Give and Take - especially in cold weather!

The scenes were shot in an office above the landmark Spot Coffee on Delaware Ave.

Back in January 2013, I had the opportunity to take part in a couple of scenes for the feature "Give and Take", being shot in Buffalo, NY. (Gail Golden is the Producer).






Although my role in this film was SOC - Silent on Camera - and not a speaking part, I jumped at the chance because there was an IMdB credit lurking in the wings, plus it was being shot in Buffalo, NY, where I used to live. (And, for all you heritage buffs, there are some incredibly beautiful old buildings in the "Queen City".)

The "change room" was actually the hallway

Note the features: skylights and old-style light fixtures

The reference to the weather in the title of my post reflects the fact we were asked to wear summer clothes - in the depths of winter. Try shivering in a toga in a stairwell, even if the lights are adding some heat!






That meant hauling out the lighter stuff, seeing if it still fit, and packing a bag to take to the set.

My costume for the cattle call audition scene

My toga look

There were actually two scenes - one was set at an "American Idol" style cattle call audition, the other was set at an audition for a Caesar salad commercial.





We were asked to vary our look, if possible, between the two scenes. I put my hair up, some actors brought wigs or donned spectacles.

(As you can probably guess, acting as an "Actress at an Audition" was a real stretch in the skills department!)

The toga scene was shot in the stairwell

Director and production manager in action, at the top of the stairs

I've taken some behind-the-scenes photos for my blog, as I always do. The film is now in post-production and seems to be moving along at a fast clip. The premiere is set for September 2013.

Thanks to my fellow actors for snapping the pix of me.

Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer

Getting started (film in progess)

A retired actor kindly lent his country home for the first day of shooting

Neighborhood attractions included this old wooden church

In November 2012, I began work on a film that we'll be shooting, in installments, over the next few months. The reason for staggering the shoot, rather than filming everything in sequence, is to capture the different seasons, as they change, as part of advancing the story.

Our first segment was timed to be shot in the fall, so we all drove up north in Ontario, to just outside Midland. Luckily, it was a sunny and dry day, before the large snowfalls the area is famous for arrived.

Crew and cast arrive and unload - Yep, that's an actor, front and center (where else?)

Another interesting aspect of this film is that it's a period drama, set before and during the Korean War. I play Angela, one of the lead characters. Other than that, I'm keeping details of the story under wraps until the film is fully shot.

Period props had to be sourced, including this older wheelchair (circa 1930)

We also shot the day following  in one of Toronto's parks, again, we were blessed with excellent weather for an outdoor shoot (although thermal underwear was a must!)

Larry and I on the set in the park

I'm providing a few "behind-the-scenes" shots as well as a photo of myself with one of my co-stars, Larry Harris.

As and when future shoots happen, I'll post updates on my blog.

Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer

Selling success.. in a suitcase

It seems with the arrival of December 2012, while the weather has been wonderful, it's positively raining DVDs and equivalent!

Just got a link to another spot in which I appeared; this one is the luggage commercial I mentioned in a recent blog post (November 26, 2012).

Not sure how accessible the following link is - you may need a dropbox account - but I'll post it for anyone who wants to try and take a peek. If and when I get more permanent footage of the commercial, I'll add it.

https://dl.dropbox.com/sh/lqqjiiydawv2n67/L1GOZMju29/FullSequence.mp4?dl=1

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/lqqjiiydawv2n67/baBS76-TJ3

In this clip, you'll need to pay very close attention to see me but, when the boardroom scenes appear, look lively!

Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer

Maestro's video released!

Almost one year ago, I shot some footage for a video, featuring Wes (Maestro) Williams, members of The Trews and Rich Kidd. (See post dated  December 19, 2011 on this blog.)

The video, directed by David E. Mewa, has now been released.  Olivia at The NE Inc., who handled casting, sent me the following link.  Not sure how long this remains 'live' but enjoy it while you can.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8f8vYNOf_c&feature=player_embedded

It's all very fast-paced so, if you blink, you may miss me. By the way, the original call sheet had my part listed as 'old woman' but someone kindly changed it to 'older woman'! Whew! Better that than being buried alive!

Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer

Acting to get the word out!

Getting ready for the set

Most of the acting work I do is - surprisingly - in drama or comedies but, every once in a while, I land commercial or infomercial work.

During summer 2012, I appeared in a luggage commercial destined for TV in the Chinese mainland, of all places. I didn't have my camera with me, so no shots of that but if I ever get the promised DVD, maybe I'll upload some footage.

I also landed the role of  Research Engineer for a Haan infomercial that I believe is set to air, sometime, in the US.

Getting ready for the director to say 'Action"

For this role, I had to speak English with a German accent.

The director fed me my lines as we went along, so I not only had to remember the line, I had to produce it back in accented form! A classic example of multi-tasking!


The Haan shoot took place on a Saturday morning and was wonderfully efficient. The call time was for 8 a.m. and my role was wrapped shortly after 11 a.m.

Production Co-ordinator Adam - at the ready!

I'm showing some 'behind-the-scenes' photos, including me in make-up as well as pix of crew members.

Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer

TIFF premiere a smashing success!

Sunglasses at night, 

practising not being me!

In an earlier post, I mentioned one of the f ilms in which I had a principal role was having its North American premiere, an event which occurred on September 11, 2012 in Lightbox 3 at 10 p.m.

The first two photos are of me - and the comment about sunglasses a night, pretending to be someone else, is just my idea of a joke. I'm a long way from being a 'movie star' who gets stopped on the street!

Yours truly, sans shades

I think all of us who participated in the making of "Tower" can echo the sentiments of one of the leads, who was interveiwed on stage, that to "get from an audition at a coffee shop to the stage of one of the world's premiere film festivals one year later" is quite a ride!

The "Tower" of the film title...?

Guests at the party

I'm enclosing some photos of the event. Prior to the screening, we all enjoyed a cocktail party on the roof deck of a building not far from TIFF Lightbox and then we went to the Lightbox itself for the screening, which was well attended.

As for the film, the producers, MDFF, are hoping for a general release some time this fall. To make certain you learn when, it may be best to go directly to the source and keep in touch with them; dan@mdff.ca is the contact.

L-R:TIFF's Agate, MDFF's Dan & Director Kaz, Leads Nicole & Derek

After the screening

Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer

Tower: World Premiere On The Horizon

Back in January 2011, I started working with two young filmmakers, who had embarked on their first feature film.

This film, "Tower", is now through post-production and is slated for its World Premiere at the 65th Festival de Film Locarno in Switzerland, in August.

My role in this film was Diane, the mother of the protagonist. The footage was shot over several months and subject to a lot of stop-start-stop, as all personnel were volunteering their time for much of the production.

One interesting aspect to this production is that the Director, Kaz Radwanski, allows his actors to improvise all the dialogue. That is, no scripts, no lines to learn. At times, some of the "takes" ran for 20 minutes as we improvised based on the direction we had been given.

MDFF, the company producing "Tower", has set up a site where you can learn a little more about the film. But, be warned, the website seems to be set up for mammoth screens only. You can find the details at the following link.

http://www.mdff.ca/tower

All being well, I've included a couple of snaps of two of my co-stars, one I worked with directly in the early days, and one I never met! (I'll let you guess which is which!)

Fore more details about the Locarno premier or about the website, Dan is the contact @mdff.ca

Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer