My Birthday With The BBC< I Am On The Cover Of Guilfest 2008 Magazine | Blog | Kegs Of Beer Music Video > For my 32nd birthday, I did something a bit different. I agreed to help out Jeannie my producer friend, by becoming an extra on a BBC 3 TV pilot, for a new comedy series called Five Years, which she was producing. I have not done any acting since drama lessons at school, which was many years ago. Jeannie asked me if some of my friends wanted to be extras too. Some agreed to do it, but then most of them bottled out, or other things came up, so they couldn’t come.
Angela agreed to go. She’s an online friend, who I knew of because she invited me to go to the Ultimate Characters talent agency launch party at the HeyJo club, which back in November last year, as she used to work for this agency. Angela has made some great videos, including a few dressed as Catwoman from Batman. I have included a video of Angela as Catwoman. I arranged to meet Angela in London.
The scene I was to be in was filmed in the Piccadilly area of London, inside a pub called The Captains Cabin.
I caught the train from Guildford to Waterloo, and then I got on the London Underground to get to Piccadilly Circus. I had to take a bit of a detour to get there, as some of the underground trains lines were closed. I managed to find Captains Cabin ok. I saw one of the main actors standing outside of the place, which was a dark haired middle aged man. I went inside and was greeted by one of the ladies from the film crew, who checked my name on the list. I also met one of the other main actors called Ben, a young blonde haired guy, who introduced himself to me. The filming was taking place on the second floor of the pub, so I followed them upstairs. Some of the crew were up there setting up cameras, lighting and various other filming equipment. Angela called me, and I headed outside of the pub to meet her. She had brought along a birthday gift for me. It was Kenneth Williams DVD, which was very nice of her. We both then headed to the upstairs of the pub, and had a drink together. I saw Jeannie inside and she wished me a happy birthday, gave me a hug, and thanked me for coming. Two other extras then arrived, which was two young girls. Angela spotted an actress from the ITV soap Emmerdale working on set, she was there because her boyfriend could not make it to the filming. I recognised her face from the show. We then had to sign our contracts with the BBC for the filming.
The comedy series pilot Five Years is about struggling actors trying to make it. The three main actors sat at a table, which was the dark haired middle aged man, Ben the young blonde guy, and another man who was fairly young who had long black hair. I recognised their faces from TV too.
The film crew were filming one scene of the three actors talking to each other about acting and the theatre. Jeannie told me and Angela what our acting roles would be. I was to walk behind where the three actors were sat towards the gents, whilst Angela was to act like she worked in the pub, picking up empty glasses from a nearby table. There was a big white screen used for lighting, plus lots of wires and stuff on the floor, right where I had to walk past. I missed my cue timing a few times, and accidently knocked against the lighting screen, which made a noise. I hope I won’t be used as an outtake in one of those funny clip shows on TV! A few other things messed up filming, such as actors fluffing their lines, people making noise in the pub on the floor below, noisy motor bikes, and the sun shinning through the window. We had a break for dinner, and were given cooked meals and soft drinks. Angela and I headed outside of the pub, to visit the shops during lunch break. I enjoyed Angela’s company, as she was very nice, friendly and polite. Angela has done quite a lot of acting, dancing, and working as an agent before. She’s useful to know for when me and Ian look into setting up our own film company in the future, and as a new friend to see. We arrived back at the pub, and Jeannie had been worrying where I had got to, but it was ok. The filming started up again. They filmed the same four minute scene from 12pm until 6.30pm. I was surprised it took so long just for one scene. But then they filmed it at different angles, lenses, lighting, and different seating positions. As the three actors had pints of beer and Guinness on their tables, Jeannie and her production assistant had to throw away the drink and re-fill the glasses each time the scene was re-shot. This was because the drinks needed a head on them. If the actors would have drunk it, they would have been very drunk, as it must have been filmed about thirty times, or more! I was included in another scene, which was a tracking shot. I stood at the bar drinking, and they filming me both from the front, and the back, and also walking to the gents again. They used some of the crew as extras for this scene, as they were short of extras. The lights made it really hot inside the pub. It was not as glamorous and as fun as I thought it would be. But, at least now I know a bit more about what is involved with filming. The filming ended around 6.30pm, and the Emmerdale actress paid my expenses. Jeannie gave me another hug and thanked me for coming. I then left the pub with Angela, and we walked together towards Leicester Square underground train station. I enjoyed meeting Angela, as she was very nice. I look forward to seeing her again. I don’t know if I got what it takes to be an extra, or an actor, as I’m a bit clumsy. I might give it another go though in the future! Related ContentComments on My Birthday With The BBC |
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