Retirement
Just for fun
So if you have been following this blog page, then you know that I have been keeping myself somewhat busy during my retirement by working as an Extra (referred to as Background or BG) in the local TV and film industry. As I've detailed before, a day on set can be paralyzingly boring, with most of your time spent sitting in "Background holding", waiting to be called to set. And when you do get there, your action might simply to walk back and forth, or sit in a chair in, of course, the background. You'd need to have a pretty keen eye to catch me, or I'd have to say, "in the Resident Alien kidnapping scene, watch for me in the RV".
But sometimes, you pretty much know that you're going to be seen in a particular set up. e.g. in the above scene on So Help Me Todd (Ep. 11), the actors were right behind me, so I assumed I'd be somewhat noticeable in the final edit. Now normally, the directoral team takes great strides to make sure you're in the right place at the proper moment, and conversely, try to keep you from being in the wrong place. But when I got booked by casting for another day on So Help Me Todd, I didn't think much of it; BG often get cycled through shows, and sometimes they do want the same ones back, if they need what is referred to as "continuity".
This scene was set up as Todd and his mother watch mobile phone video of the actual murder itself, where the actor uses the knife to stab her co-worker. So I think to myself, "I'm not supposed to be a witness to the murder, then a courtroom lawyer the next day". This is the opposite of continuity; I really shouldn't be playing two different roles in a given TV show, let alone the same episode. I mention it to the AD, who quickly shuffles me to what he thinks is a less obvious spot, but it turned out that I was even more prominent on screen! Oh well. As we often say, "it's above my pay grade". Besides, only a couple of my friends who watch the show caught it; the average viewer would never have noticed.
