This week has been a tough week for getting Extra work. I worked on Monday and then nothing for the rest of the week. Had been submitted for a couple of commercials but nothing came through. There were so few job notices that went out this week. I would guess maybe about 20% of what had been coming out over the last few weeks. I can only imagine the fierce competition for those few jobs. I'm guessing the dearth of work is for a couple of reasons: 1) lots of TV shows are finishing up their filming for the season. I was on a couple of finale episodes for different shows and other extras were telling about other shows that were now done filming. So there's that and then it's Holy Week this week and lots of businesses close for Good Friday and/or Passover. It may be that filming productions also do that. It's a little spooky to have so few work notices going out. It makes me very grateful that I do not depend on this work for any living wage/income. I feel for people who do depend on this work for their livelihood. I submitted for the few jobs that were a match for me, which was only about 1/3 of how many I would have normally submitted for. Before the slump, I would have heard back for a booking on at least one to three of those jobs but this week was ZILCH, NADA, NOTHING for Tuesday, Thursday or Friday. Trying not to take it personally but this NO response makes me feel like I have cooties or something....
Had not really appreciated there would be seasonal fluctuations in this business. The longer I'm in it the more I'm learning how all this works. My understanding from word on the street is that late Spring and Summer get very busy with movie filming. So busy that people are working 14 to 15 hour days, day after day after day. It can get pretty brutal but apparently that's the money making season. Depending on the movie, the work can be quite risky. I joined a FB group called New York Background Artists, and one post described injuries people acquired while doing background work for NOAH and Spiderman II. Along with the injuries, it's a prime time to earn waivers--the golden ticket to meeting criteria for earning a SAG card. I'm really hoping to work on at least two or three movies over the next few months.
Hoping the slump doesn't last too long, if only for those people who are dependent on this work.
Had not really appreciated there would be seasonal fluctuations in this business. The longer I'm in it the more I'm learning how all this works. My understanding from word on the street is that late Spring and Summer get very busy with movie filming. So busy that people are working 14 to 15 hour days, day after day after day. It can get pretty brutal but apparently that's the money making season. Depending on the movie, the work can be quite risky. I joined a FB group called New York Background Artists, and one post described injuries people acquired while doing background work for NOAH and Spiderman II. Along with the injuries, it's a prime time to earn waivers--the golden ticket to meeting criteria for earning a SAG card. I'm really hoping to work on at least two or three movies over the next few months.
Hoping the slump doesn't last too long, if only for those people who are dependent on this work.
No comments:
Post a Comment