WOW!!  That is going to be your first reaction the first time you are on a movie set. WOW!!  There are a lot of people working and equipment and cables are all over the place and on top of all that there are words being shouted out that you may not understand.

This article will give you an overview of what is going on and will help you see that a movie set despite its sometimes chaotic appearance is actually a well-organized chaotic place J. Seriously, a movie set is a place where everyone(at least the crew) knows what needs to be done and does it in a timely manner.

Ok, that is all fine and good that the crew knows what is going on but I would like to be clued in a bit too- yes, we know that is what you will be thinking, so get ready for a brief overview of what is happening.

The first thing that will happen is someone will come to the holding area and will start selecting people that they would like on set .  Usually, they don’t take everyone at once if there is a big group of background.  Usually they will take small groups at a time so they can effectively place them on set.  If you are selected, you will be taken to where the set is and placed somewhere with other background people – as you remember from The ABCs of Background- this is your ONE or starting position.  You will also be given instructions on what your movements should be and with whom once “Background” is shouted out- remember, your cue to start is “Background” not “Action” unless you are specifically told that your cue is different than “Background.”

Ok, you are waiting in your spot waiting for your cue and there is a lot going on and you would like to know what is happening. 

What is happening is they are getting ready to start the main action and get the cameras rolling.  After all the main goal of filming is to, well, film.  The first thing you may notice is that the cameras and lighting are being moved around and at the center of the attention is the 2^nd team.  The 2^nd team is what stand-ins are called.  These people are in place so that the camera(s) and lighting can be properly placed while the 1^st team(main actors) can be doing other things(finish up in make-up, practice lines, confer with director, etc).

Ok, now you hear “Picture up” being shouted around set.  This means that the camera and lighting are set and that they are very close to starting the scene.  So when you hear “Picture up” make sure you are on your ONE…but you still may be a couple of minutes from really getting started- stay ready- they are close to getting going.

You will see that the 2^nd team steps aside and the 1^st team steps in- after all it is the 1^st team that is the center of the action.

The next thing that you may hear is “Last Looks.”  This is an invitation for the hair and makeup department to have their representatives go and look at the 1^st team one last time and make sure their makeup and hair are ready for the camera.

After hair and makeup gives their ok you will hear “Rolling.”  Ok, get ready now, you are moments away from getting going.  “Rolling” is aimed at the Sound department to let the sound mixer know it is time to start the sound tape.  A films visual parts and sound parts are recorded separately on different mediums and then combined later at the labs.

When the mixer has the sound tape going, the mixer will yell out “Speeding.”  This tells everyone that the sound tape is going and that the sound department is ready to go.

After the sound is going the next thing that needs to roll is, you guessed it, the camera.  The camera operator will say “Set.”  This means the camera is going.  Please note that before camera says “Set” you may be given your cue -"Background."

Above is all for informational purposes to satisfy your curiosity.  What you are concerned with is your cue, which is “Background.”  Right before the camera starts is when you will probably hear your cue yelled – “Background.”  Now you may ask why would background start moving before the camera starts.  Good question.  The answer is that there is no reason to film the start of background motion- why waste film on filming everyone not moving, then moving?  That would just be edited out anyway, so the best thing is to get the background going, then start the camera.  Again, you don’t care when the camera starts, you need to just listen for “Background” and start going when you hear that called out. Sometimes, you will be given another cue or told to move on action.  If that is the case, then listen or watch(sometimes cues are given visually) for your cue.

The next thing you will hear is “Action.”  This is the cue for the 1^st team to start whatever it is they are supposed to be doing.

You keep going until your movements take you off set or you hear the next command, which is “Cut!.”

When you hear cut you will probably next hear “Reset or back to ONE.” This is your cue to reset and get ready to do everything all over again. You keep repeating the process until you are told to go back to holding or are given a new ONE, which will happen when the production moves on to a new scene or maybe a new camera angle.

Lastly, someone may come over to you or your group to take your picture.  This is done for continuity reasons….just in case they ever have to redo the scene you just did.

Hope you enjoyed this brief overview and we hope that you enjoy your time on set.

@copyright DavidAnthonyCasting 2008