In the last 18 months*,
I've worked 241 days as a Supporting Artiste.
*May 2021 - October 2022
That works out to an average of 13 filming days a month, or 3-4 days a week, which is excellent consistency for an SA but it still gives me plenty of time to explore my own creative interests and develop other income streams.
Extra People invited me to talk about what I do to make this line of work so consistent.
Before I prescribe recommendations, I should acknowledge that I am lucky.
There are simply some things that are out of your control that either work for or against you getting booked for productions, and knowing what these are will enable you to invest time in changing the things you can.
Firstly, your location.
I am based in East Hampshire, and I can arrive at most of the West London Studios within an hour. The cruel truth is that London is the busiest hub of the British Film & TV industry, and if your base is more than 2 hours outside the M25, you will likely struggle to make SA work be your sole source of income without lots of driving. That isn't to say that the industry near Bath, Manchester, Glasgow... etc is not flourishing. But whether the local background agencies in those areas are able to provide enough jobs to make SA work consistent is another matter. A good Welsh SA friend of mine makes half his income near Cardiff and half near London, involving regular sprints up and down the M4.
So make sure to use your bases. Friends and family dotted around the M25 and in the centre of London will be very valuable to you. But don’t stop there. Make friends with SAs on set. The small talk of boasting how bad your commute was isn't just a favourite pastime of SAs; that’s your chance to see who lives in a great area and befriend them. I've stayed in Richmond several times thanks to the generosity of a new friend found on set. Every day spent being silent in crowd holding is a day wasted making these vital companions. Become a friendly face - it will increase your income.
There are always hotels and AirBnBs, but they eat into your returns significantly even if they are eventually written off as a business expense. And again, they work out better once split between several SAs, just like car-sharing.
Which brings me onto the second key factor - Driving.
SAs near central London can rely on public transport. For those based outside of London, driving your own vehicle is arguably essential. While productions may offer minibus pickups from nearby train stations, filming days often start very early, long before rail services operate. Usually productions offer these pickups from Euston, which really only serves those already in London. The second harsh truth is that the only thing getting you from Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex, Kent, Essex and the other Home Counties to Pinewood Studios for a 05:00 call time is a car or motorbike.
Moreover, there are plenty of filming days that are exclusively offered to drivers due to the remote nature of the location, making pickups and public transport unfeasible. While the London SAs can tuck-in to all the central jobs, these remote location shoots are really the domain of drivers in the surrounding home counties. Agencies ask you how you’re getting to set because productions have a bias towards drivers. Drivers are more flexible, can be summoned very early and wrapped late at night and are not disrupted by rail strikes and delays.
My vehicle may be the biggest expense for my business, but it is essential.
The factor that you cannot change the most, however,
is your look.
The third harsh truth is that sometimes your look doesn’t have much currency for what is currently being filmed. I will never be hired as a streetwise hardman, a tradesman, a corporate heavyweight or a professional athlete. It’s just not what my look suggests to casting directors.
I get the geeky, the trendy, the white-collar and the upper class posh roles.
Your casting age and ability will sometimes be in demand and sometimes it won’t be.
The best way to mitigate this uncertainty is to sign up to as many agencies as possible.
No single agency can ever provide you with enough jobs to make SA work full-time.
So sign up to as many background agencies as you can - they are all non-exclusive and there’s no love lost over loyalty; the agencies expect you to be signed up with their competitors and they know they are competing for the time of the most reliable full-time SAs.
I get the meal of my income from six background agencies.
Note: You can give your availability to more than one agency for the same dates for different productions. In fact, this is essential for consistent work. As soon as the first agent books you, immediately and politely notify the second agent that you are no longer available for the dates in question.
Paying close attention to who you’ve given availability to and for when keeps the danger of being double booked to a minimum. Always honour the agency that booked you first. This is professional etiquette. In the few instances that I have had two agencies really want me for the same dates, the agents themselves have worked out between them who needs me more. That’s right - the agencies talk to each other!
Now, let’s turn back to appearance.
For me, my baby-face and curly hair lends itself to period work. 90% of my income is from period productions, which fortunately is a staple of the British Film & TV industry.
To increase your hireability for period work, take photos of yourself with your natural hair as long as possible, with no modern make-up, accessories or piercings. A timeless smart-casual look will help you, such as a buttoned shirt with a jacket or cardigan.
Men: Grow a few inches on your head if you can. Short back & sides haircuts immediately limits your castability to either Modern Day, military, or 1920s - 50s. But even in those instances, Hair & Make-Up designers still prefer having a few inches to work with. Don't forget, these designers are often the voice that confirms or denies your booking. Make sure that when they see your photos, they think, "I can work with that."
But regardless of your casting type, not all job opportunities from agencies are created equal. To make the goal of being full time SA work easier, you want to be booked at the beginning of a production’s shooting schedule. Once you are fitted, a production is much more likely to keep reusing you. Productions will avoid the trouble of fitting someone new when they have someone who has already proven themselves reliable.
The sooner you are fitted for a production, the sooner you will be booked and re-booked for lots of filming dates. Television series have longer shooting schedules than films, so being fitted early at the start of a new TV season is ideal.
The real golden goose is being booked for a ‘core role’. A core role is a role regularly revisited by the production throughout their schedule where continuity is necessary. For these roles, you will need to give your availability to these productions often months in advance to ensure continuity.
For the last two years, I have been blessed to be booked for a core role on the same TV show. This show gives me between 5-10 filming days a month each season, and I fill the gaps in my calendar with as many other productions as I can.
Likewise, do not be afraid of saying yes to one-day jobs. The one-day jobs are the industry's bread and butter, and they are a chance for you to demonstrate your usefulness to both the agencies and productions. You don't have to say yes to every one-day job, especially if the travel expenses are too much.
But remember that once you're fitted, a production is MUCH more likely to re-use you. Once you're on-set, you may be asked in person to do many more filming days.
You never know - the crew might love your look in person. I’ve personally had one-day jobs turn into a full-week, and a one-week job turn into two-months.
On this note, treat the crew that you meet on the day with the utmost courtesy and friendliness. This is a people’s industry. If they like working with you, they will invite you back. I’ve made genuine lasting friendships with Crowd ADs and I know for a fact that doing so has gotten me more work.
So you can sign up to all the agencies, take great photos and rapidly respond to all the emails, but what else can you do?
Invest in your work.
As SAs we are very blessed that the bar to entry is so low. And besides travel and the odd book-fee with certain agencies, we have no upfront expenses to be hired. So many SAs fall into the trap of never reinvesting their income back into their business. This would be bizarre for any other craft, so why skimp out on SA work? We all are self-employed after all. Spend money to make money.
These investments should take the form of:
Professional Headshots (with a 1 to 1 photographer for a couple of hours and lots of outfits). Good selfies with your phone are perfectly suitable to get work, but the SA that has professional headshots will stand out on the lookbooks that agencies send to productions. Professional headshots lets everyone know that you mean business and that you take this work seriously. Headshots also suggest a higher-level of acting experience.
Acting classes. Featured and dialogue roles are often kept for those with at least some acting skill or training. There's likely an entry level weekend acting course local to you that will look great on your profile and improve your self-tapes.
Basic filming equipment for good self-tapes. Filming paraphernalia can be costly depending on how techy you want to be, but at the very least you should have a good camera (smartphone cameras are enough), and a small tripod or ring light. Always film in a clean space with good lighting and no clutter. Try to record yourself in a non-echoey room. Sound quality counts for more than you think.
Hair and Makeup products. Men - don't be afraid of a little concealer. You often get make-up on the filming days, so why skimp out for photos and self-tapes? If you don’t know where to start, head to the cosmetics floor in a shop like John Lewis and have the sales person recommend a shade for your skin colour. Learn to look after your hair. Make a note of what products the stylists use to make you look good on filming days and buy these for your own personal collection. Your profile photos will improve overnight.
Wardrobe. Explore local charity shops to expand your wardrobe. I’ve been booked from self-tapes because I thought about what the character would wear and I made educated guesses. This also makes you popular with costume departments when you are asked to bring your own options. Have a few outfits for the 90s, the 80’s, the 70’s etc. My own wardrobe has earned me features on set because the designers loved my choices.
Discipline training, such as stunt work, musical instruments, dancing, singing, martial-arts etc. Diversify your skill set to make you more hirable.
Gym memberships and fitness classes. Not only will good fitness make you available for roles that demand physical stamina, but the final cruel truth is that Costume Houses such as Angels accommodate for average measurements, which isn't fair but it's how they operate. For men, a chest size over 46 inches or a waist size over 40 inches make you hard to cast. For women, I believe a dress size larger than 16 can discourage costume departments. If it is in your control, stay in shape to land the regualr work.
So there you have it. Sign up to as many background agencies as you can. Put yourself forward for as many opportunities as you can. Take great photos. Be prepared to wake up early and do lots of driving. Be efficient, polite and professional. Make lots of SA friends for car-sharing and couch surfing. Make crew friends to get more work. Reinvest a portion of your earnings into self-improvement.
Ricky
The British Film and TV is currently going through a boom and the demand for reliable SAs has never been higher. Use these tips to maximise your earning potential and join the growing community of full-time Supporting Artistes.
UPDATE:
Ricky has informed us that February 2023 was his most lucrative month as an SA so far - with a total of 17 filming dates, 13 of which were booked through Extra People! See below his calendar:
The first 4 dates in Red are filming dates with another agency and the 17th was a late cancellation which saw Ricky earn a cancellation fee.
After deducting agency commission & VAT, each of these 17 filming dates earned Ricky an average of £223.16, for a total of £3793.77.