Show Biz And Marriage

I must confess that it is really difficult to describe some of the wacky commercial shoots I work on to the average civilian, let alone my wife. I have been on sets where we stuffed an old lady in the trunk of a car so she could bake cookies, had an actor wear a pair…

Christmas Starts After Thanksgiving, Dammit!

­I saw my first Christmas commercial ten days before Halloween this year. Well, okay technically it wasn’t a “Christmas” commercial. It was a “holiday” commercial with lots of red and green decorations, decorated fir trees in the house, snow on windows, stockings over fireplaces, presents, squealing children, Menorahs near the ham . . . but,…

Hollywood Habitat Hell

Holy smokes did we have a dilemma at the Brakeman household. It started a few days ago when the kids found out that I would be working on a PetSmart commercial. I had tried to keep this secret from them, for reasons that will become obvious, but their little snoopy eyes are everywhere. When they…

Show Biz Chimps

I have worked with many famous people during my many years of employment in Show Business. Oh sure, I could drop names like Beyonce, Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Kevin Bacon, Charlize Theron, Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Aniston, Elizabeth Taylor, but I won’t. Besides, they have restraining orders – some lasting past their demise. But do you…

Get That Bear An Agent

Okay, by now you have probably gathered that I am highly impressionable and easily swayed by what I see on TV, which is dangerous since I work as a sound mixer on commercials. I recently worked on the Energy Upgrade California campaign that makes use of a live action animatronic bear to encourage Californians to…

The Scotch Had Nothing To Do With It

Last night I saw that commercial for Temptations Cat Treats where the guy comes to work wearing “cat boots.”  You know, the one where the woman compliments his stylish boots, but he reveals “They’re not boots, they’re my cats.”  Freakin’ hysterical spot. At this point, I think it is very important to let you know…