Blog du Wren

Extra Updates

Last year, in my eternal quest to realize my simple dream of being a background extra in a movie that plays in my hometown theater and you can see my face, I spent 11 days on various movie/TV/commercial sets. While the end goal still hasn't been realized, it was perhaps my most prolific year to date. My favorite part about the experience, usually, is seeing myself in the final product. So as an update, I thought I'd share a few screenshots from the past year (for anyone who doesn't follow my TV/Film Resume).

Often, when I share screenshots of me in the background of some film or commercial, I think people usually have a hard time reconciling my obvious excitement with the fact I'm barely a blur and hardly recognizable. Take from a Crown Royal Apple shoot; super blurry, right? And this was the best look I got in the whole commercial. Believe me, I know; I go through every video frame by frame to snag these.

Some highlights of late were doing a Microsoft/Seahawks commercial and getting this fun shot with Tyler Lockett. Can you see me in the upper left holding the sign? Just imagine it flying by at 30 frames per second. But still, I'm stoked.

I did two commercials for Washington State Department of Health, with one of them calling specifically for a juggler (pictured above)! The slow-mo of the shot actually turned out really fun, despite being half a second long. If I could be a juggler in the background of a movie, that would be a dream. This shoot was a step in that direction. In the , I was just a random party-goer in a mask, but my brother spotted me on live TV when the commercial ran, the second time that's happened!

But perhaps the biggest highlight was Somebody I Used To Know, a film I spent 6 days on set for in October 2021. By virtue of being around so much, I ended with more than just half a second of screen time (though realistically, all combined, it might add up to less than 7 seconds total.) In addition to the fun looks on screen, it was a gas to be around such fun and talented people and made me feel I had a decent connection to the movie, having gotten to know the story line, etc. I even got to do a little stand-in work which was new for me and pretty fun! Anyway, here are a few shots from that.

To see a rundown of all the projects I've been involved in (with screenshots, links to videos, etc.), I do encourage you to check out the little list I keep. The hope is that it will continue getting lots of updates as I do more and more projects. Stay tuned!

Saturday February 11 2023

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Still Extra-ing

We probably all know by now that being an extra in a movie is one of my life goals. I tell everyone about it (partially in hopes that their brother's wife's uncle has some sway on such things). And I've posted about it here a bunch of times over the years*. The official goal is "be an extra in a movie where you can see my face and the movie is big enough to play in my hometown cinema." And while I can't cross it off the list completely yet, today I got a tiny step closer.

The name of the film is Kimi directed by Steven Soderbergh (famous for such films as Erin Brockovich, Traffic, Ocean's Eleven, and Ocean's Thirteen*). It released on HBO Max. It was definitely the biggest production I had worked on (at the time*) and as with all my movie/TV set experiences, it was super interesting. Interesting, however, doesn't always translate into screen time.

I'm very pleased with the 2 glimpses you get of me in the movie (at 1:01:41 and 1:01:59) as a) you can clearly see it's me and b) I'm in frame with the lead character. Besides 1 day on set as a "pedestrian", I spent 2 days as "protestor" but I can't seem to find myself among the 300 other extras in that scene. Alas. In this line of work, you never know if you'll make it on screen and I'm happy I got a peek.

Now might be a good time to point out that I have no delusions of grandeur. I am happy that I got a cumulative 7 seconds of blurry background action. In no way do I feel like I was in this movie. No one will watch the movie and say "Hey, that's Wren!". Nor will anyone say "That pedestrian really blew me away. Hire him for my next movie!" File this under obscure little things that matter only to me for reasons that even I don't fully understand.

I filmed on 2 other movie sets last year, as well as a TV show (Girl in the Woods on Peacock) and two industrials* (Microsoft and Mercedes). The movies haven't been released yet and I don't think will be as "big" as this one. In the TV show, all you saw was me from behind. And I'll probably never see the industrials. But for a guy that is pursuing a goal, it's progress.

You can see screenshots, filming dates, and the projects that I don't post about on my TV/Movie Extra Resume. And if you happen to have an uncle-in-law that is in charge of casting, hook me up! You will be doing me an incredible solid and I would be eternally grateful.

Thursday February 10 2022

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Best Extra-ing Ever - Three Busy Debras

Being an extra in TVs and movies has been a goal of mine for some time now (previously covered on BdW here, here, and here). I dream about it, I tell everyone I know about it (in hopes they've got an inside connection), and I meticulously capture each appearance. While progress toward my ultimate goal is moving at a pace slower than I'd originally hoped, I'm at least making some headway.

Of the dozen or so times I've gotten the opportunity to be a part of various commercials, shows, and movies, my time on Three Busy Debras is easily the most fun I've had! Some sets are a lot of waiting, less-than-ideal conditions, and , in the end, very little (if any*) screen time*. This time around, it was different: Della got to be there for 2 of the 4 days of filming, we got to do (!), all the other extras were super fun, and the show is a genuine hoot! Top that off with lots of great screen time in the finished product, it feels like a total win.

Often, when the show finally comes out, I meticulously watch for myself only to catch a far away in the far background (or even ). It's a weird kind of craps shoot—putting in long, inconvenient days with a chance that all of your footage might end up on the cutting room floor. So when you see yourself not just in the off background, but in the , and *gasp* , it is really really fun. Top that off with the fact that the show itself is super entertaining and it feels like a perfect combo.

I plan to continue working towards my goal*. I've got a clip or two still in the pipeline. And my agent is still working hard on my behalf*. But after 4+ years in the biz, I realize that waiting around probably isn't going to make me a background star. I need to get out there and work for it! But whatever happens, of course you'll hear all about it here.

Monday April 27 2020

File under: extra, video

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TV and Film Resume

Progress on the old be-an-extra-in-a-movie life goal proceeds at a slower than hoped for pace, but that doesn't mean it isn't progressing. I've posted here before about various extra/background stuff I've done, but I've finally gotten it together to put it all together in one place. I introduce to you my TV/Film Resume! It has screen shots, links, dates, and more!

Despite the slowness of progress on said goal, it is nice to see the resume start to build up. In just about all cases, you can barely see me for a split second here and there (hence the screenshots), but some respectable names are represented (SyFy Networks, Adult Swim, MTV, Netflix) which has gotta mean something. It will also be a place where I post future film related appearances, so feel free to check back on it every now and again. I even added it to the header!!

Chances are I've already mentioned it to you in person, but in case I haven't, I'm serious about pursuing this dream. If you have connections or hear about anything that might get little old me on TV or in a movie, please let me know! I'll fly to Spain* if I have to.

Otherwise, it's a neat little list* that you might enjoy taking a peek at. I'm not saying I'm famous, but...

Thursday December 6 2018

File under: extra, video

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EXTRA EXTRA - American Vandal and others

For the past 2 or so years, I've been directing much of my manifesting energy* at trying to achieve a life goal of being an extra in a big budget movie. While that hasn't happened yet, I'm slowly building a resume and having some neat experiences along the way.

This spring, I was able to be an extra on the Netflix show American Vandal (a pretty neat show if you're looking for something to add to your queue). The taping day was 14+ hours long, I had to take an uber to location (since public transit didn't run that early), and I only ended up with about 3-4 seconds of screen time. But even so, I'm pretty stoked on the experience. Seeing how TV is made is very interesting; you meet some fun people, get a free lunch, and even get paid!

Here are the screenshots (with episode and timestamp in case you want to see me in all my glory!). Hover on images to highlight me in the background.

Season 2 * Episode 2 * 19:04-ish

Season 2 * Episode 3 * 00:49-ish

Here are a few other clips of other projects I've been involved in

Z-Nation (as posted about last year)
an industrial for Microsoft (just the briefest of passing by in the background)
EDM music video (hilariously disco-ed up)

As you can see, I'm taking all opportunities I can find. If you know someone that might be able to help make my dream come true, please let me know!

Sunday September 30 2018

File under: extra, video

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MTVs Promposal

For the last year or so, I've been spending some energy pursuing one of my life goals of being an extra in a movie. I made my first significant progress a couple of months ago with a fleeting appearance on SyFy's Z-nation (covered here). Well, I'm happy to report that I'm moving on up towards that goal with my recent appearance on MTV's reality show called Promposal.

The filming of the show was super fun. We were brought in to be the background circus folks for the filming of a high school music video. Mostly, we just juggled and looked circus-y whenever they pointed the camera at us. Otherwise, we just sat back and watched the magic happen. It was fun seeing both the professional side of things (the MTV crew with the fancy equipment, lights, etc.) and the high school side of things (disorganized but having a ton of fun). We were there for 4 hours with a lot of waiting around (as is par for pretty much anything in TV/film or so I'm learning). At the end, we had no idea how much screen time we'd get if any.

Fast forward 2 months to air date. I was super excited to see myself and my circus buddies on such a popular network. We actually got a fair amount of screen time too! While a lot of it was , there were a few -ish . And by golly, I even got a few clips, one with a !! To top it all off, we even got our names in the ! Overall, I'm super stoked on the whole thing—the filming, the screen time, the excitement!

If you have access, I encourage you to check it on MTV. I think it's even carried On Demand on various carriers. Otherwise, check for reruns, as I think it might happen every now and again. If you don't have access, shoot me an e-mail and we can try to work out getting you hooked up.

Yes, I consider this a big step towards my movie extra life goal Just like NYT crossword and some of the others, it doesn't happen overnight. But with persistence, hopefully it will become a reality. And whatever the case, as long the road to movie extradom is as fun as this Promposal experience was, I'm excited for the ride!

Tuesday May 30 2017

File under: extra, juggling

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My TV Extra Debut

Back in September, I posted about my initial foray into the world of being a film extra. For two days, I went in, sat through an hour of make up, sat around for hours doing nothing but observing what there was to see, and then did my thing. You can read all about the experience here. Well, in a film-to-screen time that beats out my Wheel experience, my episode aired in December.

I knew from the filming that my screen time was going to be very limited and chances were you wouldn't be able to see my face. I was right on both accounts. Below, you can see the clip. I've stretched the clip to include a bit of context. Keep an eye on the roadside zombie. That's me!

Okay, not so impressive for a first go. There are continuity issues and my acting could use a bit of improvement. But it's a start, a start that hopefully turns into something more. As I mentioned before, being an extra in a movie (where you can see my face and in a movie that people would actually have heard of) is a my current life goal.

While waiting around to film scene, I was also able to impromptu provide hands for another scene from another episode. Even going frame by frame, it was hard to identify me. I did, however, manage this screen shot. If a hand on screen for .35 seconds ever screamed destined for greatness, it's here.

As my resume grows (as I truly hope it will), I'll keep posting about it here, so stay tuned! In the meantime, feel free to watch this clip over and over and over again. Or, heck, go check out Z-Nation and watch from the beginning!

Saturday January 7 2017

File under: extra, video

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Zombie-tastic!

I recently had the opportunity to be an extra (or "background talent") for a TV show called

Being a film/tv extra has been my latest quest, an item on my life goal list that I hope to be able to check off soon.* Getting a chance to go on set for a TV show and participate in a few scenes was a big step in that direction.

And while I'm stoked to be moving in the direction of my goal, in reality, being an extra has its ups and downs. On the one hand, it is super interesting seeing how a set works, all the people around*, different jargon, number of takes to get a shot, the make-up process, famous people all around*, the food arrangement, talking to other extras and crew about experiences they've had, hearing how a director directs, stunts and stunt doubles*, and so much more. Really, with so much magic surrounding TV and movies in my eyes, seeing its inner-workings in person was really really interesting.

On the other hand, being an extra, esp. a zombie extra, has its downsides. Pay is minimum wage (8-hours guaranteed). The make-up takes forever to get off*. The outcome of your day on set is very random*. In my 2 very long days, I might be in 5 seconds of film (which mostly just shows my back). Kind of lame. And above all, it is super boring. Hours upon hours pass just waiting in the waiting tent (while totally covered in make-up, including your hands, so you can't even dinkle with your phone). Occasionally crew will chat, but mostly, they've got jobs to do. You never know when anything is going to happen or what it will be.

Despite the ups and downs, I'm really stoked to have had the opportunity. I put a few bucks in my pocket, got to see a behind the scenes look, got a really neat story to share, and snapped a few interesting pictures along the way.

If my footage doesn't get left on the cutting room floor, look for the back of my zombified head in Season 3, Episode 14, probably airing sometime in the spring. (My hands might make a guest appearance in episode 11 or 12 too!). However it pans out, I'm sure I'll post about it here, so stay tuned.

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