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Monday, October 02, 2017
The Curious Life of an Extra, From '30 Rock' to 'The Good Wife'
The Atlantic: Playing bystanders and party guests was supposed to be a temporary gig. It turned into a viable, and surprisingly fulfilling, way to make a living.
Obviously when people think of making extra cash to get by in-between jobs, being a movie and television extra is not what immediately jumps to mind. You do not often consider the entertainment industry as one that people "fall into." This is an unconventional way to earn a living for sure, but the more interesting thing about this story to me is that she moved into this career from an ad sales marketing position in the publishing industry, with little to no experience in the world of entertainment. Sepulveres makes it clear that she is not seeking to be a star or chase the limelight but instead has found work that makes her happy and allows her to have a front-row seat to the world of writing for TV and film, which is where she hopes to end up. I know there are a number of people who intentionally make career decisions like this that get their foot in the door, such as performers who work in the box office. However, this goes to show that even when our lives take unexpected turns and, particularly in our professional paths, failures and unexpected changes will always happen but we can make the best of unfamiliar circumstances and we might be surprised at where we find meaning and purpose.
Going into the arts you are always told that finding and getting work will not always be easy and that unemployment is inevitable. I don’t like to believe this because no one wants to go into a profession thinking that this is going to be a hard life, but I would rather go into a profession where I am doing something that I love while recognizing and acknowledging the fact that sometimes I might struggle, but I will wake up happy to go to work. I don’t like thinking about this, call me naïve, but making a backup plan for myself in case a career in technical theater doesn’t work sounds like I am excepting failure before I have even started. What I liked about this article is that while she was doing the extra work on sets she was also trying to find and doing work in the field that she wanted to be in. I think I would be okay doing that. Honestly, I would be totally okay with being an extra or a stand in on a movie or tv set. It would still keep me in the industry and I would get to see the industry from a different point of view.
The line that stuck out to me the most was when the author said: “I was confused and skeptical (but excited) about how simple it seemed to get work on a movie:”. This is a false idea that I find problematic. I hope unemployed readers don’t look at this article and think oh I should look into being an extra. I think this one example is an outlier. I’ve worked with many equity actors who spend months auditioning just to get one gig that puts food on the table. I think it is interesting that this worked out for the author and she even found a new passion but I question her story a little. I wonder if she had any connections directly or indirectly to the industry that helped her succeed. The article seems plausible but also seems lucky. The most interesting thing I found about this article is how the author’s journey mimicked that of an actor trying to work his/her/their way up the ladder to become more than an extra. The idea that no matter the end goal you all start the same is cool. I think it shows that there are processes and procedures in the field of theatre jobs. This adds comfort. Yes, there is no tried and true method to any theatre end goal, if there is any such thing as a theatre end goal, but this article shows that there are ways to try and accomplish goals that have been tried and true.
I’ve never really thought of being an extra in movies as a good fall back for a “real job” in sales and marketing. I always thought of being an extra in movies as something that people who were trying to break into the acting industry did, but it makes sense that sometimes people just fall into it. It sort of reminds me of one of my high school teachers who sort of fell into hand modeling because in college his friends kept teasing him for having “pretty hands.” He talked about it some, and the hand modeling industry is actually really interesting and kind of weird and there are a lot of behind the scenes things you don’t get to see unless you are somehow involved. It makes sense that people could enjoy being extras in movies not because they want to act but because they are interested in the overall movie making process and it gives them a nice way to observe the way the industry works.
I have always been interested in the process of filmmaking, but I had never really thought about what the day to day life of an extra was like. I like how the author used her experiences to learn about the film industry. In my experience in theater, I learn best in a hands on environment. Since the author’s goal is to be a writer, I think her experiences as an extra give her a unique education that most writers don’t get about how script translates onto film. I think ultimately her experiences will contribute to her writing, just as being a technician informs a designer’s process. That on set knowledge of the process, would help her have a more well rounded understanding of the whole industry and what changes on the ground on a day to day basis
5 comments:
Obviously when people think of making extra cash to get by in-between jobs, being a movie and television extra is not what immediately jumps to mind. You do not often consider the entertainment industry as one that people "fall into." This is an unconventional way to earn a living for sure, but the more interesting thing about this story to me is that she moved into this career from an ad sales marketing position in the publishing industry, with little to no experience in the world of entertainment. Sepulveres makes it clear that she is not seeking to be a star or chase the limelight but instead has found work that makes her happy and allows her to have a front-row seat to the world of writing for TV and film, which is where she hopes to end up. I know there are a number of people who intentionally make career decisions like this that get their foot in the door, such as performers who work in the box office. However, this goes to show that even when our lives take unexpected turns and, particularly in our professional paths, failures and unexpected changes will always happen but we can make the best of unfamiliar circumstances and we might be surprised at where we find meaning and purpose.
Going into the arts you are always told that finding and getting work will not always be easy and that unemployment is inevitable. I don’t like to believe this because no one wants to go into a profession thinking that this is going to be a hard life, but I would rather go into a profession where I am doing something that I love while recognizing and acknowledging the fact that sometimes I might struggle, but I will wake up happy to go to work. I don’t like thinking about this, call me naïve, but making a backup plan for myself in case a career in technical theater doesn’t work sounds like I am excepting failure before I have even started. What I liked about this article is that while she was doing the extra work on sets she was also trying to find and doing work in the field that she wanted to be in. I think I would be okay doing that. Honestly, I would be totally okay with being an extra or a stand in on a movie or tv set. It would still keep me in the industry and I would get to see the industry from a different point of view.
The line that stuck out to me the most was when the author said: “I was confused and skeptical (but excited) about how simple it seemed to get work on a movie:”. This is a false idea that I find problematic. I hope unemployed readers don’t look at this article and think oh I should look into being an extra. I think this one example is an outlier. I’ve worked with many equity actors who spend months auditioning just to get one gig that puts food on the table. I think it is interesting that this worked out for the author and she even found a new passion but I question her story a little. I wonder if she had any connections directly or indirectly to the industry that helped her succeed. The article seems plausible but also seems lucky. The most interesting thing I found about this article is how the author’s journey mimicked that of an actor trying to work his/her/their way up the ladder to become more than an extra. The idea that no matter the end goal you all start the same is cool. I think it shows that there are processes and procedures in the field of theatre jobs. This adds comfort. Yes, there is no tried and true method to any theatre end goal, if there is any such thing as a theatre end goal, but this article shows that there are ways to try and accomplish goals that have been tried and true.
I’ve never really thought of being an extra in movies as a good fall back for a “real job” in sales and marketing. I always thought of being an extra in movies as something that people who were trying to break into the acting industry did, but it makes sense that sometimes people just fall into it. It sort of reminds me of one of my high school teachers who sort of fell into hand modeling because in college his friends kept teasing him for having “pretty hands.” He talked about it some, and the hand modeling industry is actually really interesting and kind of weird and there are a lot of behind the scenes things you don’t get to see unless you are somehow involved. It makes sense that people could enjoy being extras in movies not because they want to act but because they are interested in the overall movie making process and it gives them a nice way to observe the way the industry works.
I have always been interested in the process of filmmaking, but I had never really thought about what the day to day life of an extra was like. I like how the author used her experiences to learn about the film industry. In my experience in theater, I learn best in a hands on environment. Since the author’s goal is to be a writer, I think her experiences as an extra give her a unique education that most writers don’t get about how script translates onto film. I think ultimately her experiences will contribute to her writing, just as being a technician informs a designer’s process. That on set knowledge of the process, would help her have a more well rounded understanding of the whole industry and what changes on the ground on a day to day basis
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