QUANTUM STORM .357 ISSUE 25 IS RELEASED FOR OCTOBER 2023!

 

QSE .357 ISSUE 25 dtd 10/1/2023

52 Pages

ON THE COVER - Jessica Manes. Photo by
D. R. Quintana.

MAIN ARTICLES

Top Dollar Halloween Costumes - Halloween costumes aren't cheap anymore, we show you some of the best costumes money can buy.

 Ready for the Truth? - The Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio Indie film hype bus has been making it's rounds this summer. We tracked 177 indie films and quickly reviewed them all. Is your film on our top 100 indie films or the bottom 50 shitty indie films of the year? Come see for yourself!

Behind The Scenes - This passed summer, two big Indie films went into production in Austin, TX. Hundreds of extras were required and we were there following both of the productions from beginning to end. Check out some of the photos we were allowed to take. Are you one of the many indie film actors who was captured on set?

 

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PLEASE CALL MY AGENT FIRST...

Houston, Texas - The Independent Film Scene [IFS], or "film industry" (if it means that much to you), can be a gritty world for an actor who is struggling to learn the ropes about what it takes to work in front of a camera during a production. What might impede progress or success is the fact that most Indie actors refuse to take leading roles when their openly handed out to them; most starting actors that have only filled the roles of an extra or "just a guy in the background" have a lot of doubt in their abilities and this can damage the expected growth of their capabilities and real experience in the field of acting.

Seasoned film directors and casting agents have an eye for what sells and usually a particular script will send off a vibe for a new actor that's required to complete the initial plan for the plot and get the entire film project started on the right foot. So often more than not, the director and his team will start looking through tons and tons headshots. When a good script is approved for production, a search will begin to find a talented lead. They won't be looking for what can just be seen in someones acting credentials, but there's also a search for a certain look in a part; with a certain spirit that can been at first glance, perhaps it's something in the eyes or the smile. 

At the beginning phases of casting, actors aren't graded on the format of their headshot; the team only wants to be sure that the actor presented in the headshot is someone who can walk through the doors of an audition with complete confidence. If the director and his team feel that the looks fit and the actor is malleable, then the right actor has been found to start production even before an audition needs to be arranged.

Many will agree that the way an actor looks can make a director of a project actually go out of the way and reach out for a particular actor to fill the role. With the existence of Facebook and LinkedIn, directors have direct access to actors information and headshots in a matter of seconds. There's a lot of information to sift through, so to make immediate contact with an actor can prove to be the best "bite" than an actor can have in their career of working with new production teams. At this point, the director certainly doesn't care about your resume or the lack of your abilities; he wants to meet up with you, feel your interest through contact and see if you have the same caliber personae as your headshot, to see if you can help with his image of the film to launch in the right direction.

This is not the time for an amateur actor to hesitate or doubt their own abilities or throw down the old, "you need to contact my agent first" pitch. Actors should do their research prior to making a big final decision, but always respect the initial contact as a positive thing with all of the hard work you've put into your Facebook or LinkedIn page.

Think about this for a moment; and we are speaking about amateur Indie film projects, not local commercials or roles as extras in some feature film where no one will ever see you in the film, a high percentage of new actors believe that there is a career in acting, but almost 98% of new actors have to maintain a real job working 40 hours a week to live comfortably, pay the bills, and do acting gigs on the side for lunch money. The other 2% of these new actors who "claim to be making it" in the movie industry, and unless they are a real leading actor in a film or television series, are probably lying about their success and have outside jobs, making a living outside of the acting world. Some of those same actors develop jobs to help "assist" other actors break-in to the acting world, claiming that their ingredients of success are easy to pass on and they can guarantee that their hands-on training or contacts "in the business" can guarantee results if they pay for their services.

This is from a local Houston-based

acting agency whose notorious for 
having favorites in their clientele.

Always keep in mind that some agents can do tricky things to keep your 'planned' career anchored down with very little movement. Make no mistake that some agencies have their favorites, and those with crisp, sharp looks often get the better gigs, even though you may be more experienced for the part or even more talented. It's a funny thing, but if one of their favorites bring in heavy cash flow more often than not, they will be chosen for submission even if you were the original contact for a project. If you find yourself struggling to get work from your agent while others "get the gigs," then perhaps you should consider dropping the agent and managing your own career; you know that it is possible to do that until a better agent comes along.

Consider this blog as fruit for thought. I always suggest that new actors should always start off their careers in theater arts and hone their skills; especially if you want to know the in's and out's of production, direction, performing under pressure, etc. Yes, it's a whole lot tougher to work in theater and win the big leading roles, but the experience in just watching whats going in the pre-production, operational side of each new show is more experience than anything you'll learn as an extra in a film production. If any acting agent tells you different, then you need to start looking somewhere else to earn good paying gigs; especially if you need the cash without giving away a third to an acting agent and still having to pay taxes on the rest!

Good luck in what you decide to do!

...Ride Easy!
D. R. Quintana

STUDIO RELEASES OCTOBER ISSUE - THE PILOT PREMIERE OF ZOMBIE REIGN!

This Blog entry also has an editorial by David Quintana & is to be considered as "liner notes" for future reference; for openly sharing his opinion to the subscribers of this e-magazine. His opinion is not the opinion of the cast and crew who work with him on his film projects.

As promised, the October issue was released for preview to everyone on the web. But the open release was only intended for the first 15 days of the month to help bring in new subscribers. Subscribers will still receive two extra issues of the QSE this year to make up for this free issue release on the blog.  Amended as of: 10/17/2016

- D. R. Quintana

This issue received a ton of hits on our blog and was linked to many Facebook pages, blogs, and posts on the internet giving the listed pilot a strong promotional push; all due to the first ever free preview of the entire E-magazine during the first fifteen days of October. I had the privilege of following this team of filmmakers through their journey to get the finished pilot episode to it's premiere. And through thick and thin, the members of this project jumped hurdles to reach the point where their work would be seen on the big screen for anyone in the San Antonio area to see. 

They have kept to the goal of completing their work and there is news that the pilot's director, Ramiro Avendano, is making statements about continuing work on the show should things land their way to get more done. With the exception of some production costs being covered by a few of the cast members, now considered as "producers" who helped finance the project, the rest of the project was an all collaborative, all volunteer production with no verified investors that assisted them in getting the job done.

I would never recommend for any group of actors or studio to go into an "all volunteer project" unless you were promised to be immediately reimbursed for any out-of-the-pocket expenses which you may have endured in helping out. Some projects are kind enough to cover gas for travel or meals between breaks. Some studios put together small contracts which provide a "deferred clause" to help pay you back IF the project makes any money...but keep in mind that a large majority of projects with deferred contracts rarely pay out at all, and most of the time, lose out more than their share on smaller Independent film gigs. Deferred contracts usually leads to a lot drama and power struggles within a group who sticks it through to the end...That's just a fair warning to all.

How Zombie Reign [ZR] continued to make it to it's premiere with the core of it's actors and it's director still intact is a guessing game that defies explanation. The pilot certainly penned itself as a dream project that "just wouldn't die" and stunned many of the San Antonio area acting teams by actually admitting to and presenting a completed project to it's cast, crew, family and friends.

The project has a lot of strong actors assigned to it: some of who have accredited and extensive acting experience with a long list of projects under their belts. This part of the cast are "veteran level" actors, filled with on-set maturity and have had their share of national exposure in local commercials, national television, and some movie time. It's a large array of talent on a project that would have certainly died an early death if any of them were missing their participation in the production and all of them volunteered their services to help the first time director complete his pilot episode.

This being Avendano's first film, he was lucky that he had a great team to work with and not have to worry about their performances during action and dramatic scenes. But I do have concerns about this production; i.e. for some of the production/actor members this was their first time as a production team and there were signs that they were thinking far too ahead of themselves by claiming larger appraisal from outside sources before the pilot or any real pitch material was ever complete. This was a huge problem for the team in the recent past which caused a lot of drama, as I am sure it will continue until reasonable thinking takes over. There will be problems with ZR's future unless certain leading figures in the production team learn to let go of big dreams and just reach the projects mission first; complete the series.

"Flash" certainly isn't a problem for this pilot; pre-promotion releases were full of it. Presenting dark photos and character bios to give viewers a small glimpse of what to expect in each character before the pilot was ever released. There was no "Promotions Director" for this project, as most of the dished ads and promo shots were prepared and released by it's director in good faith. But in my opinion, over promoting a slew of characters for a one hour premiere seemed a little dire to give character development through promo ads. 

In the past, I have seen that these type of flash ads from "first time" amateur film makers that don't do any good in getting new fans in to see the project. When flash ads are done too early, most of those projects rarely get to see the time of day; primarily because the finished product fails to completely deliver telling the full story or they suffer because the finished project just doesn't get in-depth enough with all of the required character development to bring it all in. Flash promo ads are often manufactured to keep actors happy on film projects that are taking way too long to complete; it's usually an unwarranted practice done while a project is still in post editing, but usually happens when someone thinks everyone is capable of running away to do something else. Actors are allowed to work on other projects after the current project has wrapped, that's just the way of things in the field of making movies...that's just how I see it.

And make no mistake, I have not seen the pilot, however I saw plenty of footage to let me know that there is a pilot to present. All of the actors should get copies of the DVD in the near future to burn demo reels out of it, which should be impressive for the actors next projects. There are many cast members who are happy to see this project actually [and finally] get released. This one pilot has been in post editing for over a year now and through all of the diversity it's honed over time, I hope only best success to the team that helped get this project reach the goal of being released for preview!

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