I bring a pair of slippers as a comfy pair of shoes to keep my set shoes clean. And a blanket in case I get cold and a hand fan in case I get hot in my trailer/ holding room
When I am on set as first team, I acknowledge everyone on set as equals. When your friendly and professional, the cast and crew will appreciate it and you will get more work.
For my first time on set, the director wanted to get pure reactions from me and my other co star, so for the scene he pushed us into the lake without warning to get an under water shot and that is why I now always bring a spare set of clothes.
That's a lie. No director would ever push an actor into water without warning. You don't even work in the film industry. If you did then you'd know how many union regulations this would violate.
On my last day on set, I will bring hand written thank you cards for directors, producers, and any crew I worked closely with that I can give a genuine thank you to. It has my headshot and name on the front. I’ll also send one to my agent
Hi Kurt - I think I just subscribed myself! They only thing on my list that isn’t on yours is snacks. I always bring a few healthy (dry) snacks in case I don’t want what is offered, like sweets or bars. Thanks for your ending regarding professionalism and thanking the crew!!
I love being my laptop on set because wait time is crazy long sometimes and because I'm taking classes, it's a great time to do homework! Great advice btw!
YES YES appreciation for the crew is a MUST. Thank you for pointing this out. Also I love the comment you made about your phone. I try not to look at my phone during a shoot. I once got an upsetting text during lunch and when I went for a touch up in the hair and makeup trailer the stylist said--"Whoa what has happened? You energy is completely different now" It spooked me and I had a really hard time getting back into character after that. So I avoid my phone and bring a book.
@Ava King Yup i was the same. I first joined the drama club and then she really saw that I liked acting very much so I joined a few other theatres and then she asked me if I wanted to paly in film. And I guess we'll see how it goes on...😊🤞 Good Luck to you in your acting career ‼️👍
Thanks so much for giving us your precious time and advice . You are a amazing teacher .keep going . My good wishes are with you . Thanks for helping us . Thanks to you 😊 for whatever you did for us .
I love the part at the end about showing gratitude to the crew. I try to do this too! Every last person on set is vital to the whole picture and I try to make as many people feel that way as possible if I get the chance. I bring a lot of the same stuff you do on set too! I wear contacts and glasses but never thought to bring my glasses on set and an extra pair of contacts just in case! Thanks for the idea! I also make sure to bring a power pack so that if I have to charge my phone I can do so discreetly in my bag without having to leave it behind plugged into a wall somewhere.
..oh and I bring snacks just in case! sometimes craft service doesn't always have the healthiest stuff so I'll bring nutritious options I can snack on at any moment.
You can learn a lot just from being on set and observing. One of the things you usually learn early on is stay out of the way when not needed but ALWAYS close enough to hear them call you to the set. I never listen to music while I'm in holding. Might bring a book or two if we're doing 16 hour days but that's rare nowadays. My first time ever doing BG work was on Batman Returns around 1992 and one time we literally went over 24 hours. That was the longest I'd ever worked in my life at the time and I still had to WALK all the way home (1200 Riverside Dr) from WB; change into my regular work uniform then WALK all the way to my regular job (1011 San Fernando Rd in Burbank); do eight more hours then WALK all the way home again.
Nothing can make you more confident than taking an acting class. Except for maybe performing onstage in front of a live audience (don't do it - it's addictive). Every time I do live theater I go into a slight depression once our run of the show is over. I call it the "post play blues". I've talked with other actors that experience the same thing. You become like family after performing together for so many weeks or months; you don't want it to end.
all the dancers in David Parson's company seek out each crew member to say thanks and shake their hand. It made all the difference and they were always welcome back
Hi Kurt, recently came across your channel and like what you’ve been putting out there so I subbed 🙌🏼 I’m working towards my acting goals as we speak and now I’ve dipped my toes into the writing and producing side of things as well in order to bring projects to life and help as many people as I can on the way. I started out as an Extra part time alongside my studies and ended up doing it for 5yrs. It allowed me to get on set experience early on, make connections, experience free acting classes by watching how more established actors prep/work and so on. The thing I would 100% agree with is to respect all and just be a polite, decent person regardless of your current position because unfortunately in the UK Extras are verbally spoken down to and treated pretty poorly. We all do it for different reasons and come from different backgrounds. I’ve met a lot of interesting people along the way but we all agree that the lack of respect is crazy. Everyone plays a valuable part in bringing these things to life so all are important. A simple smile, saying “hello” and “thanks for coming” goes a long way and I will always remember that as I hopefully climb the metaphorical ladder in the industry. I’ve been in a couple of movies with Brad Pitt now and each time he stops at the end and thanks all of the Extras because he understands all contribute and that’s how he started out. I like your personality Kurt and you are helping us creatives with insider knowledge. It’s appreciated. Paul Leon
Booked my first film. Whats weird is that I’ve never done this before (apart from the time I used do fighting shots when I was 12😅)but I love acting 😂😂 I’ve been following this channel for a while and its really helpful. I got the script and now I don’t know what to do 😂😂🙌🏾🙌🏾
Thank you so much great advice and so important as well. I like to bring a note pad because I like to make notes of things that may come up or meet someone and want to make notes of that. 🤩😎
I usually also bring a phone charger/battery because sometimes you'll end up in a weird location where ALL power is being produced by generators and they don't like for people to plug in their chargers without asking. Like if you're working at Blue Cloud Ranch or they've built a set in the middle of nowhere, the power will be coming from generators. I always bring my own lunch because even though they're required to feed you and get "meal penalties" if they go more than five hours without lunch, sometimes the unexpected happens. Sometimes it's an EXTREMELY low budget film and all they give you is an apple and a few granola bars. So I make spam Musubi and bring it with me (sometimes end up sharing my Musubi with other actors). Got my recipe from an actor friend that's from Hawaii. 5:00 That's exactly the kind of book I'd take with me to set! lol! (or maybe a book about the US Army's Remote Viewing program). I bring those kinds of books because those are the kinds of conversations I want to have. 6:10 Great idea! I'm going to start doing this from now on! (why didn't I think of this before?!). 8:10 They've already got a camera! And their camera is better than yours! Lol!
I would say also bring some snacks. Yes I’m probably well aware that they do have their own table of snacks and things and what not for the cast and crew but I think it’s important just in case you’re in those rare moments and you don’t have a chance to eat or you don’t have a chance to go to the table if they have one. I would say bring some nuts And reasons this way your blood sugar doesn’t go low and these foods don’t spoil and don’t need refrigeration.
i forgot my contacts for a movie once and i have TERRIBLE vision the whole time!! there was a scene where i had to throw a ball and catch it over and over again and once i threw that ball high enough i couldn’t see it!! 😅😅
A portable battery bank with enough for a few refills. 1. You'll be someone's best friend, crew or another actor. 2. You won't be stranded and not know where you are. I had a friend get super stressed out because they were driving in a picture car and their phone battery was about to die and they couldn't figure out how to get back to basecamp and all they had was a walkie.
I went through the same thing when i went to a commercial job, and they me read off teleprompter and I didn't have contacts with me. I had flown from Michigan to Las Vegas for the job. Needless to stay, it didn't turn out well.
The first step is always acting classes. It can be classes in school or outside of school. Similar to someone that wanted to learn violin, you can learn from music teachers in school or look for private violin classes.
Hi, Was curious if you are generally allowed to take pics when you’re on set for your own memories etc. and if anyone has a problem with you doing that (if you’re not going to post to social media)? Didn’t know if that was OK to take pics for your own memories, etc., but that you just weren’t allowed to post it to social media… Or I didn’t know if you should just totally refrain from taking pics, because of not wanting to make the Director etc. nervous and wonder whether you are going to post to social media or not, even though you weren’t going to. Do other fellow actors, or crew members etc. ever get upset when coworker actors etc. take pics of them on set?
I really liked your comment about bringing contacts! I wear my glasses every day and I'm always scared that if I do an audition with glasses it'll hurt my chances because it'll change the vibe of the character, so I usually wear contacts for auditions. What is your take on this?
They are human beings just like you and me. As long as you treat them with respect and don't invade their privacy, speaking to them is fine. I've had many conversations with celebrity actors. They are just normal people.
If I really like a book a lot I might read it three or four times. I always bring a book to set that I've already read once before and NEVER a book on acting or anything else to do with the industry. We're already talking about that stuff, I want to talk about stuff like self directed neuroplasticity or wave/particle duality in quantum physics. Science in general, I try to avoid talking about religion or politics. So I don't bring books about religion or politics or anything even remotely related. Got a bunch of books on Freemasonry but I don't bring them because then religious people start screaming; throwing things and trying to set people on fire.
I hope you see this I’m a going actor I doing my acting MA in London but when I’m finsh I’ll come to atl to look work however I want to know where in atl do most casting take place for good movies so I can how close to relocate, I’m also preparing so professional showreel student film /indi film and theater
The vast majority of auditions in Atlanta are self tape so where you live really makes no difference. Best of luck in London! I went there for the first time last year. Beautiful city!
Acting Career Center thank you ,but how and when do I know an audition is coming to tape myself is there a website I can go on to see what big movies or tv series /sitcoms or looking for auditions
I have attempted to get contact lenses before, but I couldn't get them in or out myself. The doctor could do it for me, and my dad could do it for me, but I couldn't get them in myself. Do you have any tips for this or is there any way that someone on set could do this, like a makeup artist or someone? It sounds crazy, I know...
I know, right?! We, actors, without the crew there's no film, series or play. I think it's important to thank them too. Plus, how can someone hold a microphone stick for so long??? 😯
Lol! It's called a "fishpole boom" or "boom mic". The fluffy part around the microphone is called a "Dead Cat" or "Dead Wombat" depending on the size. The smaller ones are called "dead kittens". I'm not joking, that's what they're actually called. We've got some pretty weird names for things like a clothespin is called a "C-46", a power cord is a "Stinger". If you're ever working crew and someone's tells to to "Hollywood that bounce board", just means hold it up with your hands. If they tell you to go grab a "Butt Plug" - that's actually a Mathews stand adapter. I'm not joking, just Google "Weird Set Lingo". I think they only come up with this weird lingo so they can tell who's never been on set before. Also if it's your first time working crew NEVER be late to set. They usually have a shame card they make you wear on your belt for the entire day so EVERYONE knows it was YOU who caused delays.
So, my eyesight is not the best thing in the world. If I don't wear my glasses, I can still see but it's just blurry, and I'm scared to use contacts. Should I just tell the director or just hope not to trip anything?
I like to bring a book I've never read and if they ask me about it I just make up some bullshit. Tell them that it's about Shrek even though I'm holding a Bible. Oh wait...
