Update on work

This post is a sequel to May Musings, and I'm glad to say is about a much more pleasant topic.

Almost 2 years ago now I was looking for an alternative to office work, and I decided to register as an extra. An extra is someone who might appear in the background of a TV or print ad, a movie, or a TV show. I called the agency a few times after that, but they had nothing at the time and I did not hear from them again ~ until a couple of weeks ago.

They were trying to track me down because my old mobile number is defunct and they had an assignment for me. I was so excited to hear I was required for a photo shoot for an ad campaign. I was to go to a local cinema and take part in a 3-hour photo shoot for a series of print ads for Cityrail.

This had been a dream of mine for ages. I'd worked in commercial radio, met musicians and spoken to TV personalities, and had been a musician back in my 20's. Now I was finally getting the chance to work in entertainment and be an extra.

It was the easiest three hours work I'd ever done. I sat in the back half of a cinema with 7 other extras / actors, with my arm around a strange woman pretending to comfort her while watching a scary movie. It was so much fun! There was a really good atmosphere on the "set", with lots of laughs as the photographer and director tried to get the right poses out of the talent.

It was an experience I would definitely like to repeat. I plan to register with a couple more agencies soon. This time I hope I don't have to wait another 18 months to get an assignment!