Salty Sam’s Fun Blog for Children
Number 491
Film Extras
Hello Everyone
Are there television programmes that you regularly watch and sometimes you notice that there is a person in the background who is popping up there again and again?
Do you notice how many times you watch a programme where there are people in the background who are not the main characters and you don’t know what their names are?
Those people who happen to be behind the main characters in a restaurant or shop or cinema or whatever, don’t just happen to be there; they are hired specially to be part of the ‘scenery’.
These people are called extras – or background actors or background talent or extra talent.
Most of the time, you don’t take much notice of them because your focus is on the main characters, but you know they are there.
They are sometimes essential to add to the atmosphere of the scene.
Extras do get paid a bit of money and some get quite a lot of work if they appear regularly in continuing dramas for example.
They also get the food and drink which is served up to the film crew while they are on set.
People, who work in movies, or in the filming of television programmes or commercials, work very long days. The catering on set has the reputation of being very good.
Extras are employed and hired through agencies. ln small-budget films they may appear for free just because they want to be in a film.
You have to follow certain ‘rules’ to be a successful extra.
The first rule is that you never look at the camera.
You may have to chat to other extras in a very natural and convincing way. Sometimes this sound is recorded for background noise behind what the main characters are saying. Sometimes this chatting noise in the background is called ‘walla’.
You have to be prepared to get up early because you may have to be fitted into a costume and have your make up done before filming starts.
You also have to be prepared to sit around for ages waiting for scenes to be set up ready for filming. lt can be boring, but you can’t look bored. You just have to wait and be patient.
You may have to stand around outside in the cold or heat for ages, or even get blasted by wind machines and soaked by rain machines!
lf the director is not happy with the shot, it has to be done again and maybe again and again. His or her attention is on everything in the scene.
Every time you begin filming a shot, everyone has to behave like it is the first time. You can’t look fed up because you are taking the shot for the umpteenth time – everything has to look right.
The director wants it to look perfect!
The extras have to be right – just as much as the expensive sets and the brilliant script. The way they look and the way they behave is very important.
Sometimes the extras wear their own clothes, bring their own props (like a tennis racquet or beach towel) and do their own hair. These extras should already look how they are wanted to look without a wig and a lot of make up.
This will save the film unit money.
Sometimes the extras have to have a very specific look. They might have to look like a burly, rough, hardened criminal in a prison scene or a very thin person starving in a mediaeval famine.
They might have to have big muscles because they should look like they have spent hours rowing a Roman galleon or they might have to look beautiful in an evening dress.
Sometimes, the film might be a period drama and so the faces of the extras should fit the time period.
Or the producers of the film might want a huge selection of different types of people to make up a large crowd.
lf the extras are going to be in a science fiction film and become some kind of alien, they will need to be in make up for a very long time. They will need to have what are called prosthetics put on their face and maybe their body too. The make-up artists will use a kind of rubbery material that changes the shape and colour of a face and body.
lt can take hours to get right!
Whatever an extra does, they have to have a lot of patience.
They have to do what they are asked to do as soon as they are asked and in a helpful, compliant manner.
Extras can have special talents that might be useful. They might be good at diving into a swimming pool or horse riding or skiing or something like that.
They might be required to play a sport like tennis or golf or football – and be convincing.
Sometimes, students and retired people do extra work to earn a bit of extra money. Extras can also be people between jobs, teachers who want extra work in their summer holidays or aspiring actors who are taking the opportunity to meet people in the industry they want to work in full time.
These actors will probably take acting classes when they are not working to learn their craft and improve their skills.
Some people can actually make a living from being an extra if they are lucky and work for a good, reputable agency. But they have to be flexible, available for work when they are asked and they may have to travel away from home for periods of time – so this kind of work will not suit everyone.
Children are sometimes used but there are lots of rules that have to be followed to ensure their welfare while they are working.
Animals too can be used to make the scenery look authentic. But they have to be trained animals hired in especially; otherwise they might spook when things get noisy. Even animals like chickens and cows have to be carefully chosen so they will behave well on set!
Sometimes crowds can be created by using computed generated images (CGl) which saves the director having to worry about crowd control. This technique was especially important during social distancing measures implemented in 2020 – or when you need thousands of people in a crowd scene like a battle in a field between vast armies.
Sometimes local people are used when a film unit comes to town. So you never know…
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Thank you!
And see you again next Fun Friday!
Love and kisses
Salty Sam
www.christina-sinclair.com
Bill and Bob’s Joke of the Week
Bill: Why did the vampire give up movie acting?
Bob: l don’t know. Why did the vampire give up movie acting?
Bill: Because he just couldn’t find a part he could sink his teeth into!
Salty Sam © Christina Sinclair 2015
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of material from this blog without express and written permission from this blog’s author and owner is strictly prohibited.
Links may be used to www.christina-sinclair.com
Picture Gallery
Audrey Hepburn
THE SALTY SAM NEWS DESK
This week, we have another of Bill and Bob’s quizzes for you.
They said you need to draw a column of boxes 6 across and 13 down and fill them in using the following clues.
The first letters of the answers will create a phrase.
- A plot of land behind your house
- To say you are against what someone says
- Something you shoot arrows at
- A large cat
- To walk in a very weary way
- Where you go when you die
- To be very happy
- A floor covering
- A piece of land surrounded by sea
- A tool for sewing
- Used to cover your eye
- Up-to-date and current
- The eighth month of the year
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Quick Quiz
Do you know what these words and phrases are in American English?
- girl power
- can’t see the wood for the trees
- skirting boards
- a vet
- an ex-soldier
- done and dusted
- plaits
- clothes pegs
- regime
- bottom drawer
- ching chang walla
- modelling knife
- jump leads
- full stop.
- the phone is off the hook
- do it by eye
- ice lollies
- fizzy drinks
- cuddly toy/soft toy
- film extras
lt’s the Weekend!
HOW TO MAKE SOME MONSTER FRlENDS
This is a trio of monster friends.
I don’t know where they came from, but they are very cute little monsters.
One is red with grey eyes, one is grey with green eyes and one is green with red eyes.
BODY (KNIT TWO)
Using 4mm knitting needles and dk yarn cast on 8 stitches
Knit 20 rows of stocking stitch
Don’t cast off – leave a length of yarn for sewing up when you cut off your yarn and leave your stitches on this yarn
LEGS (KNIT TWO)
Using 4mm knitting needles and dk yarn cast on 8 stitches
Knit 10 rows of stocking stitch
Don’t cast off – leave a length of yarn for sewing up when you cut off your yarn and leave your stitches on this yarn
ARMS (KNIT TWO)
Using 4mm knitting needles and dk yarn cast on 6 stitches
Knit 8 rows of stocking stitch
Don’t cast off – leave a length of yarn for sewing up when you cut off your yarn and leave your stitches on this yarn
EARS (KNIT TWO)
Using 4mm knitting needles and dk yarn cast on 5 stitches
Knit 4 rows of garter stitch
Decrease 1 stitch at the beginning of each row of garter stitch until 2 stitches remain
Knit 2 together
Cast off
TAILS (MAKE ONE)
Crochet 3 chains into a length of dk yarn
TO MAKE UP
- Using over-sew stitching and with right sides together sew side seams of head and body and also the arms and legs
- Turn right sides out and pull tops of head, feet and hands in tight
- Stuff the body and legs with some stuffing and the ends of the yarn
- Stuff the arms with the ends of the yarn
- Bind a length of yarn around the neck and pull in tight then secure ends and push inside the stuffing
- Bind a length of yarn around the wrists and pull in tight then secure ends and push inside the arms
- Bind a length of yarn around the ankles and pull in tight then secure ends and push inside the stuffing
- Sew the tops of the legs to the bottom of the body and the tops of the arms to the sides of the body from behind
- Attach the ears to the tops of the head and the tail to the base of the spine
- Add the French knot eyes – wrap the yarn around your yarn needle twice, and a stitch to make a mouth before or after sewing up
Please note that the material on this blog is for personal use and for use in classrooms only.
It is a copyright infringement and, therefore, illegal under international law to sell items made with these patterns.
Use of the toys and projects is at your own risk.
©Christina Sinclair Designs 2015
Answers to the News Desk Quiz
- A plot of land behind your house – garden
- To say you are against what someone says – oppose
- Something you shoot arrows at – target
- A large cat – ocelot
- To walk in a very weary way – trudge
- Where you go when you die – heaven
- To be very happy – elated
- A floor covering – carpet
- A piece of land surrounded by sea – island
- A tool for sewing – needle
- Used to cover your eye – eyelid
- Up-to-date and current – modern
- The eighth month of the year – August
Answer = Go to the cinema
Quick Quiz Answers
- girl power – chick power
- can’t see the wood for the trees – forest for the trees
- skirting boards – base boards
- a vet – a veterinarian
- an ex-soldier – a vet
- done and dusted – done and done = finished
- plaits – braids
- clothes pegs – clothes pins
- regime – regimen
- bottom drawer – hope chest
- ching chang walla – rock paper scissors
- modelling knife – utility knife
- jump leads – jumper cables
- full stop. – period.
- the phone is off the hook – off the cradle
- do it by eye – eyeball it
- ice lollies – popsicles
- fizzy drinks – sodas
- cuddly toy/soft toy – stuffed toy
- film extras – atmosphere
Dog-tooth check
Embroidery Stitches
