Background Work Requires Professionalism

Aloha fellow background artists, you diverse and privileged group that has the distinction of working in paradise.

Yeah, right.

Though background work is rarely paradise and the reasons why we do it vary, the long and short is we enjoy it. Some days we feel like the low end of the totem pole, but we know we’re not. We provide layers and reality to a scene that needs to be authentic, and that’s why we put up with the elements, all those rules and boredom. The creative process is exciting, though background work is not for everybody. It requires thankless patience and oftentimes a lot of common sense and quick-thinking.

Some reminders from background to background: You are important and a professional, as is everyone else on set. The production assistants are feeling pressure daily, constantly, in their ear on many different channels sometimes. If you’ve worked with the walkies you’ll know what I mean — so many important instructions are being given. It helps to remember this when conditions are less than ideal. That being said, know what you are due as a union member! Click here.

Just keep in mind the fuzzy gray areas and the cheesy old Golden Rule. Local member and veteran background actor Andrea Vogel Sikkink advises new background talent to “Do the job and do it well. That will be remembered positively. You don’t want to be remembered for whining. Treat everyone on set like you would want to be treated, even at 3 a.m. when you are tired and hungry and your feet hurt. Step outside of your head once in a while and realize how lucky you are to be there. You get to be part of something that most people only watch from their couches or a movie theater.”

Maintain a sense of humor. Love the work. It will show and you’ll have memories to last a lifetime and entertaining stories to tell in the future — but not while production is still going on! Remember those nondisclosure agreements. See you on set.

This item was originally featured in the March 2014 local newsletter.