Is signing up your child best for you?

The world of Film and TV production is indeed very exciting, especially when you’re lucky enough to work on something really special - you feel like you’re part of filmmaking history!

However, we want to be as transparent as possible - this world isn’t for everyone. We want all parents that sign their child up to EXP Juniors to do so with their eyes wide open so they don’t come to regret or resent their child’s filmmaking endeavours.

Long and awkward hours
Firstly, the hours can be long and unsociable. A child’s call time cannot be before 07:00AM, but this still means that they have to be signing in at location at this time. This means waking up much earlier to prepare your child and transport them to location.

But there’s no promise that your child’s call time will be convenient for your morning work commute. If you need to be in the office at 09:00AM but your child is called to the studios at 09:45AM, there’s obviously going to be a logistical problem.

School Disruption
Often bookings will be just one day here, two days there etc, but some longer scenes will demand weeks of availability for all booked artists. Not only does this mean that your child can’t drop out after the first couple of days (for continuity reasons), it also may disrupt their schooling more than you’d like.

Children will receive tutoring if they’re filming more than three days in a row during term time, but this is a minimum of 3 hours and a maximum of 5 hours per day. If your child is about to sit some big exams or you’re paying for their tuition fees or for specialist tutoring, it may not be wise to give your child’s availability to large bookings.

Work Disruption
There will be some people whose work is completely incompatible with their child being a Supporting Artist. If you need to have work leave approved for every single day your child gets booked, tensions will arise.

Inevitably, the parents that work flexibly or remotely will be best situated to give their child’s availability for the most filming dates. Please always consider your own work commitments before giving your child’s availability.

Your Child has to be picked up immediately upon sign-out.
The producers will be fined if a child is on location for longer than child labour laws allow, which means all wrapped children must be collected immediately. This may be very inconvenient if the child is wrapped earlier than anticipated or you're not close to the studios when sign-out happens.

Filmmaking can be tedious and repetitive.
Even the most exciting scenes can lose their novelty after the 40th take. Your child will need to have the patience and consistency to remain professional and follow instructions long after their excitement wanes. This is particularly necessary for bookings over several days.

Deep in the background
We can’t guarantee exactly how your child will be used in the scene - this will be dictated to the director and their team on the filming day. Naturally, some children have to be further away from the action than others, and sooner or later your child will be filming a scene where they may not be recognisable in the finished product.

Being deep background is an occupational inevitability for supporting artists, and your child will need to have to constitution to remain professional and helpful during these less exciting shoots. Of course, these days will be made all the more worth it when your child is placed right next to the main cast or they are given featured action by the director.

School Absence Approval
If your child’s attendance is already low, then the school will be less willing to approve absence for filmmaking. Being booked outside of term time is of course the dream, but we’re beholden to productions’ shooting schedules.