Each production tries its best to make staying on the set a pleasant experience, but meeting the needs of every participant in filming is tough. Which scenes make extras feel nervous, uncomfortable, or give them the creeps?
BACKGROUND OF THE SURVEY
The Castinghood in cooperation with the ROLETIK created a questionnaire in order to better understand the working conditions of background actors on the set. The first phase of the survey was conducted among the extras of CZ and Slovakia and with over 200 answers the Castinghood will present the most interesting findings to you every month.
RESULTS AND IMPLICATIONS
For the majority of actors, there are some roles they wish to never come across, 20% of extras don't like or even refuse to lay in a coffin or on the autopsy table. Most of the extras want to enjoy the shooting itself, but in the case of such scenes, most respondents feel that they are not sufficiently taken care of. The conclusions of these results are clear: As a casting agency or coordinator on set, if you want to have more satisfied background actors on your project, take their needs into account.
Another of our findings only confirms that up to a quarter of the extras are not particularly pleased to play a dead man.
Background actors, in general, feel uncomfortable during nude scenes, with up to half of the extras hesitating to accept such a role, especially if it takes place in a cold environment.
Over 50% of extras are tired of unsatisfactory conditions on the set. Productions do not take the needs of extras into consideration, from missing blankets and hot drinks in cold weather to place with optimal temperatures to relax. 40% would like to know in advance about possible physical discomfort during filming, for example laying in underwear in low temperatures. And if so, actors expect some money bonus. And final advice for every casting agency? If your actors get a bad experience with any type of role, they will either hesitate or rather avoid them in the future.
Extras are sometimes forgotten during an exhausting day of filming, yet they are an essential part of any filming project, and therefore they should not be denied equal and satisfactory working conditions.
Has this survey helped you? Let us know in the comments!