have other products that include accounting systems, budgeting, virtual production office and more.

I found out that in order to become a member and get started if you will, you must download all the forms and fill them out in advance. Their doors are open to candidates only twice a week for 2 hours only. Needless to say you have to be there much earlier in order to be admitted that day.

To put in simple words central casting will match the candidates with the clients, whether is the casting directors, producers and such. Under the product tab in the website you will find casting, payroll and resources.

 On reading about their casting terms it appears to be the place for new actors to start their careers The websites emphasizes the need for thousands of background actors most likely for non-speaking part in some instances.  This means that the organization helps the actor get his or her foot in the door to start building a reputation on the industry. Thinking logically this would be the best way to start for someone who wants to become a character actor. In the industry being what it is today being a character actor can be a huge deal. This would mean landing parts on TV series, movies and plays. Being a character actor can sometimes immortalize him or her. 

A perfect example of a hard working character actor that went down in history is Margaret Hamilton who plays the witch in the Wizard of us. She had already made about 6 pictures for MGM when she landed the role.  The website below provides a lot of information about the organization’s goals, history, and more. http://www.centralcasting.org/LA/actors/index.html

Ted.com Video

In watching the Ted.com video on our student website the first thing that caught my attention was the fact that the speaker approach the audience with a sense of humor and charm couple with what appears to be a British accent. The visual material used for this presentation was fun and self-explanatory.

The visual material was just enough to make a point but was not distracting the audience to a point where the speaker would lose their attention.  Another factor that made the presentation a success was that the speaker knew the topic and it did not seem like a scripted speech like the famous “I Have a Dream” speech.   Don’t give me that look now. Have any of you see the footage of the actual speech. Mr. King hardly ever looked up as if he was reading from a book. Having said that, yes it was very powerful and made history.

Now going back to the visual portion on a speech, I believe that in order for the audience to understand the message an image is conveying it must be as simple as possible, almost as though one is teaching children.  Now I will give you the best example I can give. Remember the movie “An Inconvenient Truth”?

If memory serves me, when Al Gore was explaining the reason for global warming he had a sort of animated show where the little sunshine guy came to visit the Earth but the pollution bullies kept him from leaving by knocking him unconscious.  Yes this would seem like a video for kids you may say but I understood what he was trying to say.

On a different note, in some of my past classes back when I was pursuing my Bachelors I did get some insight on public speaking. It is amazing to me the amount of information you need to know before the actual event. I am not even talking about the material that you will cover. You see, when you are preparing a speech you need to ask yourself many questions. For instance, ask yourself who is the audience? What is the language that will get through to this audience? What can and can’t talk about when addressing this audience? The list goes on and on. 

I had to present many times in school using a PowerPoint presentation and overtime I learn that when speaking to a crowd you should pretend you are talking to an old friend. Be yourself, don’t apologize even if you make a mistake. Use it instead to your advantage and amuse the audience. They will definitely appreciate it.  

Along with this posting, and as per the assignment instructions I attached another link that shows what I believe to be a good example. Notice how the speaker begins with remarks about his childhood and delivers the material once the audience is engaged.

http://www.youtube.com/TED