If your continuing from Part 1, I thought it would be cool to breakdown the average day for an extra on a set. From the moment I arrived on set, to my head hitting the pillow back in the room...this is what my day consisted of...
8:00 Am- Get my tired butt up! The call said for extras to be "camera ready" when arriving to set. This means that my hair and makeup should be done by me and look good when I arrived. As I got ready to glam it up, I look out the window to find what? Oh just your average NYC Blizzard! The weather called for "some" snow, but it looked more like the inside of a snow globe to me! Great...
10:00 Am- Train time! I actually love riding the train and as long as I am on time, I can relax. After getting off at Times Square I headed to Starbucks and grabbed some breakfast and tea. Yummy!
11:00 Am- I arrive to holding at a hotel on West 44th street. In case you're not sure, holding is where all the extras are, well, held before going to set. There were chairs to sit while waiting and a place to put all your stuff while working. I arrived in the best part! My costume! The scene was being filmed in a theatre and we were the Theatre Goers, so we had to dress nice and fancy (I love dress up!) - which for me included a black, strapless vintage dress, turquoise heels, gold earrings, and a gold and turquoise vintage ring (Chanda was so proud).
8:00 Am- Get my tired butt up! The call said for extras to be "camera ready" when arriving to set. This means that my hair and makeup should be done by me and look good when I arrived. As I got ready to glam it up, I look out the window to find what? Oh just your average NYC Blizzard! The weather called for "some" snow, but it looked more like the inside of a snow globe to me! Great...
10:00 Am- Train time! I actually love riding the train and as long as I am on time, I can relax. After getting off at Times Square I headed to Starbucks and grabbed some breakfast and tea. Yummy!
11:00 Am- I arrive to holding at a hotel on West 44th street. In case you're not sure, holding is where all the extras are, well, held before going to set. There were chairs to sit while waiting and a place to put all your stuff while working. I arrived in the best part! My costume! The scene was being filmed in a theatre and we were the Theatre Goers, so we had to dress nice and fancy (I love dress up!) - which for me included a black, strapless vintage dress, turquoise heels, gold earrings, and a gold and turquoise vintage ring (Chanda was so proud).
* Like I said, this was of course the day New York weather decide throw a temper tantrum and blizzard everywhere. So I was layered up on top of my dress! And of course I threw on a pair of super thick UGGs and put my heels in my bag!
12:30 Pm- I filled out all my paperwork and headed to hair and make-up to get checked. I also stopped at wardrobe so they could to make sure my fashion sense is mildly good. Then, I was headed to set!
12:35 Pm- Walking through Times Square. In a blizzard. Wearing a peacoat, nude tights, UGGs, and a fancy dress. Classy.
12:35 Pm- Filming! The best part. Truly. I know a lot about how the show ends considering we were filming the Season Finale so I wont give away ANY spoilers! Though I will say this: an awards show was involved (hence the fancy outfits). They had turned an average sized theatre in the Marriot Marquie into an amazing set filled with lights, cameras, and every possible piece of equipment you could imagine. As an audience member, there was soooo much clapping involved..good thing I've practiced my clapping! Haha. So after working for a couple hours, we changed scenes, repositioning to make the theater look like it was entirely filled - even though there were only about 150 extras in a 350 seat theatre. Movie magic right there!
4:00 Pm- The BEST TIME! Lunch. I had not eaten since the Starbucks earlier and didn't know that our filming would run for so long. They had a Craft table outside, another term in the "business". Craft table = Food! Im pretty sure I fought someone to the death for the last bagel.
4:10 Pm- I needed another Starbucks run, so I headed out and luckily the weather was nicer. On my way there I saw Katherine McPhee, one of the stars of the show, as she left to grab her lunch. We made eye contact. I kept walking. Im sure you are all thinking, "But she always has to meet celebrities! What is she doing!?" Well, in this case, we were working together on set. So I thought since I talked to her on set, that was good enough.
5:00 Pm- Finally satisfied with food and Starbucks, I was ready to just relax for a little. Wrong. I guess it was a good thing though! Because I got called back to set to do a close up scene with Katherine and Angelica Houston. Such an honor! My arm candy and I strolled through the lobby as the two stars talked. I was so excited from getting to be on set and get some (small, blurred) camera time. This was a learning experience for sure. Remember to look out for me!
6:30 Pm- Headed back to holding. Man am I pooped at this point! And therefore that can only mean one thing... more work! Everyone headed back to set, once again, to film the final four scenes.
So heres the cool part! I was chosen, out of those 150 extras, to sit in front of Michael Cristofer (he plays a jerk but is super nice and funny), which means I will be in the shot and be on national TV! Ok, yes it's in that "blending" in state, but I'll take any screen time! One by one they wrapped on the stars, meaning that one by one the stars finished their final scenes of the season. It was heartbreaking to watch Angelica Houston and Debra Messing cry because the season was over.
10:00 Pm- And finally the "Martini shot". I learned this term on set and really love it for some reason. The Martini shot is simply, the last scene. If you hear that it means you're almost done. Both sad and happy emotions hit me. The whole day I got to spend learning that this was something I really did want to do, meeting great people, and even getting paid a little.
11:00 Pm- Back on the train home. I was practically falling asleep on the women next to me. Only to dream about the day I had. Such a great experience and I hope to do it again.
We weren't allowed to take photos on set, but here are some of my Instagram shots!
4:00 Pm- The BEST TIME! Lunch. I had not eaten since the Starbucks earlier and didn't know that our filming would run for so long. They had a Craft table outside, another term in the "business". Craft table = Food! Im pretty sure I fought someone to the death for the last bagel.
4:10 Pm- I needed another Starbucks run, so I headed out and luckily the weather was nicer. On my way there I saw Katherine McPhee, one of the stars of the show, as she left to grab her lunch. We made eye contact. I kept walking. Im sure you are all thinking, "But she always has to meet celebrities! What is she doing!?" Well, in this case, we were working together on set. So I thought since I talked to her on set, that was good enough.
5:00 Pm- Finally satisfied with food and Starbucks, I was ready to just relax for a little. Wrong. I guess it was a good thing though! Because I got called back to set to do a close up scene with Katherine and Angelica Houston. Such an honor! My arm candy and I strolled through the lobby as the two stars talked. I was so excited from getting to be on set and get some (small, blurred) camera time. This was a learning experience for sure. Remember to look out for me!
6:30 Pm- Headed back to holding. Man am I pooped at this point! And therefore that can only mean one thing... more work! Everyone headed back to set, once again, to film the final four scenes.
So heres the cool part! I was chosen, out of those 150 extras, to sit in front of Michael Cristofer (he plays a jerk but is super nice and funny), which means I will be in the shot and be on national TV! Ok, yes it's in that "blending" in state, but I'll take any screen time! One by one they wrapped on the stars, meaning that one by one the stars finished their final scenes of the season. It was heartbreaking to watch Angelica Houston and Debra Messing cry because the season was over.
10:00 Pm- And finally the "Martini shot". I learned this term on set and really love it for some reason. The Martini shot is simply, the last scene. If you hear that it means you're almost done. Both sad and happy emotions hit me. The whole day I got to spend learning that this was something I really did want to do, meeting great people, and even getting paid a little.
11:00 Pm- Back on the train home. I was practically falling asleep on the women next to me. Only to dream about the day I had. Such a great experience and I hope to do it again.
We weren't allowed to take photos on set, but here are some of my Instagram shots!
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