'And... Action!' Being an Film Extra (Support Artist) Brian Thompson email: brian@balmerino.net
From my earliest years I have always loved the art of cinema and television to tell dramatic stories in any genre and documentaries. In 2008 I decided to sign up to an acting agency. It was easy to do, I filled in a form, went along for a brief interview, had my photograph taken, and waited for the phone to ring. A couple of weeks later I got a call, they were wanting extras for the final episode of ‘Wire in the Blood: The Dead Land’. I was told to dress in my normal clothes: being set in the time of filming, wardrobe wasn't necessary. But I was told no stripes, as they strobe on camera! The shoot was to be in the Newcastle Arena car park, where the filming trucks were parked. When I arrived with the other Support Artists (SA) we had breakfast and continuity photos were taken. Robson Green arrived and asked how we were, and the (eventual) murderer left the wardrobe truck dressed as a samurai! We were driven to another location where we had lunch, and then to Tynemouth station, where the opening scene was to be filmed. A sign was attached to the outside wall saying 'Bradfield Station', the fictional location for the series. I was given a black leather document case to carry. The cameras were set up, and we were told we would be filmed leaving the station. The magic of television: 12 people can look like a crowd. The scene took a few takes as we all, comically, kept bunching up on camera. So the director put us into groups of three, around 2m apart, and an assistant with each group. On the call of 'Action!' the groups would start counting; on the count of three the first group went, on the count of six, the second group, and so on, and it worked! So in the scene we are all walking toward the exit, like rush hour at a busy railway station. For the next set up, actress Mary Jo Randle would be handing out flyers at the exit about her missing son. We were told to take a flyer and do whatever we wanted with it. I chose to take one, give it a brief look and throw it on the ground. I wanted to play it as a ‘city gent’, in a hurry with no interest in what had been handed to me. To my utter amazement the director said “I like what you did there, I want you to interact with Mary Jo”. So in the close up and long shot, I take the flyer, throw it on the ground and walk away from a dejected mother.
		I was next in Matt Stokes art film The Gainsborough Packet: a nine minute, 19th century pop video with folk singer Sam Lee, who played John Burdikin, a real-life 'Walter Mitty' character, and based on a letter Burdikin sent to his friend Pybus about his exploits. The Gainsborough Packet was shown at The Baltic, Newcastle upon Tyne, and is available on YouTube.
The scene, filmed on the 19th century battleship Trincomalee in Hartlepool - doubling as The Gainsborough Packet, a fire has broken out on board and the crew is desperately trying to put it out. As the film is set 200 years ago it required full makeup and wardrobe. In the scene I am running up the gangplank in a big hat with a bucket of water as we try to put out the fire on board. This was a long day, and Matt was getting worried as we were losing the light during the final shots. But he eventually got everything in the can. In the attached photo, I am on the left. In 2011 I was in a scene from the first series of Vera 'The Crow Trap', commissioned by ITV. A funeral scene filmed in a small church in Northumberland, with Brenda Blethyn, Daniela Nardini and John Lynch. And, in the same year, a scene in 'United', a BBC film about Manchester United's Busby Babes and the Munich air crash. In United, I was used in two locations, a scene in a nightclub on Mosley Street, and the scenes filmed in a smoky cinema: a big bag of herbal cigarettes being handed out to anyone who wanted to smoke. These were early roles for Jack O'Connell (Bobby Charlton) and Sam Claflin (Duncan Edwards), and were shot in the Tyneside Cinema. In the first scene, 1956, we are watching newsreel footage of Manchester United preparing for the new football season; with Charlton, Edwards, and Jones in the cinema audience. The approximately 40 extras plus O'Connell, Claflin and Thomas Howes (Mark Jones) were instructed by the director to cheer as United are shown on the newsreel footage, then they would get up and take a bow. Again, the magic of film, the scene it looks like a full house. And. Action! Called the director… Nothing but a few half-hearted 'hoorahs'… CUT! Shouted the director… ''Shout, Cheer, really go for it'' instructed the director James Strong. And. Action! We all roared, threw our arms in the air, he got the shots. In a later scene, filmed at the same time, we are in the cinema watching newsreel footage of the tragic air crash, looking shocked. Some of the extras were moved around to different seats, to make it look like a different audience. The director asked if the actors would remain in the scene, to boost the number of extras, I seem to remember one of them was given a hat to wear. “We will film from the back, so just keep your heads down”. Sam Claflin joked, 'BBC budget'. We then moved to the nightclub scene on Mosley Street, Newcastle, where there were three set ups for this scene. The footballers are on a night out with girlfriends. A dance troupe had been hired, and I and some of the other SA were given a different costume, and hair Brylcreemed. I was behind the bar in white shirt, bow tie and black waistcoat. In one set up, a close up around the footballers table, they are chatting with their girlfriends, people are milling around and dancing. One of the SA was asked to just go around the table, pick up an empty glass and walk off camera. Lighting and cameras were re-arranged and everyone was ready. “And. Action!” Everyone began the scene; the SA went to the table, but instead of just picking up the glass and moving away, he picked it up and shook it as if to say, 'do you want another'. “CUT!” shouted the director, he was visibly annoyed, and the whole scene had to be set up again, with everyone going back to their start positions. Though he did not admonish the SA he was not included in the scene. I think this is a lesson for all support artists; you are there as background, to add realism to a scene, be respectful to the actors and crew, not improvise, unless asked to do so, as with the Wire in the Blood scene.
			One of my favorite police dramas is ‘Inspector George Gently’, so you can imagine my joy when I got picked to be in the final, sad, episode 'Gently and the New Age'. In the scene, filmed in The Central Bar in Gateshead, Gently (Martin Shaw) meets up with corrupt Met detective Ian Lister (Adam Levy), and I play the barman.
Two set ups were filmed, Gently entering the bar and walking towards a seated Lister and the close ups of their conversation. I was behind the bar cleaning glasses, wiping the bar top and 'silently' (“just move your lips”) chatted with two men sitting at the bar. No sudden movements as, again, you are background; there should be nothing that distracts the viewer from the actors. Three scenes were filmed at the Central Bar: Gently walking towards the entrance (I was able to watch being filmed), the scene in the bar, and Lister meeting Gently's killer at the rear of the building. Of course it was all hush-hush in costume and make-up, about how Gently would make his final exit. For me it was a great day. I was also in a television advert in 2011 for the Co-Op: 'Revolution', filmed and directed by Luke Scott (son of Ridley Scott) on a hill farm track at Beamish museum. At the beginning of the 1-minute advert we play 19th century 'protesting' farm labourers, so full make-up and wardrobe was required - with even our teeth being blackened. We were filmed walking up the farm track with our tools and banner, and a close up of the group. I don't know how many times we marched up and down that hill for a few seconds of screen time, but it was a terrific day. In the photograph, I am on the right. The advert is available on YouTube.
I also appeared in a German television film 'The Other Child' playing a war time policeman, filmed in Stockton. The main scenes were filmed on a, soon to be demolished, housing estate, made to look 1940's bomb damaged. This estate was also used in the Inspector George Gently episode 'Gently Between The Lines' (2014)
For any budding support artists and actors out there, there are agencies you can join. You will have a great time, see how much work goes into a few minutes of screen time, and possibly act with the stars. But they are long days, sometimes from 7am to 7pm, and a lot of sitting around. You usually have to get yourself to the locations, and you have to be prepared to change your appearance; especially if it is a period piece. For 'The Other Child' I was given a severe short back and sides haircut, even though I was wearing a police tin hat throughout. And you have to be prepared for a lot of rejection, your agent may put you forward, but it is ultimately up to the casting director to decide if you have what they want, looks, skills, horse riding, for example. Best of Luck! Parent Domain: www.balmerino.net