Appearing in the crowd scenes of a film, series or show. Extras normally have no lines; the job is to be part of the environment — walk, sit, react on cue.
What the day looks like
Long: ten hours or more, of which only a fraction is filming. The rest is waiting, in a studio or outdoors, often without a chair and without a clear schedule. You may be released after an hour or after twelve.
Food is usually provided on set, but check in advance — as with travel: locations can be well outside the city, and the journey back at night is your problem unless agreed otherwise.
What to establish before agreeing
The fee for the day and how payment works — cash at wrap, a card transfer in a week, or in a month. Start time and expected finish. What to wear: extras are often asked to arrive in their own clothes of a given colour or period. Whether there is food, and where you change.
What it gives you
For a book, almost nothing: you get no frames and extras are not credited. What it does give is a first understanding of how a set works — who is in charge, what the calls mean, why everyone is waiting and what happens between takes.
For anyone planning to act, that saves the first real job: you will not be working out the process while trying to do it.
How to survive the day
«The Eight-Hour Shoot: Pacing Energy Like a Pro» — plus your own water, food, a phone charger and a book: nobody will be entertaining you.
