How to Become a Movie Extra in Atlanta

Extras who work in Atlanta typically get paid either $58/8, $60/8 or $64/8, depending on the production. What's that boil down to? About $7.25, $7.50 or $8 per hour. Yes, it's minimum wage BUT most filming days last 12 - 14 hours, which means you'll earn time-and-a-half for every hour you work after the first eight hours. Here's an example:

Let's say you work 12 hours on the set of The Vampire Diaries, which pays the standard rate of $58/8. You'll earn $7.25/hr for the first eight hours and then $10.88/hr for the final four hours, which would add up to about $101.50. Not too bad for spending the day on the set of a hit TV show, huh?

If you're interested in making MORE MONEY on set, keep an eye out for "featured extra" and "specialty" requests. Featured extras typically get more time in front of the camera, while specialty extras are cast because they have a unique ability that's being used in the scene, such as juggling, dancing or playing tennis. Both can be paid a higher rate, but it's up to the production company to decide.

Your best bet for earning more than the usual rate is to become a stand in. Stand ins take the place of actors while the crew sets up lights and other important elements of a shot and are typically employed for the entire duration of a shoot, which can last anywhere from one to eight months. Stand ins usually have the same skin tone, hair color, height and weight of the actors they're standing in for so if you look like an actor or actress that's filming in Atlanta, you could have a shot at making between $110/12 ($9.16/hr) and $140/12 ($11.67/hr).

Different scenes need different extras. When a scene is about to be filmed, the producers of the movie or television show ask the extras casting agency to find people with a specific look, age, sex or talent -- whatever is needed to make the scene feel real. In order to find those people, nearly all of Atlanta's casting agencies use FACEBOOK.

Scroll down for LINKS to all of Atlanta's extras casting agencies and information about what's filming in Atlanta RIGHT NOW!

Creating your own Squidoo pages (called "lenses") is fun, easy and free. You can even make some cash along the way. Squidoo's top writers earn more than $1000 per month! Ready to check it out for yourself? Join Squidoo here and start writing!

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