bangs?

bonjour blog! (ahh allitération)


I'm going to get my haircut in a couple of days, and I'm still can't decide what to get done.
my current hair color is about this: (maybe a little darker)

and I've been wanting to go more 'ginger', so I think I'm going to get it this color:

but I can't decide if I want legit bangs or not. 

I've put up a list to help out my decision, but...it didn't help much. maybe you, lovely person who's reading this, could help? <3

reasons I want bangs:

• something different
• when I breakout 90% of the time it's on my forehead, so bangs could easily conceal those blemishes without caking my face with gross make-up. (<< this is a big reason)

reasons I don't want bangs: 

• I'm going to be Ginny Weasley (or maybe Hermione...depending on what my other friend wants to do) to the final Harry Potter premiere, and neither of them have bangs (I know this sounds like not such a big deal, but me and my friends go all out for Harry Potter costumes. it's legit)
• Over the summer I'm going to be filming a Doctor Who spoof for one of my friends who's trying to make it into a film school-thing. the character I'm playing is Amy Pond, who doesn't have bangs (also the reason why I'm going more red, so by the summertime I can go "ginger").

(yes, she's a total bad-@$$)

• since the summer's coming up, I don't want to have to worry about straightening my bangs everyday and I hear that bangs get quite sweaty, which is a wee bit gross. then again, like I said above, I don't want to have to wear a lot of makeup in the summer...meh!

so, there is my dilemma. I also need help deciding what kind of bangs to get if I do get them. (you can see pics of my face on UBC, of course, and you'll also see that I kind of have bangs now but I've been growing them out.)

speaking of dilemmas, have you donated to help out Japan? I understand if you can't, but it's really only $10. I'm a student who shops at goodwill (aka, I'm too cheap to buy anything full price hahaha) so if you can give some money, you would rule. and the feeling afterword is pure bliss (if you have to pay taxes, Red Cross is tax deductible!). if you have any family/friends in Japan, then they are in my (and many others!) thoughts, and I'm praying for the best. also, I live in middle Tennessee, so if they end up evacuating the west coast (eek!) then you can always stay with Mama Josie! bahahahaha sorry, I just had to say Mama Josie. 

thanks so much guys! 

Josie

advice blog and apologies

Now Playing - Cosmic Love by Florence + the Machine

Hello all! It's been a while and I have gained 6 followers! Wooo!! Thanks for following/reading this guys :)
Again, sorry it's been so long, but I doubt any of you were waiting impatiently, haha.
ANYWAY. The reason for this new post is that I want to start having an advice column type thing on here. I really like helping other people out in this way, and I'm normally pretty good. But everyone has their own opinion :)
And also, because I have way too much time on my hands.

So, if you need advice on something, whether it be about school or friends or how much you should tip your cab driver, shoot me an email at josie_tothemax@yahoo.com.
I will respond to your question on this blog, but your name will be anonymous/will be changed so no one will know it was you who wanted advice. I will email you back when I have posted on the blog (if you don't want me posting on the blog for whatever reason, I can just respond through email too).
In the future, I think I'm going to set up an email address for everyone to use. I would give everyone the password/email so they can submit everything through that so even I won't know who submitted their "problem". What do you think would be the best way to ensure anonymity?

I'm a pretty open-minded person. I won't judge you, or make fun of you whatever your issue may be. (:

Thanks guys!
Josie

VidThon

Phew. VidThon, VideoThon, Audition Video Madness, whatever you want to call it - was a success for me. Why?

Well, strategically my parents told me a few days after Kat set up the new guidelines that they were going to a Christmas party on Friday. Needless to say that I jumped at the opportunity to get as many of my videos done as possible. As soon as they left, I got to work. I changed shirts with each book, because it helped me get in character. Odd, I know, but hey, it worked! 
When I changed into a tank top I a) got cold and b) felt too revealing because my other videos just have me in a t-shirt. So, I put on a jacket! Woo for tidbits that you didn't care about!

If you would be so kind to check out my videos here: http://maximumrideusercasting.ning.com/video/video/listForContributor?screenName=2ro2xmneklue3

I promise to critique you back!

Some tips for getting all your videos up? stick through it. It's a lot easier staying in character the more you film. I think if I spread out my videos, the product wouldn't be as good. But then again, I probably should have taken a break between all the sarcastic scenes to the touchy scenes, because I don't think I did so great transitioning. But I'll let you decide that!

If you're going for Max (bring it on! haha, just joking) then you'll know how overwhelming it feels. To be honest, it was kind of overwhelming, but so worth it. The scenes that were most hard for me were "I Love Youuu", "Who's My Mother?" and "Human" for different reasons. "ILY" was awkward because I had been on Valium before, but couldn't remember how I acted. My mom said that I was hilarious and loony, so I tried to capture that. It was also a little awkward because of the angle and the transition from doing the sarcastic lines to the loopy lines. Also, because the words are so 'un-Maxish' it was difficult.

"Who's My Mother?" wasn't that awkward until the last line, which after I uploaded Kat made a fantastic point about 'growling' the words.

With "Human" I only had 20 seconds left of memory on my camera, and I was too lazy/didn't have time to upload all my videos and then film it, so I rushed it while trying not to rush it...does that make sense? And it wasn't until after I filmed and uploaded it to the site did I realize that she wasn't talking to someone, it was a 'thought' thing - right?

Another thing that really helped me was listening to music that went with the mood Max was feeling. For the sarcastic/angry scenes I listened to a lot of Radiohead and Muse, and for the softer/more sad scenes I listened to a lot slow songs by the Beatles and Jet. One of my favorite songs right now is Run by Snow Patrol. It's one of those songs that's so easy to envision a scene right before your eyes. It's very Maximum Ride, if I do say so myself.

But all in all, I loved it. VidThon was such a great idea because I know I wouldn't have felt as obligated to finish all my videos in one night. VidThon probably saved me too, because I know I wouldn't be able to do any videos this coming weekend, meaning that I probably wouldn't have gotten them done, thus meaning that I was going to be illegible for Max.

If you haven't finished all your vids, don't fret. Have your own VidThon day or weekend before the 28th! Once you set your mind to it, it's a breeze. Or at least, it was for me.

I think I've rambled enough, so I'll leave you with this cool music video that helped me get through VidThon because the mood is so...inspirational? It also reminds me of the end of Fang, if you catch my drift.

ps. I don't know what's going on with my fonts right now. I'm very OCD and it's bothering me...
and you probably wouldn't have noticed if I didn't mention it, right? Sigh. 

First things first...

Hello everyone!

I am following Kat's and Lauren's example of creating a blog solely for acting/Maximum Ride.

I'll start reviewing people/videos, posting some monologues I wrote myself, some helpful tips on how to act better (such as how I memorize my lines, how I get into character, etc. These methods work for me, but since we're all different they may not work for you. But it doesn't hurt to try!) and all that fun stuff.

I'm really supposed to be working on this project, but I don't really feel like it...so procrastination will mean more posts from me.

First things first, something you guys probably don't know about me (or some of you may if you joined in the first month Kat started the site) my real name isn't Josie. It's really Dani, but I changed it for a couple of reasons: 1) I didn't really like my name that much and 2) I was worried about crazy stalkers and such (keep in mind that I was apparently 14 1/2 when I first joined the site). I got the name "Josie" from a TV show that I used to be obsessed with - Strange Days at Blake Holsey High. If you're familiar with it, then you'll know that it is amazing for a kids' show. I'm 16 and I'm still addicted to it. You should definitely check it out if you're a sci-fi freak like myself.

Anyway, when I first read the Maximum Ride books and characterized Max, I immediately thought of the leading female, who's name was Josie. They had matching spunk, sarcasm, and attitude. When I first started making audition videos, it really helped me seeing Emma Taylor-Isherwood (who plays Josie) give that spunk, which gave me kind of a baseline for Max. Thus making my new 'name' Josie in honor of the show that helped me fuel my inner-Max. I was debating on whether changing it back about a year ago, but decided against it, because I still feel like I owe a lot to Josie for helping me with the Max-itude. So, thanks Josie! I hope you don't mind me keeping your name!

I'm the kind of actor who can portray a character if I see an example of it, and the same goes when I'm trying to master an accent. In order for me to nail an accent before I go on stage/screen, I'll listen to a radio show/audio recording with the accent I'm supposed to be having.

So, if you are a little confused with how you're supposed to fuel your inner-character, I strongly recommend this method. It helps me like crazy and it may help you too, or it may not. No harm in trying, right? If you need help finding actors/characters who portray people like the flock, let me know! I'll help you out with finding them; they've gotta be somewhere!

What are some of your methods of getting into character?

Well, I suppose I better start working on this project...(if you've ever seen Doctor Who, I'm making a model of the TARDIS. Woo dorks!)

Cheers,

'Josie'

P.S. Too bad Emma Taylor-Isherwood's in her twenties, or she would be the most amazing Max I could ever imagine.

She's in her teens here:

(ignore the cheesiness...it's still such a great show!)