This past week was more than incredible; having the opportunity to be an extra in a movie was what I've always dreamed of and more. It may not seem like much to people who do this for a living, but for an average person like me who just ran across this opportunity, it meant everything. For anyone wanting to go through the same experience we went through, this article is for you.
I've had quite a few people this past week ask me how we found out about the opportunity, but it wasn't as difficult as it may seem! A couple of days before shooting on set, I was scrolling through twitter and saw that Q100 had tweeted about an amazing opportunity as a movie extra for teens to play high school students in the new Jumanji movie. I knew right away when I saw the ad that I wanted to take a chance and at least apply on their casting website for the job. Not expecting to get a call back from them or anything, I went on my way and continued with my day like normal. Later on that night I received an email saying that they wanted to call me and talk to me because they would definitely love to use me as an extra for the movie. My heart stopped and I was ecstatic. A little nervous but incredibly excited, I called them and found out all the details about what to bring to set and when to be there for the specific part I was given.
Little did I know that they still needed other students as well, so my best friend was given the opportunity to do the movie with me! We were barely able to sleep the night before because we were so excited for what was to come. We woke up at three a.m in order to make it to the set by six a.m. Once we arrived on the set, we followed all the other teen extras to the room where we had to get our wardrobe checked and our hair and makeup done. Once all of that was finished, we sat in a classroom with all of the other extras for at least six hours before we were actually called to set. It was great down time to make new friends though; we got to know others who were our age trying to make a difference in this world too.
Once we were called to set, that's when the fun really began. I didn't know what to expect since it was our first time, but with acting in both of our pasts, it wasn't as bad as we thought it would be. Given our certain cues and our set directions, we followed the rest of the extras and tried to do our best because this was a once in a life time experience. Seven hours later, we were finally let go from the set and we headed home. Getting to meet the actors and actresses from the movie along with getting to experience everything that goes into making a movie really opened our eyes and gave us a new perspective about the film industry. I never knew how much actually went into making these incredible movies we see in the theaters. One 5 to 10 minute scene took around seven hours to film and required multiple takes. It was an insane experience.
Although it was a long and exhausting day, it was definitely something that holds a giant place in our hearts and a day that we will cherish forever. If you have ever wanted to be an extra in a movie or want to make it into the film industry one day, I definitely believe you should attempt to be an extra too. Making new friends and taking a day to enjoy ourselves was definitely needed and is something that we plan on participating in more often. The Jumanji remake opened up this opportunity for us and we hope you take a day to experience this journey too. This is something you can't take for granted and should try at least once in your lifetime. Step out of your comfort zone and experience something amazing like we did, I promise you won't regret it.
