Hello from Belfast!

[Rimshot]

Hi everyone,

I've put a couple of replies to blog entries over on 'Winter Is Coming' and someone suggested that I should also put them on here, so here goes (I've just pasted them from there to here; I hope you don't mind)...

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Hello, I not familiar with the source material but I am very familiar with the paint hall, having worked on several productions there over the years. I'm from Belfast and a member of an extras agency that regularly supplies extras/stand-ins/actors/crew for just about every major production that comes through our wee town!

If you want an idea of the kind of set that can be built in the Paint Hall then I suggest you rent 'City Of Ember'. It was filmed in here in Belfast in the summer of 2007 and I worked on it for 3 weeks. The set built for it was one of the largest sets ever built for a film. I would often walk through it's squares and streets in between shots and it never failed to amaze me. The guy that designed the set also deisgned the sets for 'Titanic' so it was poignant that he built something in the very building that the Titanic was constructed.

I'm looking forward to working on this production and I can assure you it is in safe hands!

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Hi, its me again. (I've figured out how to get my name on here so I'm not 'anon' any more - hello I'm Rimshot BTW!)

Can I just say that there is no guarantee that I will be working on this but I'd say the chances are good as a production this size tends to use a large number of extras (City Of Ember used 400 extras on one day!). If I am working on this I'll try to keep you posted. There is another film (Universal's 'Your Highness') being made in the Paint Hall first and then its GOT.

(below are responses to a couple of questions that these guys asked me)

coltaine777 - I'm afraid I won't be able to take any photos. I've been an extra a long time and during that time I've built up a good relationship with the crew here who work on most of the shows. I also have a good relationship with my agency. If I was caught taking one photo on set that would all be ruined and I'd be unlikely to get any more film work. Its not worth the risk! However I can certainly describe what is going on without breaking confidentiality agreements.

winteriscoming - I don't have any info on exact dates as this hasn't been announced to us yet (as I said, there's no guarantee that we will be working on it). However, construction is now underway on the sets for 'Your Highness' which is filming here in the summer. I drive past the Paint Hall every day on my way to work and in the last few days the huge hanger doors have been open (these doors are about 10 storeys high and an alarm goes off when they open!). This means that there is major activity at the Hall. Set construction tends to start about 2 months before principal photography so, depending on when 'Your Highness' wraps, I would expect construction on GOT to begin late August/early September. I must stress that this is merely speculation on my part, having been involved in major productions there in the past. I have no inside info about this.

I do intend to read the books as this has really got me interested and, being a major fan of the Dark Tower series, I love an epic story!

If I hear any more I'll let you know.

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Hi guys

Thought this might interest you (you'll need to copy/paste this into a web browser)...

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&ie...,30.74,,0,-1.79

This link takes you to the Paint Hall as seen on Google street view. The silver huts in front and behind were built for 'City Of Ember' and were used by the SFX crew. As you can see it is a huge building and the picture doesn't do it justice. If you turn round and head the other way, the red building on your right is the Titanic Drawing room, where the Titanic and many other ships were designed. The Drawing Room is also used by film crews (I played a Detective in a film called 'Waz' that was partly filmed in there). If you turn off street view and revert google maps and zoom out it will give you an idea where this is in relation to Belfast. I live about 10 minutes from the Paint Hall. Happy exploring

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(below is a reply to a blog winteriscoming made about my above comments)

Hi Guys,

I didn't expect my own blog entry! Thanks for that. I guess I better come up with the goods now. From an extra/actor point of view I probably won't hear much until the autumn as thats when the casting for background/stand-ins/featured roles etc will probably begin.

I did notice, when driving past the paint hall today, that more of the silver huts have been constructed. Of course, this is primarily for 'Your Highness' but, because 'Your Highness' and 'Game of Thrones' are going to be in production back to back, it looks like additional infrastructure is being put in place.

Due to the time taken to build sets, I'm beginning to think that principal photography on GOT might begin around November/December.

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So hello to all at ASOIAF. If I get any info I'll try to pass it on.

[iheartseverus]

Greetings, Rimshot and welcome to the board! That was a quite interesting first post and I, for one, will be checking in on this thread frequently to see what new updates you might have for us. We're starving for details so anything you can tell us will be appreciated by all. Again, welcome!!

[The Pita]

Welcome, and thank you.

[Eoin O'Keeffe]

Hey,

Not exactly casting but I was wondering if you could help me.

I just finished film school(production) in Dublin (UCD) this week and was wondering if you knew any way I cold get some experience on the Game of Thrones up North.

Its tough enough to break into was wondering if you had any advice.

Im interested in any aspect of production. Plus I love the books.

[Rimshot]

Hey,

Not exactly casting but I was wondering if you could help me.

I just finished film school(production) in Dublin (UCD) this week and was wondering if you knew any way I cold get some experience on the Game of Thrones up North.

Its tough enough to break into was wondering if you had any advice.

Im interested in any aspect of production. Plus I love the books.

Hello there!

I can only speak from an actor/extra point of view as I'm not familiar with the crew side of things. The only thing I know about crew is that Northern Ireland Screen will probably put out a 'crew call' at some point for Game of Thrones. This is a call for anyone interested to work as crew to submit their CVs. I think they already did one for 'Your Highness' so it might be worth checking there periodically.

As for extra/acting work. The only way to get on this is to be in an agency that is likely to work on this production. As I mentioned before, I'm with 'Extras NI' which will probably supply GOT with extras. If its acting (featured) you are interested in, you would need to be on the books of an acting agency and have an equity card.

Hope this helps!

[Eoin O'Keeffe]

Hello there!

I can only speak from an actor/extra point of view as I'm not familiar with the crew side of things. The only thing I know about crew is that Northern Ireland Screen will probably put out a 'crew call' at some point for Game of Thrones. This is a call for anyone interested to work as crew to submit their CVs. I think they already did one for 'Your Highness' so it might be worth checking there periodically.

As for extra/acting work. The only way to get on this is to be in an agency that is likely to work on this production. As I mentioned before, I'm with 'Extras NI' which will probably supply GOT with extras. If its acting (featured) you are interested in, you would need to be on the books of an acting agency and have an equity card.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for getting back to me

[Ser_not_appearing_yet]

How much do extras generally get paid out of curiosity? Or is it a voluntary thingy?

[Venardhi]

Depends on the production. You can generally expect at least $100 a day though on a decently sized professional shoot.

[Halfhand]

Depends on the production. You can generally expect at least $100 a day though on a decently sized professional shoot.

Don't forget the free food!

[Rimshot]

Don't forget the free food!

The money depends on a number of factors but the base amount is usually around £50 per day.

Sometimes you are asked to have your hair cut by the hair/make up artist and you normally get an extra £15 for this (in fact, I've had my hair cut by BBC and ITV in the last 2 weeks and earned £30 extra!).

Also, if your role changes then your money changes too. For example, I was originally an extra on 'City of Ember' but I was asked to be a stand-in for 3 weeks. For that I got £80 per day.

If you are a featured extra then your money can also go up, sometimes to a few hundred pounds per day. A featured extra is an extra whose actions/dialogue contributes to the story in some significant way.

And of course there is the free food which can be surprisingly good! (especially the deserts!!) and usually as much tea/coffee as you can drink!

[Werthead]

The first few episodes of the Ricky Gervais comedy Extras are supposedly reasonably accurate in giving a rough idea of what life is like on-set for an extra. Okay, not hanging out with Ross Kemp and almost getting him killed by Vinnie Jones in a comedy confrontation, but more along the lines of the great free food and remembering to claim extra money if you get a line or have something done to your appearance ;)

Also, cable supposedly have really good craft services (catering, basically). Several of the actors on BSG said they'd miss that more than almost anything else about the show.