The action that Supporting Artists are given can vary greatly across all the different genres, settings and time periods that they may find themselves in.
Some action can be downright absurd!
While it is common to be told exactly what to do and how, some direction is very general:
"You're at the pub having a great time!"
"You're angry that you're being treated like common criminals!"
"Nobody likes this person - be sure to disapprove of their presence."
The camera is often forgiving to the performances of Supporting Artists in the sense that they're often not fully in-focus, but sooner or later what you're doing in the scene will be very visible and will affect the success of the shot.
We've all seen background performers distract us with a confusing or poorly-acted performance.
Okay, so what do you actually... do?
Firstly, Miming isn't Whispering.
Not only does this aggravate the sound guys, whispering can distract the other actors and supporting artists around you. You have all day to have a real chat - save the actual natter for when the cameras aren't rolling.
Whispering will force your partner to strain to hear you instead of act like they're hearing you perfectly fine - in short, you won't even look like you're talking normally. Miming is not quiet, it's silent!
Whatever your action, it will likely need to be performed silently so that the principal actors' dialogue can be recorded cleanly.
There are a few pitfalls that artists fall into when doing this however:
Avoid Overacting
Some SAs really get in their own head when performing. Just because you're silent does not mean you should compensate with even bigger facial expressions and body language. This isn't pantomime!
Rarely will the director require larger than life performances.
Sure, on occasion you may be asked to perform in a overly-stylised or unnatural way, such as for a scene taking place in a child's imagination, for example, but these are the exception.
Unless otherwise told, you will be expected to keep things natural. Less is more.
A few tips will help you:
1) Given Circumstances
Take note of the circumstances of the scene. If all of these things are true, how would you act? The key here is how would you act in this scenario - not an exaggerated caricature, but simply you.
You're not demonstrating the action, you're doing the action.
For example, if you're a cafe customer and you don’t have any coffee, you'll join the queue at the counter, make your order, and pay. Is your coffee to-go? If it is, you're not leaving until there’s a coffee in your hand. You’ll browse the cakes, survey the other customers, read the menu. If you’re meeting a friend instead, you’ll find a seat at their table and strike up a chat.
Commit to the reality of the scene and you shouldn't run out of things to do.
Your given circumstances will inform you about what you should be doing before being told by a crew member.
2) Focus on your screen partner.
This is a great tip to get out of your own head about how you're looking or performing. Just like in real life, occupy your attention with a target, which will most likely be your scene partner or an objective.
On this note, good miming means good 'listening'. Real conversation has lots of pauses in it because people listen to each other. The listener has life behind their eyes as they follow the threads and logic of the conversation. They have ideas and opinions about what's being said.
Bad miming is visible when both SAs just speak to each other at the same time the entire take. Focus on your partner's facial expressions and body language to cue you and you’ll fall into a natural rhythm of conversation.
3) Yes, and...
This is a rule from improvisation which is helpful to SAs.
Miming only works when everyone's on board. Every artiste knows the horror of discovering their screen partner is a stubborn statue, or worse, they squint, lean in and go, "Huh? What are you saying?"
'Yes, and...' means that you take what your scene partner gives you and run with it. If they laugh at a silent joke, join in. If they hand you a prop, examine it and comment on it. If they barter over the price of your wares, strike a deal with them.
Miming becomes easy when you match the energy of those around you and give it back to them. Suddenly the scene has momentum, your world has come alive and you don't have to think too hard about what to do next.
4) Things to (silently) say so you never run out of things to talk about
Recreating conversation is a staple so it's important that you learn to fake-speak to others convincingly.
Traditionally, background artists would repeat the same nonsense phrases over and over, such as "rhubarb and custard" or "peas and carrots".
To keep yourself a bit more stimulated though, why not mime conversation that's true to the scene?
"How long have you been waiting for your coffee? This barista isn't very good, is he?"
Or if you want to have more fun, try song lyrics.
The key is to mimic the natural cadence and rhythm of real conversation. You're not actually singing 'Livin' on a Prayer' by Bon Jovi. You're speaking the lyrics as if each line is an original thought in your head:
"Did you hear? Tommy used to work on the docks. Union's been on strike, he's down on his luck, bless him."
You already know the lyrics to half a dozen songs, and you'll never run out of things to (pretend to) say ever again.
The realities of filmmaking
You should also be aware of movement and prop noise too - the clinking of glasses or the placing of objects may need to be faked or softened to prevent noise.
The Sound department may even place padding on the bottom of your shoes or crockery to quieten your footsteps and movements as you perform.
And remember, no feedback is good feedback.
If no one comes up to alter your performance, then what you're doing works.
The crew will be too busy to give everyone notes, so they'll only speak to the artists that need new direction. You'll mostly be left to your own devices, so trust your instincts and act the scene as if you were living it in real life.
Finally, always make sure that you perform until you hear "Cut!". Even if you think you're no longer in frame, you can never be sure and often there's more than one camera rolling.
What other tips would you give to new artists to help their performance? What’s the bizarrest action you’ve been given on set? What other pitfalls should SAs avoid? What are you 'saying' when you're miming conversation?
Leave your comments below!
Many Thanks,
The Extra People Team.
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