Thursday, January 26, 2012

11 Better Questions To Ask Than “What Do You Do?”

by TODD SCHNICK on JANUARY 26, 2012

I think one of the problems is that we all attempt to, or allow ourselves to be, defined by our work. We think we have to stay in miserable, unhappy jobs just because it is a status thing, or that we think this is what society expects.
I say bunk. No doubt, it is a lot harder (for me at least) to run my own business and have to eat what I kill. Sure, bills would be easier to pay with a regular paycheck, but I hated life like that. I love being on my own, responsible to myself, and flexible to do work that matters to me. It is a tough slog, but I love the battle.
But I think we are responsible for this predicament. What is the first thing we usually ask someone we meet for the first time?
“So…what do you do?”
Does asking this question subconsciously tell people that we expect an answer to be some formal, society-approved job? Maybe so.
So, here is what I propose. Instead of leading off with the standard “what do you do?” question, from now on, let’s start with these:
What do you love to do?
What are you reading?
What do you want to learn?
Tell me about your family?
What do you want to be known for?
What big, hairy challenge are you striving to achieve?
If you wrote the great American novel, what would it be about?
Would you rather be a writer, artist, or musician?
Where would you go if you could travel anywhere?
What would you do if you were president for a day?
What’s the biggest mistake you’ve ever made?
I don’t know about you, but I personally find the answers to these questions to be a lot more meaningful, and a lot more telling about a person than how they spend nine to five.
What do you think? What other questions would you want to ask?
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[drawing by hugh macleod]

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Wilmington casting agency to focus on filling principal roles

http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20120105/ARTICLES/120109867

Published: Thursday, January 5, 2012 at 10:10 a.m.
Last Modified: Thursday, January 5, 2012 at 10:10 a.m.
The year 2012 is already promising many changes for Fincannon & Associates Inc.
The Wilmington-based film and television casting agency has moved to a new location and is steering away from working with extras.
"It's really a young man's game," company president Craig Fincannon said of extras casting. "It's 100 hours a week, and it's starting at 4 in the morning and still working at midnight."
Fincannon & Associates, in business since 1979 and a part of Wilmington since 1983, will continue to focus on principal casting and is currently working with the television shows "Homeland," "Drop Dead Diva," "Necessary Roughness" and "The Walking Dead."
The Wilmington Regional Film Commission's website lists five other local companies that are now handling extras casting.
"To continue doing extras, it was just something that we're going to have to eventually pass on to younger and newer groups anyway," said Mark Fincannon, Craig's brother and a casting director for the company. "When Craig and I were younger, it was a whole lot easier to manage."
Although the Fincannons are no longer actively pursuing extras casting work, they would be open to considering it for a "very large show that needs many years of expertise," Mark Fincannon said.
Such a role for "Iron Man 3" is not out of the question as the company is "in conversations" with the production, which will be the largest ever to film here when cameras start rolling in May or June. But it's still early in the process, Mark Fincannon added.
As for the new location, Point Harbor Road under the Isabel Holmes Bridge across the Cape Fear River has been the company's home since the end of November. Fincannon & Associates had an office at EUE/Screen Gems Studios on 23rd Street for the previous 14 years.
"We love Screen Gems, and we love the management there, and we'll still go there a lot," Craig said. "But most of what our day-to-day work is involves the computer and telephone so we can sort of be anywhere we want to be, and we love this river."
Judy Royal: 343-2019
On Twitter: @judyroyal