We provide Supporting Artistes (SA’s, Extras, Background) to the Film & Television Industry
Get a cup of tea because this is a long one…
There are 3 channels to an agency.
The database of people it has on its books.
The team in the office who work to book people.
The productions we work with.
These 3 channels work in synergy with one another and dependent on the others. Without our artistes, we have no-one to book and with no productions, we have no work.
The key component are the bookers in the office, dedicated to fulfilling the needs of production and managing the booking process.
Technology of course plays an important part, but essentially we are a people business. Excellent employees and relationships matter more than people think.
But how does it all work day to day?
1) A Client approaches us with a casting brief.
This client is usually a Crowd 2nd Assistant Director from a Film or TV Production. It is their job to hire everyone needed to populate the world of the film or TV show. This is very competitive - many agencies are touting for work. We believe that cream rises and those agencies that have a well rounded approach and understand the nuances and details involved are the ones that win contracts time and again.
We will get a breakdown for an entire production’s shooting schedule, which includes dozens of different casting briefs for every scene. Its our job to go through this with a fine tooth comb, looking at casting briefs, locations, shooting hours, continuity and much more.
A productions casting brief may be very detailed with reference photos for physique, hair style, age, looks, or it may simply be a few adjectives, such as “50 hardened dock labourers” or “30 trendy nightclub goers aged 20-35”.
It’s the agencies job to facilitate this and provide.
Productions don’t pay agencies to supply SAs. Our business relies solely on the commission of artistes’ wages. This means that during pre-production we do weeks of preparation for clients before shooting starts without any payment - sometimes this could be up to 10 weeks!
This motivates us to fulfil every single role available in a production and deliver as many bookings as possible. But it also means that when an SA doesn’t show up or they drop out, we don’t earn money for the work put in beforehand, not to mention the disruption it causes to production.
2) We use our own casting eye to match the casting brief.
The “Booker” at the agency uses their casting eye to scour our books for the most appropriate faces to match each casting brief.
They begin by using search parameters to narrow our database to the best candidates.
The most common parameters include:
Location - Yes we start with this! Contrary to popular belief, we always begin our searches by proximity to filming and fitting locations. Why? Well, we don’t want people travelling over 2hrs to a location, given the call time could be 6am. It increases their chances of flaking! If the brief is super specific, that’s when we will expand our search. But we don’t want to approach people in Leeds for London jobs and vice versa…
Gender
Age
Height
Body Measurements
Hair Length
Skills
Since casting briefs can be very specific, it helps to have as large a database of artistes as possible. In July 2022 alone we were casting productions set in Modern Day, 1990’s, 1950’s, 1910, Victorian, Tudor, Jacobean, Fantasy and Futuristic Sci, Fi - ALL of these require different looks!
On some productions, we are instructed to only supply SAs that have uploaded a DBS check to their profile. Likewise, locations, call times and budget might mean we can only consider drivers.
After the parameters are applied, our database is then sorted to show us the most reliable SAs first.
The reliability of an SA is determined by their attendance percentage of completed jobs.
An SA that has a 100% attendance record will be prioritised over an SA that has a 60% attendance record. In fact, if your attendance drops below 90%, we tell our searches to not even display you. This job is about trust - and we don’t want to be going to sleep at night unsure if SAs will actually honour the booking the next morning.
We regularly give SAs that haven’t worked with us before the chance to prove themselves. This first job is incredibly important because if you attend your first job, your attendance rating will be 100%. Likewise, if you drop-out or no-show on your first job, your attendance rating will become 0%.
The first few jobs that you do for an agency have the greatest impact on your attendance record.
This is why it is essential that you conduct yourself professionally, keep good time-management skills and ensure you do not double-book yourself. One drop-out could sabotage your chances of consistent background work forever.
We get that life happens, but its how you handle it that defines you. Do you lie and try and blag it or are you honest? Honesty and transparency will always go a long way - we can smell a lie a mile away…
3) We contact the best candidates for the casting brief.
Every artiste that we believe is a good candidate for the role will be placed into a specific list for that role.
We will then send an Availability Enquiry to every person in that list.
An availability enquiry contains as much information as we have at that time. It will be the key information about the role, the filming dates, any necessary fitting dates, the location, the production, the rate of pay and any other necessary data such as transport or hair requirements.
These availability enquiries are always sent to your email inbox. Sometimes we will also send you a text message to ensure that you see the enquiry as soon as possible.
After we have sent this enquiry, our list changes to a colour-coded page that shows us who has replied “Available”, who has replied “Not Available” and who has not yet replied either way.
Artistes will never be penalised for saying that they are ‘Not Available’. We prefer people to respond rather than an artiste not replying altogether - because it tells us at least you are an active profile.
If we notice you never reply to availability enquiries we will eventually terminate your profile since it’s clear you are not an active SA.
One of the biggest issues we face is people not reading these availability enquiries properly. Its exhausting and demoralising when people say ‘Oh, I can’t actually do those dates, I misread it’ or they say ‘I can’t get there, I never thought it through before saying yes’… Its embarrassing for you, for us and for the client. This is a job, not a hobby - its exceptionally well paid for what the work is - so take time and care when you receive an enquiry to read it all before responding.
4) We send the client a ‘Lookbook’ of available options.
Productions often want to see options very quickly. The industry operates on a tight schedule and each task is time-sensitive.
A lookbook is a PDF file that contains the photos of the artistes who have said that they are available.
These will often be only your most recent photos that you have uploaded to your profile under the tags:
“Current Look: Full Length”,
“Current Look: Front”,
“Current Look: Side”
“Current Look: Back”.
If we need you to upload a photo into a specific photo tag on your profile, e.g a car or a uniform photo we will instruct you to do this in the availability enquiry.
Being on the first lookbook greatly increases the chances of being booked, since the client may find all of their selections within the first lookbook they receive.
This is why it is vital that you reply to availability enquiries as quickly as possible.
5) We receive the client’s choices.
Once the production has informed us of their selections, we will then send a Booking Confirmation to those SAs that have been selected.
We know how busy it is out there, industry-wise and with your own lives. That’s why we push productions as much as we can to give us choices within 24hrs of us sending them the lookbook. We don’t want to have to go back again saying people’s availability changed - which we completely understand happens if its been more than a few days. We can’t always control it though.
The SAs that were not selected by production will receive a Release message, informing them that they can release their availability for that specific role on those dates.
Our colour-coded page also shows us who has confirmed the booking and who hasn’t. If you do not confirm, we will soon be in touch to ensure that you acknowledge the booking.
From this point forward, any radio silence or drop-out excuses from a booked SA could incur consequences for their attendance record, reducing their chances of being put forward for jobs in the future.
Therefore it is vital that you only respond available to the enquiry if you are 100% available and are ready to be booked for the job in question.
6) The client provides us with all the final information that the SUPPORTING ARTISTES need.
Sometime after the Booking Confirmation, and usually not until the afternoon or evening before the filming day, the client will provide us with the last information that the SA will need to turn up and perform the job correctly.
We will send you this information in what is known as a Check-In.
A Check-In will include the following information:
Your Call Time - the exact time by which you will need to have arrived at the Crowd Base Location and signed in with the Crowd Team. We always recommend that you aim to arrive at least 15 minutes before your call time to compensate for any traffic or public transport delays.
The Crowd Base Location - this is where you need to sign in at the start of a filming day. This location will often be different from the exact filming location so please ensure you arrive at the correct address. The crowd base is a nearby base of operations where you will get ready in costume, hair and make-up before being transported to the filming location.
Transport Requirements, such as the parking location or public transport pick-ups that production may provide.
Any Costume Options that you may be asked to bring with you.
Emergency Contact Numbers in the event that you are delayed or have a significant problem. You will be given an Agency Contact in case there is a problem the evening before the shoot and an On-Set Contact if you have a problem on the day of the shoot. Do not abuse these contact numbers with anything other than emergencies.
A final confirmation of your rate of pay.
Once every SA has checked-in, assuming there are no last-minute drop-outs or requests from production, we consider that role fulfilled.
7) We send you a Job Review shortly after you’ve completed the day.
This Job Review is a breakdown and summation of your wages earned for that day.
This review will include terms such as ‘Holiday Pay’, ‘Overtime’, ‘Supplementary Fees’ and ‘Travel’.
To understand these terms better and where these figures have come from, please see our Rates page and our Job Review blog.
Don’t worry if you miss this - we will still invoice. If you don’t approve it or query it, we take it that its correct.
Please note, once this review finishes, we cannot adjust it.
8) We ensure our artistes get paid.
Once you accept the job review, we will invoice the production company for the earnings of all artistes on set. The production company will settle the invoice into the Entertainment Partners client account (a designated trust account only used for artiste monies).
On a weekly basis, Entertainment Partners process payroll paying out all cleared funds in the client account, minus any relevant commission, administration fee and any taxes that are legally obliged to be collected.
You receive payment directly into your bank account within a few days.
Payment is made by BACS approximately 6-8 weeks from the day that you worked.
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So there you have it! Hopefully this article has helped you to understand how we operate on a day to day basis, and has also illustrated to you the importance of responding to emails quickly, regularly uploading good selfies to your profile and ensuring your attendance record is never jeopardised.
To read a more detailed itinerary, click here to read about a day in the life of a booker.
If you have any burning questions, be sure to check out our FAQ page to see if we have already answered it.
Many thanks,
The Extra People Team