Day Danui (daywind) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2009-07-11 19:15:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | 2009-06-08 |
Being a Movie Extra Isn't All It's Cracked Up To Be
Who: Day and Hannah
Where: The sets for that morning
When: About noonish
The shooting for the scene Day was in was almost over. Thank god. They'd done eleven takes so far, and none of them seemed to be satisfying to the director or the actors themselves. Day's make-up was starting to itch, and his fingers were itching to put his costume into some semblance of order rather than the complete chaos it was in, now. He hadn't really considered, when he signed up for this, just how dirty and messy zombies were.
At least the fake blood wasn't as disturbing as he'd been afraid of. It was nothing compared to Kalous Dawn, last night, anyway.
They were just now finishing take number twelve, and Day was really, really hoping they could move on and let him go change and shower.
Hannah was running late that afternoon and arrived at shooting totally after she was supposed to be there. "Sorry guys!" she said once she was sure that they were no longer shooting. At least that scene didn't look like the one she was supposed to be in. Was it? Maybe. It took a few minutes for her to get into costume and another twenty for a speed through make up and they told her to go ahead and get into the shot. "Hey you!" she whispered to Day when she got close enough. "I'm so totally late. Were they way pissed?"
"I'm not sure they noticed," Day whispered back, trying not to move his mouth much as the directed pointed at people and shouted at them to move half a step one way or another. "Though now we have to do a thirteenth take...." And probably a fourteenth and fifteenth, too, so they could have enough angled shots including Hannah. But surely not more than that....
"Oh well." Hannah said, shifting a little when the director told her to, ending up on the opposite side of Day. "Just think, there are people out there that do movies all the time and have to do billions of takes. This is just one tiny little scene."
"Which is why I do not generally act," Day smirked, voice still quiet. "I would get so very bored." Like he was right now. So. Very. Bored. He'd memorized the whole scene by the third time through, and could recite the lines along with the speaking characters. Thank god he didn't actually have to attack anything in this scene, just shuffle towards the actors, while an actual paid actor did the grabbing. The screams were starting to give him a headache.
"Me too. They're lucky they're getting me in here." she whispered. "Maybe being late was a good thing." she snickered quietly. Hannah wanted to be in the movie, but was only willing to do it as an extra. At least that way she wouldn't have any lines to remember. Thank god for small favors.
The director was satisfied with their positioning finally, so the guy in charge of rolling cameras came on and said, "Rolling in five, four, three--" He held up his fingers for two and one, then ducked out of the way, and take number thirteen began. More screaming. Sigh.
By the time the sixteenth take finished, the director was finally content with the way the shot looked and sent the extras away, bringing in a new set of extras. Hannah was more than thankful to be out of there. "I don't know how you dealt with that for all those takes." she said to Day. "I think I would have wished I was a zombie so I could have eaten the director's brain for making me do so damn many of them. I mean seriously, how did any of those takes look any different from the rest?"
"The expressions are different on different actors and extras," Day answered wearily. "Sometimes the moaning was of a different cadence or pitch or more or less in unison. The actors used slightly different deliveries on their lines. Sometimes that young lady's shrill scream was... shriller than others." His head definitely hurt, and he was so glad he could finally wash up and change into decent clothes!
Hannah rolled her eyes. "You know, there's this girl that was in my math class last year and she was like super afraid of bees and one day this bee got in the window and that girl screamed so loud. I swear the windows rattled. Even louder than shrill screamer over there."
Debating between immediate but not complete relief found in a bathroom with a good sink, and the full but delayed relief of running out to his car and going home to shower without wasting time cleaning up here, Day shuddered. "I do not want to even imagine a scream louder than that. At least now our names will be in the credits!"
Hannah grinned. "Yeah, totally. Rushing through at lightning speed, but if it comes out on DVD I'll totally buy it and be like 'dude! there's me!'." she grinned. "I feel so nasty in this make up." she muttered, shaking her head. "I want a shower so bad. I feel like I have fifty pounds of goop all over my face."
"You and me, both. I think I'll wash some off before I go home." The potential for getting that makeup in his car decided him. "I hate being this dirty-feeling." His skin felt like it was crawling. "Which way to the bathrooms?"
"I passed them on the way in here." Hannah said, motioning for the boy to follow her and leading him in the direction of the bathrooms. "I just hope I can get all this mess off my face. If I end up breaking out after this I should sue."
Day laughed. "I don't think people sue over poor skin complexion, Hannah. It would probably be more expensive than it's worth." He had some really good cleaners at home that he'd be using, yup. "Besides, actors have to wear this stuff, too, and they can't risk getting bad breakouts. I think they probably use stuff that doesn't clog pores." Yes, he was a guy talking about this stuff. Weird, he knew.
It was a little odd to hear a boy talking about clogging pores, but Hannah was amused with it. "Sounds like you either know a lot about acting, or a lot about skin care." she assessed. "So which one is it?"
"Skin care," Day admitted with a sheepish little grin. "Though I've done a play or two, in high school. This stuff is a little different from stage make-up, though, and it's for actors you have to get close-ups with, so I have to guess it's got a lighter, less-oily base."
"A guy that actually knows about some skin stuff." she smiled. "That's oddly attractive. Go you." Hannah grinned. "There's the bathrooms." she pointed out as they approached the two doors marked accordingly.
Oddly attractive, rather than completely gay? That was a new one. Day smirked, half-bowed teasingly, and then paused outside the restrooms to say, "Then maybe you won't say no when I ask for your number. I like keeping in touch with other air elementals, when I can." There was Lucia, now Chris, and Hannah-- not many of them, but enough that maybe, when they got better, they could make their own storms....
Hannah smiled at him. She had to give the boy props for having the balls to ask for her number. "No, I won't tell you no." she said, reaching into her purse and pulling out a post it. She forgot things constantly and usually had to write them down just to remember. "Here." she said, writing her number on the little pink sticker and signing it so he'd remember who the number belonged to. "You should call me sometime. We can hang out." she winked.
Pink post-its. How very cute. If Day had ever had trouble remembering things, he might have gone for lavender-- another thing that would've gotten him the "completely gay" label, so he was just grateful he didn't need anything to write notes on. Day plucked it from her fingers and pulled out his wallet to tuck it safely inside the fold. Putting it directly into a costume pocket was definitely out of the question. Ew. "I do believe I will," he said with a bright smile. "As long as you don't mind hanging out with a lowly soon-to-be-freshman."
"Nah." Hannah smiled. "Stick with me kid and you won't be a 'lowly' anything." she grinned.
Though he rolled his eyes at being called "kid", Day was still smiling, pleased and even delighted with the rest of her statement. That was exactly what he wanted to hear. If anyone could get him an "in" in college... that was what he wanted. If she was an air elemental, so much the better. "I will definitely be calling you. And if you need a ride home, I can drive you, too."
Hannah grinned at him. "I'd so take you up on that offer, but I drove." she explained. "Rain check though. We'll go out sometime and you can drive. Just give me a call, Day."
"Rain check it is. I will call." And soon, Day thought. Smiling, he half-bowed again, and said, "Until next time. When we are both not wearing fifty pounds of goop on our faces." To use her own words. He motioned for her to precede him into her own restroom-- ladies first, after all-- then disappeared into his own.
Things were, perhaps, looking up. At least listening to those screams all morning had been worth it in the end.