Working as a film/TV extra.

whattochoose

Lucyxx wrote: »

I've done some of this work but childcare/travel are a massive problem for me so it's on the back burner for now. I work part time in retail which I despise, so it was a good way for me to do something else that actually felt satisfying!

Jobs can be very short notice, which was a problem for me to be able to do them, but could work out fine for you being retired if you aren't too busy.

It is definitely a lot of waiting around! One TV job my call to set was 7.30am but I didn't actually film until 3/4pm for example! Definitely take a book/drink/snacks!

I don't know about others but didn't really notice I was working with celebrities. They just became colleagues for the day. They didn't necessarily speak to us though but I guess it depends on the celeb!

The money varies. Some jobs don't seem very well paid at all and I'm not too sure how they get away with it, others are ok. You can earn more if you get a featured role. If you provide your car for a scene then you might earn a bit extra for that too.

It's definitely interesting turning up & meeting others who do it. One show I worked on the others seemed to know each other from being on other things together. I would have loved to have watched extras! I also find I watch tv shows/adverts differently for ages after working on a job, almost seeing them from the other side!

I found I very quickly learnt the terminology used to follow the directors. The first few minutes I was on set I felt like I was winging it though!

One thing to bare in mind is legislation changed last year and you should now have a basic disclosure certificate incase you work on set with children. I think my agency recommeneded one for around £25 through Disclosure Scotland. Likewise if you get your own police uniform you can get a license to allow you to carry the uniform! (I often saw jobs for that!)

One last thing be prepared that you may not see the fruits of your labour! Lots of scenes I did just ended up on the cutting room floor!

Apologies for the bullet point nature of all that! I just typed out bits when they popped into my head! Good luck with it, it's certainly something a bit different to do, I wish I could do more of it and quit the shop! xx

Thanks for this Lucy. As a nurse I worked with children, and had to get certificated clearance. I think this may still be valid and acceptable once I have the opportunity to work.xx

Lucyxx

whattochoose wrote: »

Thanks for this Lucy. As a nurse I worked with children, and had to get certificated clearance. I think this may still be valid and acceptable once I have the opportunity to work.xx

It could be! That would be good if you didn't have to do it again. I'm not too sure of the ins and outs of them anymore, but I just dug out the original email about it from the agency and they said a new one would need to be provided every 18 months.

Your nurse skills can be useful too! I've certainly seen jobs asking for people who have experience in that field pop up every now and then & my sister got booked onto a job as she is a nurse now (had almost finished training at the time) and ended up as an advisor on one shoot so they could get authenticity right!

saker75

Agree with Lucy.

I admit that I'm rubbish with actors / celebrities and often don't know who people are until afterwards.

Go for it and enjoy the experience - you may well end up pretending to be a RGN!

paddyrg

Top tip - if you're a nurse and cleared to work with kids, you may actually find work as a chaperone - having a kids chaperone with medical qualification and experience is actually useful. Pay is about the same so don't imagine it's a shortcut to riches, but let it be known and talk to other chaperones on set and you will get some leads.

trailingspouse

On a similar theme, providing your house as a film set can be quite lucrative I believe. I looked in to it many years ago because we were living in a very old house and I thought it might be a way to make some money. I learnt that modern houses are in just as much demand as old ones, and they don't need to be fancy, in fact 'down market' is perfect for all those gritty dramas. There needs to be plenty of parking nearby, and they will redecorate the place to suit themselves. Might be worth looking at?

paddyrg

trailingspouse wrote: »

On a similar theme, providing your house as a film set can be quite lucrative I believe. I looked in to it many years ago because we were living in a very old house and I thought it might be a way to make some money. I learnt that modern houses are in just as much demand as old ones, and they don't need to be fancy, in fact 'down market' is perfect for all those gritty dramas. There needs to be plenty of parking nearby, and they will redecorate the place to suit themselves. Might be worth looking at?

Yes and sort of ish. Yes, we pay good money to use a home, yes we need all kinds of properties, but we can be quite picky about the properties we use. We may pay in the region of £500/day for a house depending on the type and scarcity. Some will be a lot more, some less. That sounds like a big lump of cash (and it is!), but for that we expect to take the place over. Allow 15% or so for agency fees.

You can't really be in it in any meaningful way. You can't use the toilet, you can't put the kids to bed, you can't watch TV, you can't have a shower. 30-40 people may be in and out lugging kit back and forth, moving your furniture, trying not to damage anything but there's always a risk, using your power, etc. And those people can be there for 12+ h/day. This means in reality you may need to stay elsewhere (you cannot use any room we're filming in, or we have continuity problems) and let us in/lock up.

You also need to consider your neighbours. How will they feel if 10 vehicles park all up the road, or get a council lock-off to close a cul-de-sac to use as a unit base? How will they feel about early/late noise and light and generators running? You may find you need to buy some boxes of chocolates and apologise to next door and all the way up the street.

Good film units do all they can not to cause damage, but the reality is we cannot cover every carpet and wall and guarantee to put every trinket back where we find it. Flowerbeds may get crushed by accident, mud may get walked in. You may find your bins filled with pizza boxes and old gaffer tape. It's a big imposition, and something people only do once TBH.

robotrobo

Working as a film/TV extra.



i am a stunt man in adult movies:)

whattochoose

robotrobo wrote: »

Working as a film/TV extra.



i am a stunt man in adult movies:)

So you only have a small part then?

Mersey_2

My best mate used to do this (more when he was a student). He received £85 - £100/day but that was over a decade ago so the above figures others have mentioned sound right.


As you're up North, the agency he used (Boss Casting) may be appropriate as they cover Lpool & Manc and you tend to be an extra in Corrie, Hollyoaks as well as a few BBC dramas etc. He did Shameless a lot, but that's ended, so whatever else Ch4 do in the North West. Other agencies are available as they say.


PS The above was for non-speaking. He did get to speak once - but only 6 words - and was paid extra for that day.


Just be aware that you may need to be in a city eg 30 miles away for 7am. You may be waiting around all da or be done in a couple of hours if your scene is called early on.


So yes, it's profitable but you couldn't do it to live off, as you may only get called eg once per month.

xapprenticex

Basically dont bother if you have a bad back