JennaVAtion

Happy Easter everyone!

Here is a new pic of  me. The books in the background make me look well clever innit!

Check out http://pseudopod.org/ from the 24th April for an original horror pod cast read by me. I am reading a story by Dan Dworkin called 'Old Ways' and it is completely free to listen/download!

My first VO job of 2009 was dubbing and additional dialogue recording for clothing brand Quatha  http://www.quatha.com/

The brand is quite interesting as they plant a tree for every garment made making them carbon neutral! I shall try and post a clip of the finished product.

Also I am loving the Snow we have here at the moment although it makes getting to work a bit of a problem!

This Saturday was the screening of my very first film The Simple Lies Experiment. I filmed it back in July just a few weeks after I left my job with the police and decided to give acting a try. I must admit that the whole experience of filming made me realize how much I love acting and it was so surreal to actually be doing something I have thought/dreamed about since I was a kid. David and the crew were a pleasure to work with and the finished product went down well at the screening where it was shown alongside 6 other shorts.

I am afraid I will never be an actress who can enjoy watching herself on screen! But I got some lovely feedback from members of the audience and some great material for my showreel. I think for my first film I did a good job and hopefully with time I will learn to be less self critical and actually enjoy my work! I have done 3 other films since the Simple Lies, all of which have been quite different so I am looking forward to seeing how those turn out.

Below is a clip from the film. You can see more on the website at www.thesimplelies.com  !

"Weird World" - A Simple Lies Scene from David Salas on Vimeo.

Visit the Photo Gallery for more photos.

Alec just informed me Aquaria is now available on the Mac. http://www.bit-blot.com/?p=136 

You can buy it over at Ambrosia Software  http://www.ambrosiasw.com/games/aquaria/  and hopefully there will soon be an original soundtrack available with some bonus tracks!

November has been a busy month of filming! The first film was 'Psychosis Saved' a drama/documentary on mental health issues for the University College of Arts. Next was the role of Mary in comedy 'Life Appraisal' and at the moment I am playing Georgina Adams in a romantic comedy of the same name. I was so busy I didn't really get to celebrate my birthday properly but the UCA crew made me a lovely cake and that is what birthdays are about... cake. :)

I love film and find it interesting how different directors operate. Although people think film is easier because you can redo bits when you make a mistake, it can be harder to stay in character with all the distractions and technical issues so I guess there are positives and negatives. Anyway, I am looking forward to seeing the footage. Now I have a few films and credits under my belt I am starting to look for a good theatrical agent to represent me. 

This month I also did some modeling for a photography class which was a very strange experience! I assumed each photographer would take turns but they all went at once so I had about 20 cameras on me and felt like I was being papped!

Also, I just saw Quantum of Solace! I enjoyed it but think I need to see it again because it was so fast paced. I am still on the fence about Daniel Craig as Bond. I think he does the action very well but I am not sure of the direction they are taking the character and a lot of bits in QofS are not explained so you kind of have to infer what or why things happened. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed it and the Tosca scenes were beautiful.

I was excited to have booked my first US National TV commercial for Zenses. Zenses is a game for the Nintendo DS that is kind of similar to Brain Train only it is designed to be more relaxing. 

There is a Rainforest version and an Ocean version! Sounds like the kind of game I would enjoy.

http://gamefactorygames.com/all_games/nintendo_ds™-1.aspx?M=Shop&PID=593&ProductID=365

The much awaited soundtrack to Aquaria will be released soon. Here is a preview of the cover designed by the very talented Derek Yu and Katie De Sousa! Pretty huh? 

I sing the ending theme Lost to the Waves which will be on there. There may even be a bonus track so watch this space!

Hi everyone

I just finished shooting my very first film - The Simple Lies Experiment, directed by David Salas.

THE SIMPLE LIES EXPERIMENT - a 21st century noir

A Detective show, fronted by an ‘it’ girl. A celebrity because she is a celebrity. Famous without a reason. The show’s grunt work is done by a shadowy pair of detectives, with the ‘it’ girl arriving live and on air for the dramatic moment. Any job is undertaken, and all the clientele are anonymous, pitching their cases via the agency’s website.  But as the fans becomes increasingly important to the show’s success, their criticisms become increasingly exaggerated, eventually coalescing into a consensus; that what a Private Investigator really needs, in order to stay interesting, is a murder case.

It was a really amazing experience and the crew and my fellow actors were all lovely. The week was intense but fun and I am looking forward to seeing the finished production when it will be screened in November. I am sure there will be lots of clips and images to follow but here are a few that were taken by the crew on set!

  A tiny poster pic

A freezing morning under a motorway bridge in the middle of nowhere!

Me in makeup looking very cold! The lipstick brings out the red in my nose don't you think? :)

An (almost) life size cutout of me that was used in one of the scenes. Kinda weird seeing yourself as a cutout and I think some of the crew kept doing a double take thinking it was the real me! That's the producer/writer/director David hiding behind 'me'

Update: Photos in the Gallery and Review can be found in Reviews section! 

I had the honor of meeting Terry Pratchett himself after the opening night. Here is a picture of Terry and I at the aftershow party eating chinese takeout (note the prawn crackers and beer behind us lol). I then got a lift back to the theatre in Terry's car! That was a very surreal day and the audience were fantastic and laughed in all the right places!

Hi everyone

I am very excited because the world premier of our Terry Pratchett play opens tomorrow. We are very lucky to have Terry himself attending the opening night along with a BBC crew. Hopefully he will come backstage and sign my book for me! Maybe let me have a photo with him too. Terry has also loaned us the original Octavo that featured in the 'Colour of Magic' to use as a prop...though we are all kinda scared to touch it in case we break it!

I must admit I am a little nervous, not just because we have so many people coming, but because the character of Ginger proved to be harder to play than I imagined. I spent a long time thinking how I could make her more likeable, then I thought....actually, she is who she is and people don't have to like her. I hope that people will see there is a reason why she acts the way she does and that she does have a vulnerable side to her.

Anyway, when the run is over I shall post some photos and maybe a review too. I think that Gaspode, Ridcully, Death and the trolls will be the ones that get all the applause cos they are such popular characters and the actors really do a fantastic job! Victor should get lots of applause too if only because he had so many difficult lines to learn!

Right you are then, until next time!

Love Jenna

It's all go at JennaVAtion HQ!

New Animation Reel in the 'Demos' Section!

New Photos in the 'About' Section!

New Spotlight Page  http://www.spotlight.com/interactive/cv/7419-5642-6244

Other News

I've just signed with a modelling agency! It is more commercial work rather than high fashion as I am a few inches too short to do runway (plus I would probably fall over in the high heels!)

If you are a Terry Pratchett Fan, come and see the world premier of his Discworld novel Moving Pictures! The play is being performed by KATS on the 31st July to the 2nd August. I'm playing Ginger who is a Marilyn Monroe esque actress!

http://www.kats.org.uk/jkcm/kats/Past+Productions/2000s/Year2008/Moving+Pictures.cms

I also just received word that I passed my MSc in Occupational Psychology :)  That means I can finally banish all my notes to the attic!

Aquaria received a very positive review in the Globe & Mail http://www.freewebs.com/jennavation/rev-globeandmail.jpg

I get a bit of a mention too

 Everyone always wants to talk to Alec and Derek about the game but FINALLY someone has interviewed me.

President of voices.com  Stephanie Ciccarelli wanted to hear my views on voicacting for Aquaria. You can read it here!

http://www.voiceovertimes.com/2008/01/18/aquaria-voice-actor-brings-depth-to-character/

In other news I'm trying to persuade Alec to help me make a Naija montage/demo reel as it would be a lovely momento of my work on the game.

Hi everyone

I just got back from Cuba so I can finally update the site! I have been getting lots more hits since Aquaria has been released.  Do check it out, it is only $30 and the graphics and music are gorgeous. Thank you to all those people who have e-mailed me/signed the guestbook with your comments on the game. 

http://www.bit-blot.com/aquaria/

I have also gone back to the old layout as a couple of people said they preferred it.

Well, that is all for now. Take care and have a very Merry Christmas! (PS. Aquaria makes a great xmas gift :P)

Voicing Naija was my first time recording in a studio so I decided to write a little bit about my experience!  

View the Aquaria Studio Diary

For my latest role I am doing something a little different to Aquaria. I am the narrator for Streetcraft which is an interactive presentation shown to new police officers. The presentation tells them what they can expect from the job and takes them through the uniform and equipment they use. I'll post some clips soon!

Sorry for the lack of updates, I have just got back from America today after 2 weeks of madness and excitement.

Aquaria won the Grand Prize at the IGF http://www.igf.com/ . I am so happy for Derek and Alec as they definitely deserve the honour and the recognition that has come with it. I must admit I was not expecting the awards to be so big, it was like the oscars! The guy who made Tetris was there and Miyamoto the creator of Mario and all those games I grew up playing! I think the guys were shocked about the win as we were nominated in 4 categories but lost the first three. I was getting a bit tired of doing the 'wow I am so happy you won' face lol.

Anyway the (extremely unflattering) video of us accepting the award is here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCAuvmnjZ3I . I love Derek's acceptance speech.

I will post some pictures as soon as I get them. In the mean time check out the Aquaria home page http://www.bit-blot.com/ for more news and reactions to the game. 

 On a more personal level the whole Aquaria/IGF experience has really motivated me to pursue Voice Acting as a career. Although I love my day time job, acting will always be my passion so maybe this is the sign I needed to just go for it. Whatever happens I think I will hit the studio and get a professional demo reel made. One that I don't have to record in my bedroom and mix myself! Any suggestions for lines, accents, characters then do e-mail me. It is hard coming up with material for demos that actually make sense as a standalone line.

Pictures

Here are some random Aquaria related pictures (Thanks Geoff)

Edible Aquaria Cake http://flickr.com/photos/progrium/417210264/

Sticker Wall  http://flickr.com/photos/progrium/417209654/

Us Winners http://flickr.com/photos/progrium/414299315/

Me at our booth  http://flickr.com/photos/progrium/413952486/

Our Poster http://www.derekyu.com/images/local/gdc-poster-big.jpg

Visit http://www.bit-blot.com/ to take a look at the indie game everyone is talking about. It is called Aquaria and it is a 2d scrolling underwater adventure with the most beautiful graphics I have ever seen in a game. Of course I am a little biased as I am voicing Naija, the heroine of the story. Check out the trailer on bit-blot.com for a sneaky peak.

Bit-Blot is also going to the Independant Game Festival in San Francisco in March as Aquaria has been nominated for 4 indie game awards! Alec and Derek have invited me to join them (well I sort of invited myself and they said yes) which I am very excited about as it will be my first time in America. I do hope they win, the graphics and music are gorgeous and the gameplay is great too.

Wish us luck!

Love Jenna