Five Things I Learned From Being A Day Player On a TV Show: A Blog about my experience on the set of a tv show.
by: Dustin Hoffman
1. They really do say “lights, camera, action” when they are getting ready to start shooting.
It’s funny, but it’s true. In fact, they say it every time they start shooting.
2. When you mess up your line, no one laughs at you or makes fun of you, they just say ” cut” and tell you to try again.
If you mess up your line during the middle of filming a scene, the director will stop everything and have you start over from that point in the scene again. I mean everything is stopped until you get it right! There are hundreds of people standing around waiting for this one actor to get his line right!
3. The make-up room is a very important place for actors and actresses whether they like it or not!
I was required to go to my trailer an hour and a half before every shoot because there were two make-up artists waiting for me to prepare me for my scenes. They would do things such as powder my face and apply moisturizer so that I would look bright-
Mar 28, 2013
Five Things I Learned From Being A Day Player On a TV Show: A Blog about my experience on the set of a tv show.
Earlier this month I was asked to play a small role in a show called “Vegas”. It was an interesting experience that I thought I’ld share with everyone here.
I’ve been working on and off as an actor for over 20 years now. The truth is that most of the time the life of an actor is spent struggling to find work and then getting ready for whatever job you do get. It’s not always easy, but it’s what we actors sign up for and we love it. But every once in a while something really fun comes along and for me this was one of those times.
I was asked to play a character named “Hoffman”. The script described him as an affable, likeable old man. I wasn’t given much more than that so I decided he’d be a bit of a lovable old curmudgeon who likes to tell stories about his past adventures.
The shoot took place at the Nellis Airforce base near Las Vegas Nevada. This is where they filmed part of Top Gun, so it had some great history attached to it
Five Things I Learned From Being A Day Player on a TV Show:
1. Wait to be invited!
I always thought that other actors were so much better than I was at networking and schmoozing when they were on set. I had never been able to do it successfully. But after this, I realize that they just have more experience and know how to navigate the situation better than I did. The key is to wait until you’re asked, “Do you have an agent? Are you looking for work?” You can’t just go up and start talking about yourself or asking people what they do. It’s not the time or the place.
There are a million things going on when you’re on set and everyone has their own agenda and their own thing to focus on. They don’t want to be bothered by your questions about how things work because they are trying to get through the day without major problems (or at least without major problems that are their fault!). When you take the initiative and ask questions of people who are in charge, it makes them nervous because now they have to worry about whether or not you’re going to screw up the shot or something else equally disastrous. So wait until someone asks if you’ve worked before, then you can
The first time I was ever a day player on a TV show, I had no idea what to expect. I was nervous and excited, but mostly nervous. When I got there and saw how many people worked on the set, my nerves and excitement kicked up another notch.
Now, after being a day player four times, I know what to expect and how to act. As a day player you are brought onto the set for a specific scene and you are only needed for that scene. That is why it’s called day playing — because you are only needed for the day.
Here are five things I have learned from being a day player:
1) Be ready when they say so: The assistant directors can be very impatient, especially during filming or rehearsal. If they ask you to be there at 8am, then be ready by 7:45am. You will be doing them (and yourself) a favor by being ready before they tell you to be ready.
2) Bring your props with you: It is not uncommon for a day player to have their own props. On the show “NYPD Blue”, I had my own cell phone that I had to bring with me each time I came onto the set. On
This is a blog about my experience on the set of a tv show. My name is Tristan and I am an actor, writer and comedian living in Los Angeles. And today I had the amazing experience of working on a television show as an extra. I’m going to tell you all about it.
1: You shouldn’t be there for the money.
In one day of work, I made $94 dollars and that was before taxes. It took me 17 hours to make that money. So if you are looking to become an extra because it pays well… then you might need to re-evaluate your life choices.
There are a lot of great stories out there about what it’s like to be in the union and work as an actor on a TV show. But there aren’t many stories out there about what it’s like to be a non-union, day player. A day player is an actor who is contracted for one day and doesn’t have the promise of returning to the show.
I’ve had the privilege of working as a day player on several film sets, but one that stands out is when I worked for seven hours as a day player on “The Mindy Project”. After my time was up and I went home, I realized I had learned some valuable lessons from being on set.
1. The Call Time is at least an hour before they need you on set. That’s why they call it the Call Time.
It’s a different thing to say “I’m going to be on TV!” than it is to say “I am going to be on TV, but only in the background.” I think the former statement is often made with a lot of pride and enthusiasm, where as the latter statement comes across as an excuse for being an extra. However, both statements are true and deserve a moment of happiness and rejoicing! Being on TV is awesome, even if you aren’t the star of the show!
2. Getting there early is important. But not too early.
You will usually find out your call time from a text message from either your agent or your manager. They will give you directions to the set and tell you what time to arrive. This time will be about an hour earlier than when you actually have to be “on set”, which means the time you have to be on set and ready for work.
