This 1 Acting Technique Got Me Upgraded While Doing Extra Work Interested

Have you ever been on a set and saw some people get upgraded and wondered how? Like, what did they do to get them upgraded? So in this video, I'm going to be sharing with you a specific technique that I used that got me upgraded, and it was a pretty amazing story. And if you stick around to the end, I've got a great special gift for you that you're definitely going to want to watch. Okay, let's get started. Hi, my name is Aaron Marcus, and welcome to the Actor and Model Quick Tips channel and the Actor Career Center, where I help people either get started in the industry or take their career to the next level by sharing my 36+ years of experiences working as a full-time actor and a commercial model. Oh, look, if you haven't done this yet, don't forget, uh, click the subscribe button and also click the notification bell, and that way every time I upload a new video You'll know about it. And if you happen to like it, hey, please give it a thumbs up. That's always great. What happened to me, and this is— it's really, it's a pretty amazing story. I was doing extra work, this was a number of years ago, on a TV spot, and it was for some kind of healthcare thing. And as it turns out, it was a national television commercial. And for this particular spot, we were in a theater. And the whole downstairs was filled. The entire balcony was filled with extras, and there were a couple of principals on stage. And then there was one principal, I don't know, like in the 10th row on, on the ground level, and he starts coughing. And all of a sudden, you know, he's kind of interrupting the performance. So what I like to do— and look, I When I was doing a bunch of extra work, and when I say a bunch of extra work, I still never did a lot, but if something came up and I was available, yeah, I would do extra work. And I found that it was helpful to me. It gave me a chance to watch sometimes some phenomenal actors, learn what they did, gave me a chance to network with other people. So Look, if you're interested in, in being a principal actor, I wouldn't do that much of it. But, you know, especially if you're first getting started, I think it can be helpful. But, but anyhow, what I did, and this was something that I always did— look, some of, some of the extras on sets, they're not taking things very seriously. They really don't care. They're angry about being there, which I never really quite got, because if you're angry about being an extra on a set, don't be an extra. Yeah. You know, don't do it if you don't want to be there. And sometimes people are just talking to each other during the shoot. I mean, they're very quiet, so they're not heard, but they're really not paying attention to what's going on. I'm kind of the opposite. When I was doing extra work, I would treat the extra job as a principal job. I would do the same thing. Now, I didn't have any lines to memorize, but my reactions were very real. I thought about emotionally what I should be doing. And so for this particular one, I decided— and look, I knew I was so far away from the camera. I mean, I could barely even see where the cameras were located. I think they used 2 cameras for this one. But I'm way up in the balcony, and as I'm watching the performance and I hear somebody coughing, I look down and I'm feeling aggravated because the person coughed, you know, a couple of times. It's interrupting the performance. I paid money to see this show and now I'm being disturbed by it and it made me angry. That's the way I played it. And, you know, I did it a number of times. There were lots of takes. You know, we spent hours doing this and that's what I was doing consistently throughout the day. And For me, it was always a fun day because I felt like I got a chance to act. Yeah, I was an extra. No, am I going to be on camera? Probably not in any way, but I enjoyed it and it felt right. And I'll tell you, another way that I viewed it is I'm getting paid to be an extra. I want to do everything I can to help support this production and do whatever I can to make this look good. So anyhow, that's always been my philosophy with that. So it was, I don't know, a couple weeks later. I was doing some voiceover work, and as I was— I had finished working, I was walking down a hallway to leave, and a woman walks by and she said, oh hey, congratulations. Now, I didn't know who this woman was. I was just kind of shocked. I had no idea why she was congratulating me either. So I said, well, thanks. I'm not really sure why. And she said, oh, I was one of the producers on that TV spot and you got upgraded. I had no idea. I mean, normally when you get upgraded on a set, they give you paperwork and stuff like that. They didn't give me anything. And I thought, this can't be right. I mean, I was one of hundreds and hundreds of extras and I'm way up in the balcony, very far away from the camera, from the scene. And I said, are you sure? And she said, oh, absolutely. She said, the director saw your reaction, loved it, and they turned the cameras around and there's a close-up shot of you reacting to this person coughing. Now, if you don't know, if you're doing a film or a TV show as an extra, the camera can be right up in your face. But if you're not given any lines, then you are considered An extra. For a— once again, let me just kind of— there's a— there are some exceptions to the rule. I remember when I had a week contract on— it was an old show on Fox that was called Gotham, and I was a guy who gets kidnapped, and I had a week contract. There were no lines for me, but I— so I was still paid as a principal. But for a TV commercial, if you don't have to have lines to be a principal, if you do something— at least this is according to union rules— if you do something that alters the scene in any way, your reaction changes things, then you can be considered, and you are considered, a principal. And so what happened there was they liked my reaction. They did a close-up shot, and once again, I was oblivious. I had no idea because the cameras, like I said, were so far away from me. I'm just doing my acting thing. And so the point is, my suggestion, if you are working as an extra, treat it like any kind of principal acting job. Use the same emotions, the same kind of reactions, and Really think about what you are doing, and it makes it a much more enjoyable day. And who knows, you know, what might happen. Now, there are a million and one reasons why people do get upgraded, and quite often there's no way of knowing. But, you know, at least for TV spots and films, I mean, those things do happen even on some TV shows too where people get upgraded. It's less likely in those kinds of situations. But sometimes you might be walking down the street and for some reason the director feels it's really important for you to say good morning to somebody as one of the principals walking down the street. Those things happen all the time. So I wouldn't do extra work for the hopes of getting upgraded because it's still— it's very difficult, but it does happen. And for me, I mean, this was a national television spot, and so there was quite a bit of money involved with that as well. So anyhow, I just wanted to share that story with you. But still, it's pretty amazing to me that I got upgraded in that instant and didn't even know. So anyhow, I hope this was helpful. Don't forget, if you haven't subscribed, click the subscription button, the notification bell, and also feel free, share this with other actors so that, you know, they can learn as well more about the industry. And if you have any experiences getting upgraded on the set, Please share it below. I'm Aaron Marcus, and I can't wait to talk with you again soon. Oh, oh, oh, I almost forgot. Hey, make sure you take a look at the little link right above. I think I got it up there, and you'll get this really nice video that I also believe will be very helpful to you. Okay, see ya.