modelinginmexico
Modeling, Mexico, Jill Billingsley, Jill Scott,Archive for February, 2012
Working Week as an Actress
My first commercial filmed on the 14th (for Jetta VW) at 3pm… in a city about an hour outside of the city. What a day! To my surprise there are areas surrounding Mexico City that embody everything I would associate with Canada. Blue skys, green forest, the smells of camping, even the weather – right down to the rain. Because everyone knows when you go camping it rains, so why would a shoot requiring a camping scene be any different?
My scene was simple enough – a couple camping underneath the stars, looking out from their vehicle’s sunroof, snuggling to keep warm. It was 2 takes that took a whole of maybe 5 minutes. But an experience that I couldn’t be happier to have taken a part in. I arrived late (nearly an hour I’d guess), but through no fault of my own. Nevertheless, I was filled with anxiety because I hate feeling behind and helpless. All of this panic I had for NO reason at all. The day was extremely laid back. The shooting was behind an hour, so they claimed, but in reality, I wasn’t needed til 8. Ariana (my roommate, who happened to book the same job) and I had time to eat dinner, meet the crew, go through hair and makeup, and even nap for a few hours.
Ari’s novio for VW (Ps, she ended up with the makeout scene)
Mi novia (Ari) for the in between takes.
While waiting for filming to begin, I took in my surroundings. Trailers for makeup, a kitchen to prep food, a trailer to make fake rain, and random vehicles scattered around to move cameras and equipment back and forth.
It reminded me of a movie that was filmed in Edmonton and how jealous I was of the actors for being taken such good care of, now I got to experience it all. Mind you, I am probably harder to please than everyone else because I have the unfortunate luck to always get sick before work for some reason. Everyone around the campers asked if we were hungry, or needed anything… every 5 mins I was asking for water, coffee, food, snacks, jackets, Advil, Peptobismol. I may have given them a run for their money, but was estactic to be where I was. I kept thinking to myself that no one could be happier than I was to be doing what I’m doing.
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Upon arriving back home, after 1am, my phone finally started receiving text messages from the agency. Out in the mountains we lost reception. My agency was contacting me to tell me I BOOKED MY SECOND COMMERCIAL! Only catch, I had to leave at 4:30am to get to the filming the next day. My 2 hour nap was pretty solid, not sure who would be happy to wake up to go to work after only 2 hours of sleep, but I was so excited that it didn’t matter. Main reason? My commercial was for Coca Cola, and here, Coke is a big deal! It’s even a bigger deal for me because this casting releases it’s commercial strictly to Canada. Next month, for 30 days, I can be seen on Cola commercials walking a bike, checking out a dancer named Marquese Scott (who is probably worth checking out videos of him on YouTube). The shoot was a long day for me, with bad weather once again, but I was getting paid to eat breakfast, lunch, snacks, and walk a bike. What more could I want? I spent the entire day laying up against a pole (that is my main position in the commercial) thinking, this is nuts, this is a real Cola commercial and I get to be part of it. The director was from LA, and the scene was set up to resemble Toronto… and my family and friends get a chance to see SOMETHING I have done during my time of living in Mexico. Crazy!
Cast & crew for Cola.
By the days end, I came home with a wicked sun burn across my face. How it happened in crappy weather still surprises me, but I’m left with some nice color and memories of seeing the magic behind such a well known brand’s commercial.
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Friday also became a working day for me, receiving a text late a night telling me where to go. It wasn’t too glamorous: a carpool of models traveling to a nearby city to shoot department store clothing. But it was a comfortable setting, something I was use to and after the long days before I needed something a little more my pace. A quick shoot doing what it is I do. I assume it went well, I liked whatever images I saw… the photographer spoke no English though so hard to say if I truly followed directions.
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I spent the weekend with Ari shopping and exploring the city with our new friend Rob (The director of Jetta’s commercial). We recorded music together even with Rob’s recording studio and I got a chance to brush up on my guitar skills.
I’m well rested, FINALLY! And ready for the week ahead, first on my list for tomorrow (Mon) is a callback! Here’s hoping it goes well and they like what they see! It was a very tough casting call that involved flips, splits, cheerleading, and acting. =)
(For those who don’t know, I get sent to castings and if they like you in a casting you get a callback for them to see you a second time… if all goes well you nail the job and get hired on as an actor or model)
Thanks to everyone who is keeping up with me! I love coming home and not having to relive the same story 1000 times. =) ❤ you All.
Nasolgia – The First Shoot here
Standing in the middle of my photo shoot, while background props were assembled and the makeup time/stylists had their way with me, I was hit with an odd memory I had from elementary – triggered by the Madonna song ‘Express Yourself’ playing upstairs in the dressing room. In grade school my mom, being a pushy show mom that she can sometimes be, forced me to be in the talent show my school had and wanted me to sing that song. I remember before getting up on the stage, seeing lights and the entire crowd, thinking of how much I liked knowing I had all the attention on me and how I thought that this feeling was some form of a premonition, some how I wanted to feel this way always. I just never knew how to achieve it. I was so painfully shy (too shy to act) and ironically, not a good singer … so with that said that talent show was a bust. But when that song came up today, I flashed back to that day when the lights were blinding and I reflected on how far along I have come. I had all the attention I wanted on me: random hands pulling at my dress, assistants taping god knows what behind my back, makeup touch ups being done while getting my hair re-fluffed. It was such a peaceful warmness, after having the most chaotic morning. I’m just so grateful to finally be working, doing something I love and for the few minutes I had walking down memory lane made me re-appreciate were I was and what I do. After a while, shoots tend to feel the same and you get use to all of that commotion around you ; but today I really took it all in and treated it as if I was new to the scene. The clothing designer even mentioned how she hopes I stay the same way I am right now because a lot of the models she has met in the past have an arrogant attitude, but I came off very sweet and sincere; she even went as far to tell me she was going to tell the agency about what a pleasure working with me was. She promises to rebook me! So my workday Monday appears to finish strong. I could go on about the morning, but reliving that may make me sour. Let’s say the cab took an hour longer than he should have getting to a location that was 30 mins away and for a brief moment I thought I was going to be kidnapped. All in all, I may have let stress and paranoia get the best at me, but that’s probably bound to happen on 4 hours of sleep.
After the shoot I ate with the production crew and excitedly grabbed for a fortune cookie. I cracked it open and found… NOTHING. I searched the table and realized there was never a fortune in the cookie. I joked with everyone and asked if I should be worried that I had no fortune, I told them it was a bad sign – you know, one of those signs like when an automatic door doesn’t open for you, thus causing you to realize you have no soul. (Thanks Simpsons) Regardless, the photographer assured me it meant nothing, and told me if anything, it was good luck because it meant I got to have another cookie. I laughed and opened it up and read it out loud – now this is spooky – it said : You shouldn’t be worried about your future. It may be one of those you-had-to-be-there moment, but I get chills thinking about. I was so curious about my fortune that I had to crack open another, and it read ‘You will be unusually successful in business.” At this I quit while I was ahead and I went back to the model appartment a happy lil model.
Blog Catchup, Pretty Random
This is just a beautiful picture I took of the sun coming through the clouds. I thought it was pretty sweet.
In an effort to completely engolf myself with Espanol I started listening to Spanish music throughout the day and even at night to myself before falling asleep. Not sure what all is being absorbed, but it’s easy listening to Enrique over the pounding music the club outside of the model house plays.
The weekend plans were horseback riding Saturday followed by an easy day off at an art-walk on Sunday, but not everything goes as planned. Saturday morning was dark and gloomy, and as the day went- the colder it got. I did get the chance to get up on a horse after seeing the owners beautiful house, but my night fell flat after a great meal 
was wasted sitting in cold and a night of showtunes while drunk strangers sang their hearts out to blaring music and danced the night away. I always somehow seem to only get half of the days intiniary. I did learn more about the culture here though. Whereas English and French people like everything neat, organized, and expect dinners to be ran a certain way with everyone on their best behaviour, the Mexicans have a more relaxed, carefree way of eating. Elbows on the tables wouldn’t phased them, then alone a lil napkin on the ground. When dinner was being served, no one expected you to use your fork to pick up the cut of meat you preferred, instead, it makes for a more inviting environment to use your hands instead. In their eyes, your all among friends anyways – right?. I asked what if I only wanted half of a piece and they said, “doesn’t matter, use your hands to tear it apart, no one cares.” I thought that was pretty different, not sure if it’s something I necessarily like, but I can go along with it while I am here. Overall the meal was great, the company was fun, the weather was horrible (even the odd winter jacket made a scene) and the scenery was breath taking…
I just wish the whole night would have followed suit. Drinks poured, music playing, random dancing, and have it all repeated for 3 hours made for a cranky Jill. But I got home EVENTUALLY and after getting royally screwed from the taxi for fare – learned a lesson on asking questions before agreeing on weekend plans.
Sunday went off without a hitch on a near by street where a market was set up for the weekend to show crafts and paintings of the city people. I even scored me a slave bracelet I have been so desperately searching for and am excited to go back next week to see everything new and find me some deals.
—————- 12 days later. ———— or so it feels
On the modeling side of things: My weeks have started to drag lately, a couple of castings everyday but it starts to get hard to remember what all they are for. Today was a soccer/football calendar, yesterday a makeout scene with a male counter part (for a car commercial), the day before that a meeting with a company owner called WoolsWorth, which looks to be a department store similar to sears. Generally all the castings call for the same thing: a shot of you holding a number with your name and stats on a card, side profiles, and a behind shot… imagine any crime show you’ve watched where they make the criminal stand in front of the camera and you basically get the idea, minus the fact I have to smile here and there.
It surprises me now to see how comfortable I am acting in front of the camera. I still remember a time in middle school where I nearly cried because the drama teacher wanted me to pretend I invented an inflatable invisible toilet in front of the whole class… if only they could see me now and how truly fake I can be. Haa!
The lack of internet makes reaching all the casting nearly impossible. I have to pull late nights at starbucks to ensure theres room for me inside to just look up directions for the following day, and then of course throughout the day castings come in as well. Makes for some randomness and lots of stopping and trying out my horrible spanish, “Perdon, Benos Tarads, Donde es Coyacatan?” If I think I am close to a location and the 4th person I ask seems to have no clue then I take it as a sign I wasn’t meant to go to that casting. Only has happened once in 3 weeks –that’s pretty good!
The subway system Mexico has is pretty amazing, not in a breath taking way or anything (although it actually is nice, much nicer than TO’s) but in an easy to find your way around regardless that some stations have 4 levels. Everything is color coated with arrows pointing out the directions, so it gives me breather from straining to understand what everyone is trying to tell me and just lets me figure everything out for myself.
You’d be surprised to hear how much I get, “You’re from Canada, that’s like my dream destination to travel to.” If they speak English this is usually the 3rd item to come up in conversation. So many people want to see the snow and it seems so odd to me knowing how harsh the snow can be. I came here hoping to see the sun but have yet to get color. 😛 Rain, wind, cold mornings, that about sums it up – not complaining because I know what I left, but not quite what everyone had in mind I am sure when they are telling me not to forget sunscreen.
Eating here is becoming a strain, I literally can not find any TACO seasoning. And I put that on my salads, on all my meats, snacks, toast… and now I have nothing. Teriyaki sauce doesn’t exist and when I do get enough pocket change to buy seasonings they are always so spicy. I have to default to pastas or breads if I want to avoid a spice attack – which for a model diet is pretty harsh. I just started incorporating a glass of milk back into my system and mexican milk has got me questioning it a lot. They don’t have it in refrigerators which makes me think it must have a lot of preservatives in it for it to be treated like juice and left on the shelf… and the smell is quite odd, but I found a milk I can tolerate which gets me pretty excited, because cereal and porridge might just be the healthiest items I can find in the whole city. That and fruit. =) but still it’s odd to sit in an aisle for half the day trying to program all the products names into my translator trying to avoid wasting my money.
What else can I say in these few weeks about the city: Spanish lunch is at 3, so food vendors can be found on the street in between 1-4 usually if your trying to pick up local lunch, you must have a liking for deep fried food I warn. AND mexican popsicles are delicious! Cable and internet are still being promised to the model house soon guys so start lighting up my fb page so I am not bored to tears when I get home from my castings. =) By the time I post this online nearly none of my family will be in Canada… pretty crazy. Have a good trip to everyone away!
modelinginmexico 