Two crazy days, and one not so crazy day.

WEDNESDAY

First day ever doing anything related to show-making that involved compensation of the Green Cottony Paper variety.

I rolled out of bed at 400 and worked myself through a poached egg/english muffin sandwich, a glass of juice and a mug of coffee. Then I transferred to the bathroom for a shave and a shower. Funny thing: I've been "shaving" with an electric shaver since last year. It's a nice little Norelco model, but I never had the light or the mirror resource to properly use it. Because of that, I really only shaved when I got in a shower, which was, at best, every three days. By that time, I'd have solid beard seeded, and I had to use the trimmer tool first, and then shave. Since I got home, I've been back to the old Mach 3, and I've noticed that I must shave daily, or razing just hurts. This might have been my running problem for the last six years. Don't shave daily, shave, pain, repeat ad nausiem until you don't ever want to shave again. I might just turn it around with this "habit" thing.

Anyway, got out to the car at 505 and busted out for Warner Bros. It's about 25 miles from my house, and my car and I needed to be there by 600. Because the trips aren't multi-hundreds of miles anymore, I haven't really set up the GPS in the car...so it was a little new not having a quick reference for the remaining distance to destination. By that token, I got a nervous about arriving on time. Generally speaking, I was nervous about everything. First day, find new place, use car on TV show set, use Self on TV show set...all that. I kept my speed under control, and got there in good time.

I pulled up to the Warner Bros. gate at 535 or so. A word about this. Usually, you're not booked with your car. You park the car off site and get shuttled to the shoot. That would have been adventure enough for a first day, but I had to drive myself onto the lot...that I'd never seen...in the dark. And I mean dark. I introduced myself to security rather lamely, saying something affable about how my car and I were here for Trust Me, and he found my name and gave me the little security pass and gave me directions. Here's where the dark part comes in.

I went up three stops and took a left, and then looked for the second left. I was weaving through 5 ton straight trucks jockeying for position to set up for the day, which was cool, I'm used to big vehicles in tight spaces, but that second left was a massive dark hole. Not used to that. I turned and my headlights illuminated a building facade. I realized where I was. They literally gave me driving directions onto Warner's New York/Chicago/large western city street set. Except in a large western city there are usually street lights. Turns out, when the electricians aren't there yet, Warner Brother's street lights aren't on. I pulled off to the side, not really knowing how it worked (and being slightly early, alone and unable to ask). I turned around and got off the set and parked where there was light and went and tried to figure out where to check in. Nobody really knew, because they had other stuff to work on (like, their actual jobs) but they were at least pleasant. I then decided against leaving my car off set, because it was supposed to be on set for the day, so I got back in and parked it behind a bus.

I'll spare you the details on the check in and stand around procedures save a few things. 1) That poached egg sandwich I ate? Yeah, didn't need that. Craft services (what caterers are called in industry parlance) had eggs, french toast, fruit, vegetables, coffee, juice, et cetera laid out neatly in a buffet. Turns out breakfast is included on a show set. Good breakfast. 2) Organized chaos rules the day. If you're uncomfortable in murmuring, semi-confused group settings, please avoid working in Television or Movies.

I volunteered to drive for the day, but just before the driving started, the director decided that he didn't like a yellow cab in the shot, so it left and my car, which somehow was first in line, was asked to move in and park there. Since the car can't drive itself in there, I had to do it. When I got it parked (paralleled in one shot, thank you), I didn't really know what to do, since I was a little unclear on why I'd been bumped up in the first place. (I only figured out the cab-didn't-look-good thing in retrospect.) I thought, at the time, that perhaps they wanted a car to pull out of a space at the top of the shot, and it was me.

Really, no. But we'll get there.

So here's the physical situation: My car is parked against the curb. Two feet from the nose of the car is A Camera, on rails for a short tracking shot that starts shooting basically straight past the whole driver's side of my car (well, Alicia's car, really, but the one I'd brought to the set). In the middle of the street, looking at the action to be shot (looking over the trunk of my car) is B Camera. They still haven't told me to get out of the car, so I'm thinking, "Well, crap! If this is where I'm supposed to be, I'd better come up with something unobtrusive to do so that I don't look like a shmuck just sitting in his car." So I threw my bluetooth in and got ready to have a conversation with somebody and look for something in my bag. They start the first rehearsal, and I realize that Tom Cavanagh and Eric McCormack run their action up to the light pole that's right off the gas tank door. Dammit, I'd better sell this phone conversation. (And by sell, I do not mean ham it up. I mean make it as absolutely believable and invisible as possible.)

We did two rehearsals this way.

Then they noticed I was in the car. Dave (nice guy, our wrangler for the day...don't know what his official title was) suddenly pops the passenger door open and says, "'Scuse me, why are you still in the car?"

I say, "Sorry, nobody told me to get out."

"Okay, well, get out and join us, won't you?"

"Sure thing!" Out of the car I come, as swiftly as possible. In retrospect, I realize there's no way I should have thought I was supposed to stay in the car. They cannot, will not, and do not expect extras to function that close to the camera for longer than a few seconds. However, it being two hours into my first day, I had no clue.

The rest of the day was much less confusing. I got hang of the framework of what extras are expected to do, and it made easy sense from then on.

I learned so much, it's really impossible to give it a summary description, so I'll have to stick to aphorisms that represent the day.

I learned that I'm way more committed to "showing up" for the entire work day than most people. I watch a number of my fellow extras read books and text and make phone calls between takes...and get visibly irritated when we were rolling (ready to go to action) and then had to cut. It was a, "You made me put down my book for nothing?" kind of thing. More on this at the end.

I learned that people suck at paying attention.

I learned that some extras think good background action is totally unintelligible gesturing that would get most people committed to mental institutions if it were seen anywhere but on set.

I learned that when you're shooting a scene in which a commercial is being shot (as part of the story), some extras just can't quite connect all the dots. "Is that the real cut or the fake cut?"

I learned that many extras are content to sit in holding all day and avoid actually working on the set.

I worked, by contrast, pretty much all day...principally because when they asked me to do something, I did it.

The day was a little tiring. My stamina is still set to "Sit on your ass". It was chilly in the morning and then sunny and warm for the rest of the day (I was wearing a winter jacket). I was wearing my dress shoes for the first time in almost two years.

But: The food was fantastic, and free. I was able to stand where I was supposed to stand, and just shamelessly stare at the process of shooting until I needed to do something, which I then did. I talked to some nice people and got some good information. I drove my car professionally, and had no qualms about volunteering myself when they said, "Okay we need 8 really solid drivers...nobody flaky."

And, apparently, the shots that I'm in (and that the Zoom-zoom is in) will be a part of the series premiere. (TNT, January 26th). I walk right by the two principles just after they try a locked door in a street scene. That's the back of my head in the gray coat and black pants. I know it's all geeky and "Look Ma, I'm on TV!" when I'm just an extra, but I'm not overselling it, you know it's just the back of my head. (The car probably gets more screen time.) You probably ought to watch the show because it looks like it could be a great show.

In short: It was a fantastic work day. Really, it was the best work day I've ever had. I never want to take that for granted. I got home at about 1730, wiped out, but cool.


THURSDAY

Rolled out of bed at 400 again, but saved myself a half hour of sleep, because today I knew that work provided breakfast! Woot. All I had to do was get myself downtown and find the prescribed parking lot (free) and get shuttled to the location. Sooo much easier than Wednesday. This show was Kath & Kim, an NBC adaptation of a popular Australian show. The shooting for the day was at a Roller Derby rink. It was a real roller derby rink, with real roller derby girls playing most of both teams. Needless to say, it promised to be an interesting day.

Trucking will inform my understanding of my new career for awhile, so, get used to it.

The benefit of trucking this morning was the fact that I'm totally comfortable going and searching for a bathroom when I need one, being aware of which bathrooms are okay for me to use, which aren't, and when I find one, not being squeamish about using it, no matter it's condition. So, when they're port-o-johns, I'm cool. Turns out, movie port-os are waaay cooler than port-os that you find at the municipal park. These had electric lights, and running water for the sink and the toilet. Wow.

Back to the shooting. It was a big scene, with plenty of crowd, so there were about 300 extras to contend with. But it was cool, because, apparently, I've learned how to comfortably chat with people I've just met. That's a good skill for working with random people every day of the week.

The first thing we shot was a stunt where the double for Selma Blair gets "railed" and flips over the guard rail, lands on a table and winds up on the floor. So I got paid to watch a TV crew set up and shoot a stunt. It's like the making-of mini-docs on the DVDs, but they're paying me instead of the other way around.

At one point, shooting another part, the AD said, "Ron, glasses off!" to one of the actors. It took me fifteen minutes to realize that "Ron" was comedian Ron White doing a guest star as Kim's father. Am I blowing this stuff for expectant viewers? Suddenly I feel like maybe I shouldn't be giving this info away. Oh, well.

Anyway, I'm still getting used to seeing celebrity types in the flesh. It's a little quirky when you don't have the framed shot telling you who's important. You can be in the same room for like an hour and suddenly go, "Oh, right, hey...it's Ron White!"

The day was an experience in coverage. Coverage is where you shoot stuff from different angles to get different actors saying their lines. In this case it was that, plus getting skating action from a million places. Okay, so, like, twelve places, but still. To make a looong story short, it was a fifteen hour day. We checked in at 645 and checked out at 2300. I found out about two thirds of the way through the day that they had to wrap the episode that day...so it was "get everything or you're screwed" day. Roger dodger.

I found out a lot more about the constitution of a lot of extras. We're back to the "more on that later".

Maybe 40% of extras a attentive, thoughtful, patient and unobtrusive. 60% percent are cranky, entitlement oriented, self-centered, and blank. By blank I mean, empty-headed, unobservant, and under supplied with common sense.

Because of this growing realization, I'm subsequently so glad that I've had a myriad of crappy jobs that provide me with a brilliant appreciation of how freaking awesome it is to get paid to sit, stand, and/or wander around as asked. I mean, holy crap. Easiest job ever. It occurred to me that many of the 60% of wonks to be found there are really interested in doing absolutely nothing with their lives, and this is as close as they can get and still claim to have a job.

Also, with theatre in my training (and blood) I was shocked by the disrespect for props. It was simple prop stuff. a drink per person, and maybe a bag of peanuts. We got a big speech at the top of the day. Grab a prop when you go in, bring it back to the place you got it from when you come back to holding. They even numbered the cups to make it easier. When we wrapped for the night, I brought my energy drink, a cup, two pretzels and a bag of popcorn back simply by policing up the three rows of bleachers around me. Not to mention the number of props that were consumed (edibles) when the little prep speech included the fact that the food props weren't craft service things and they couldn't be replaced.

Final gripe: a fair portion of the 60% don't seem to understand how stupid it is to act as though being asked to do something or wait for something is an imposition. The Entitlement Ethic combined with our social egalitarianism has allowed a lot of people to grow up totally convinced of their own importance. They're not bothered at all that they're huffy about waiting a few minutes to be signed out, or that lunch is ruing behind because the film crew needs to finish shooting a particular segment. The fact that so many people in the world are okay with doing just barely enough to complete the task...sort of...and otherwise do exactly what they want, when they want, with no respect for the real point of the whole day shouldn't be shocking to me, but it is.

It really has to do with the fact that I've been dreaming about being near movies and TV and such for years, and it blows my mind that anybody could be so blind to how unique the opportunity is to work on this stuff.

Only in Hollywood, I guess.

Today was a catch up day, and it was a good one. I got a lot done, felt at ease about living with Alicia and Matt for the first time, and got work for Monday...IN TOWN! It's an NCIS shoot in Valencia, which is a neighborhood of Santa Clarita. I don't even have to get on the freeway to go to work on Monday. Huzzah!

Headshots tomorrow. Hopefully that'll be up tomorrow night.

Happy times! And really, I do mean Happy. I can observe and "complain" a little about silly people...but for the first time in my life, the complaints are there because they're exceptional, not because they're the focus.

Momentous.