Recently in Background Category

Yes, Mike has made the film and television industry the fastest-growing employment source in New York City, creating 10,000 jobs over the last year, and background extra work can be tough, but -- nothing compares to this: while doing background work on Damages, I meet a hilarious comedian, Canada Anne, who almost died during her extra background work for I am Legend:

As dramatic and tense as the 'evacuation' scenes in the above trailer are, C.A. says the actual 'evacuation' drama was even better -- she writes: As soon as the director called out "It's a wrap" , this swarm of people start running, screaming, kicking, pushing, and shoving and "evacuating" the set to book it so fast back to the tent to sign out that this "evacuation" scene was better then the evacuation scene back on set. The film crew should have filmed this and got more realistic evacuees.

In all seriousness, every movie star, every actor working today in film and television (well practically every one) has worked background. It's well worth the effort to not only know how to survive -- but thrive:

I'm a novitiate, a beginning actor, and I've been putting more time into learning about the business side of acting, and I want to comment on how important is to recognize your true opportunities, and to be grateful for them.

A while ago, this empty-headed post appeared on the BackStage.com community message board:

For all of you newbies here are some names for you to stay away from. These people have scammed and scammed over and over again. They will not pay you, or they will charge you to be part of their company or they will tell you that your pay is one amount and pocket the difference. They will always tell you to make sure your vouchers are filled out to their companies: {names and casting agencies removed}. There are some more. Keep these names on an index card with you at all times. Do not get caught up in their scams. NO JOB IS WORTH it!!! Believe me then you are known as one of their people!! (oh your one of their people) Go ahead next time your on a set mention any one of their names and see what type of feed back you get, YOU will BE surprised!!! Good luck to all of you. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!

I was shocked to see this -- First: it's NOT TRUE. It's simply not true. Period.

Second -- The Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre, and Broadcasting tax credits has made the film and television industry the fastest-growing employment source in New York City, creating 10,000 jobs over the last year pressuring California to consider similar incentives.

There is right now, today, more opportunity for New York City actors to make a living then ever before, and Actors Reps, Extra Mile, Divine Management, Dorothy Palmer, Desiree Agudo, Stanley Kaplan provide a critical, necessary, and invaluable service to the New York City acting community.

I was so angry when I saw this posting, that I replied on the community message board, and I'd like to give my reply a wider audience here:

Doing background work can be hit or miss or terms of whether or not it's a good experience (there's so many factors that are outside of your control), but here's some quick tips to help make this type of experience a positive one (as this one certaintly was for me) . . .

I've decided I won't be getting into SAG this way -- though I could, and many people do.

Getting into SAG has a lot of pluses, esp. if one is doing A LOT of background work, however . . .

. . . while right now it's educational, after a while it won't be, and the SAG-rate, while nice, just isn't worth it -- for this reason: becoming a member of SAG automatically excludes one from the (non-SAG) growing independent film scene that's springing up all over the county and especially on both coasts. Independent films are becoming better and better produced and acted, and the opportunities are only growing. JZ recommends waiting until one needs to join SAG in order to do a SAG project.

It's interesting that all this came up now -- just last week I signed up for a couple of seminars at actorfest 2005, which is coming up in couple of weeks. One is about Pursuing The Indie Film Scene and the other is about SAG, AFTRA, Equity union representatives "The How's, Why's, and When's of Joining the Unions." I had a hunch these seminars were going to help me understand and address some issues in the future -- I just didn't think part of that future would arrive so soon . . .

Just got back from the set after 11 hour shooting day near Madison Park, Eleven Madison Park.

      On Sunday I submitted myself to Amerifilm Casting for a SAG film, SAG background/extra work -- they were seeking: Hip, trendy, model types and very attractive men and women, age 20's-30's. Hummm, I thought, I do have one long-haired, hip, tready 3/4 body head shot I can submit. Well it worked. I booked it -- they called Monday night and asked if I was available Tuesday morning. They said if I was not SAG, they would give me a SAG waiver (whatever that was -- now I know what it is), and the job would pay SAG rate . . . which is very nice.

Two items of interest (beyond the SAG waiver --my first):

       I hate to drop names in this journal, but I learned a lot about film acting from watching Uma Thurman & Luke Wilson tonight. The film is a comedy, and comedies tend to move about 1.5 times the speed of life, and this includes the dialog. Nevertheless -- listening closely, the characters were having a normal (though somewhat nervous conversation), yet I was taken with how fast they responded to each other -- they were not speaking quickly, but rarely was there a pause between the dialog: when one "character" said something, the other almost immediately responded. And then it hit me -- they're not giving themselves time to think at all about what the other person just said. They're just listening & responding. I then listened to some of the extras (almost all SAG, by the way) talking to each other, just to see how fast normal conversion is, and U and L were going back and forth just a bit faster. Now, of course, they prepared, they knew what they wanted, what they were after -- good, clean, clear, strong objectives, but in performance, in the moment, they were not thinking at all -- just responding immediately to each other, no time to think. It was a great lesson -- beautiful! Thank you U & L! (The more I watch professional actors, the more I can almost see how to act -- I'm getting the shape of it, and a bit how it works).

      And how did I earned my SAG-rate + overtime? All I had to do was flirt with a beautiful blond model/dancer/actress from Norway (another extra) for about 20 minutes . No lines -- we were just background in 11 Madison Park's outdoor cafe, but she was very nice (& hot!), and I got paid about $300.00, plus my first waiver. Later that night, someone told me I was a lucky man.

Wow -- really tired this week, but I'm sleeping very well. It may have something to do with the 14 hour day last Sunday, 09 . 25 . 2005, 7AM - 10PM. A long day in the beautiful Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center . . .

So why do this oft-times grueling background work? Well, for the most part, for some crazy reason I don't fully understand, I enjoy it. But I was thinking specifically about this -- why do I like it? Why do it?

1. it's definitely something I would not want to do every day, esp. as a non-union actor (i.e., non-SAG). Once or twice a month is plenty, and only if I'm not doing anything else that's a higher priority (i.e., an important audition, rehearsal, or a performance or a class)
2. what I get most excited about is simply watching professional actors working. Being on set AND being close to the action is a rare treat and a real education. Last Sunday's shoot must of have been a climatic moment in the film. 10 hours and about as many takes focused on one single 5 minute scene for the lead actress -- a highly emotional scene, & each time, she nailed it, each time, breaking down, crying, tears, heart breakingly real every time. Whatever they pay these stars, make no mistake -- they earn every cent. It's like paying these major league baseball players to maintain their high ERAs.
3. what's equally great are upgrades. Doesn't happen too often, but when it does, it doesn't just make my day, it makes my 3 to 6 months! I don't really care if I'm passively on camera or not -- being close to the action, and reacting in a way that's in line with what's going on, that's my "job" as background, not sticking out one way or another. I'm really there to watch and absorb. However, if I'm given something specific to do, that's another matter, and now I WILL stick out for a few seconds or more. That's a great deal of pure fun. I haven't yet seen any of my upgraded background work, but I think/hope it would be as much fun to see myself on TV or on a movie screen some time, but I don't really even have a strong desire to see that other than for educational purposes (i.e., did I look natural or self-conscious?) and that type of stuff can be the start -- just the start -- of a professional "reel" depending on how serious the upgrade was.
4. there are some very experience actors there, and I can learn a lot by listening and asking questions (e.g., I never knew one could so easily freelance for NYC agents!)

So that's really my agenda, what I really love -- I guess I'm such an immatator, and I'm always finding role models, living templates of how to be, and I really try to absorb everything on set, esp. how these professional actors handle themselves and approach their work. Sunday I just happened to be witness to an exceptional level of performance, off the chart compared to anything I've personally seen.

I think many people doing background work, esp. for the first time, think it's glamorous (it is kind of, sometimes) and tons of fun, and they don't realize how much work it is: a lot of hurry up and wait. A lot of sitting around. On set you need to be quiet and focus while having nothing to do, really, for most of the time. And if you're noisy or not paying attention, the PA's can give you a rough time. They have a tough job and baby sitting and managing background "Divas" is the last thing they need, and they won't put up with it because it's their job to maintain order, focus and quiet on the set. Many people are there, really, to be on camera -- which is exciting -- but sometimes, you're just part of the background, indistinguishable and unrecognizable.

The worse are the "Divas" who are there to take every opportunity to be on camera (e.g., not sitting or standing where the PA's direct them but instead trying to get closer to the camera -- that definitely pisses the PA's off and can get one summarily ejected from the set, or at least that's the threat), and the instant they're in holding, they do nothing but complain & bitch about how they're treated, and generally act like all this is beneath them. What it comes down to is someone behaving quite unprofessionally in a highly professional situation.

When I identify a "Diva," I couldn't get away from them any faster then if they were to come into the room with bombs strapped around their waist.

It is tough, and there is a lot, I suppose, to complain about, but still . . . I do always feel lucky and grateful to be there -- but not everyday.

I spend Wednesday and Thursday as a paid non-union background extra for the new series in the "Law & Order" franchise, Law & Order: Trial by Jury being filmed at the Kafman Astora Studios in Queens Astoria, not too far from where I live in Brooklyn. It's the largest sound stage between Hollywood and London. Desiree (a 'talent manger,' not 'agent,' as she's corrected me) booked me for two days this week.

The real benefits, as far I can tell, of working as a background extra, is 1) some pay, but more importantly, 2) getting to absorb how work is done in a professional television production house (in Law & Order's case, it's "Universal Network Television," the fully-integrated television production and distribution arm of Vivendi Universal Entertainment (i.e., Universal Studios + USA Networks, Inc = Vivendi Universal Entertainment, a global media and communications company formed in 2002), and 3) networking with other extras and day players on the set.

Working as an extra in film and television has certainty impressed upon me the 'business' side of 'show business,' and it's definitely a business. Becoming a professional actor means mastering, at a fairly high level, the ins and outs of the 'business,' a task that I found at first overwhelming -- it's still overwhelming, but I'm finding that by working as an extra, I can wade into it all, learning quite a bit from just talking to the actors/extras on the set (or listening in on conversations) -- I've got books on the subject of the business side of acting, and I've plowed though one, but just being around people who are in the game and talking to them . . . bit by bit, I'm picking up the business side of it all.

I think I understand about 2% to 5% of what I'll need to have a working knowledge of, but it's a start, and I think as I go along, it'll get easier to acquire and integrate what I need to know. And one of the things I need to do now is pick a copy of the Ross Reports to look for agents that work with non-union actors. I'll be compiling a list over Christmas and sending out headshots and resumes -- I'm shooting for more paid and professional work in '05, at least as much as a non-union person can get.

The balance is between Art and Business -- next year's goals are to go more deeply into both and learn to to use them to reinforce each other.

Understanding the 'business' side of acting is a vital component of becoming a professional actor, and finding ways to acquire and integrate knowledge and experience so that one isn't overwhelmed & confused is an important step. I suspect it takes a couple of years to reach some threshold of understanding where one knows pretty much how it all works and what one needs to do to get to where one needs to go (and so clearly defining specific personal goals is important). Anyway, easy to get overwhelmed with it all.

Perhaps most important, as always for me, is watching professional actors work -- breathing in and absorbing what they're doing, and even imagining myself doing it. It's not so much that I want to be a "star" or "on TV" as it is to be able to be as clean and as clear as they are. David Roland, The Confident Performer, talks about how athletes employ a form of mental imagery to improve performance, from mentally rehearsing a specific performance to simply imagining themselves doing what they'd like to doing:

I memorized a couple of actors performances on the set, i.e., how they moved, how they broke up their lines, how they empathized certain words, their pace and rhythm -- I'm trying to feel what it's like to dance like that (for want of a better word). I'm not thinking about what they did -- I'm just trying to breath in what they did, letting it (whatever "it" is) simply come into me. I think this helps give me a target for my own performance (at least for TV and film work), and hopefully my body and unconscious will guide me, over time and experience, to that target