Second Team

Homeland, Season 7, The Compound

Homeland, Season 7, The Compound

Second Team assemble!

The life of a utility stand in is an interesting and varied life. Yes. It's a lot of standing around but in the job description the very first word is standing. 

It's no talking and listen. It's pay attention to every detail of the scene and, most importantly, everything the actor you're standing in for does. 

Don't leave set. Listen for the call for second team. Be prepared to stand in one spot for a long time. Or at least until the lights and camera departments are set in their final positions. So, in other words, be prepared to stand for a long time. 

I once sat in a car for two hours and forty-three minutes. Windows up and hands on the steering wheel. I could hear the chatter on set through a radio lying on the passenger seat. No bathroom breaks. Just me and my thoughts, watching crew move lights and set up green screen panels...watching everyone eating sandwiches and drinking coffee...wondering if they'd forgotten I was in the car...praying they would let me at least stretch my legs or crack a window for fresh air. 

Sounds glamorous, doesn't it? It's the job, but if you're patient and watch and listen, it really can be so much more. 

If you're a person who wants to work behind the camera on movies or television productions, for instance, working as a stand in to see how everything works. You are witness to every team member performing their duties. You will come in contact with every department and get a chance to see if there is one that catches your interest. 

If you're an actor like me, standing in affords you an opportunity to work with very talented actors. It's an education if you keep your mouth shut and your eyes open. Sometimes, if you're lucky, an actor will share insights into the business or, even better, the craft. 

That's when all the standing or sitting for hours becomes worth it. That's when you sit in your car at the end of a fourteen hour day and smile and think to yourself, 'Today was a good day.'

Standing in is not for everyone. I've seen people come and go. Sometimes after one day. Sometimes after one scene. They just didn't get it. They just didn't get that all they had to do was stand. That's it. For some reason, they just couldn't stand on their mark and stay still. 

Some felt they needed to share ideas with the director. Some felt they needed to share their thoughts on how they would say a line with seasoned professional, Emmy award-winning actors. Several were never on set when they were needed. One guy didn't want to take his sunglasses off. One stand in on a show I worked on fell asleep and went missing for over an hour. 

Yeah. I know. Right?

There is no time on a busy set to teach someone to just stand and be quiet. Tensions are high. A set is a pressure cooker. Time is money. Money is the driving force. Nobody wants to deal with a stand in who can't stand. 

If you're thinking about working as a stand in, let me give you some pointers:

Know your call time. Be punctual. Remember: time is money. 

Know who you're standing in for 

Familiarize yourself with the scenes which are scheduled to be shot

Be near the set. Don't wander around. Don't snoop or sneak.

Go to set when you're called to set

Watch the marking rehearsal. Pay close attention to everything.

Stand on your mark.

Don't say a word.

Don't leave your mark until you are directed to do so.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat. 

That's it! That's the job! 

I was lucky to work seven months on Homeland Season 7. It was a great gig. I can't stand in for everyone. I'm 6'2. Not all actors are 6'2. Luckily there were two actors on this season of Homeland who were 6'2 and taller. There were also actors who were not 6'2 and those were the days where I knew my quadriceps were going to get a good workout. 

All in a day's work. I can squat. I can sit on an apple box. I can be shorter. I can be taller. I once stood in for an actor who was 6'9. I had to stand on an apple box and wear a tall hat. It's never happened again. You just never know what you're going to be asked to do and that makes it interesting. 

Sometimes you sit in a car. Sometimes you lie on the floor behind a couch. Sometimes you stand on a dolly, a camera perched over your shoulder and have police lights flashed in your face. You stand inside and out. You stand in the rain or snow or both. 

Simply put, you stand wherever they tell you. 

Which is a lot better than someone telling you where to go.

just keeping it reel

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