Thanksgetting

for far too long now, our consumerism has consumed our every thought

we no longer look to give, we give to get

we no longer want to live, we live to get

for so long as we live, we will consume and regret

the regret that can only be called... buyers remorse

this Black Friday, please join me in NOT shopping, NOT stimulating our economy, and instead spending time with those that we love for another BONUS day that we have off of work (unless you're in retail, of course)

isn't this a pleasant fiction?

I, like you, will begin my holiday shopping season with shopping on Friday, but I don't want to...

Wikipedia definition

This is a good definition of my job...

A stand-in in film and television is a person who substitutes for the actor before filming, for technical purposes such as lighting.

Stand-ins are helpful in the initial processes of production. Lighting setup can be a slow and tedious process; during this time the actor will often be somewhere else. Stand-ins allow the director of photography to light the set, the camera department to light and focus scenes. The director will often ask stand-ins to deliver the scene dialogue ("lines") and walk through ("blocking") the scenes to be filmed. In this way, a good stand-in can help speed up the day's production and is a necessary and valuable cast member on a film.

Stand-ins are distinguished from body doubles, who replace actors on camera from behind, in makeup, or during dangerous stunts. Stand-ins do not appear on camera. However, on some productions the jobs of stand-in and double may be done by the same person.

Stand-ins do not necessarily look like the actor, but they must have the same skin tone, hair color, height and build as the actor so that the lighting in a scene will be set up correctly. For example, if the lighting is set up with a stand-in shorter than an actor, the actor might end up having his or her head in relative darkness.

hurry up and wait

Most of my day is spent being close to the set and being available at a moment's notice to rush in for a lineup. The frustration about being "tied" to set is that the expectations are unrealistic. Usually I have a cue to head in to set when the 1st AD says the phrase "checking the gate," but sometimes it just isn't loud enough... gotta rush to set now...

The scene that's being filmed right now has the character I stand in for in a bathtub talking to someone else that comes into the bathroom. In order to stand in for him, I sat in the empty bathtub for 20 minutes while they set all of the lights. Definitely not one of the roughest job assignments, but it gets balanced out when I have to be leaning, kneeling, crouching, or some other weird body position for 30-40 minutes at a time. The only other times I've been in a bathtub were one time WITH another stand in and another time was unfortunately with Ms. Universe 1997 when I stood in for her costar for a few minutes. I know, rough life...

The Morning Routine of a Stand In

it's late tonight and I messed up my sleeping schedule somehow... I just took some Melatonin, but I'm not sure if that will work... maybe I should take some more and get off of the computer?

The morning routine of a stand in starts with knowing your call time before you go to bed the night before. My call time is 8am tomorrow so i have to be ON SET at 8am. This doesn't mean PARKING at 8 or walking to set at 8.

A good stand in is usually there about 30 minutes early so that they can drop by wardrobe for their color cover (a shirt to match the color clothes that the actor is wearing) and still have time to grab breakfast from catering. Lately, I've been a bad stand in because I've been getting to crew parking around 10 minutes before my call time and rushing by wardrobe to check color cover on my way to set.

Once ON SET in the morning, there are usually two possible scenarios: 1) watch a rehearsal of the actors performing a scene, or 2) jump right onto a mark and look where the actor is supposed to be looking so that the Director of Photography can light you and the camera department can determine what movement the camera will be doing.

In scenario one, actors rehearse a scene and the stand ins or "second team" watch so that they can reproduce the actions and body language of the actors after the rehearsal. Different Directors and Assistant Directors have different routines for rehearsals and lighting setups. Some directors will play with different ideas and go with their instincts and some already have everything mapped out for the day with shot by shot plans.

In scenario two, the actors are not present for a rehearsal for whatever reason and second team is used to light the set for the actors to come in and perform the scene. The history of stand ins is not entirely know to me, but most of the reason for the job existing is a courtesy and aid to the actors so that they don't have to be on set all the time. Stand ins are on set ALL day and are expected to inform an AD or production assistant when they leave set, even just to go to the bathroom.

After a lighting setup, second team relaxes while the actors perform the scene. I like to think of it as two shifts. There is always a shift of people working on set, but when the cast is working, the crew is catching their breathe for the most part. This is due to the need for silence and quiet on set or stage...

WOW, this sounds pretty technical and boring... any questions?

I am a professional Stand In

Simply put, I stand for a living. It gets much more complex than that and my job is very specialized, but the short answer for those that ask and don't really want to know is that I stand where the actor is going to stand so that the lighting and camera can rehearse and be ready for them.

I have heard of many different ways to describe what I do, but this blog will attempt to capture the daily adventures and frustrations from an anonymous perspective so that I can vent about the many frustrations of my job without fear of reprisal and/or career suicide.

Maybe a more apt title for this first post would be - Disclaimer