Kenney Myers

Author | Actor | Producer | Kickboxer | Entrepreneur

Acting

Little Cupid Offers Director’s Notes Through Augmented Reality App

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AugmentedFans, LLC (Kenney Myers) and Gemelli Films (Candice Cain) are happy to announce a collaborative effort to bring director’s notes to life through leveraging augmented reality and the smart phones all of us are carrying around with us.  The app is initially being released on Google Play but we are planning to release on iOS before the end of the year (update here is the link for iTunes).  The premise behind the app is pretty simple.  You download the app, create an account, and then press the scan button at the bottom of the screen.  After you do that you simply start watching Little Cupid (which is streaming on Amazon Prime Video) on another device and hold your phone up to the screen.  At various points throughout episode 1 you will see director’s notes pop onto the screen.

About Little Cupid

Little Cupid is a family friendly TV series written and directed by Candice Cain that stars Cody Calafiore, Stefanie Bloom, and Angela Castaldo.  It’s about a marine that gave the ultimate sacrifice and is now working on earning his angel wings.  He appears before his daughter and enlists her help with his mission.  Their goal is to match soulmates with each other and help ignite the spark between them.  Their first couple is Angela’s teacher and the substitute gym teacher.

About AugmentedFans

AugmentedFans, LLC is a company co-founded by Kenney Myers and Neko Sparks.  The goal of AugmentedFans is to leverage augmented reality for TV shows, movies, newspapers and books.  We want to immerse people in the experience and give them the ability to find out more about the characters and shows they love.  Most importantly it is completely up to them to use as much or as little as they want.  We believe that fans will drive this technology and most importantly the TV shows, movies, and other media types that adopt it.  Because the platform is constantly updated it gives writes, directors, and entertainers the ability to continue the conversation around their art and that opens up many exciting possibilities.

About the Little Cupid Show App

The Little Cupid Show app is the first to be released on AugmentedFans new patent pending platform.  It uses a feature called Director’s Notes to pop up information about various scenes, actors, and just other comments from the director.  It’s a fun app that as users watch the episode and the images are detected … they earn points.  The points will accumulate and allow them to earn bronze, silver, and eventually gold fan status.  Which as of now just gives them the ultimate bragging rights in the world of Little Cupid.  Please follow Candice Cain or Gemelli Films on social media for updates on Little Cupid plus find out who has achieved bronze, silver, or gold status on the app.  Of course you can also follow me, Kenney Myers @kenneymyers everywhere for updates as well.

Feedback

We would love any and all feedback on the app and Little Cupid so please don’t hesitate to reach out to me on Twitter, FaceBook, Instagram or right here in the comments on this blog post.  Thanks again for your support!  We are looking forward to more updates and uses of this technology in the coming weeks.

 

How to Use Technology to Learn Lines for Auditory Learners

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So as many of you know that follow me my main job is as a software developer and general tech gadget nerd. When I throw myself into anything I tend to go “all-in”. I also strive to always find good ways to leverage technology to solve real world problems. Lately, this has applied a lot to acting. As I strive to improve as an actor I wanted to reach a point where any script I was working on just flowed naturally for me. So in addition to the rehearsal mobile app I wrote I decided for my current film I was going to try auditory learning methods as well. If you are a person that learns through listening and you want to act this could be very helpful for you. In addition, if you are like me and learn things through various ways then this is still useful (you’ll have to try it to believe me though).

So the current feature that I am working on is a Christmas Film called Ivy & Mistletoe and it was a perfect one to try this new technique out on.  I’ll give you the cliff notes to what I did here first:

  1. I grabbed all of the scenes from the script that had my character in them and copied the text from the script to the clipboard.
  2. I pasted each scene one by one into a program called Line Buddy (any text-to-speech tool would work).  As a developer I could have written my own program for this but I found Line Buddy to work perfectly.
  3. I formatted the script for Line Buddy and assigned each role a specific computerized voice that was pitch appropriate.
  4. I then recorded the playing of the script using a program called Capto.
  5. I then exported that movie to a .mov file and imported it into Filmora.
  6. I downloaded royalty-free instrumental only background music from the web.
  7. I added the background music to a separate track in Filmora to layer in the audio background noise.
  8. I then exported that to another movie format (any will do).
  9. Finally I converted that movie format to a .mp3 for playing in iTunes and my android MP3 player.

Okay, that sounds pretty terrible I know but it is certainly worth it.  The result gave me a way to constantly play something in the background while working, driving, exercising, or even sleeping.  The background music was set to a lower level than the text so it provided some noise cancellation without being overly distracting.  The music I picked was also Christmas music which further set the mood/tone for maximizing the auditory learning experience.

I obviously cannot use or share the script that we are actively in production on but I can provide you with a similar example.  If you think this is interesting let me know and I can kick around developing it into a more usable one-stop application.  Of course you can easily do all of this with a variety of available tools and a little bit of effort on your part.

SAG – My Journey and Why I Decided to Join

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Whenever someone finds out that you are an actor or have done acting jobs there are a handful of questions that are inevitable 1) are you on Netflix (where can I see you) 2) are you a member of SAG?  I’m not sure why people seem so interested in whether you are a member of the screen actors guild or not but it’s VERY frequently asked.  In general, my response has been I have done work that makes me eligible but up until this month (January 2019) I had not joined.  Here are some of the reasons why I had not joined:

  1. I wanted to build up a decent acting resume before joining.  Since it is significantly easier to find non-union work I wanted to wait until I had a couple of dozen productions under my belt before joining SAG.
  2. Up until this month no production companies had expressed an interest in me being a part of SAG.  While I could have skipped it, knowing it was important to them coupled with having some experience on my resume helped me decide to move forward.
  3. It’s not cheap to join SAG and as you may or may not be aware acting jobs do not pay super well (or consistently).  So while my day job as a software developer does pay I wanted to make sure that there was a financial return on my investment for joining the union.
  4. A lot of jobs in the Houston area are non-union so I wanted to wait until I had more National jobs and/or a specific goal in mind (I now have both of those covered).

In my opinion to join or not join SAG is a personal decision that each actor needs to make based on their own circumstances.  Whether I made the right decision or not is way too early to tell but if you are trying to decide, here are some videos that might help you take a decision:

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV1gCpThbPw – Wendy Alane Wright, The Hollywood Talent Manager provides some solid advice on when to join SAG and the difference between SAG Eligible and Must Join.  It’s a little more about timing than it is whether you should join or not.  She does say “set aside money to join SAG because eventually you will need to.”  She also says your resume should be full before you join so that you can compete with the best of the best.
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Qec-vIH5UU from The Acting Resource Guru.  Provides three things to think about 1) where are you in your craft? 2) What is your on-set experience? 3) How much is on your resume? How much footage do you have?
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jw_bsynwu8Q this one tells you quite a bit about what the union does for its members.  Which helps you understand more about why you should join SAG and finally how you join.
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S4bzsHcYIs this video is really just a commercial for their workshop but the interesting point that it makes is know the industry in your area.  Are there union jobs around you?
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEKojxchH58 this is actually just a hilarious video about what his experience was with joining SAG on very short notice.  Humor me.  This is a great distraction if you are just trying to decide to join or not join ha!
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOduSHxPxBM This one is from Amy Jo Berman and she is a well known acting coach and casting director.  She also talks about knowing your market because a lot of markets across the U.S. are heavily skewed toward non-union jobs.

So now, let’s talk about the process to join SAG and what was that like (at least for me).  For me it was a multi-step process that looked something like the following:

  1. I submitted a SAG agreement that I had signed for a new media project (Chosen Kin) to the appropriate SAG-AFTRA email (newmedia@sagagtra.org).  Now I did this over the holidays so it took a week or so for them to get back to me.
  2. They sent me an employment verification form.  I added the dates I worked on the project (for the contract submitted) and attached the call sheets for that project.
  3. I also had a very kind-hearted and amazing producer reach out to SAG on my behalf to vouch for me (somewhere throughout this process).
  4. The New Media group over at SAG notified me that my employment was confirmed and that I needed to call the membership group to setup an appointment or get the full application.
  5. I called them and answered a few questions (did I want a State or National membership) and then they told me the amount and sent over about a dozen pages for me to read and fill out.
  6. I completed all of those things and then had to fax that all back to SAG.
  7. They then contacted me to let me know that someone already in SAG had a similar name to mine and that I needed to add my middle name or initial to proceed.  This is known as the “SAG name game” in the industry.  They do this to make sure there is no confusion for acting jobs, royalties, etc.  So it’s actually really important and just something you have to clear.
  8. Finally, they processed the paperwork and charged my card for the membership fees and first quarter dues and I was done!

Okay, so I kind of touched on this but I found another reason you may want to join SAG sooner rather than later is if you have a super strong preference for your name a certain way.  If you do then you may want to lock that in because it has to be unique (phonetically unique).  So in my case any derivatives of Kenney (ken, Kenny, Kenneth) made my name not unique.  It’s not a super big deal though so don’t freak out and join just for that reason it’s just another possible factor.

So this may or may not be useful or interesting to other actors or my friends and family but I just wanted to write this up before it becomes ancient history.  I’m actually excited to begin 2019 as a part of SAG and working on some really interesting projects (Little Cupid, New Dogs Old Tricks season 2, and a couple more surprises).  I’m super fortunate to have some great friends in the industry and none of it would be possible without my friends and family supporting me (I need every bit of help I can get).  Thanks again for reading about my SAG adventure!

The Secret to How I Learn My Lines & Nail 1-Takes

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Let me first start out by saying that I don’t always nail a scene in 1 take, ha!  That said, I do try my very best to show up on set ready to deliver the best performance I can without ever asking for “LINES”.  Like many other actors I also have a job that actually pays the bills (I am a software developer and an entrepreneur but that’s an article for another day).  Believe it or not, I use the same process whether I am auditioning or showing up on set.  Yes, I memorize and develop the backstory, etc. for every single video or in-person audition too.  Here’s the process I have traditionally gone through.

  1. Get the sides or script from the casting director or director.  Once I have the sides I read them through several times and begin to get the feel for the character and the scenes I have been given.
  2. As a great acting coach taught me, my next step is the 5 – W’s for the character and the scene.  I need to know who, what, where, when, and why associated with this piece.  If you don’t know these things then you can tend to wander around with your take and/or just repeat the lines as written (blah).
  3. I then get out my trusty mobile phone and record ALL lines (my part and the other parts as well).  I will be using this in the car, at work, and everywhere I can to just let the words soak in as much as possible.
  4. I use an application that has several modes available on it.  This includes book mode.  While playing through the scene you can have it either pause for your parts (the number of seconds it should take you) or you can have it prompt you (cue you) for your lines.
  5. I continue using this application as much as possible until I show up on set and am wrapped for the entire show.  I guess the actors and directors might think I am listening to music or checking Instagram but in fact, I’m always studying.

What is this Application You Use?

Fair question.  Well when I had my iPhone I used an application called “Scene Study” which really does all of these things very well.  Unfortunately, I felt the need to protest Apple’s slowing down of my iPhone 6 and forced upgrades by buying an Android phone (Google Pixel 2).  In the heat of the moment that seemed like a great idea.  Unfortunately several applications that I use a lot were not available on Android.  One of those happens to be Scene Study.  Ughhh.  So I started carrying my old iPhone around just for the purpose of studying my lines.  That is until recently when I decided carrying two phones was dumb so I set out to build an app for Android that would do everything I needed.  Thus, RehearserBro was born (yeah terrible name I know but the .com was available so …).  Here’s how it works using a series of images/screenshots.

That’s all pretty straight-forward right?  It’s a game changer at least for me though as it allows me to practice and even do my self tapes without a reader (BookMode+).  This is one application that I just couldn’t be without and therefore I had to write it.  Of course, it may have been smarter to reach out to the developer to see if they had plans of porting their app but where’s the fun in that?

So this is really the secret behind how I learn my lines and have a reputation for being a 1-take actor (per camera angle and I am FAR from perfect).  The honest truth is it just helps me remember and is easier than asking someone I love to read with me a million times (that gets old for them after the second or third time I think).

If you are interested in RehearserBro hit me up on Instagram or Twitter (@kenneymyers on both) and let me know.  I actually wrote it using Xamarin so technically could also produce the iOS version easily (it’s already written).  I just don’t have a need for that one right now so I didn’t publish it.  I also did not publish the droid app to Google Play yet.  I’ll wait to see if there is any demand for it whatsoever.  Thanks and hope to see you on set (with both of us knowing our lines)!

 

How I Accidentally Got Started in Acting

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Every once in a while I get a question that goes something like “how did you get into acting?” I think people are expecting to hear the usual horror stories about it but the honest truth is I got into acting totally by accident. That said, I work very hard every day to improve my acting skills through practice and coaching. It’s far more difficult that it sounds but once I got started I found I enjoyed it and in typical fashion for me I went “all-in.” But every story has a beginning so here is mine:

I spent several years training in san shou (S/O to the pit & specifically Texas Kickboxing Academy). I did a lot of sparring and then fought in an amateur sparring event, etc. Accordingly I watched a lot of MMA, kickboxing, and other combative sports. As usual, I was watching a World Series of Fighting event on TV and a special came on about an 11 year old actress that had cancer and was battling for her life. I was touched by her story and did some research on the films that she had been involved in. I put together a video montage and circulated it on social media asking for my friends and family to pray for her.

To my surprise, the video ended up getting back to her and her father. You just never know what is going to happen with social media … They were super kind and reached out to me to thank me for putting the video together which was exceptionally nice of them given what they were going through. We got to talking about the World Series of Fighting event and one conversation led to another as we got to know each other a bit. Her father happened to be doing casting for a film and asked me if I would be interested in being in a fight scene or two. I thought that sounded really cool and immediately said yes and thanked him profusely.

I showed up on set for my first acting experience and went through makeup (that was new) and got ready for my scenes (all physical stuff). I was going to start off by taking a bat to a coffee table and destroying a bunch of stuff. So … it came time for me to do my scene and the director walked me through what I would be doing and they got setup for the shot. The camera was in place, sound was ready, and then I took off and smashed the heck out of everything (BEFORE he said action). Thankfully, he barely got the shot. We setup again and this time he was explicit wait for it, wait for action, wait, wait … ACTION! The second time I literally broke the bat smashing everything. That is the story of my first scene in MILES TO GO (originally JUNKIE).

Being a total noob I had no idea what I was doing but was fortunate enough to have my teenage daughter along for the experience. I wrapped for the day and left with a bunch of makeup on my face. I realized I had no idea how to get this off and I was actually going to have to go into a store in full makeup and buy something to remove it. Ha, oh boy … Thankfully, my teenage daughter knew exactly what to do and I got through my first makeup removal ordeal.

The one thing that surprised me the most was how nice everyone was including the stars of the movie Christian Kane, James DuVal, Anna Easteden, Eve Mauro, etc. I also ran into a writer by the name of Colin Bird there (later to become a good friend, motivator, and advisor in this whole journey through the entertainment world). I quickly decided that this is something I wanted to do and learn more about so I started studying and auditioning for everything I could possibly do. A few years later I have been in a couple dozen productions and I’m still learning new things every day.

This is a tough business but there are some really great people out there. I’m thankful for the original opportunity and I’m also thankful that the little girl that started it all, Chalet Brannan survived and is going super strong. She is an inspiration to everyone (I highly recommend you look her up on IMDB). I can only imagine how difficult her battle with cancer was for her entire family. I can’t wait to see what the future brings for her!

So that’s the story of how I got started in acting. I don’t know where this will lead me but I am having a blast and creating memories that will last a lifetime. I do want to take this time to thank everyone that has supported me including my work partners, my friends, and most importantly my family. My wife and kids have been incredibly supportive and put up with me working nights, weekends, and countless auditions. In the end this is about all of you as I try to entertain you and make shows that will stand the test of time knowing I always have a long ways to go and tons to learn.

10 Ways to Work Your Core As You Prepare for Your Next Acting Role

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Okay so it’s that time of year!  For me that doesn’t mean a New Year’s Resolution to get abs it’s simply about a six-week period leading up to filming a role.  I don’t always get that much lead time and frankly I need to be working on staying lean year round (but like most people that’s easier said than done).  So as I am hitting workouts I am focused on ways to work my core and here are some of my favorites including a new technical way to do it.

  • Bicycle crunches – link – These I try to do 30 or so in each round.  After you get a few rounds in this should be a challenge but if it is not, just increase the number per round until you are zonked after 4 or 5 rounds.  If you can’t get to the point of failure then congrats I assume you have a six-pack already.
  • Sumo squats with side knee tap – link – The example video here shows the traditional sumo squat which I do and then I raise my knee at the side up and touch my elbow to my knee.  For some reason that side crunch I get from the elbow tap feels amazing and works the old love handles.  I typically do 15-20 each round of these.
  • Superman planks – link – This one sneaks up on you.  It generally feels easy and good until you get into later rounds (I also do 15-20 each round of these).  The challenge here and it gets better the more you do them is to raise up enough and then hold that superman position.
  • Reverse alternating leg kick planks – link – Okay so when I am doing a plank superset I almost always alternate with this exercise and/or alternating leg side kick planks.  You can do 30 of these if you have the time usually in between other types of ab exercises.  They aren’t as difficult but they are effective.
  • Side planks with a thrust – link – Okay so this one is a direct attack on the love handles and you feel it almost immediately.  This is one of my favorite ab exercises (not because I enjoy doing them), I just feel like they are extremely effective.  I do 15-20 of these per round holding for a second or two on each thrust.
  • Pelvic thrusts/tilt (mind out of the gutter please) – link – This is again one of the easier exercises but it is one that also feels really good while you are doing it.  You might be thinking hey that is not working my abs – okay but it’s a core exercise and another area you need to target.  You can do more of these but 15 each round is enough.
  • Commando planks – link – Okay you had to know that I couldn’t possibly leave this exercise out of a core workout routine.  For some reason it feels like a manly man’s exercise (probably just the name).  Anyway, it’s tough and I’ll again do 15-20 of these each round.
  • Squats with alternating side kicks – link – Here is another variation of a squat which I pretty much like all squats for working my core but this one is just fun.  I frequently change the angle of my kicks and I would say it’s more like a side/angeled push kick (if you can picture that).  Another 15-20 each round.
  • Heel tap crunch – link – This is really another almost active rest drill for me that is also targeting those handles on my side.  Speaking of which I hate the term “love handles” because nobody loves them.  That’s just squishy fat that nobody should want to hold onto.  You can do a bunch of these but just keep it to 15-20.
  • Stealth trainer gaming – link – This one is next level thinking in my humble opinion.  You play a game while you work a plank from all kinds of crazy angles.  I love/hate this part of my training.  You basically do this for as long as you can and score as many points as you can each round.

There are tons of additional ways to work your abs and most of this was just a lead up to be able to tell you what works for me as well as to tell you about the Stealth Trainer (which I have zero affiliation with but certainly wish I did).  Sometimes I am in awe of people that can invent something that you look at and say “now THAT is a great idea.”  This is one of those because it makes working your abs through planks and hitting weird positions a breeze.  I can’t say enough about it (although it’s not super fun like a lot of games because you are very aware that you are working out despite what they say in the ads).

So whether you are trying to lean out for a role or just want to try to pursue those six pack abs that have eluded you all your life (or both like me).  I hope these exercises help you somewhat.  Keep in mind though that abs are going to always be greatly impacted by your nutrition plan (sorry but it is largely about what you eat combined with exercises like these).  Be sensible, eat clean, and get the abs you want!