PUBLISHED 20 June 2023
Recently I’ve been busy working on the set of Hollyoaks as a scene extra and thought I would share my experience with you.
I’ve wanted to be an actor for as long as I can remember, so I am always looking for opportunities to develop my skillset and experience performing on stage or screen.
Last year I saw a social media post from Hollyoaks, looking for supporting artists aged 16-18. I applied and was thrilled to be called for an audition with the head of casting. They sent me a script and I had one week to prepare. The interview was at the Lime Pictures film studio in Liverpool, where I had to perform the script to a camera and answer a few questions about myself. I also had the opportunity to ask the casting director some questions and find out what would be involved in the job.
After a tense couple of weeks waiting to hear back, I was delighted to receive the email that I had been successful in the audition process and was put in touch with the casting agency that works with Hollyoaks, to be added to their books. Only a few days later I was booked for my first job and found myself making my way down to Liverpool for my first day on set!
I’ve now been a regular supporting artist for a few months, and I am loving it. As work in the filming industry is often very short notice, I usually only get confirmed the day before filming. This is when I email my teachers – who have all been very supportive.
Once I am confirmed, I am given a brief of what the scene will be and how I need to dress, so I pack a bag with my makeup and the required clothing for the shoot and catch the train to Liverpool. I usually travel the night before as the call times can often be as early as 7:30a.m. I am lucky enough to have family that live nearby who I can stay with and can drop me off/pick me up from the studio. This is also handy as have to arrive on set in full hair and makeup ready to start promptly at 7.45.
Once I arrive at the studio and sign in and head to the canteen where I wait until I'm collected by the staff on my shoot. I am then taken to have my outfit checked by the costume department and then sent over to makeup. Presuming they are happy with how I look, I am taken to set where we are positioned and given instructions for the take. Depending on the length of the scene, we can be there for hours re-taking the same 10 seconds of a scene. Though more often than not, things go pretty smoothly and only require a few takes.
I’ve now been lucky enough to be on Hollyoaks on several occasions, shooting a variety of scenes. Sometimes I might just be in the background walking past with an umbrella, but one of my favourite scenes was when we filmed in the High School, and I got to wear the Hollyoaks High school uniform.
One of my favourite things about filming is meeting so many different people on set, especially as we are all interested in the same thing. It's great to make new friends and it is especially exciting working alongside the main cast who are all so friendly and professional. There is such a mix of age groups, sometimes I will be the youngest by about 20 years and other times, depending on the scene, I will be working with a group of people my age. As well as this, the whole experience is so educational; learning about the different camera angles and the importance of continuity, which made me realise how much hard work and effort goes into even the smallest of scenes. I now think about this whenever I'm watching movies and tv shows.
Working on a TV set made me realise the number of differences there are between theatre and TV performance. The style of acting alone is completely different. Contrasting to the exaggerated style of theatre, screen acting focuses more on the subtle facial expressions and capturing all the different angles of the moment. Additionally, if something goes wrong during filming, we can easily do a re-take, whereas in theatre this is obviously not an option. Also, in TV there is a major priority of ensuring the continuity is accurate. In between takes we often must wait while the footage is checked there and then for details and that everything is the same as in the previous shot. This means that the finish time is unpredictable, sometimes I'm there for two hours, sometimes I'm there for twelve hours.
I've been on set with a few of the lead actors including Ross Adams, Anya Lawrence, Nikki Sanderson and Jennifer Metcalfe. I absolutely love working on the Hollyoaks set and filming alongside the main cast in such a professional and welcoming environment.
After we have finished filming there is about a six-week delay until the episode is released. For me there is no feeling like the excitement of seeing myself on TV and I cannot wait to work more over the summer. Make sure you check it out!
Maia, Drama Scholar, Year 12