Voucher Me Up
Pilot season is in full swing. Production companies pour money into these pilots in hopes that they will become a show.
I'm just a pilot.
Yeh, I'm just a pilot.
And I'm sitting here on Hollywood hill...
Yes, a pilot is a desperate looking roll of film just waiting to see if the powers of the networks will pick him.
It's kind of like being an extra. Some times you can sit on the steps of the set, eating donuts wondering if the Assistant Director will come and pick you to walk behind or stand next to (raising the eyebrow) the action that the camera is focused on.
Pilot season has made me forget what sleep feels like. I wonder if you will ever see these shows. It's a great opportunity for actors. In my short experience here, it seems to be a time when the resources are stretched a little more than usual. Double the amount of productions but not the number of actors. Boing!
The crew of a pilot is known to get quite particular, thus take a long time to set and shoot a single scene. This means mucho overtime for the "Background Performer".
During the past two weeks, I have gotten to work multiple 14-16 hour days. I have also gotten to do stand in.
Standing in is fun because you are so close to the action. You get to see up close how the inner circle works. You also get a better rate of pay. Thank you Lord.
Yesterday, I received a legendary piece of paper; a SAG voucher. This is about a 150% raise in pay for that day. When you throw in the 15 hour day and the mileage pay as well as some bumps (bonus moneys for various things, like not providing a lunch break at the proper time) you can make out OK. This is a first step in a three step process to getting SAG eligibility through background work. I need two more. Pray for those for me.
By the way, look for me walk by a famous actor in an upcoming movie about a guy who spins webs. That's probably more than I can say about that due to lawyer stuff. I will say that in the first take, I actually spoke to the guy because I wasn't looking at him and when he said something at me, I talked back. I thought he was another extra being silly. Oops. Guess they had to shoot that one again.
Well, I must go, some of us have serious business to take care of like having my face painted red and white and cheering for a fake basketball team.
I'm just a pilot.
Yeh, I'm just a pilot.
And I'm sitting here on Hollywood hill...
Yes, a pilot is a desperate looking roll of film just waiting to see if the powers of the networks will pick him.
It's kind of like being an extra. Some times you can sit on the steps of the set, eating donuts wondering if the Assistant Director will come and pick you to walk behind or stand next to (raising the eyebrow) the action that the camera is focused on.
Pilot season has made me forget what sleep feels like. I wonder if you will ever see these shows. It's a great opportunity for actors. In my short experience here, it seems to be a time when the resources are stretched a little more than usual. Double the amount of productions but not the number of actors. Boing!
The crew of a pilot is known to get quite particular, thus take a long time to set and shoot a single scene. This means mucho overtime for the "Background Performer".
During the past two weeks, I have gotten to work multiple 14-16 hour days. I have also gotten to do stand in.
Standing in is fun because you are so close to the action. You get to see up close how the inner circle works. You also get a better rate of pay. Thank you Lord.
Yesterday, I received a legendary piece of paper; a SAG voucher. This is about a 150% raise in pay for that day. When you throw in the 15 hour day and the mileage pay as well as some bumps (bonus moneys for various things, like not providing a lunch break at the proper time) you can make out OK. This is a first step in a three step process to getting SAG eligibility through background work. I need two more. Pray for those for me.
By the way, look for me walk by a famous actor in an upcoming movie about a guy who spins webs. That's probably more than I can say about that due to lawyer stuff. I will say that in the first take, I actually spoke to the guy because I wasn't looking at him and when he said something at me, I talked back. I thought he was another extra being silly. Oops. Guess they had to shoot that one again.
Well, I must go, some of us have serious business to take care of like having my face painted red and white and cheering for a fake basketball team.
Sounds like fun but sometimes grueling work. Good luck with the Sag card eligibility, I'll keep praying for you. We'll have to keep an eye out for you next to the web master. Through him all things are possible!
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