Hello! I’m a Crowd 2nd Assistant Director (AD).

This post will assume you don’t know anything about how an AD works, as some don’t, but hopefully even seasoned SA’s will learn tidbits that will help you have a better time when you’re next booked on a production.

Note: Every AD works slightly differently. This is how my process usually goes and how I see things. 

The Role

Crowd 2nd ADs are fully responsible for organising everything to do with supporting artists - all the people in each scene who are not the main cast. This includes organising schedule breakdowns, managing budgets, booking the right artistes and ensuring those SAs are treated and paid properly.

To do all these effectively, not only does the Crowd 2nd work closely with the background agency, they also liaise with the producers, the director, the 1st AD, costume, make-up, the art dept, locations, catering, and of course… they also need to hire and manage their own Crowd AD team.

Changes happen constantly and usually half a dozen people demand information from you all at once… whilst you’re trying to find out information from someone else at the same time!

Crowd teams are some of the hardest working people on the production and generally do the most hours.

Prep

Before filming begins, the prep period for a Crowd 2nd can be anything from a couple of weeks to a couple of months depending on the budget of the show, the amount of crowd needed and other factors, such as if fittings are needed.

During the prep period, the Crowd 2nd will be expected to complete the following:

• Read the scripts.

• Create a crowd breakdown and have it approved by the Director & 1st AD.

• Create a crowd budget to be approved by the producers (If the budget is not approved, the breakdown needs to be adjusted with the 1st AD & Director to help bring it to what the producers expect).

• Create a fitting schedule to make sure all SAs are ready as per the shoot schedule.

This period involves lots of meetings to ensure everyone is happy with what is required for each scene and how the shoot will go.

Things often change during the prep period. Locations and dates may change as the shooting schedule clarifies and organisation improves.

Now armed with a Crowd Breakdown, it’s time to knuckle down with the background agency to find great faces.

Artist Selection

The Crowd Breakdown is a day-by-day filming schedule that states how many of each role we need.

Personally, I like to share my crowd breakdown with the agency to allow them as much information as I have, which enables them to get ahead using a shared reference. However, other ADs will just ask for roles as they come up in their schedule.

The agency unfortunately does not get to read the scripts, but where possible I will give them info about the scenes the SAs will be in.

I’ll also create a casting brief for the agency to follow. This will be full of reference photos and descriptions to convey the general casting philosophy of the show - the look and feel of the world as dictated by the director and casting team - as well as stricter limitations such as body measurements and hair lengths & styles.

It’s now time for the agency to digest all this information accurately and action it.
They’ll send availability checks to Supporting Artists for the first roles of the shoot and they need to do it efficiently - I have to book artists and fit them ready for the first shoot days.

The partnership between the Crowd 2nd and the booker at the agency is intense; we’ll be in regular communication every day - often well into the evening - and the quality of this working relationship is felt by other departments and the SAs themselves.

The talent of the booker’s casting eye to find plenty of great options for every role, their ability to respond to sudden changes in schedule and direction, to prioritise the demands of the Crowd Breakdown and to convey all logistical information correctly with the SAs - all are essential qualities I need out of the bookers I work with.

Once the available SAs have responded, the booker will compile a lookbook of your photos and send it to me to get selections. 

With most projects now, we like to see up-to-date full length, front, back and side photos. We aren’t interested in seeing professional headshots - they could have been taken years ago. We also need to make sure your measurements are correct.

A note about pictures: Some artists don’t have any ‘full length’ photo uploaded. While Hair & Make-Up departments like close-up Front, Back and Sides, Costume departments want to see you stood in a Full-Length pic, from the knees up so they can see exactly how you carry yourself, your proportions, your posture etc. Measurements only tell them half the picture. I’ve been on productions where anyone without a Full-Length photo was automatically rejected.

The artiste-selection process varies from job to job, but the general process looks like this:

• If there’s anyone in the lookbook that I don’t think will work, I’ll ask the agency to take them out.

• I’ll take this amended book to the make-up department and discuss if there is anyone who doesn’t work for the look they are going for.

• After make-up, I’ll take the book to the costume department to check sizes and strike out anyone that we don’t have the costume stock to fit.

• If the director would like to pick the background, I’ll ask the agency to create a shortlist lookbook and send this to the director (at this stage, you may get a pencil message if you’ve been shortlisted).

• If instead the director is happy for the Crowd 2nd to cast the roles, I will pick who to book from the department-approved options.

Various factors may affect this process. For instance, if the role is featured, the director will likely want to choose the SA and may ask for self-tape auditions.

You shouldn’t be disheartened if you don’t get selected; usually there are more people approved by the departments than we need for the scene. This is why you may get several enquiries for the same project over the course of its schedule.

Fittings

Fittings (if required) usually begin in the prep period, but can run for the entire length of the project if new roles are needed throughout. 

The fitting schedule is usually tight, and I expect to fit an artist at least a week before they are due to shoot to allow time for any adjustments needed. We try to be as flexible as possible with fitting schedules, aiming to have a couple of fitting dates for each role to allow for availability, but sometimes the schedule may only allow a single day to fit a role.

Below are some key points to remember for fittings, based on what I’ve experienced over the years.

• BE ON TIME (If not slightly early).

• There’s a schedule for a reason; if you are late, it affects everyone else booked that day and can take away from department breaks - or worse, you’ll have to hang around waiting for much longer than necessary.

• If you are running late, let the contact know as soon as possible. 

• We may be able to move someone into your slot who arrived early or allow departments to adjust their breaks.

• Be prepared to be there for the allocated 4 hours you are booked for.

• Often we get complaints about the length of a fitting, or requests to get people through quickly. We accommodate where we can, however you have been booked for the 4 hour period so you should be prepared to be with us for that length of time.

• Bring some form of entertainment with you like a book or an iPad as waiting periods vary. 

• Make sure your look is the same as the pictures on your profile.

• If you turn up and you’ve had a fresh haircut, or you’re clean shaven but your latest photos show you with a huge beard, there is every chance we will send you home and you will be released from the show. We pick you based on the photos sent to us, so these should always be up-to-date.

• Make sure you’ve properly read the information about the role you have been booked for.

• There is nothing more frustrating than someone who is unaware of the type of role they will be playing. Occasionally we have people arrive who are unhappy to play a certain role (for instance, an 18th century prostitute).

• The person you meet at the front desk of your fitting is usually a runner.

  • They likely don’t have much information about your shoot day or role, so don’t be upset if you ask a question and they don’t know.

• Fittings often run concurrently with shoot days, so the Crowd 2nd is not always available to answer questions at that time. If in doubt, contact the agency and they will get the answer for you.

• We see potentially hundreds of people each week for fittings.

• Don’t be offended if it feels a bit like a conveyor belt. The team is just trying to make things run on time.

• There may not be refreshments.

• There is no catering at a fitting location, so take a bottle of water and your own coffee/tea flask if you like as these may not be provided (even for the crew!)

Overall, if everything runs to plan, a fitting should be a fairly relaxed experience and shouldn’t take the full 4 hours you are booked for. We always try to be kind and courteous and would expect the same in return. If there is any problem, do speak to the teams there in person or contact the agency.

Once we have everyone fitted that we need, we move on to the next roles needed to be cast and the process begins again. Alongside fittings, I’m also gathering information for the upcoming filming days and booking additional Crowd team members for the shoot.

PART TWO IS HERE!

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