Tomorrow's scene is a busy train station in winter, and the script needs eighty commuters, two police officers and a woman with a pram. The extras casting agency has booked them all, sent each one a call time and a wardrobe note, and has ten on standby in case people drop out. Extras casting is the team that supplies the people in the background of a scene.

What extras casting does

Extras, also called background artists or supporting artists, are the people who appear on screen without lines. They make a street, a restaurant or a hospital feel real. Extras casting is usually done by a specialised agency with a large database of people, rather than by the main casting director. The agency works from the breakdown made by the assistant director team, which lists for each scene how many extras are needed and what type.

In pre-production the agency agrees rates and the number of crowd days with the production. During the shoot it books people day by day, checks availability, sends call times and costume notes, and makes sure the same people come back when a scene continues on another day. The second assistant director manages the extras on set.

Responsibilities

  • Read the extras breakdown and match people to each scene's brief
  • Book extras for each shoot day and send call times and costume notes
  • Keep continuity, booking the same faces when a scene runs over several days
  • Find people with special skills, such as dancers, cyclists or people with their own vintage car
  • Arrange standby extras for crowd days and late cancellations
  • Supply signed forms and timesheets for payment
  • Handle rebookings when the schedule changes

How the role touches the budget

Through the extras line, which can grow quickly on crowd days. The budget is based on the number of extra days per scene, plus agency fees, overtime and any extra payments for special skills or using their own car or costume. The agency's timesheets go to the payroll accountant, and big crowd scenes are often where an overspend first shows. Reducing a crowd by twenty people, or shooting it in one day instead of two, makes a direct difference.

How people get into the role

Many people start as a booker at an extras agency, sometimes after working as an extra themselves or in a production office. The job asks for a large network, good organisation and a lot of phone calls. Some go on to run their own agency or move into main casting.

In TV and commercials

Long-running TV dramas and soaps book the same regular background artists for years, so the work is ongoing. In commercials the extras are often more closely defined by the client brief, and featured extras who are clearly visible may receive extra usage payments.