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Sandra Omo recounts her favourite modelling experience

Sleepless nights, these days, have become the norm for me, not because of restlessness or worries – for at this stage of my life I have absolutely nothing to worry about – but because of anticipation and hard work. It actually baffles me, as it does every one around me, how I manage to wake up each morning looking refreshed when I have just had only three or four hours of sleep the previous night. And the bottom line is that no matter how long you sleep during the day, it’s just not like a good night’s sleep. All you late-nighters out there know exactly what I am talking about. Well, I guess when one’s heart is happy any other thing can go. However, having a photoshoot after a sleepless night can be no fun. On this particular occasion I had spent the whole night working till 5am at this trendy bar where I work part-time, hurried home, got two hours sleep and rushed down for a casting appointment for 10am. Immediately after that, I had to head down to Brighton for a photoshoot. Boy, no matter how happy your heart is, this, believe me, is not fun. Feeling completely tired and trying to battle falling asleep at the same time, I thought this was not only going to be the worst day of my modelling life, but also the day I might become an amateur in front of a camera.

“The water was freezing but I thought it funny when a crab began to nip at my feet”

When I arrived in Brighton, the weather was not welcoming either. And to think that I had to do some shots at the beach made it even scarier. However, against all odds, I was perplexed when this photoshoot turned out to be the most enjoyable of all the photoshoots I’ve experienced so far.

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Sandra Omo changes career to see if the model-turned-actress theorem rings true

This week I took a break from being a model to become an actress. An acting agency I am registered with (oh yes, don’t forget we models are multi-talented) had put me forward for a job and I was selected to be in the wedding scene of the movie Last Chance Harvey starring Emma Thompson and Dustin Hoffman. According to the story, he had just arrived in London for the wedding of his daughter who is getting married to a British man. Feeling unwelcome because he had not been a good father, he decides to head back to the US but he meets Emma at the airport and she convinces him to return to the wedding. He agrees but under the condition that she goes with him. She does.

“I had no idea how difficult it is to make movies – behind every two-minute scene is a day of hard work”

It was going to be four long days of waking up at 5am, arriving at location before 7am and finishing at 6pm. Boy, I hate waking up early. I don’t mind not sleeping at night but waking up early is one thing I hardly do, but I did it anyway and was on location on time.

The first day went by slowly but it was fun. There were uncountable times when we just sat in the holding area doing nothing but having fun. I met so many people and thought I ate too much as the food was good. The good thing about all this is that you are paid anyway, and the pay, I must confess, is excellent. I thought if I did this job every day, I would be a rich girl in no time, but the thing about jobs like these is that they are not an everyday occurrence.

Although it was fun, it was not easy. Prior to now, I had no idea how difficult it is to make movies. It’s ok when we watch them – they look so easy – but behind every two-minute scene is a whole day of hard work. We shot a wedding scene for four days that will not take up more than ten minutes in the movie. I cannot count how many times I heard the words ‘action’ and ‘cut’. Every movement was shot so many times from different angles. We sat on the tables just chatting away and sipping Champagne (thank God it was ginger ale, as there would have been chaos) as the camera rolled up and down. This was our job: we were playing rich guests in a wedding. What other job could be easier?

I thought the main actors were really nice. They kept chatting with the crowd and Emma was especially good with the kids. By the fourth day, I was exhausted but still up for the fun. The dancing part was the sweetest. I guess everyone forgot it was acting and just danced on. And it was even better when we had to dance it again, and again, and again. However, the truth is that as all this went on, at the back of my mind, I wished it were a modelling job. Believe me, I would have felt more fulfilled walking the runway for half the pay of this job. I liked the part of the girl who played the jazz singer. She looked so good standing on stage even though she was just miming. Maybe this part would have done it better for me, but the truth, I think, is that I am so in love with modelling that no other thing would suffice, no matter how much fun, or how well paid it is unless there is a bit of modelling in it. Maybe a movie where I can play the part of a model would help me fall in love with acting. That is the next thing I am on the lookout for. So if you have that for me, give me a shout.

Sandra Omo shares her thoughts about life, love and living happily ever after

Have you ever heard the saying, ‘she is a model, man, you are not her type’? I bet we all have, and still do. If you have not before now, well, you have just read it so that puts you in the category of those who have heard it. This saying has become such a cliché that I just can’t help the urge to talk about it after the discussion I had with a fellow model yesterday. I sat next to her during a shoot for a video as she rattled on about her relationship and love in general. Boy, I have never had such a long discussion about relationships before. This was the only thing she talked about all through the shoot, and you cannot imagine how long it takes to do a video shoot. At the end of it all, she was very happy that I had actually listened to her without getting bored. Well, I knew I would get a column out of it.

“He actually tells her that all men fantasise about other men just as he does”

She is in love with this man who really has no idea about what he wants in life yet. Although he has a job, it’s not what you and I would call a job; he is not in any way cute, and much more older than she is; he hardly reciprocates her love, and still thinks he might be gay. He actually tells her that all men fantasise about other men just as he does. I am not a man but I do not think this is true in any way. Well if I am wrong, please guys let me know.

Before, yesterday, I have had discussions with uncountable people who believe that models are not out there for love, even if they are, then it is only with certain kind of people; the successful and extremely cute. It is true that as a model, there will always be an array of cute and successful people after you but this does not mean that they are our preference. I actually feel a lot of pity for guys when I hear them use the ‘she is a model, you are not her type’ phrase because this often means they are below the models’ type.

Is there any such thing as ‘the models’ type’? Well let us take Kate Moss for example. Would you call Pete Doherty ‘the models’ type’? I mean all the lists speak against him; he is not cute in any way, a drug user, Kate paid all the bills, and career wise, his is crap compared to hers. Most of you chaps would agree that you are better than this. Then why do you then think you are not the models’ type? It is not only the men who think this way as I have seen many women feel intimidated by male models because they think since he is a model, he only dates models.

Well, if any of the examples above is what ‘the models’ type’ is, then I should be ashamed to be a model. Fortunately, they are not and, and my point is that there is no such thing as ‘the models’ type’.

Firstly, models are human and as a result, our desires are based on human needs. Like most women, we just want to be in love, wake up to breakfast in bed, have a healthy family, and above all live happily ever after. But the loss of faith in these things often means that, unlike other women, we spend 99 per cent of our time pursuing our career rather than these things because the key to our career is ‘now’ so we cannot afford to put it aside, not that we are not interested in love. Therefore, the next time you have a genuine feeling towards one of my counterparts, feel free to show it without any timidity because guys, love lives here too.

Sandra Omo samples the model experience from the other side of the camera

This week, I had my first experience as a casting organiser. I have been very busy helping a friendly agency in London organise a casting for their 2008 calendar to be shot in Milan, in collaboration with M & P Models, Milan. We started out by putting out the casting call and the responses we received were unbelievable. I will tell you how unbelievable it was: there were over 300 applications after two days, and the organisers needed only six models to complete the line-up of twelve girls for the twelve months of the year. So the big work was sorting through over 300 applications to shortlist only 20 to attend a casting in London.

“There were three categories of pictures: the ones that made us laugh; the ones that vexed us; and the ones that got our attention”

I had the privilege to be one of the decision-makers during the shortlisting process and this was a real fun and eye-opening experience for me. Boy, I just cannot over-emphasise how important a model’s pictures are when applying for a job. Except when there is a divine intervention somewhere, your pictures are the only advantage you have over another model in the shortlisting process.

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