Zombified

In January I met a group of fun loving film enthusiasts while playing an extra in a vampire movie. A few days ago, some of them were looking for zombie extras. I immediately signed up for it. Yesterday I picked up 3 other cast members at MacArthur BART station at 9 AM, and we headed over to the meet up location in South San Francisco. It only took us less than 20 minutes to get there, and we were supposed to get at 10 am! The day started slow as we waited for everyone else to arrive.

Things got really lively after the makeup artists and food arrived. We couldn't stop laughing and joking as soon as zombification started. We all became fast friends and took tons of photos. How often do you get to play a zombie complete with latex makeup and fake blood?

We shot a few scenes inside and then we headed over to a park for some outdoor scenes. People were giving us funny looks, but hey, this is San Francisco, and nothing is too weird.

We finished up around 5 PM. By then, we couldn't wait to remove the dried up latex and blood off our faces. It felt so great just to wash my face again. We got on the road and were stuck in traffic for 30 minutes. This is San Francisco after all. We love it and just have to put up with the traffic. I dropped off my new friends at MacArthur BART Station but in a couple hours we were all reconnecting via Facebook and sharing our photos from the shoot.

As I was reminiscing yesterday, the director for the vampire movie I participated just released its trailer, and I am in it, too!

Vampire Dream

A week ago I applied to be an extra as a vampire for a local film. The day of filming has come. We were to meet at the shooting location in Oakland at 10 A.M. on Sunday. I arrived there about 7 minutes after 10 A.M.  I was surprised to find that most people have already arrived and some have already started setting up equipments. That meant they took the movie work quite seriously. Some of them have been making film for a while. Some of the actors and actresses are pursuing their dreams as professional actors. Some of them are planning on moving to Los Angles for more opportunities. The makeup artists (MUA) on the set were all volunteers, but some of them are quite experienced and do work on TV, commercial, and movie sets.

It was a very long day. As an extra, my scene wasn't shot until much later in the day. I had the opportunity to chat with the makeup artists, other actresses, the wardrobe girl, and other people working behind the scene to make things go smoother. I later on found out that two of the lead actresses' mothers were on the set working as well. One of them explained to me that MMTB (Movie Making Throughout the Bay) has provide many opportunities for people who are passionate about movie making to get together and practice their art and skills.

The director shot every scene several times. I could see that she wanted to have extra shots so she could put together the best footage for the final movie.  I was very moved by everyone's dedication and passion for what they love to do. You've got to really love it otherwise you wouldn't be able to get up early on a Sunday to work on it all day without getting paid.

By the end of the day, some of us have become friends, and we will keep in touch via Facebook until the next casting call.