PROVO — When the Ackerman children go to see a movie, they go with a slightly different focus than most.
They're often looking to see how they did in a scene as Andrew, Morgan and Talon are all consistently cast in film projects.
In "Daddy Day Camp" — released Aug. 8 with Cuba Gooding Jr. — Talon and Morgan pop up all over the place (look for them in the tug-of-war scene).
Talon, who is 8, is the cute blond kid with the big glasses.
His sister is the 11-year-old with dark hair.
"It's funny. It's not scary at all," said Talon Ackerman. "It has some stunts in it that are cool — a bus runs into a house, some dynamite blows up. Kids will love it."
The Ackermans loved it even though it meant a lot of road trips between Utah Valley and Los Angeles and a good amount of waiting on set.
There were some perks: The job paid enough to permit them to buy season passports to Six Flags amusement park, and they were close enough to the beach to be able to spend time in the sun.
Their mother, Michele, gets to keep the schedule straight as all three often have gigs on opposite sides of the country.
Dad Bryan generally keeps the home fires burning but sometimes he, too, gets pulled into the madness.
"In this business, if you're ready to work, there's always things to do," said Michele Ackerman. "It's great for them. They learn. They have fun but it's a business. They have to be focused. That's the secret to being a good child actor, you have to be incredibly focused."
Often, a child is asked to do the same scene a dozen times and then repeat it for the camera shooting from the opposite side.
There's no time for moodiness or dawdling.
"There's a lot of hurry up and wait," Ackerman said. "I think it looks very glamorous, very fun. If you're interested in it, I'd recommend doing some extra work first. If you can handle being an extra, you can do this, but frankly, most people can't."
Michele Ackerman has been involved in the film and movie industry most of her life, either writing plays, coordinating extras, casting or being the supportive mom.
She understands the business, what the wages are, what permits are needed, who to contact and where to be when.
In a typical week, Morgan was scheduled to be in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Talon had a commercial to shoot in Salt Lake on Tuesday and needed to be in New York on Thursday. Both were expected in L.A. again on Friday for callbacks.
"It's crazy but it all worked out," said Michele Ackerman, who also has a 2-year-old in tow.
Fourteen-year-old Andrew started the theatrical ball rolling for the family when he got a part in the touring company of "Oliver!" He traveled with his mother for six months, spending an average of two weeks in a different city at a stretch.
"It was really fun," he said. "My original contract was for a year, but at five months, my voice changed."
Now he's looking to do some voice-overs and animation work. "Sci-fi would be fun," he said.
He isn't jealous of the attention Talon and Morgan are currently getting. Everybody gets a turn, he said.
All of the siblings have learned to be self-confident and resilient, said their mother. They also support one another's successes.
"It can be a tough lesson (to not get the part or get called back)," Michele Ackerman said. "I would say if someone's going to do this, don't push them unless they've committed to something. Then they need to see it through. I am very serious about that. If they're going to do this, it's got to be 100 percent."
E-mail: haddoc@desnews.com