The main reason I recommend that people create their own life lists is that in addition to experiencing the fun things that they put on their lists, the process of completing their list will inevitably cause them to have experiences that they never could have planned. Starring in a commercial is a prime example of this happening to me. This experience was never on my life list and it wasn’t something I set out to do. It just happened.
I was in Argentina and running late for my filming downtown. I arrived about 15 minutes late (on-time by Argentine standards) walked up some oddly steep stairs and entered the studio. I was greeted by a wall of green screen and big industry lights. I was clearly over my head.
I am laughing out of fear
I’d like to say I was asked to be in the commercial because of my fantastic calves or outstanding smile but unfortunately for me, the truth is less flattering. They needed a native English speaker and the person who was originally scheduled to act had to drop out at the last second. I was the only other native english speaker they knew :-)
Choosa.net is a startup based out of Buenos Aires that auctions design projects and awards them to the best designers (as chosen by the person looking for the design). This crowdsourcing option has proved quite effective for logo, web and stationary design in the United States and Choosa is uniquely positioned to take advantage of this while offering it’s services at the discounted prices of the latin american market. It is high quality work at a low price.
Back in the studio, I was quickly reminded how frustrating it is to not speak the language of the country you are living in. Imagine the feeling of stumbling through Spanish sentences and add a room full of people, a camera and bright white lights. I immediately wished I had paid more attention during my spanish lessons in High School.
Pretending to understand (The pinnacle of my acting was not on film.)
Luckily for me, the script was in English. Unfortunately, the feedback from the directors and producers were in Spanish. This meant that after every take, I had to play the awkward half-english/half-spanish/lots of hand movement conversation game.
Let’s just say, the recording took many many takes.
Now, here is the most important part! I am very pleased to report that in true infomercial style, my lines included the phrases “100% money back guarantee” and “experience the magic yourself”. This of course was supplemented with shooting stars surrounding my body.
Upon seeing the first draft, my scream of joy made Bieber fans everywhere sound like Barry White. This wasn’t due to my Bieber haircut, rather it was due to my real prepubescent scream. I really did get to experience the magic myself!
