Dolphin Talent’s Acting + Industry Guide

YouTube has become more than watching a water skiing squirrel for 40 minutes straight. Blogs now serve more purpose than just telling your 8 closest friends you found the BEST STIR FRY RECIPE EVER. More and more we hear about new actors, musicians, and comedians finding their fame through viral videos on YouTube and captivating blogs across the Internet. With all the discussion about technology’s effect on society, it is reassuring that so many lives are affected for the better because of the Internet.

Here are  a few examples… The League, a new comedy on FX, cast almost all of their actors from “YouTube Sensations”, a newly coined term for those who make it big by making people laugh online. Heather Armstrong, a “mommy-blogger” started attracting a decent following on her blog when people could relate to her talking about how she’s been juggling life with work, two young kids, and two crazy dogs. Her following became so strong that she was just offered a spot on HGTV. Armstrong will headline HGTV’s social media efforts and help with on-air production. Perhaps my favorite story of stardom is the Sleep Talkin’ Man blog. A woman tired of not being able to  share the enjoyment of her husbands deep-sleep dialog with anyone, set up a tape recorder. Every morning she reviews the tape and puts her husbands remarks on a webpage. That is all she does, every day. The couple has now been on Good Morning America, numerous radio shows and they sell coffee mugs and t-shirts with some of the fans favorite quotes. (My personal favorite is “Sigh of a ninja”.) They are now their own Sleep Talkin’ business! It is amazing how quickly something can catch fire on the Internet. What makes it easier than anything else is that someone in Japan can just as easily access the same page as someone in Miami. It is impossible to ignore the power of the Internet. Many production companies (Dolphin Entertainment included!) have started to steer their efforts towards making viral videos and web-series on the “www” as they have seen the success it generates. 

-Rob Kelly

You learn a lot about yourself over the holidays: Who you really care about (who you get gifts for), who really cares about you (who you get gifts from), how much food you can actually fit inside your stomach, and many other things. But what most people don’t realize is that with a bit of holiday spirit, they can find their true talents. You never know things about yourself until you try them, and this time of the year provides many opportunities. The key is to take advantage of all of them. Denis Waitley once said “It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not.”

My roommate in college, for instance, was convinced he’d never be able to learn how to play music. A few Christmas’ ago, a lovely gift called “Guitar Hero” hit the shelves. It seemed everyone had one strapped over their shoulders. My roommate was no different. Though he seemed to play the game more than he ate or slept, my roommate became quite good at Guitar Hero. He learned a great deal of the hand-eye coordination necessary to play a real guitar and also developed a great sense of rhythm. He is now the guitarist for a local band in New Jersey. Had he not taken the chance on a new Christmas gift, he may never have bothered trying his music career again!

Don’t think you could ever be a good dancer? Try out Dance Dance Revolution at your next holiday party. Are you satisfied with knowing you will never learn to be a good cook? Take a more active role in helping your family prepare their holiday meals. It’s not even worth bringing up the VAST opportunities a Nintendo Wii could give you!

Last but certainly not least; if you think you could never be a successful singer, pick up a Santa hat, grab the lyrics to Frosty the Snowman, and join the group! People never know when their true calling will appear. Once it arrives, they still won’t know it’s there. The holiday season provides us with a few more opportunistic gifts to open and play with. So get off the computer and go learn how to knit a Holiday sweater!

-Rob Kelly

With all of the access people have to the internet these days, a good majority of arts advocates have resorted to the web for tips and tricks on acting and entertainment related information.  Probably one of the most visited websites for both students and teachers alike is the Internet Movie Database or IMDb.  IMDb is home to a wealth of information and according to their site receives visits from 57 million viewers each month.  This is the ideal place to visit if you are curious what movies are coming out this weekend or how certain films did at the box office.

In addition to being home to all kinds of information about movies specifically, people often go there to find out the credits of people in the entertainment industry.  By entering a particular person’s name in the search bar, you can discover a bio and the various roles they have served on different projects.  So if you are curious what other movies the lead actor in the movie you just saw was in, just enter his name in the search bar and it will inform you on everything from his first project to what he is currently working on.

The beauty of The Internet Movie Database is that it is not just an information resource for actors, but everyone in the entertainment business.  So it is a wonderful place to find out about producers, director, and writers too.  The next time you are trying to find out more information about someone in the business, check out: http://www.imdb.com

For those of you interested in being filmmakers yourself, it’s a great way to find out who produced a particular movie and what they had as a budget.  Not to mention it’s always fun see how it scored in popularity!

-Jenn

I recently saw Tarantino’s Inglorious Bastards, one of the best films I have seen in a very long time by the way. It got me thinking about what an incredible actor Brad Pitt is. A lot of focus is centered on his tabloid life, but I would like to take a moment and return to his talent. Pitt chooses characters that challenge him, as we can see from the vast array of individuals he has chosen to portray. As I tend to like lists, below are my five favorite Brad Pitt characters.  If you have not seen the movies, do so as soon as possible!

5) Louis de Point du Lac in Interview with a Vampire. Pitt plays the original anguished/beautiful Vampire in the Ann Rice adaptation.

4) Tyler Durden in Fight Club. Another great book to film adaptation, and Brad’s physique isn’t bad either.

3) Lt. Aldo Raine in Inglorious Bastards. He plays the gritty nazi-killing general of the rogue group.

2) Jeffrey Goines in Twelve Monkeys. This character won him a Golden Globe award for best supporting actor in the 1995 post-apocalyptic thriller.

1) Joe Black in Meet Joe Black. Pitt plays the admirable guy in the coffee shop that chats up Claire Forlani’s character. He then transitions into “Death.” The two characters truly show his talent. His chilling yet poignant portrayal of Death is very moving and my favorite Brad Pitt character.

Certainly some good characters worth studying as an actor or teacher trying to persuade students on deeper character analysis.

-Emerson

As we continue to reach out to educators and talent across the country to help them navigate the entertainment industry, we are proud to announce another addition to our company.  The latest chapter in Dolphin’s story is the birth of Dolphin Digital Media.

We are deeply troubled by the preponderance of predators and inappropriate content on the internet. We have devoted our time and resources to developing state-of-the-art technology that protects children when they are online by blocking unsuitable material, and, in a social chat setting, helping to authenticate who they are “chatting” with through state-of the-art fingerprint identification technology.  We are proud of this significant contribution to the effort to keep our children safe and are thrilled that Dolphin Digital Media, a creator of secure social networking websites for children, has announced September 29th as the launch date for their signature product, Dolphin Secure.

Dolphin Secure is a groundbreaking family Internet solution that gives parents the tools to protect their children from online threats such as cyber bullying and unsolicited chat requests while they are using their home computers. Children registered within Dolphin Secure automatically become members of Dolphin Surf, which is a customizable gateway to the internet with full social networking capabilities, wherein the children can establish profiles, search for friends, IM one another, write blogs, upload photos and play games.

Dolphin Secure will debut next week, and it will change the face of internet safety. It is testament to our continued investment in the World’s children.

-Jennifer