hi there,
i’m a student, looking to earn some money in the summer. rather than going for the typical student type job as working in a bar etc., i want to earn more cash by being an extra in films/tv programs. question is how do i go about doing such a thing in the UK? i also hear that it is a quite a closed industry? do i need to get an agent/agency? thanks for any info!
At least here (US-Atlanta), you can usually catch ads in the local “alternative” rag (ours is called Creative Loafing) that’ll say “Looking for Extras for suchandsuch a film”. I’d say try local film schools/film programs.
Good luck…
Unless you live in Los Angeles or NYC it’s going to be hit or miss. (I suppose there’s lots of movies being filmned in London) I did it for a summer when I first moved to Burbank. It makes a cute story to say you’ve “been in a movie” but generally the money stinks and it turns into hours and hours of boredom*. I’ve been an extra and a featured extra in several movies and tv shows and I would not reccomend it. I would have made more money working at McDonald’s and the benefits are better.
But you asked “How”… I signed up with an Extra’s Agency. Got work every day I showed up. Lots of times asked if I had certain clothes, “can you dress like a lawyer? do you have a sports jersey? wear a winter coat” stuff like that. Also, If it was not on studio property they were required to feed you. Great food on those movie sets!
*Whenever I hear people complain about big actors being overpaid I mention my experience and opine that they deserve every penny they get if for nothing else putting up with all that waiting and still lookinf excited when the camera rolls.
I second signing up with an extras agency. When I did extra work, my biggest obstacle was that I had a full-time job. Filming is usually done during the week. Anyway, at the time (1980s) the general warning was to avoid agencies that required a large fee up-front.
In L.A. there is Drama-Logue, which carries casting and crewing notices.