In the Background

Last December, after I played an extra in a music video, I wanted to do more of this kind of work. I had a lot of fun and I learned a lot about how such productions are made.

A friend of mine, who does a lot of background work, put me on to the casting company he uses, and I joined at the end of 2025.

Not much happened in January and February. I was invited to participate in one shoot, but I was chosen at the last minute and there was an ice storm that day, and I didn't want to drive an hour to the set with such poor road conditions. I declined the offer with much regret.

A couple more offers came in March but again, they were last-minute and more than an hour away.

A lot of casting calls sprang up in April and I applied for dozens of roles, thinking that the more I chose, the greater my chances would be of being picked. And last week, I was chosen for two roles in two movies.

For both roles, I was given a little more than 48 hours notice. This gave me time to pick out what I would wear, plus at least one other set of clothes, in case the wardrobe manager didn't like my first choice.

I can't share details about the movies at this time but I think I can share my experiences. So, I'll leave out the names of the productions, their locations, and descriptions of the scenes. And neither roles had me in a costume.

Only one role had me using props.

My first gig had me drive for about 45 minutes from home, which is about the same amount of time it took me to drive home from work, so was reasonable. I was asked to show up for a 9 a.m. start.

When I arrived, there was only one cast member in the holding area. He had been working as an extra for a little more than six months. Shortly after we introduced ourselves, a few more people arrived and joined us at the table we had chosen. There were people from all ages and backgrounds—some had different day jobs and some were retired—and everybody I met was friendly and helpful.

One person at our table was making his second appearance in background work, so we relied on the veterans at our table.

At 9, someone came into the holding room and gave people white slips of paper, which had carbon copies attached. On them, we had to provide our personal information as well as the name of the production and the company, the episode number (essentially, the act), and our start time. We were told to hold onto this paper until we were finished, when we would add the wrap-up time and sign it, after which we'd receive a copy.

There was a lot of time spent sitting in this room while we waited for a wardrobe person to approve our outfit or to assign some people with uniforms and props. I was envious when I saw some of the folks dressed as police officers. I wanted a costume.

At various intervals, people would be called out onto the set, which was in a parking lot behind the building. It was almost 10:30 before I was asked to join the set.

Image: Perplexity

It was really exciting to watch how the camera crew worked with the director to envision the shots that would be captured. There was only one actor in this scene and they weren't speaking: everything was being performed by the extras, with the actor only appearing in the scene.

I already knew some of the obvious rules: don't look at the camera while it's rolling and don't talk on the set. I'm not paid to speak but I can mouth words to look like I'm in a conversation with fellow background people.

But I did learn that the director will call for background before they call "action," and that's our cue to start moving or doing whatever we've been told to do.

We were outdoors for more than an hour but it was a beautiful day, with lots of sunshine but not too hot. A cool breeze kept us from sweating.

The director had the camera crew shoot from many angles and we had to perform the same movements over and over again. And when it was all done, we were led back into the holding area.

By noon, it was all over. The director called a wrap, we finished filling out our slips, and were allowed to leave.

A couple of days later, I received a casting call to another set and another movie. Again, I would be dressed in my own clothes but was told that it would be a night shoot and to not wear black or other dark clothing. It was going to be a fall scene, so sweaters, hoodies, and light jackets were okay.

Because I only own black jackets and dark hoodies, I dressed in a light button-up shirt with a medium-blue sweater over it. And this is where my inexperience came to light.

Though the day had been warm, it cooled down as soon as the sun set. I had shown up just before sunset and was warm, but I wasn't going to stay warm.

I was called out to the first scene as soon as the last of daylight was gone. I was given a prop that I had to hold onto in every scene: when we finished filming that scene, I had a numbered spot where I would place the prop before returning to the holding area, and I would grab that same prop before moving to the next location on the set.

There were about 100 extras for this set and we'd take turns going out for shots. We'd be paired up with different people for each scene—I was in a total of five for the night.

There were actors with speaking parts, so we would usually do a couple of rehearsal runs of the scene before the shooting began. And sometimes, we'd have to repeat the scene over several takes.

For one scene, I was outside for more than an hour, all the while the temperature dropped to single digits. When we weren't rolling, I'd march on the spot or jump up and down. While we were rolling, I did everything in my power to keep from shivering.

Some veterans told me that whenever it's a night shoot, they dress in layers: long johns under thick pants; Merino wool shirts over t-shirts; long-sleeve shirts over sweaters; thick socks. Some people were wearing hiking boots that looked insulated.

I wore jeans (no long johns). I had a t-shirt under a long-sleeved button-up shirt, under a lightweight sweater. I wore regular sock and had light walking shoes.

My feet froze first, and about halfway through the night, I swapped for another pair that were part of my second choice for wardrobe. They weren't as snug as my first pair and because they had stayed in a knapsack indoors, they felt warm putting on.

My hands also grew cold as the evening wore on and the temperature approached the freezing mark. But my legs and core started feeling the temperature more and more and I never got enough time between scenes to warm up. As we approached midnight, I wondered when we would wrap for the night.

At midnight, I learned that we could be shooting anywhere from 3 am to 5 am. This is when I told myself that any time I have another evening shoot, I will take that day to rest up. I had woken up at 7 am (12 hours before I was due on the set), did some chores around the house, met friends for lunch, and packed up for the shoot and half-hour drive to the location.

By midnight, I was past my usual bedtime.

We continued shooting and the wind picked up, chilling us in the damp air. But I persevered. I was having fun and was enjoying the work. I met some really nice people. And snacks and hot drinks were being provided.

At 1 am, we took a break for 'lunch.' We were given sandwiches and snacks, and more drinks. There was fresh fruit. The actors were given special meals and unionized background people were given better sandwiches.

At 2 am, we were back on the set and things seemed to move faster, possibly because everyone else was starting to get cold and tired—even the film crew and director. We wrapped up a scene and were sent back to the holding area.

At 3 am, we were told it was a wrap. There was a collective sigh of relief, as I'm sure everyone was tired, even if they were lucky enough to rest during the day.

When I pulled into my driveway, I could hear robins waking up in the neighbouring trees. Their day was just about to begin. I was in bed before 4 but I was chilled to the bone so it took some time to fall asleep.

I've signed up for more roles and I look forward to being called back. As I gain more experience I hope to become much better at it, but I've already learned to be prepared to work late and to be better dressed.

That's a wrap.