Life as an Amateur Movie Production Actor (and it's not a porno, for the record)

I thought I would give my experience as an actor on the amateur movie front, just to give a contrast against my big movie production blog. Hopefully, I won't get bored as quickly during this one. The only real thing you need to know is that the movie is a spy thriller action movie and that I play a mad scientist type guy in the movie.


11:30 AM: I goto Zellers to return some Wii motes that I had wanted to return for a long long time (completely unrelated to the movie, but still happened).

12:00 PM: Get to one of the actors' house for a scene rehearsal. At this point, my lunch consisted of a small bag of ketchup chips and a bottle of sprite. The plan is that we're going rehearse at the house for a couple of hrs, and then head down to the director's mom's workplace to shoot some scenes at 2 PM. We're already on a bad start to the day because the director is running late and arrives at the house at 12:20 PM. When the director arrives, me and another actor begin to run through our scenes, emphasizing on delivering the lines properly and trying to work with the small space in the basement.

We did the same thing last Monday, but what I found strange was that some of the improvements / changes / suggestions that were made to the script on that last rehearsal, somehow changed once again during this rehearsal. This made me really appreciate the common practice I'm used to, when actors write down notes and blocking patterns onto their scripts. Needless to say, it was a very confusing rehearsal when nothing really stays constant and the director is making different suggestions on how to deliver the line. Oh well..

3:20 PM: We get to the filming location late due to unknown reasons really... We start to set up shop in a conference / lunch room type area in this building. The scene calls for a laboratory kind of setting, which is doable but stretching it a little bit. Soon after we get settled, the director tells the cast to start rehearsing the scene he wants to shoot right away, while him and the cameraman go out to grab the solution to make blood, props, and some shooting equipment.

3:25 PM: Naturally, we don't rehearse as was planned. Instead people are too busy mingling with people they have just met, and we're kind of just chilling out in the room. I kind of had a inclination to start practicing, but it's hard for one person to convince 5-6 others to get back to the task on hand. So instead, I opt for the leather couch and make myself comfortable.

4:00 PM: The director still isn't back yet. The actors begin to get restless and desperate, sharing riddles / puzzles / whatever they can to pass the time. At one point, Ryan (one of the main actors I'm becoming good friends with) breaks out two Gameboy DS's, and we start playing this really fun Mario Brothers vs game. That lasts for a while, until other people start catching on to the fact that someone brought 2 DS's, and they start to ask for their turn. I return to the comfy couch..

5:00 PM: The director STILL isn't back yet! I'm start to wonder how long it will take to shoot these two scenes that we're supposed to have finished for the day. Also you have to keep in mind that we have some extras on the set waiting around to get their shots done so that they can leave. Many attempts to contact the director are stifled because his phone is turned off. Where in the heck could he be?! And I'm getting fricken hungry! It's been 5 hrs since I ate a total half assed meal. The director originally told us to just stick around, and then once we're done our scene, we can have a dinner break. So much for that..

5:20 PM: The director finally shows up. He has my other wardrobe, camera equipment, timbits, drinks, a prop gun, and Wendy's for himself in tow. We still can't start shooting yet because the directors have to eat, and the prop gun has to be spraypainted to look real. But it seems like I don't have enough time to get something to eat as well. Le Sigh...

6:00 PM: The camera is beginning to get setup. We realize that the extras are getting restless, so there becomes a common agreement to get their shots done first before going onto the meat of the scene (me and another actor). So they begin shooting a murdering scene where the extras are being shot and killed. It's actually pretty amazing how many different angles they will get of the same shot, it really makes me appreciate all the different angles and cuts to angles you see in a movie. Very cool.

6:30 PM: The scenes involving two extra scientists are done and shot. But right then, more extras begin to show up for later scenes. So the later action scenes have to be shot since they have the actors involved already there. So they go on shooting these big action scenes involving those actors. All the while, the other actors not involved in the scenes are getting bored. So naturally it results in the following

No lines in a scene = Boredom
Action / Spy Movie = Cool Looking Gun Props
Predominate Male Cast = Strange fascination with guns

Boredom + Cool Looking Gun Props + Strange Fascination with Guns = Elaborate pictures of guys posing with guns.

8:00 PM: We're told by the director that we have a time limit of until 9:00 PM before we have to leave the shooting location. So we try to hammer through and get as much of the action scenes done as we can.

Also, I'm able to pick up on something that no one else noticed. The bodies from the scientists killed earlier aren't present on the floor anymore since they had left early. Thus, this presents us with a continuity problem for the later part of the scene. This is corrected through sneaky camera angles, and replacement bodies. And for the record, I haven't eat anything besides that bag of chips, and a few timbits and pop.

9:00 PM: The actions scenes are STILL being shot, and we're over our time limit already. The director says that we're just going to keep shooting until we get kicked out.

9:10 PM: We finally start the beginning of my scene, where I actually talk. Keep in mind, I have two big scenes that we were supposed to finish today. And now we're only just starting the beginning of the first scene I'm in. Everyone is restless and tired by this time, and we have some actors who were told to come to shoot their scenes, but won't get their chance to today. I feel pretty bad for them.. Also we're told by the director's mom (the one who put the time constraint on us originally, because she wanted to go home), that 9:30 is the absolute latest we can shoot until.

10:10 PM: We're way past our deadline as it is, and we're just wrapping up with a little bit of a conversation I have with another actor. I'm getting scared for the director himself, considering he's pushing time to the extreme at his mom's expense. We finally finish the shot, and we pack up.

In the end, I probably ended up shooting about 20% of the duration that we were scheduled to. If all went according to the plan, the plan was to have my entire appearance in the movie shot by the end of the day (the two scenes). The important part about the whole shoot, is the experience itself. I know for myself, I've learnt a few things:

Bring your own lunch to the movie shoot.
Make sure you have the entire day free, even if you're just shooting 1 scene.

Although it was a frustrating day, I can definitely see the difficult position that the director is in. I don't think it would be an easy thing to do at all, to schedule a shoot accurately in a given time frame.

I will say though that a majority of the problems we ran into was a lack of communication. Often times, it seemed like all the actors involved in a scene wanted to play the role of director in giving directions and guidance to the other actors. So instead of one clear voice saying what he wanted to say, there were 4-5 different voices making their own suggestions and causing a traffic jam of messages. Unfortunately as well, the director tends to be more of a passive personality, and is afraid to speak out as the sole director voice. So without any reprimands, more people begin to chime in as directors, and completely complicated scenes / suggestions that should have been simple otherwise. This really taught me about the importance of having a confident and thorough director who has everything thought out for his vision of the movie, and makes sure that it is communicated clearly to the rest of the cast and crew. Also the fact that each part of the crew has their job, and that it's important for everyone to stick to know their role in the team.

This blog is getting on the long side once again, but then again it is the whole day I'm blogging about here. I hope to post the pictures we took from the set on my facebook shortly.