After we walked out of the trailer, the second and third assistant directors helped position each of us in different locations in the scene. I was positioned behind a house and beside this beautiful cream coloured horse pulling a carriage. It was my job to take a leisurely stroll into the scene and then walk out of frame. As we waited for the ‘background action’ to start, the horse started to have a minor freak out when I looked at it. It was almost like it hadn’t seen a black person wearing plaid at all. I know we were in the country, but come on horse! Really? It’s 2013 haven’t you heard of Darius Rucker? I suddenly had a vision of the horse going nuts, racing off into the scene, smashing through the cameras and thus, ending production and my dream of being on camera. Remember what I said about my imagination being a force of nature? Once the rider and his partner settled the horse down, the action was ready to commence.
Action!
[note]As I performed my leisurely stroll, four rules came to mind for me.
‘Do not over-exaggerate your movements.’
‘Do not look at the camera.’
‘Do not over-estimate your energy level.’
‘Do not draw attention to yourself.’
[/note]
So as I walked, I looked up at the trees, nodded to this older man I kept talking to in the trailer, looked at my feet, didn’t swing my arms too much, but I held on tightly to the man purse a costume designer gave me at the last minute. More thought went into my leisurely stroll than I ever imagined.
‘That was great everyone, let’s run it one more time.’
On take two, I mixed it up a bit. If I wasn’t living in the big house, I was going to be happy about. So I added a bit more pep, didn’t clutch my man purse as tightly, still nodded at the older man and finished my stroll in the exact position I was supposed to. That felt better.
We performed that scene three more times before we were sent back to the trailer to wait until we were called on again. I would appear in the final scene as a comfortable background actor, confident that if you tuned in to watch ‘Tell the World,’ there’s a good chance you’ll see a lowly farmer, taking a leisurely stroll in the marketplace looking up at the trees with a zest for life in his eyes. Whether that happens or not, remains to be seen.
As a background actor, you get paid to hang out in the same exotic locations the movie stars get to be in. One of the background actors I spoke to described shooting everywhere from historical landmarks they had never seen, to massive mansions that he would never of had a prayer of entering. Like me, many of these people will never have an opportunity to have their star on the walk of fame. But for all of us to be a part of making movie magic whether we get face time or not, is more than enough
You have to be able to laugh at yourself sometimes.
