How to Increase Your Chances of Bookings
Photos
Keeping your profile updated with current-look photos is essential to remaining prominent in our searches, whilst allowing productions to see exactly what you look like right now. The older your photos, the less inclined we are to believe that this is an accurate representation of yourself today.
We recommend uploading current-look photos at least once every month or immediately after you have had a dramatic hair cut.
Once logged into your profile, you will have the ability to tag your photographs into certain categories. The categories that we use the most are:
Current Look: Full Length
Current Look: Front
Current Look: Side
Current Look: Back
Photographs do not need to be professional headshots, but can be simply well-lit selfies taken with a camera phone.
Be sure the selfies are well-framed, well-lit and in-focus. No filters or photoshopped images. The production want to see what you look like naturally.
Do not wear any hats, sungalsses, scarves, masks or anything else that obscures your face and hair. We need to see you as clearly as possible. For this reason, try to also photograph yourself against a simple, plain background.
Keep your expression, wardrobe and make-up neutral, with your hair down naturally so productions have a great idea of what you look like and what length and style your hair currently is.
If you do not upload photos like these, there is a very good chance that you will not be booked.
In the other photo categories, we welcome alternative looks and styles of make-up, hair and wardrobe. Alternative looks help our team consider you for a wider range of roles. However, please ensure that it easy to find your most natural, every-day look using the Current Look categories listed above.
If you turn up to set with a radically different look than what is displayed on your most recent profile pictures, (such as an obvious change in hair length, colour or style, or with new visible tattoos, piercings or scars etc.), production will be inclined to release you immediately.
Optimising Your Profile
Fill in as many measurements as possible.
Profiles with no Chest/Dress or Waist measurements will be ignored by our bookers.
For men, key measurements include Height, Collar, Chest, Waist, Trouser Waist, Inside Leg and Shoe size.
For women, key measurements include Height, Bust, Cup, Waist, Hip, Dress Size, and Shoe size.
Without key measurements, our bookers cannot consider you for period costumes, special outfits, body double roles and Stand-In opportunities!
Doubles and Stand-Ins need to match the principal’s measurements by half an inch on every measurement in order to be considered.
Ensure all contact information is correct and up-to-date.
We often chase last minute bookings over the phone.
Have an Emergency Contact.
Make sure your email inbox does not get full. Consistent delivery failures to your inbox will make the platform automatically mark your email as unusable. This ceases all communication and may not be discovered by our team for weeks.
Keep your home address up-to-date.
Some productions require artists to live within a certain radius of the filming location.
Location is determined by postcode - a missing or incorrect postcode on your profile will render your profile invisible during our searches.
Compensation for travel expenses is sometimes calculated using your listed home address.
Be sure to fill in your skills, experience, training and spoken languages etc.
Roles that demand prior experience or a specific skillset are very common.
Artists with particular skills have a higher chance of booking.
We’ve added a Bio Box to your profile!
Within the Casting Information tab, you will now find a text box for you to discuss yourself in depth. Let us know more about you!
Don’t know where to start? Start with your Film & TV experience and expertise:
Are you a full-time Supporting Artiste?
Have you done many featured, core & dialogue roles?
Have a link to an acting showreel or voice-over demo?
Have prosthetics & physical performance experience?
Have you ever worked as crew? If so, which departments?
Are you an experienced Stand-In/Body Double for a big-name star?
Done loads of filming days but just haven’t done any through Extra People yet?
Upload a DBS Certificate or update your old one.
A DBS Certificate isn’t compulsory, but we do handle a few productions a year that require all Supporting Artistes to have a valid DBS uploaded to their profile - in British Film & TV, a Basic Disclosure certificate remains valid for 18 months from the date of issue.
You can obtain a DBS certificate through the government website. They cost £18 and take about two weeks to arrive through the post.
Use the DBS Update Service? A simple screenshot of your Online DBS Portal will suffice instead of a new paper certificate.
List all the counties you’re willing to travel to.
In the first tab of your profile - Key Information - there is a dropdown list titled “Counties You Are Available In”. This is the best way to inform us of all the counties you are willing to travel to for Supporting Artiste work.
This should include the county you live in!
Be truthful. Don’t just include every county in the UK. Only mention the counties that you genuinely wouldn’t have an issue travelling to for a one-day job.
Responding to Enquiries
Quick and accurate responses to enquiries are essential.
We find that we receive the first 75% of the responses within the first 20 minutes of sending the enquiry. We usually leave enquiries open for 24 hours for those that cannot respond immediately, but productions often want to see options as soon as possible.
Have a profile issue or query?
The email address to use for any profile-related issue is epcommunity@extra-people.com