TV and film extra work

[W124Bob]

As I take early retirement by the end of the tax year I'm interested in looking at TV/film extra work for bit bit of hobby money. Early starts and long days are no problem(do those now), live in south Manchester so plenty of choice just curious as to what to expect. Are fees taken as a one off or per job, HMRC, do I do my own photos etc?

[stackmonkey]

W124Bob said:

As I take early retirement by the end of the tax year I'm interested in looking at TV/film extra work for bit bit of hobby money. Early starts and long days are no problem(do those now), live in south Manchester so plenty of choice just curious as to what to expect. Are fees taken as a one off or per job, HMRC, do I do my own photos etc?

I've been doing this on/off for a few years.

1) Technically you're self employed as far as HMRC is concerned, with the good and bad bits that entails.
2) You pay for your own photos. They generally want decent head shot/head and shoulders, plus a full length body shot.
3) Agencies will take their commission (and usually an admin charge) per job. These vary. Some agencies will take an annual fee, taken from earnings from your first job with them.
4) NEVER pay any agency up front.
5) Expect lots of waiting around in cold rooms. Green rooms somehow manage to be colder than it is outside.
6) Make sure your phone is fully charged each day, take books etc.
7) It is more important to be reliable at turning up on time, with correct clothing, than about being a 'good' actor. This is what will get you additional work after a while.
8) Don't use logo'd clothing.
9) You will get your 15 minutes of fame, but at 0.15 seconds a time.
10) On set, you are at the bottom at the food chain. Principal actors at the top, then crew, then background artists. This applies to food, drink, warmth, transport, safety etc..
11) General rule is that you don't speak to principal actors unless spoken to. This is enforced more by crew than the actors themselves. Most actors are OK, some appear stand off-ish (but are usually just focused on their role). Very few are nightmares. (I've yet to meet one in 6 years).
12) You will make a lot of friends, from all kinds of backgrounds. Social media helps with this (and getting work from some of the agencies) Might help to set up a profiles separate from your usual one.
13) Be honest and accurate with your body measurements provided. They need a genuine variety of sizes, shapes, ages etc and simply want clothing provided to fit..
14) For travelling, work out your travel time, and add half an hour, plus at least another one if driving in rush hour.
15) You need to be good at keeping secrets. You won't be allowed to. tell anyone what you're filming, any plot, any actors etc until it is on screen.

Manchester has lots of work and lots of agencies based there. Plenty of soaps and dramas filmed there, even when not 'set' there.
ITV's 'Paranoid' is on screen as I type (I'm in it). All the interior control room scenes were filmed at the 'Toast Rack', exterior scenes several miles away.

Have fun (you will).

[Disastrous]

I did this years ago whilst I was studying Theatre to bring in a few extra quid.

Watch Ricky Gervais' 'Extras' for a pretty accurate depiction of it IMO. It drove me utterly bonkers. Some of the folk are really nice but some of them are real oddballs. Types of people you will meet:

1) Old lady busybodies. They'll complain about the conditions near constantly and moan about how rude the AD is etc etc. It's basically just a coffee morning for them and they don't realise that nobody cares about the extras at all so shut up and get on with it.

2) Weirdo best friends. Won't stop talking to you and will suggest going for drinks, cinema trips etc almost within minutes of meeting you. You will never get away from this person and a whole day spent in their presence will be torture.

3) Vacuous women. Probably listed on the agency books as a 'model' so pretty-ish but everything will be a drama for them.

4) Celebrity stalkers. All they'll do is go on about what other jobs they've worked, except they'll use a familiar name for it to make it sound like they were a major component of the production - "Yeah mate, when we worked on Quantum, it was pretty good...Quantum? Oh, sorry, Quantum of Solace, the Bond movie...Yeah, was pretty good and Danny is a nice lad." These people make me want to shoot myself in the face.

5) Decent guys. Sadly not enough of them but if you meet a decent bunch then the day gets a lot more bearable.

In all honesty, it's easy money and as long as you understand that you're basically just moveable set-dressing and don't start moaning about the quality of the bottled water etc you'll book plenty of work.

Brilliantly, I had a role in a TV ad last year and a couple of background got in a disagreement about football (Glasgow!) and whilst I was acting my little socks off, broke into a full on brawl on set behind me. The director was furious but I couldn't stop laughing! My advice is: Don't fight people on set!

[W124Bob]

Thanks for the replies, re Paranoid the police station exterior is a Quaker meeting house in Sale with the interior used for a small scene(AA type meeting). I certainly won't get stage struck and I was aware of the pecking order rest of the info is useful.

[EarlOfHazard]

stackmonkey said:

W124Bob said:

As I take early retirement by the end of the tax year I'm interested in looking at TV/film extra work for bit bit of hobby money. Early starts and long days are no problem(do those now), live in south Manchester so plenty of choice just curious as to what to expect. Are fees taken as a one off or per job, HMRC, do I do my own photos etc?

I've been doing this on/off for a few years.

1) Technically you're self employed as far as HMRC is concerned, with the good and bad bits that entails.
2) You pay for your own photos. They generally want decent head shot/head and shoulders, plus a full length body shot.
3) Agencies will take their commission (and usually an admin charge) per job. These vary. Some agencies will take an annual fee, taken from earnings from your first job with them.
4) NEVER pay any agency up front.
5) Expect lots of waiting around in cold rooms. Green rooms somehow manage to be colder than it is outside.
6) Make sure your phone is fully charged each day, take books etc.
7) It is more important to be reliable at turning up on time, with correct clothing, than about being a 'good' actor. This is what will get you additional work after a while.
8) Don't use logo'd clothing.
9) You will get your 15 minutes of fame, but at 0.15 seconds a time.
10) On set, you are at the bottom at the food chain. Principal actors at the top, then crew, then background artists. This applies to food, drink, warmth, transport, safety etc..
11) General rule is that you don't speak to principal actors unless spoken to. This is enforced more by crew than the actors themselves. Most actors are OK, some appear stand off-ish (but are usually just focused on their role). Very few are nightmares. (I've yet to meet one in 6 years).
12) You will make a lot of friends, from all kinds of backgrounds. Social media helps with this (and getting work from some of the agencies) Might help to set up a profiles separate from your usual one.
13) Be honest and accurate with your body measurements provided. They need a genuine variety of sizes, shapes, ages etc and simply want clothing provided to fit..
14) For travelling, work out your travel time, and add half an hour, plus at least another one if driving in rush hour.
15) You need to be good at keeping secrets. You won't be allowed to. tell anyone what you're filming, any plot, any actors etc until it is on screen.

Manchester has lots of work and lots of agencies based there. Plenty of soaps and dramas filmed there, even when not 'set' there.
ITV's 'Paranoid' is on screen as I type (I'm in it). All the interior control room scenes were filmed at the 'Toast Rack', exterior scenes several miles away.

Have fun (you will).

Are there any decent casting websites that you can recommend?

[stackmonkey]

Not as such.

My best one, by some margin, only uses people who already have a decent amount of experience.

Much will depend on where you live. The 'big names' are generally based in London or Manchester, and some of those will only register you if you live in close proximity (and I don't), but most will appear on a 5 minutes Google search.