I've recently graduated and I am now starting to look for an agent, which has obviously not been very successful as of yet! Would anyone recommend signing with an extras agency whilst I build up my CV and then (hopefully!) sign with another agent?
Deluded! Really? I spend the majority of my year in and around film sets Nathan, sometimes as an actor, sometimes as an extra, sometimes as something completely different but one thing is for sure...Everytime I step on set I'm learning something new, meeting some great people and some people whio just think they're great :-), developing my craft and usually maintaining my bank balance at the same time.
I would say that is much more beneficial to a career in the Film & TV business than temping in some random office! That's the point I was making!
If this site is so infuriating, may I take this opportunity to respectfully remind you that you always have the option to take your bad attitude and "holier than thou" opinions elsewhere.
May I also take this opportunity to apologise to Kirsty for hijacking her thread with an obvious clash of personalities and opinions! It was never my intention but I simply cannot leave the appalling attitude and poor advise offered by some to go unchallenged!
nothing bad about my attitude and i am certainly not holier than thou.
you make it sound like your the only person who can offer advice here. i have been a prof actor for 11 years and i have found things that work and if i can offer my advice to anyone who is interested i will- so to the graduate that started this thread you are more than welcome to PM me and i can offer you some useful advice and maybe offer some contacts.
question for forbes- you have obvioulsy spent alot of time on some very good sets and sound like you have met some very interesting people so how come you are still doing extra work?
another word of advice to the graduate beware there are alot of bullshitters in this prof!
Recently this site found me a casting, which ok I didn't get, but they offered me a little bit and I took it and I loved it! It was fascinating and I'm now several hundred quid better off, but again more work followed that was more significant but on that job I met a lovely guy called Bill (If you're reading this Bill you'll know who you are and I'm very grateful to you, you're a really nice chap!) and Bill's put me back in touch with someone that I've worked for on and off for many years but quite honestly I thought had retired. Because of that I'm now playing the Wizard of OZ at Blackpool's North Pier Theatre, again not the RSC and perhaps something you wouldn't consider. But I'm working with old and new friends at a good venue and it's fantastic.
You've really put a lot of peoples backs up Nathan!
If you don't pay towards the site.......?
If you don't want to be associated with us......?
And please when I said an actor does rep, tv, extra work and panto etc why did you take my statement out of context and just pick out the word extra?
I take offence at your use of the words amateur, the sentence "this site infuriates me because it is full of extras", the term "bullshitters" I think that CCP themselves will take offence at "what a disappointment this site is" and we can all take offence at being called "deluded" and I have lodged a formal complaint.
I'm still doing SA work because it is a) a much more industry related way to boost your income inbetween proper acting work than temping in some office random office, b) a damn sight better paid than temping in some random office and c) you can learn loads...loads more than temping in some random office!
It also teaches humility!!
We could also ask the question why after 11 years as a professional actor are you still doing anonymous "Security Guard" roles?
At the end of the day there is no hard and fast rule on how to succeed in this business. I set out a 3 year business plan when I first started on this path that had a number of achievable milestones, which included "get agent by the end of year 1" and ended with "nail a creditted role in a Hollywood feature film". I made it with 4 days to spare and please bear in mind that I started off with no experience and no formal training whatsoever!! Two years on from that I'm now 90% self sufficient in the Film & TV Industry suppliemnted with 10% trucking to keep my licence & skills current.
Kirsty's business plan could have "sign with Ray Knight by Jan-10" and "resign from Ray Knight by Dec-10"! You're attitude seems to state that doing extra work is a career killer when it quite clearly isn't! In the American market doing Extra and Background work is a right of passage that the majority of the current A-Listers have all been through...it's only over here that extras are looked down on by the last bastions of elitists who hanker back to the good old days of the closed shop and keeping the great unwahsed in their place...times they are a changing my friend!!
nigel, thats fine about you lodging a complaint, i realy dont care. as for getting peoples backs up! isnt this a forum to discuss? or do we just have to pat each other on the back. i just disagree with alot of the things that are being said.
obvioulsy i have opened a can of worms here and people feel very strongly about what i have said.
Dazler
I must admit to feeling qute a bit offended by the 'deluded' remark. Bit of a sweeping statement. You don't know me and yet you feel that it's appropriate. It's a shame that you feel that way.
I just did a few days SA work on a couple of films. It was a blast. All the principals on one were lovely - and on the other, only one was a prima donna. I got paid fair money, was fed and watered and by making up a backstory, I felt my time was spent constructively. I won't put these days on my CV but I will certainly do more if the oportunity arises as it's better than working in an office. I've just finished Sheila Hancock's second biography and she said that on one of her recent films, she met a lot of established actors who were working as extras as they've found featured work has dried up. This won't stop them getting featured work in the future and as and when the economy perks up again.
I'm in rehearsal for a play at the moment and my SA work certainly hasn't stopped me getting auditions for other featured work. No one is ever going to see me in SA work as who remembers the crowd? Even when a shot shows you quite close up, the audience is concentrating on the principals - or they should be. If they aren't, then the film is obviously a dud and the critics will kill it more than likely.
Another thing about being an extra. If you do have a back story and you have to do loads of takes, it certainly disciplines you into making that scene as consistent as you can. That can only help your acting. Again, it all depends on your attitude. If you regard yourself as a professional then you will work like a professional and you will be treated like a professional.
THat's my twopennoth worth.
What SA Agencies would you all recommend registering with?
I too am obviously very serious about pursuing my career as an actor, however, I am getting bored of Promo work and I think a bit of SA work would do no harm.
It pays the bills and as long as you keep it seperate from your acting work i'm sure it'l be fine.
Rapid Talent (they're on holiday until 31 August)Mad Dog, who are opening their books in September, Ray Knight, but difficult to get taken on, and London Extra Agency.
Cheers
If you are considering doing SA work and you're London based your 1st choices, in my humble opinion, are Ray Knight Casting (http://www.rayknightcasting.co.uk) and Casting Collective (http://www.castingcollective.co.uk)
Other agencies do exist, such as 2020, Mad Dog, Extras Unlimited and Screenlite to name but a few but the two recommended ones I have named above have provided me with the best and most interesting work over the years.
Ray Knight Casting, althogh an SA agency, prefer to call themselves a featured artist agency as they specialise in providing trained and/or highly experienced actors into the smaller roles that require a slightly higher level of performance than yopur average background role. They also submit their Spotlight registered peopole into the commercial castings so can be a good way of getting yourself seen and therefore on the first rung to making a career of it!!
Be warned though! There are many agencies around the country that don't treat their extras with anything like professional artists and forget that, as an agency, they work for you not the other way round so if it looks like a duck, waddles like a duck and quacks like a duck...it probably is duck! Trust your instincts and walk away if things don't smell right and don't be scared to get Equity involved if you aren't happy with the way you're being treated. To emphasise the point I've walked off 2 major films with well known directors over mistreatment and financial issues...just because they are paying you doesn't give anyone the right to talk down to you...Filmmaking is a team sport and everyone from the humble passer-by all the way up to the leads and beyond needs to be working well as a team to make a decent film.
When CCP first started a few of the lucky ones were given lifetime membership just to get the population started...Nathan was obviously one of the first through the door! No special treatment or sinister going on guys!
Forbes, The thing that worries me about the top SA Agencies is that I might become familiar to employers as an SA rather than an Actor.
I just kind of want to hide at the back unnoticed and watch the money rolling in.
Or do you think i'm worrying over nothing?
You are worrying over nothing! The whole point of being an extra is blending into the background unnoticed. Trust me when I say this, there's plenty SA's out there who will push up front so hiding is the easiest thing in the world...I've been doing it for years!
The people booking the SA's (the 2nd AD) and dealing with them on set (3rd AD's downwards) are not involved in any way with the casting process for principal roles so it ain't gonna hurt your career at all despite what other may say!
To the director, the SA's are pretty much invisible unless you get upgraded to a walk-on or featured bit part and that is an opportunity to get yourself some material for your reel...good times!!
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