Lassie. Toto. Beethoven…
Is it time to add your furry friend to the pantheon of famous canines?
Occasionally, we’re tasked with casting dog-walkers. Sometimes we’re given very specific dog breeds and colours to find, but mostly it’s a general callout to all local dog-owners on our books.
The way we do this is we search our books for artists that have uploaded a photo of their dog to the “Your Pet” photo category on their profile.
As always, the best photos are the ones in-focus, well-lit and well-framed. Be sure your dog isn’t too far from the camera and that the background isn’t too busy or distracting. For example, avoid uploading a pic of your dog in the park with lots of other dogs around - it should be clear which dog is yours.
If your dog is what we’re looking for, we’ll go to your profile’s “Casting Information” tab, where dog-owners should have listed details of their pet. This is where we go to find key information about your dog, such as breed, age and anything else we should be aware of - but do keep this brief. If you're furry friend has worked on set before, include this too!
This is key - make sure that you’ve uploaded both a photo to the “Your Pet” photo category and listed the same pet under the '“Casting Information” tab.
It’s one of life’s cruelties that our furry friends don’t live as long as us. If your dog is sadly no longer with us, please remember to remove the photo of them on your profile. Nothing quite breaks our hearts than finding a dog that perfectly matches a casting brief only for the artiste to tell us the bad news! It’s an upsetting phone call for all involved!
Obviously, we expect that you’ve uploaded a photo of your dog because they will be well-behaved on set. The best dogs for Film & TV work are the placid ones comfortable in a noisy environment and being around lots of other dogs and people, including children.
We're not expecting contestants from Crufts but we certainly expect you to be able to control your dog at all times. Similarly, if your dog is prone to bark incessantly, they’ll likely be removed from the scene so dialogue can be recorded cleanly.
There’s also a couple of things you should have to hand should you and your dog get booked:
Firstly, you need to able to provide proof of pet insurance. This is a standard requirement that we expect artists to produce upon request. We also recommend keeping a copy of your dog’s vaccination certificate handy. This is a much rarer request by production but it’s recently been the difference between a booking and a release for dog owners. Be sure to also take these with you on the filming day just in case.
Productions vary on their facilities on the day, so it’s always best to come prepared, such as bringing a water bowl, poo bags and treats etc.
For the effort of bringing your dog for the day, productions will add the Category C Supplement of £28.83 on top of your day’s earnings.
Bentley & Ernie offer Technical Support in the Extra People office - some dogs have to work behind the camera!
Many Thanks,
The Extra People Team.
Log in to your Extra People profile HERE!
Have an Entertainment Partners profile? Try HERE.
SUPPORT CONTACTS
The email address to use for any profile-related issue is epcommunity@extra-people.com
If you have any booking enquiries please reply to the last email concerning that project. Your email will go to a dedicated email for that production.
If you have general enquiries that are not pay or booking related, please contact team@extra-people.com
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