[Anonymous37919]

The supervision requirements I got sentenced to as far back as 2015 over that crap to do with my former support workers finally ended last week. Thank goodness for that. They were really holding me down. The orders were amended by this (sometimes awkward) guy who monitored me, so I couldn't let him know I was accessing social media, like Facebook and Twitter. Yet these are the only websites where you can find steady work as an extra in films. The professional ones like Mad Dog Casting and all that very seldom have anything to apply for, so you mostly have to land roles in no budget stuff.

I had problems with some actress ages ago, called Nicolette McKeown. She is some cosplayer who is really just another snooty shitbag, who later cost me a part in an independent movie by messaging the director who I didn't even know at the time, just because I said something honest that had no business being posted to her Twitter account, and I hope this won't be a habitual thing with her either, as she seems to know a lot of local film makers, and it's not often feature films get shot where I reside (and trying to prove she slanders me is impossible unless she publicly talked about me, but it would continue to be done in private emails). It's really annoying when spiteful jerks like the ones you can find online try to cause a butterfly effect in your life, as I've certainly had quite a few trolls to deal with in my time. But due to her reporting me last year, it ended up causing another court barmy. So thank heavens the orders are done with now.

I now have a support worker from Casablanca, who is very nice. We went for a walk last week. While I do miss the variety of support I had a long time ago, I'm now accepting that things have changed, and as sad as it is, we just have to go with the flow and meet new people. I'm only working with guys now, because I won't develop romantic feelings for another man.

Unfortunately, I'm going to be stuck at my family's house for some unspecified amount of time while I wait on alternate accommodation. and it is a real mess. My sister had to move her property out of her flat and give up the tenancy, so all her junk is practically strewn about everywhere. She's had a lot of problems to put up with, so it is hard for her to cope with life as well. Let's just leave it at that.

But, yeah. Screw Sara, Joanna, Laura, that actress, and all the other scum buckets who knowingly tried to bring me down over the past several years. I'm a survivor. They can eat my dust. We need to confide in unity here, and forget about those who don't help us.

[Clara22]

This is good news, despite you have to be at your family's

[Anonymous37919]

Well, my support worker will be going on annual leave next month, and there's some extras work coming up soon for two movies, one of which is reportedly going to be the biggest movie in Edinburgh to date. The other is an indie film. The agency may have someone else who can help me while he's off enjoying his holiday.

I'm very excited about it, but I'm finding the apparent stalling tactics of my sister to be unnecessarily stressful. Also, I must say that I'm getting awfully sick of nagging my sister to get her profile sorted out on Universal Extras, which I'm paying for. When I gave her £25 before (and it's really £30 to join), some money came out of her bank for something else, so I gave her another £25 which meant I did myself out of money a bit. She had to move out of her flat, and so my house looks like a wasteland.

The agency for extras is real. They need two photos, and filming for this major movie is happening very soon. They said it can take the better part of a week to get an account fully activated. Once the pictures get approved, you have to pay a membership fee by phone if you cannot prove you study full-time. One photo has to be a face and shoulders type one. The other is your full body. They only approved one, but it's a cluttered environment, so what can we do about it?

The house I live in is an absolute mess. They didn't approve one of the last photos we took because of the lighting, but what can I do about that? Apart from that, she says she isn't able to be outdoors for too long because the cold air affects her health, and the filming is going to be outdoors. There's nobody else who can go with me, and I don't like crowded places. But she really ought to have got a move on weeks ago. You know? It just causes a lot of commotion.

[Clara22]

Hi,
Is your sister an extra as well?

[Anonymous37919]

Yes. She is supposed to finish the registration process.

[Clara22]

And what about you?

[Anonymous37919]

Yeah. Me too. I've been signed with the agency since May of 2015, but I never have taken a job with them before. They sent me text messages before about stuff I wasn't interested in, and/or it was too far away. They are supposed to update the pages for people to apply to the jobs as they become available, but I'm sure prior ads didn't add any such jobs, which is why I'm a bit wary of them doing this again. While I do have a support worker now, sometimes the schedule isn't suitable for arranging support shifts.

I've been angry at my sister too for taken so long to do a few basic photos, because they need the photos before the payment can be taken by phone, and then they say the account will be active in 5 days which would cause a delay if anything was being shot before then, and I know that the inactive accounts that are logged in cannot see the jobs. Something big is going down soon in Edinburgh, which is why this is causing me stress. Leaving things to the last minute is never a wise decision. She had many weeks, even a matter of a few months, to get all this up and running. But my sister isn't the quickest person around.

[Clara22]

I always wonder if being an extra is an exciting work. It must be. Or is it very stressful?

[Anonymous37919]

Well, it really will depend on how you perceive the whole process of filming. By trying it out and accepting it's a hard profession to be involved with, you will be able to decide if acting is for you. If you're like me who loves movies and doing drama in general despite having anxiety, the end result can be rewarding, but it is certainly never easy. Just remember that the movies you may appear in are usually not distributed for quite a while upon completion, and one movie I worked on way last year still hasn't been released.

Being an extra a second or third time having done it once already may not be very appealing to people who have already experienced what it's like, and it certainly won't lead to any wannabe actors out there being cast in bigger roles. Extras are sometimes referred to as being moving furniture, or cattle. Plus, it's often a case of 'who you know' as well. If you happen to know a guy for example who makes movies, he might call you up when a new project goes into development.

People that want to be in films may consider it a good rite of passage to get on a film set by being a supporting artiste, and to be able to see the action up close and personal, but it's not really what one could label as a "fun" job, as it can be hard work. The main stars are also often kept away from the extras during breaks for a good reason, and I've heard stories that some extras weren't treated too great by the crew. I'm to a point now in my life where I see principal stars as just being people like the rest of us, and it's also not healthy to be too into them in a mentally clingy way either. Sure, we all have people we admire and look up to, but all I'm saying is that it's not realistic or healthy to view celebrities as being special. Many of them also aren't what you think they are.

Again, some people have had a huge resume prepared based on extras work alone without ever having gotten a line. There is also lots of waiting around to do as they set up takes, and I'm not saying this is the case all the time, but casting calls for extras can attract a lot of borderline weirdos who are only out for themselves. Especially for major films, with top stars.

Also, I'm mildly concerned about something now. It could be nothing. But I just sort of have a hunch. Not too long ago, I filled in some form to do with extras work for an independent movie. Do you remember how I told you that I've had a few whistle-blowers costing me work already? They generally know lots of people who shoot other indie films where I live, and perhaps keep in touch with one another (since social media makes that easy).

Anyway, I messaged somebody on Facebook about the filming times for dates I saw somewhere, and he said the extras are already booked. It kind of has me thinking that I'm getting the brush off here, because I noticed one of the commenters on the page was that director who didn't cast me in what I'll just refer to as 'the other film' because of a certain someone. If he had beat me to the punch, it would make sense for a respondent to make up a story not to cast a person who is reputed to be this and that, because someone else said so.

It is sad and unfortunate if people drag your name through the mud and cost you jobs. People should always be wary of things like this. It seems I'm being slandered. To be honest, I've been concerned about this for a while now. There's probably nothing I can do if it cannot be proven.

Like I said, it's still early days. We'll just wait and see if I get offered a part. But I just have a...feeling. You know?

[Clara22]

I understand your concerns. Is this a small world where everyone knows everybody?

[Anonymous37919]

Yeah. They know people who know people who know people through a sort of long grapevine of affiliation, as it's like any other community. Whether it's face to face or online, the world we live in is one massive network, so it's surprising what 'little bird' flies around, dropping notes.

Years ago, I had the same problems on message boards. Like, when I had issues on one website and joined another one about a similar topic under the same name, they knew who I was. It snowballed into one of the worst periods of my life, and I also have some ridiculous article about me somewhere, mocking me.

Plus, movie makers often like to check up on what other local movie makers are doing. It's like if you "mess" with someone in the business, they act vindictive, and get you blacklisted so nobody else casts you, and it's a really nasty thing to do. They may have proof that I said stuff to them or just choose to believe whoever they wish, but I didn't do anything wrong. Unfortunately, if someone slanders you in an email, text message or private message, it is going on 'behind the scenes' and usually cannot be proven. It's very dubious to me how all the "spots" for extras are filled already, considering this ad was very recent. And I saw the director had posted on the movie's Facebook page, as like I said, all these people may know each other. It just looks like I'm being fobbed off.

Again, I could be wrong. But I think I'm right.

[Clara22]

And do you have Plan B?

[Anonymous37919]

My support worker does not like being outdoors on windy days. However, they're supposed to do what the client wants during an allocated shift. We went to the area where my mate lives, and he did nothing but moan about it being cold, and go on about me getting him to meet us away from his home because it's a company policy that care workers cannot go to the houses of friends of clients.

It wasn't even that cold. He said the same crap on Wednesday as well. It was just cloudy, and I told him I wanted to make a short video going from the bus stop to the underpass near my friend's house, which only took like 30 seconds to shoot on my phone. That was it. He said he got up at 6 in the morning and had to deal with another client, so maybe he was cranky because of that, but clients like myself who rely on support still deserve some respect.

To be honest, I only took my support up again because I need somebody to go with me to proper film sets. A lot of these caregivers are just mucking people around. All he did was rabbit on about stuff and distract me. But to be honest, I just find nobody is truly ever that helpful anymore.