Mark Roma Casting

My Generation

admin — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 14:12:25 +0000

The ongoing legacy of “background performance” is marked with several universal truths: a background performer will sometimes sit for hours waiting to be called for five minutes of shooting, background performers will most likely be out of focus in the final product, and background performers almost never aspire to only be background performers.
All of these are true of my participation in an episode of ABC’s new series “My Generation,” during which I sat for almost 8 hours before being called for one short scene.
I was asked to sit and stare at a television displaying a green screen as if it were something interesting while the cameras focused over my shoulder at a main character walking into frame.
My performance was informed by a mental image I conjured of a friend of mine watching sports. He leans and shifts in his seat from time to time, as if his body position affects what’s on the screen. As a person in a hospital waiting room who may have waited for hours to hear on the status of a loved one, I felt that this shifting approach to my posture and attention to the screen suited the scenario.
Will my performance be captured in this episode? Perhaps not, but it was another opportunity to practice a level of craft and to observe the mechanics of a television set.

MOTU Knife fighting scenes

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 02:21:19 +0000

For two separate fight scenes I’ve chosen to train actors in Escrima and Ninjutsu based knife techniques. Exhibited below are two sequences from a scene early in the film where a villain named Tri-Klops kills a woman wielding a knife. In one part of the scene the director describes him as “grabbing her wrist and taking away the knife.” later he “incapacitates her” so that another villain can deliver the killing blow.
All scenes are being practiced for the fan film Masters of the Universe: The Wizard of Stone Mountain.

MOTU Wizard of Stone Mountain Fight Choreography

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 02:16:09 +0000

Fisto, a character with a large metal fist covering one hand in the Masters of the Universe mythology, plays a role in a large group battle scene taking place in the MOTU Wizard of Stone Mountain fan film currently under production. My task is to give the actor Ron a style of fighting that indicates his character’s motivation, his good nature, and his unique physical characteristics.

Wed of the Dead

admin — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 14:53:14 +0000

MOTU: The Wizards of Stone Mountain Prop Design

admin — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:18:34 +0000

Created a staff for the character “Teela” meant as a fighting prop for several scenes. Multiples were created using the same sets of materials.

Masters of the Universe: The Wizard of Stone Mountain (web design)

admin — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:15:28 +0000

Created a quick and dirty web design for MOTU: The Wizard of Stone Mountain using a logo sketch sent by the director, a basic knowledge of the mythology, and my ace skills with Drupal CMS. View the site live

Friday Night Lights, Season 5 Episode 9

admin — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:54:05 +0000

I decided to finally take the chance to work on FNL, a huge cornerstone of the extras and principle actors scene here in Austin. I was cast as a “paying customer” by OnLocation Casting, and instructed to arrive at the shoot at 8am with three “looks.” Based on what the casting call said, I brought a low key “club” outfit, my pin stripe suit, and the scuzzy and tattered remnants of the outfit I wore for “Machete” (to fill their “blue collar” outfit suggestion.) When the lady from wardrobe looked at what I brought, she seemed slightly sad that my suit so closely resembled one brought by another extra… but seemed pretty excited when she saw the stained and torn jeans and shirt from the “Machete” costume.

Once I was costumed as a very grimy blue collar worker, they took our group of extras to a local gentleman’s club to film a scene related to the season 5 plot arc. The AD placed me at a corner stage where an exotic dancer was performing acrobatic movements from the pole, and instructed me to admire her skills for the background of the main shot.

This particular day of shooting had many similarities to the other projects I’ve worked on, particularly “Beatdown” in my realization that having a conversation with the female actress I was working with helped normalize the otherwise strange situation of being asked to objectify her on camera. Other than that, it was a combination of the same set of “stand and wait” dynamics that make up background performance.

I had deliberately avoided FNL because it is the cliche’ of the Austin acting scene, but I’m glad that I finally took the opportunity to work with this production and experience what so many other local actors had contributed to.

Barbarian Photo Test

admin — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:02:58 +0000

Mafia Photos

admin — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:01:35 +0000

“Suburbs”

admin — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 18:14:10 +0000

I recently had the opportunity to work on the set for a project called “The Suburbs” directed by Spike Jonze. While the project doesn’t appear to be listed on his IMDB page, I would guess that it will either appear under a different title, or in a short while.

I was connected with this project through Sarah Dowling, who cast me for “Beatdown,” as well.

I’m intrigued to see the final product for this project, although I’m certain I will be less than visible in the end result. I spent most of the day bent over a boiling hot engine in the heat of a truck stop parking lot (playing a “trucker”) but I was more fascinated with the uniqueness of working with Spike Jonze and meeting members of the band Arcade Fire. I know this project will be as visually amazing as Spike’s other music video/experiments like “Drunk Girls” (for LCD Soundsystem), “Weapon of Choice” (the Fatboy Slim video featuring a tapdancing Christopher Walkin), and the robot love story “I’m Here.” Everything he touches has an artistic sensibility that appeals to anyone who went to a place like SCAD, and I’m just extremely happy to have been there, even for a few hours, to participate.