bcgstanley

last week!

A great experience it was too

Cheating here, I know, but after the event, I’ve realised that it was a very interesting experience that I’d recommend people to try to do – it involved a lot of waiting around, but there was lots of things to keep my attention occupied :

- first there were all the passers-by stopping and taking photos (the scenes were filmed in the centre of Barcelona, so the police had to cut traffic and control the crowds)
- then there was the actual process of filming going on around us: the actors, lighting, direction, etc. A fascinating amount of coordinated activity going on with people managing people, objects, etc. I was very impressed with just how well this was done, but then, it was a Woody Allen film, so it’s to be expected.
- I ended up being in the middle of the action, with the actors just behind me (as I bought flowers on the Rambla) for the first scene, so I was able to see and hear a lot more than other extras further out – it also meant that the great man himself was often close, and this in itself was quite an experience.
- Scarlet Johannson – the second scene I was an extra in was shot with Scarlett, although as I had been quite visible in the forst scene, they put me further away in the next one. It was still quite something to see this star in the flesh, and I can say that she is even more stunning than she appears on film.

So, that was my experience, briefly of being an extra – I count myself lucky as I signed up for it (through a webpage of a casting agency) without thinking much about it, and I know that there were over 40,000 people who applied to be extras on this film. So, I’m not sure I can give avice to anyone about how to go about getting in a film as an extra, but I do think it’s something worth trying to do at least once in life.