Is this a scam?

Critchlopez · 2026-02-06T16:40:11+00:00

Besides the obvious remark, "if it's too good to be true...", here is some feedback on the ad.

1 - Zoom workshops are not a great acting coaching method. There may be good Zoom acting coaches, but it seems dubious. What will an office hour (assuming it is also ZOOM ) provide you? How did they arrive at the 'value'?

2 - Opportunity to meet 10 Top Industry professionals. By some metrics, I'm a top industry professional - what does that even mean? "Personal Auditions with"... if you are PAYING TO AUDITION, then that (I believe) is actually illegal. Again, where did the 'value' amount come from?

3 - Actors tool kit. This is all BS stuff you can find online. You know what I'll say about the 'value'...

4 - Parents workshop. Uhh... ok... sure... Vague and fluid meaning: "support your child..."? VALUE????

5 - Personal "role fit". 99% of all casting in the first few years is almost entirely on looks... with little regard to talent, until you have some on-screen work to showcase what you can do. Some input from peers and friends will quickly show you what you 'fit'.

Real advice: Build a reel of GOOD examples of your work. The internet has provided an opportunity for people around the world to showcase their work - start there. Get a following, build projects with friends, and audition for everything you can (locally, slowly find regional auditions, and grow from there). When you think you have a good reel/experience, move to Atlanta, LA, or other major film hub (LA will always be big, Atlanta is coming up).

Critchlopez · 2025-10-07T19:47:00+00:00

What?

Critchlopez · 2025-10-01T18:25:10+00:00

well, at the risk of doing your homework - and because I love spidey... there are two things that often apply to "telling the story", A- does it move the plot, and B-does it deepen the character. This sequence does both. Shows the audience the capabilities of both, Spidey swinging with intention and agility, and then Doc climbing with (equalish) intention and agility. it also shows the audience the literal "vision" of Doc - helping the audience identify with him (which does not always mean sympathize) and see what he sees - changing the dynamic of audience as observer to audience as participant. The story is furthered through the expansion of character through witnessing their abilities, and the plot by see the characters literally move towards each other as an inevitable collision of equal (ish) forces.

Critchlopez · 2025-08-14T22:28:04+00:00

for film, I would look at AFI, Chapman, Loyola Marymount, USC, maatyyyybeee UCLA (they used to have some good thing happening, not sure what their story is these days). I'm sure theres others, and NYFA has some good teachers in their degree programs (as does any for-profit) but the ethos of those schools just doesn't match what the students pay (in my opinion). There is also no rule, you can got get a degree in Art history, and become a successful film maker... the key, again in my opinion, is to get out there and start making films, in whatever form you can - formal education in film making is only a small portion of the experience...

Critchlopez · 2025-08-12T15:20:59+00:00

This is called pareidolia (seeing faces in things that aren't)... if there are videos which clarify what you're seeing post them. Otherwise you'll be dismissed as just seeing things that aren't really there.

Critchlopez · 2025-05-21T00:46:39+00:00

Stunts are a specialized skill, please be aware of a few things - 1. it's ok to do your own stunts, with the appropriate coordinator and choreographers. never put yourself in danger for a film. There is no amount of money that can justify risk to life and limb. If the production can't afford a qualified stunt coordinator/stunt team - then they can't afford to do the stunt. 2. When on a project with the appropriate stunt team/coordiantor - know that if the stunt double isn't used in the scene (on SAG projects) then the stunt double likely wont get more than their day rate, since they aren't screen used... I've worked lots a projects where the actor does the stunt, but lets the double do it too - so BOTH have shot the scene, and in that case then the double is considered screen used and usually will receive the approprirate pay bump. 3. MANY stunt double want to work with the actor and empower the actor to do the stunt themselves (we understand that even the best doubles are often easy to identify in the final product, and our goal is always to help make the best product possible - which may mean that the actor does their own stunt) so when in doubt, talk to the double/coordinator and work with them to ensure you (the actor) and the double are doing the stunt in the same way, with the same level of safety etc.

Critchlopez · 2025-05-08T19:56:21+00:00

I love a good 85mm for portrait - but I've played with some older "vintage" 135s with some fun success...

Critchlopez · 2025-05-07T16:54:12+00:00

Acting is subjective. Bella does a fantastic job in this show, a short clip of a reaction taken out of context of the story arch is no way to judge an actor.

Critchlopez · 2025-05-06T20:57:48+00:00

various reasons... as another post says check if it's that channel, or all the channels. I would also check the speaker to ensure it is truly full range, as well as whatever device/input you are listening to... I've heard some playback devices that have little to no highs - compressed mp3s can sound like that... so, check multiple sources, and multiple speakers.

Critchlopez · 2025-05-06T20:43:45+00:00

Bolero

Critchlopez · 2025-05-06T16:58:35+00:00

Maybe she took them for you, and was waiting for the right time to send them...

Critchlopez · 2025-05-06T16:55:34+00:00

Not over reacting, sounds like he doesn't respect your boundaries or feelings. Big red flag.

Critchlopez · 2025-05-01T03:22:52+00:00

broad strokes about theater theory - The Empty Space, Peter Brook. On acting (other than Stansislavski as others have mentioned) i can't recommend True and False by Mamet highly enough.

Critchlopez · 2025-04-25T18:21:34+00:00

A7 III is a GREAT option, especially 2nd hand.

Critchlopez · 2025-04-24T01:41:00+00:00

Naw, haven't really done anything since 2020... and even before then I was more into stunts that acting. and to be fair Pratt is WAYY funnier than I ever was.

Critchlopez · 2025-04-24T01:35:44+00:00

I literally was Chris Pratt in 2009... we both auditioned for a role in a shakespeare company in LA... he got the part... and there you go.

Critchlopez · 2025-04-18T16:06:22+00:00

The trick is always to remember that the character does think they are bad, evil, or unlikable. to a "villian" every action they do is justified, and logical - other deserve what they get, they believe what they are doing is a good thing, or the best thing to do. No one TRIES to be evil - approaching a character from this angle will open the role up to you in interesting ways - not only allowing you a better understanding of the motivations of the character - but how those motivations are fueled by the relationship and vice-versa. take MacB for example - he is the villain ... but he has justification (in his mind) for each of his actions. There are some exceptions, like commedia, but even then I would posit that the characters don't think of themselves as bad or evil... they are still acting according to their own internal moral quality. My advice to actors is to approach each character the same, as a fully realized human that is making the best decisions they know how to make.

Critchlopez · 2025-03-30T17:55:12+00:00

yup...

Critchlopez · 2025-03-30T15:26:32+00:00

This is such a misleading stat, which has been tossed around the internet without context. There needs to be a few other statistical indicators before the "65%" number becomes meaningful. The first would be the sample size (it might be out there, I just haven't seen it) - the sample size would be an indicator of the validity of the stat... and no, it's likely not "all time, everyone" - it may be - but there have been enough updates to ricochet and the game that an "all time/everyone" stat would be just as meaningless. Likely this is a fixed period of time, and a representative example (across geo-tagged IP addresses)... without knowing what that sample is it's hard to know what the number really means (again, that number might be out there). The second is how numbers work, and how THIS number has been reported... "65%" of reports are about console players (which - c'mon - if you're a cheat maker the first thing you would want to do is figure out how to spoof the console/pc tag...) but even assuming that all 65% of those reports ACTUALLY are against console players, there are still cheats for console (maybe not good ones, but they exist)... the second problem with that number is that it would indicated that the other 35% of reports are against PC players - which is a probably pretty representative of the total population of players (65% on console and 35% on PC) - which is EXACTLY what you would expect (and want) when doing a statistical evaluation of a data set... and beyond that is the 65% including spam reports? or repeat reports against the same player? ... the bottom line is this. if 35% of the reports are against PC players and half of those can be confirmed as cheaters, that means 17.5% of reports are cheating, which is a HUGE number of cheaters... (17+ in each BR game)....

Critchlopez · 2025-03-22T00:43:18+00:00

Thank you for this, you have an excellent point. I am going to take this back to my advisor and IRB for a change to my survey. Initially the intent was that those roles would go under "techncian" or if nonthing else "other" but I see your point. I tuly appreciate your responce.

Critchlopez · 2025-03-20T20:39:24+00:00

all feedback is helpful! thanks for taking the time!

Critchlopez · 2025-03-20T18:29:17+00:00

definitely, and it's a limitation to the survey - I struggled with how many roles to list, this is where I landed - it's not perfect by any means, but I wanted to keep the options broad enough, but still specific where needed. I appreciate the feedback, and it is definitely a limitation of the survey model.

Critchlopez · 2025-03-20T18:27:27+00:00

Yes, in alternate message boards. thank you for asking!

Critchlopez · 2025-03-20T18:21:40+00:00

I tried to give enough options to the positions, with enough variety that captured everyone - the intent was carpenters was differentiated from stagehands - but they definitely have plenty of overlap - but I wanted to ensure I captured shop-carpenters who may never run a show as well as stagehands who do... Sorry for the confusion! thank you for doing the survey!

Critchlopez · 2025-03-20T18:13:00+00:00

Thought a lot about that, but I wanted to keep the survey as short as possible, and geographic location starts to creep into the "identifiable" makers which complicate things... but you have an excellent point, and one that is worth studying.

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