Extras to Leads. Indie film Acting
By Kevin Nicholson
I
was chatting with an associate of mine the yesterday. We were chatting
about the difficulty getting people to show up for extra roles unpaid.
Now I can see from both sides. As an actor. Why would I want to piss away a day to be set dressing? When I could be out auditioning for a lead role? or just staying home and watching TV?
Well. If I'm not going to get screen time. Seriously. What's the point?
Ok Folks. You can't look at an extra role like set dressing. It's an audition. You can look in Craigs list every day. You can respond to every posting, Go on a hundred auditions, but your looking for exposure. Your looking to get onboard to the next Kevin Smith, Jon Carpenter, Paul Rodriguez TEAM. Solely because. they will take you with them.
The opportunity to be an extra is better than an audition.
A. It gets you on a working set first and foremost.
B. It's a HUGE networking event.
C. It gives you a chance to see how this production team does things. Do you want to work with THEM again?
D. It gets you in front of the director, DP, producer of a movie that's already IN production. Yes it's 18 hours, but if your one of the last actors / extras standing. The crew sees that. You get a reputation for being a trooper. You stuck it out in the trenches.
Did I mention a reputation. Hmmm. Let's do some simple linguistic research.
Reputation - 1. The estimation in which a person or thing is generally held; repute. 2. Favorable repute ; good name. 3. a favorable and publicly recognized name or standing.
PUBLICLY RECOGNIZED NAME. This is the dictionary definition folks.
You BUILD a reputation over time and projects. Good or bad. I have a reputation within the New England area. If I go to a networking event around here. There is a great chance that I am going to bump into someone who knows me and my work. People recognize the symbol around my neck and the BlackStripe name. Not quite famous, but known in the right circles.
This applies to you as an actor. You should take any opportunity to get on set. That's what you want to do for a career right? You want to eventually get paid to be an actor? That means you want a life of waiting around for the crew to get things together. All so you can live out a characters moment on camera. Doing it so convincingly. That people will stand up and take notice. Finally they will see how talented you really are.
You shouldn't even be reading this. You should be on a set right now. Interacting. Trying to get in front of the cameras. Don't even wait for a request. Just find a local production that's filming and show up on set. Offer to help out. Grab a boom pole. Hold the slate. Show em that you want to be on set!
Kevin Nicholson is a douche bag director who resides in the armpit of Danielson, CT. He has a few minor works under his belt, but is entirely a waste of skin. There is no reason to listen to this man.
Now I can see from both sides. As an actor. Why would I want to piss away a day to be set dressing? When I could be out auditioning for a lead role? or just staying home and watching TV?
Well. If I'm not going to get screen time. Seriously. What's the point?
Ok Folks. You can't look at an extra role like set dressing. It's an audition. You can look in Craigs list every day. You can respond to every posting, Go on a hundred auditions, but your looking for exposure. Your looking to get onboard to the next Kevin Smith, Jon Carpenter, Paul Rodriguez TEAM. Solely because. they will take you with them.
The opportunity to be an extra is better than an audition.
A. It gets you on a working set first and foremost.
B. It's a HUGE networking event.
C. It gives you a chance to see how this production team does things. Do you want to work with THEM again?
D. It gets you in front of the director, DP, producer of a movie that's already IN production. Yes it's 18 hours, but if your one of the last actors / extras standing. The crew sees that. You get a reputation for being a trooper. You stuck it out in the trenches.
Did I mention a reputation. Hmmm. Let's do some simple linguistic research.
Reputation - 1. The estimation in which a person or thing is generally held; repute. 2. Favorable repute ; good name. 3. a favorable and publicly recognized name or standing.
PUBLICLY RECOGNIZED NAME. This is the dictionary definition folks.
You BUILD a reputation over time and projects. Good or bad. I have a reputation within the New England area. If I go to a networking event around here. There is a great chance that I am going to bump into someone who knows me and my work. People recognize the symbol around my neck and the BlackStripe name. Not quite famous, but known in the right circles.
This applies to you as an actor. You should take any opportunity to get on set. That's what you want to do for a career right? You want to eventually get paid to be an actor? That means you want a life of waiting around for the crew to get things together. All so you can live out a characters moment on camera. Doing it so convincingly. That people will stand up and take notice. Finally they will see how talented you really are.
You shouldn't even be reading this. You should be on a set right now. Interacting. Trying to get in front of the cameras. Don't even wait for a request. Just find a local production that's filming and show up on set. Offer to help out. Grab a boom pole. Hold the slate. Show em that you want to be on set!
Kevin Nicholson is a douche bag director who resides in the armpit of Danielson, CT. He has a few minor works under his belt, but is entirely a waste of skin. There is no reason to listen to this man.