Alberta Horse Racing Commercial
It's official... you can now say you know a professional actress! I was in my first PAID commercial yesterday. And I'm in another tomorrow!
Yeah, so it was a really cool experience. I was a background performer for a commercial for Alberta Horse Racing. And the scene was a party. So the main actors were at this party and I was someone at the party... mingling around, drinking, talking with my friends, eating food. It was really cool actually. Repetitive... lots and lots of takes... 20+ of one shot. We'd do the scene which only lasted a couple of seconds, really, then we'd reset and do it again. And again. And again...
But it was super fun. And they treated us like stars too. We had our own holding tent where we sat when we weren't on set, which honestly, wasn't very often. We were on set MOST of the time. And they had a food tent for us too with snacks... cookies, muffins, bagels, sandwiches, bread, veggies, M&Ms, dip, fruit, coffee, tea... it was nice. And then, they even served us lunch. Which was amazing food. Beef tenderloin, lasagna, asparagus, carrots, potatoes, clams, 3 kinds of salad and a shrimp/veggie/pasta dish. It was amazing.
But yeah, the whole day was pretty fun. All together we filmed about 6 different versions/angels/shots of the scene. It was cool too cause it was actually on location. They filmed in someone's house. The only sucky thing was that it was freezing outside, and the whole thing was supposed to be a spring party... so we were all wearing spring clothes and we were freezing out there. I was lucky though cause I was inside most of the day (one of the few people who were) and only went outside a little. I felt bad for the people who had to spend most of the day outside. They looked FREEZING.
Well it was interesting cause the "features" aka the people who had lines... were treated way differently then the extras. They were freezing and they kept having the crew get them a jacket to wear between takes and to have it placed on the heater to put on between takes. And the extras were standing out there- just as cold- but they weren't allowed to wear their jackets at all. They just had to suck it up. And the "features" were catered to. The hierarchy, I suppose. Though, they only made $50 more than the extras. So they weren't THAT important. But, I still think it'd be fun to have some lines and to be a feature for one of them. Still though, it's fun being background.
It took all day. I got there at 8 am and we wrapped at 5pm. And it was really tiring work. I didn't think it would be cause it was like not really doing anything at all. Just walking around, talking to friends, pretending to be at a party. But it was tiring. I guess just repeating the same thing over and over again can kind of wear on you.
Tomorrow's commercial is for the same company, but it's going to be set in a salon. So it'll be me and some other girls in a hair salon... don't know what we're going to be doing, but I'll find out tomorrow. And it's only a half-day... which is perfect cause I have rehearsal for The Vagina Monologues in the afternoon. So hopefully, I finish the shoot in time to make ti all the back for rehearsal, but if not, I'll blow it off since the commercial is paid and the play is not.
Yeah, so it was a really cool experience. I was a background performer for a commercial for Alberta Horse Racing. And the scene was a party. So the main actors were at this party and I was someone at the party... mingling around, drinking, talking with my friends, eating food. It was really cool actually. Repetitive... lots and lots of takes... 20+ of one shot. We'd do the scene which only lasted a couple of seconds, really, then we'd reset and do it again. And again. And again...
But it was super fun. And they treated us like stars too. We had our own holding tent where we sat when we weren't on set, which honestly, wasn't very often. We were on set MOST of the time. And they had a food tent for us too with snacks... cookies, muffins, bagels, sandwiches, bread, veggies, M&Ms, dip, fruit, coffee, tea... it was nice. And then, they even served us lunch. Which was amazing food. Beef tenderloin, lasagna, asparagus, carrots, potatoes, clams, 3 kinds of salad and a shrimp/veggie/pasta dish. It was amazing.
But yeah, the whole day was pretty fun. All together we filmed about 6 different versions/angels/shots of the scene. It was cool too cause it was actually on location. They filmed in someone's house. The only sucky thing was that it was freezing outside, and the whole thing was supposed to be a spring party... so we were all wearing spring clothes and we were freezing out there. I was lucky though cause I was inside most of the day (one of the few people who were) and only went outside a little. I felt bad for the people who had to spend most of the day outside. They looked FREEZING.
Well it was interesting cause the "features" aka the people who had lines... were treated way differently then the extras. They were freezing and they kept having the crew get them a jacket to wear between takes and to have it placed on the heater to put on between takes. And the extras were standing out there- just as cold- but they weren't allowed to wear their jackets at all. They just had to suck it up. And the "features" were catered to. The hierarchy, I suppose. Though, they only made $50 more than the extras. So they weren't THAT important. But, I still think it'd be fun to have some lines and to be a feature for one of them. Still though, it's fun being background.
It took all day. I got there at 8 am and we wrapped at 5pm. And it was really tiring work. I didn't think it would be cause it was like not really doing anything at all. Just walking around, talking to friends, pretending to be at a party. But it was tiring. I guess just repeating the same thing over and over again can kind of wear on you.
Tomorrow's commercial is for the same company, but it's going to be set in a salon. So it'll be me and some other girls in a hair salon... don't know what we're going to be doing, but I'll find out tomorrow. And it's only a half-day... which is perfect cause I have rehearsal for The Vagina Monologues in the afternoon. So hopefully, I finish the shoot in time to make ti all the back for rehearsal, but if not, I'll blow it off since the commercial is paid and the play is not.