Extras Casting in Plain English: The Words You Will Hear

Film sets have their own vocabulary, and some of it will sound strange on your first day. Most of the words are simple once someone explains them. This guide gives a short meaning for each common term. If you hear one that is not here, ask an assistant director, because new people ask questions all the time.

The day itself

A call sheet is the crew's plan for the day. It lists the scenes, the people needed, and the times. Your call time is the time you are expected to arrive. Your booking details give your own call time, and it may differ from the time for other people on the same set. On a film set, "on time" means 15 minutes early.

Base camp is where the trailers for cast and crew are. It is often where you report when you arrive.

Assistant directors, often called ADs, run the crowd on set. You check in with them, take direction from them, and check out with them when the day ends.

Holding is where background waits until the crew needs them. It might be a big room, a gym, a tent, or a hotel meeting room. You will probably spend a good part of the day there, so bring a book or something quiet to do.

The voucher is the start paperwork you fill out at check-in. It holds your basic information and comes with a W-4. Some productions now use digital vouchers and digital time cards on your phone.

Craft services is the snack table. It varies by show, so bring your own food if you have special needs. Lunch is a separate meal, and it comes about 6 hours after the crew call.

Words you hear on set

Background action is your cue to start moving.
Cut means the take is over.
Back to one means go back to your first position and start again.
Wrap means you are finished for the day.
The martini shot is the last shot of the day.
Continuity means keeping shots matching from one take to the next.

Continuity has a practical side. If you were in an earlier part of a scene, you may be held late, or called back weeks later, so the shots still match. Early release means your scenes for the day are done. Being held late means you are in the remaining scenes.

First team and second team

First team means the principal actors. Second team means the stand-ins, who stand in for those actors.

Types of roles

A general extra is part of a larger group and is non-descript, such as a pedestrian or a coffee shop customer.

A featured extra is singled out. A featured extra may have a character, may have a face on camera, and does not speak. An example is the parent of a child character. Casting usually sends photo options to the director or an assistant director, who picks, though sometimes the pick happens on set from the general extras.

A stand-in stands in for one actor while the camera crew sets lights and camera angles. A stand-in works closely with the cinematographer's crew and matches the actor's height, hair color, and skin tone, often wearing the same shirt or clothes. A photo double goes further and appears on camera as the actor, for example from behind or from the side. A photo double matches height, weight, and clothing sizes. Read the stand-in guide for more.

Pay words

A rate such as $150/12 means $150 guaranteed for a day of up to 12 hours. If you are released after 8 hours, you still get the $150. The rate already includes 4 hours of overtime. Hours after the 12th are paid at time and a half. A fitting is paid, usually as a "quarter check," which is 2 hours of pay on a $150/12 rate. Movie Extra Casting: Getting Paid and Keeping Records explains all of this.

Words on the site

MyCastingFile uses a few words of its own:

Open Calls is the list of roles that casting posts.
Replies is where casting answers arrive, and a red number shows new ones.
Calendar shows your days. Tap a day once for available and twice for unavailable, and it saves by itself.
Photos are the pictures on your Profile, and a free Profile includes 2.
Profile is your page with your details and Photos.
An availability request asks if you are free. A booking request means casting wants to book you. Confirmed bookings are under Replies.

To learn the basics of getting started, read The Ultimate Guide to Becoming a Background Extra. For an hour-by-hour view of a shoot day, read Being an Extra in a Movie: A Shoot Day From Start to Finish. For manners in holding, read Film Extra Work: Set Etiquette and the Holding Area.

Keep this page open the next time you read an Open Call, and look up any word that stops you.