Monday, January 3, 2011

Living the Life of a Movie Extra

By Harold Gonzales


Background artists are most commonly known as movie extras. They are those whose roles in a movie do not require much speaking and are expected to blend in with all the other actors. When compared to the professional actors, however, they are not required to have any acting experience. Neither are movie extras required to have a background in acting, belong to a specific ethnic group, have special training related to acting or belong to a certain age bracket. The important thing that movie extras should bear in mind is that they are expected to handle and understand directions well, be reliable, and arrive on the set early.

Not many people know that extras also come from agencies. Most of the time, a film will require a certain look, and the director will have to cast an extra based on that look. Requirements like this will almost always include requiring an extra to have a specific skill such as dancing. These are discussions you'd have with your agency, so it's really important that you develop a good relationship with an honest agency, rather than one that is out to take your money. There are many of those out there, so do your research beforehand and get ready for some honest conversations.

There are times when the production budget is tight and extras will need to bring their own wardrobe. There are also those called professional extras. When it comes to casting, they will bring their own wardrobe in order to catch the casting director's attention.

Most of the time, movie extras who are lucky enough to get called in basically just wait for things to happen. They sit down most of the time, just waiting. There are also some who get cast but are not needed as the filming progresses.

With regard to membership in an organization, movie extras are not required to be members of the Screen Actors Guild of the United States or the SAG. The reason for this is that, the SAG only has members who have speaking roles.

Even without being a member of the SAG, movie extras are still protected and are also provided with the same working conditions as other actors, professional or not. However, for extras who are members of the SAG, they are given better and more benefits such as higher pay and extra compensation, wardrobe as well as special assignments.

Being a movie extra does not mean that the climb up to stardom is guaranteed. Movie extras occasionally get discovered cause anything can happen. Casting directors can recognize you from the last movie and give you a shot. It happens all the time.

Perhaps what makes the life of a movie extra interesting is that it provides a way to look into what Hollywood life is all about. Movie extras are given chances into observing how and what the life of an actor really is. While it can be said that having a job as a movie extra is not hard, it's also safe to say that it's not easy either.




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