Starring in a soap opera is an opportunity not only to get on the big screen, but even to earn money while traveling.
Most of us go on trips to relax, not to work. But those travelers who leave without a return ticket and are looking for a real adventure often need the money. That said, making money while traveling is an adventure in itself. Most of these ways are not very noble: begging, selling souvenirs, or playing musical instruments near a sign that reads: living my dream, travel without money. But not all options are like that. You could, for example, star in an extra in a TV series or movie, get high from the process and even make money. That's what happened to Dmitri Kandiranda: one night he left a Bangkok hostel and ended up on a film set. He didn't know then that it was going to be a Netflix series. You can also read Netflix news by clicking on the following website.
It started with breakfast at 05:30. Rice, meat, vegetables, sausages, gravy and coffee of all sorts in unlimited quantities. And we hadn't done anything yet, no one had taken anyone off or chased anyone to work.
Three photocopies of my passport were required to sign, plus one copy of a document to pay for my impeccable acting. The tourist information center made photocopies of passports, mine and Oli's. But they did it by saving money: two copies on one page. It turned out that the rational option would not work, the agent sent everything to redo in the hotel across the street.
What, in fact, would I be filming?
All I knew about the process, is that I'll get in the TV series. Which one, I did not care - I was interested in the process and the fee. It turned out that for 13 hours of work - 2000 baht each. This is about $ 66, or 4000 rubles in December 2019. It seemed to me that to earn such money in one day in an unfamiliar city away from home - it's very cool. So when filling out the form, I tried to choose my best photos. The very next day I got a reply on Facebook with a place and time of the meeting. And only when I signed the contract, I found out that I will star in the TV series The Serpent produced by Netflix and BBC One.
The Serpent is a BBC and Netflix mini-series about the Frenchman Charles Sobradge, one of the most elusive criminals of the 20th century, a man with a fascinating history. Born to a Vietnamese and an Indian, he eventually became a French citizen, escaped from prisons across Asia from Mumbai to Kabul, killed tourists from the West, became a master of disguise, and by 1976 became Interpol's most wanted man. Warrants for his arrest were issued on three continents.
The actions of the main characters were corrected after each attempt to film a scene, and so on, over and over, the same thing, again and again. At least I was moving, but some people had to pretend for five hours that they were writing letters or talking on the phone with no sound, only gestures, and all this standing up.
It doesn't sound like work, and that's what makes it interesting.
It's hard to call it work in my usual sense. It's just that at a certain point, you have to do a strictly defined order of simple actions. It can be repeated from 10 times to infinity. Until that day, I had no idea how scenes are generally filmed in television series and films. The shooting showed the seriousness with which films are made. During five hours we shot a lot of footage, which at the end will make 10-15 minutes of real video. I'm not taking into account the preparation, sets, technicians, and so on. You know, five hours of rough shooting equals 15 minutes of finished material!
There are campers and backpackers on the set.
The Netflix series was everyone's first time filming, and that was the only thing we had in common. Otherwise, everyone was as far apart as possible: someone has lived in Thailand for over 10 years, someone came here a week ago with a hundred dollars in his pocket and a day before the shooting was sitting with the last ten. There are those who came to rest, but do not mind to take part in the shooting and earn a little money. The time flew by quickly while we were talking. Three o'clock in the afternoon, and there was no change.
In fact, we only worked for five hours, loafing the rest of the time. At four, one of the actors talked to the costume designers, and they said that filming for us today, and maybe not be. The amount of wages was not affected, so we just had to wait.
At 5:00 p.m. they were told there would be no shooting. The agent handed out 2,000 baht ($66) cash for each job. Let me remind you that the plan was to work 13 hours, in fact we worked only five. We thanked the agent for the opportunity to earn and appear in the series Netflix.
How to look for these part-time jobs
If you want to find something similar, earn money and take part in cool projects, I recommend signing up for Facebook groups. For Bangkok, this page is relevant. Turn on notifications to be the first, immediately unsubscribe to the agent, send a couple of photos, your parameters, work experience, if any, and wait for a response. It is better to offer yourself as actively as possible. I was only taken on the sixth time. And, of course, I did not think I could get on the set of such a big story.
There is a constant demand for stage actors in India and China. In India they can offer to do a movie right on the streets of Mumbai, and in China you have to find special groups on WeChat. And, of course, the opportunity is in Los Angeles, you just need to find the profile groups and monitor them daily. Good luck on the shoot!
Eleena Timmons