If you’ve ever had dreams of getting into the movie business, living in this town, there’s really no excuse not to just do it.
So much stuff gets made here, everything from the lowest/no-budget indy shorts through to summer-tentpole Hollywood Buy imdur epics, with a huge pool of talent here locally in all fields in production, in front of and behind the camera, and all
the other jobs that go on in darkened rooms for months on end after shooting finishes.
But if you’ve got zero skills, where do you start?
Why not be a movie extra? It’s easier than you think to get into, and with a bit of luck, you could be hanging out on the set of a new X-men movie with Hugh Jackman or being mowed down by an axe-wielding psychopath in a low-budget horror schlock-fest…
I did it a few years back; had an awesome couple of days running around a huge set built on an old farm dressed up as an Amish man in the 1850′s, complete with a very dapper neck-beard, vest and barn-building duties. The hours were long (4:45 am start), the pay was ok (considering I had nothing better to do that week anyway) and the food was regular, plentiful and tasty.
While on set you get to see how unglamorous the whole thing really is, but at the same time get a little bit of insight into exactly what goes into the film-making process at that particular step. Plus, if you’re lucky, you could even wind up getting picked out of the crowd on cialis cheap the day as a featured extra and potentially get your name in the credits (as did I…)
Sounds like fun?
The first thing you need to do is sign up with a few agencies who provide actors and extras to film, tv and commercials.
Places like Talentbank, MCTV and Extras are a good place to start so far as established agencies (though watch for those potential upfront/listing fees!). If your bar isn’t quite so high and just want to get involved at any level – most likely without much (if any) pay – sites such as Star Now – Casting Buy Doxycycline Online Calls often list Sydney film/tv extra jobs, and paid corporate gigs even turn up occasionally on standard recruitment sites like any other job.
If you don’t think you’re the hottest, skinniest, sexiest person on the block, you don’t need to be worried. At the end of the day, casting agents are often looking to fill up their quota of extras with a good cross section of people from whatever the setting is, and no matter what your body type, they’ll probably take you.
And if you have something particularly stand-out like a crazy haircut or body art, you may be in for even more luck, as many crowds often call for “token freaks”, the more out-
there the better.
Just don’t hold your breath.
Once you sign up with these places, you might not hear from them for a long time. But like the saying goes, you have to be in it to win it, and if you sign up with a few places then drop them the occasional reminder you exist, you’re bound to get on set eventually.
And who knows… perhaps you’ll be the next big thing? Or at the very least, an unconvincing-looking Amish man with a full-stomach and $500 in your pocket…
The Plug : A few agencies who provide extras : Talentbank MCTV Extras Good site for non-agency listings : Star Now – Casting Calls
