in case you haven't yet heard, we finally have the results in from our yoplait project and...WE WON 3RD PLACE!!!!!!! not too shabby out of several hundred entries!! parker and i are so stoked, and can't wait to get more details about what'll come next. details to follow, i'm sure!

here's the video if you'd like to watch it:

Yoplait: Meet Jane

hope you enjoy it! let me know what you think! maybe we'll start pushing out more of these puppies soon!

lp

a lot of major companies are getting smart. they are realizing that instead of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to make one commercial, they can hold an online video submission contest and enlist consumers/amateur filmmakers to create hundreds of commercials for prize money (which to them is chump change, relatively).

enter yoplait.



a few creative friends of ours had recently entered an online video contest and actually won! not to mention, they had a great time making a short commercial. so...parker perused the contest circuit, and came up with a site asking for submissions for companies including at&t and yoplait. it's not like we have anything else we're really working on right now (ahem. yeah right!!), so we both decided to write a couple scripts. a couple of scripts turned in to...writing, producing, directing, acting in, voicing, editing, and submitting two whole commercials--(with the help of a few friends) start to finish--in less than two weeks. phew!!!





we had so much fun working together as a creative team!! i wish i could show you our final videos, but due to contest rules, we're not posting them for the public yet. as soon as we can, you'll be the first to know, of course! even if we don't win anything for either contest, we loved the experience and already can't wait to do it again sometime...i already tried to get parks to brainstorm another video concept, when he lovingly reminded me that we're also in the midst of planning this little event in april, so we may not want to get too ahead of ourselves ;)

well...it's not the BIG break, i don't think, but it definitely is a start! december 2009 has been pretty exciting for me! first the expedia.com hand modeling gig, and now this...



tooth fairy is a really cute film coming to theaters in january 2010, and stars dwayne "the rock" johnson, julie andrews, billy crystal, and ashley judd. the movie looks really cute actually--you can check out the trailer here: http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/thetoothfairy/

evidently, dwayne johnson has a foundation called the dj rock foundation, and their mission is to "educate, empower and motivate children worldwide through health education and physical fitness." so, naturally, he wanted a special feature on the tooth fairy dvd that promotes fitness for the children viewers.

in the course of just a couple days, i auditioned for, booked, and filmed this special feature! so this means that when the dvd comes out, yes, i will be the main character on the special feature, WOO!!!! i was cast as a tooth fairy fitness instructor for a workout. it was SO much fun, right up my alley! i loved working with a teleprompter, improving, having hair/makeup done, working with kids, and being the main character of a really professional production! you guys are seriously going to crack up, because of all the hilarious exercises i have to lead, in a tooth fairy tutu with wings, nonetheless!! and i'm playing to 6-8 year olds, so i'm sure you'll think i'm oh so funny.

here are some photos from the shoot:





i'm assuming the dvd will come out a few months after the film, so probably around summertime! if you need a good laugh, i'd highly recommend it. who knows, maybe some kid somewhere will think i'm really cool, and (fingers crossed), maybe this exposure will lead to other work!! what blessings!?!?!

well hello!!!

this has been a really fun week! let me tell ya bout it...

first off, last night, i got to see a screening of the final version of love naturally! parker came with me to the film school:



it went really well. for a student film, i think it turned out great! i wish there was a way to put it up here, but hopefully i'll have several parts of it on my reel, and that i'll post on here eventually. it was fun to see myself on the big screen again, and i think darlene was a success!

secondly, i had a BIG week because i auditioned for, booked, and shot a NATIONAL COMMERCIAL for expedia.com!!!!!!



now, don't get too excited, you'll only see my hands...ok, yeah, go ahead and get excited!! so, i booked the commercial as a hand model, and spent this past wednesday morning at the paramount pictures lot filming the 30 second spot!



it will air nationally, regionally, online and as an industrial for expedia. i'll definitely let you know when it comes out, but start watching in a little over a month from now, the main visual of the spot is my hands moving blocks around, and the storyline is going on inside each block! it's cute!

being on set was so great--i seriously got treated like a star--custom breakfast and coffee orders brought to me, on set manicurist (who has done the nails of a ton of celebs: gwen stefani, lindsey lohan, jessica simpson, vanessa hudgens, etc. etc.)



so much fun!!! i really hope that i get to do more hand modeling work soon! not a bad job, i'd say!!

thirdly, things in general are still swell! wedding planning is a lot of fun, and i get more and more excited to marry parker every day :) other than that, i'll be looking for more hand modeling work, and i'm still working with my ladies on their writing projects, so no complaints here!

it's true! i'm officially a paid working voice actor. it's not like i've hit the big time or anything, but it's so great to actually be working in the industry in a real way. i'm so grateful that my life is very blessed.



most of you watched the jamin fund video on a recent blog entry. as you know, i did the VO for that. parker's boss heard it, and without knowing it was me, asked about it. turns out, his company, the famous group, needed several case study promos to be voiced for their website, and i had just the "buttery" voice they were looking for!! haha. i did VO for case studies with the following companies...you may have heard of a couple of them ;)






it has been so much fun going in to record the past week, and they're finally putting some of the videos up on their site. so, without further ado, please check out my voice on most of these videos put together by the fabulous famous group: http://www.thefamousgroup.com/2009/site/portfolio/

let me know which one's your favorite...i happen to like barbie, but that's probably because i'm a girl! :)

life has been absolutely filled to the brim the past few weeks, hence my absence from the blogging world! that's a good thing; i'd rather be busy really than virtually :) although...some of my business has been virtual. if you saw my last post of announcement, my official website finally went live. check it out if you haven't already at: www.laurenparrent.com



my friend, matt, and i sat down for a few days and put together the footage that i'd filmed last year to have a hosting reel. that's on the Reel tab, so definitely have a watch at that, too. matt did a really great job on it, and if you're an actor or someone who wants some kind of reel, let me know, i can hook you up with him!

in other career highlights:

1) i participated in a performance for the young storytellers foundation, an organization that my friend, alex, volunteers for. i'll hopefully be able to write more about this in its own post, complete with pictures, but for now, just a brief overview. al asked me if i would act in the "big show," a final performance of screenplays written over weeks by about 10 aspiring 9-year-old screenwriters and their mentors. um, duh! yes, please! i was excited about it, because stars like dustin hoffman, jennifer aniston, and rachel bilson had acted in it in past years, and i thought it would be fun. even though there were no big names associated with this year's show (well, a couple you may recognize, but you may have to wait for pictures!) it turned out to be one of the most fun performing experiences of my life--no exaggeration! it was basically two hours of improv. we got the kids' scripts, and with no preparation, they cast us and we had to act them, reading them as we went, of course, on the spot!! SO much fun! and it was a major workout! i can't wait to do it again!

2) unfortunately i did not end up booking this job, however, i did get a callback for a major national television commercial!



yes, my hands could have been featured in a national pyrex commercial--how funny is that?! the auditions were hilarious; i had to pick up baking products in slow motion and sketch whisks and measuring cups. :) ahh, the jobs i have...anyway, i made it to the final 6 actors, so that's good! someone recently told me, i should thanks every person for their "no" on a part, because i'll need about a hundred more and then i'll get my "yes." this crazy business!

when i was at that first audition, i also had the fun experience of crashing another audition. it was casting out of the same waiting room, and so i just asked if i could audition, and they said yes! it was for a .com company, and it was a mockumentary-style commercial spot. it sounded funny, so i had a good time auditioning for it! no word on it, and i doubt i'll hear anything, but it was fun nonetheless!

let's see, what else...ah! i moved! don't worry, i'm only about a mile away from my old place. i haven't thrown in the towel for the west coast yet ;) but i'm loving my new house (yes, a real house!). i've got 4 great roomies, and get this--my OWN ROOM!! aaah! definitely a step up from living the last two years in a shared bedroom in a loft bed! this house is such a blessing that fell into all our laps, and we're so grateful. meet the roomies (and see a glimpse of our adorable backyard!):



i could go on forever...there's so much to update! i hope to write posts soon about my trip home to indiana for my brother's graduation/memorial day weekend, AND about my best friends' from college visit out here!! so many pictures, so little time!!

hope this finds all of you well! take care, enjoy the beginnings of summer...i'm off to the beach! :)