Congratulations! You have been booked on Z Nation. You’ll find below key details, like: Wardrobe, call time notes & location notes and a great deal more.
A lot to read, we know; but, as a Big Fish NW Talent you will have every speck of information available to help your day(s) on this project go well.
We are depending on you, so we hope you won’t, but, if at any time you need to cancel your booking DO NOT notify us via email. Instead, with as much notice as possible, CALL Elyse at 877.424.4347 x 4 … NO MATTER THE HOUR. We need as much time as possible to find a replacement who a) looks like you; and, b) since wardrobe will be pulling wardrobe specifically for you, they would also need to match your sizes!
In the same line of thought, while this is a confirmed booking, please, understand that a television film production is a living, breathing conglomerate of humans. Weather, a scene re-write, illness, a location issue, etc. can change everything, quickly! “Everything is set, in Jello.” If you are ever ‘unbooked’, know that it will have nothing to do with you personally. Throughout the production of show, many people will be booked and then ‘unbooked’, with or without significant notice. It is the nature of the television production beast; and, you would most assuredly be booked again in this current episode and/or the next and/or next …
Special Note From Extras Casting and the Wardrobe Department:
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Talent MUST bring or wear dark socks and a dark colored t-shirt
- Talent MUST bring a chair (or mat – some brought blankets or mats which is fine as long as they are fine being on the ground).
- Talent MUST have weather appropriate outer wear. The issue is the COLD mornings. We do not have buildings or trailers to be in.
- PLEASE ask talent to bring their own photocopy of their ID. If they have a passport or SS card that they can photocopy for the I9 that would be awesome. We do NOT always have access to the printer/copier and will have to go to you for their documents if they don’t have them with them. It is SO much easier when they have their own photocopy.
- Click here for a few more notes from the Wardrobe Department: Extras 101
- The last thing is that sizes (as always) need to be accurate AND complete. Please check your sizes when they confirm their availability OR accept a role. See video links below as to exactly how to measure:
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MEN: Make sure your measurements are accurate: https://youtu.be/BX9m0wEE
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WOMEN: Make sure your measurements are accurate: https://youtu.be/RAMv9h
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Project: Z Nation
Network: SyFy
Venue: Episodic Television
Shoot Location: Spokane, WA (unless otherwise noted). Exact location will follow by 10pm the night before your shoot date(s). You will start at the base camp of the day and be driven to set by the crew van.
Shoot Date: If you are unsure of your shoot date, contact elyse@bigfishnw.com
Call Time: **To be determined. It will likely be a morning call time … anywhere from 5am to noon. Exact time will follow by 10pm the night before your shoot date(s). Once known, your call time will be updated in CN and a text & email will alert you. You should plan to be there all day. Do not accept this booking if you would be unable/unavailable to be on set all day on the date(s) requested, for however long the day may be.
**IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE YOUR CALL TIME & LOCATION BY 10PM THE NIGHT BEFORE YOUR SHOOT DATE, CALL/EMAIL ELYSE: 509.328.3474 x 4 elyse@bigfishnw.com**
Rate: $11.50 per hour. 8 hour guarantee. Overtime paid after 40 work hours. Breaks unpaid. All wages before taxes. You will be paid by Go2 Z, Inc., usually within 2 weeks of the last production date of each episode you are booked into. It is your responsibility to be sure all payments received reflect the amount indicated at the time of booking, for your role. Should you find any discrepancies contact elyse@bigfishnw.com. No agency commission is due from the fees you receive on this project.
Hair & Makeup: You should arrive with hair & face clean. (The rest of you clean, too!)
MEN: If your character requires you to be clean-shaven – you should shave the night before your shoot vs. the morning of. If your character did not specify you were to be clean-shaven (and your ‘real job’/life/etc. will allow you to let your hair/beard grow between now and the date(s) you work) please do not shave or get a haircut between now and your shoot date(s). If you’re able, continue to let your hair/beard grow throughout the this season’s production schedule. And, If you do, please update your photos every now and again in both AgencyPro/BFNW and Casting Networks/BFB. (Don’t pay CN to update, send your photo to: rich@castingnetworks.com.
Wardrobe:
- Take a pair of Black Socks (No visible logos; crew style or higher)
- Take a dark-colored (black, brown, gray, etc.) undershirt/undergarments that can get dirty (No visible logos).Take dark colored socks and a dark colored t-shirt. Nothing you don’t mind being (possibily) stained with ‘blood’.
Your remaining wardrobe will be provided by the wardrobe department based on the sizes you have provided in your Casting Networks/BFB profile. Are your sizes current in your CN-BFB profile? Please check, now!
WHAT ELSE TO TAKE WITH YOU:
- The on-set contact’s phone number; which will be provided with your final shoot notice the evening before your shoot date(s).
- Whatever is requested in the Wardrobe notes above (or by special request)
- A working pen.
- A folding chair or ‘camp’ chair.
- An umbrella. Rain or shine – Take an umbrella and use it! (not a suggestion)
- A coat, blanket, etc. to keep yourself warm in the early/late hours of the day. This is not a suggestion, take!
- Other comfort items/things to do while you are in ‘holding’ (waiting to be called to set) … cards, quiet games. Be advised: Generally a production set is a secure zone; but, you will leave such items unattended as you’re working through the day; you do so at your own risk.
- A copy of either your Passport or Social Security card for the Payroll Dept. That, along with your ID from above, are required documentation for the I-9 form you will complete when you arrive on set. If you don’t have a passport or Social Security card, refer to page 9 of the doc found here, and take copies of the alternate documents requested: http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-9.pdf. If you want to get ahead of the game you can fill out and take the I-9 form and a W-4 form: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf.
- Anything you will need throughout the day … medications, snacks, crossword puzzles, etc. Think protein heavy snacks. Yes, there is food provided on set; however, it may not be accessible when you need it. Be prepared.
- Washington Residents: A copy of your valid WA driver’s license/other WA state issued ID. If said ID was issued less than 6 months ago, take a copy of both the newly issued and your old WA ID. If you do not have the old ID, you must also take EITHER a copy of your WA Voter’s Registration card, if issued more than 6 months ago OR 6 months of utility bills, with a WA address, in your name (only electric, gas, water, waste/trash or cable bills will be accepted.), in addition to the copy of your newly issued ID.
- See also the ‘shoot bag’ notes below in the ‘Talent Handbook for Film/Television Productions’.
- Take the on-set contact’s phone number; provided with your final shoot notice.
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SET ETIQUETTE
If you are a smoker, you cannot smoke while in costume; so, plan on using nicotine gum or patch or use an eCigarette only.
It is important to be quiet and calm on set so you can hear what the director/first assistant director/extras wrangler/anyone from the production team asks you to do. This includes making noises with your hands or feet. They use extremely sensitive sound equipment that picks up sounds from all around. Any noise made on set is amplified ten times or more.
You will be asked to do the same scene several times, please be patient and listen for instructions. The more you listen and follow directions the faster the scene will be completed. The better you do this, the more likely you’ll be called to work more and more scenes.
If another talent is talking to you on set or making noises please don’t join in. If you set a good example others will see it and follow suit. Be a Big Fish!
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WHAT YOU SHOULD DO BETWEEN NOW AND THEN
Read the notes herein and please review the videos found at the links below. You’ll be that much more prepared when you are called to set.
SPECIAL NOTE TO ALL ZOMBIE EXTRAS
Remember, all zombies were people once. Think of your own back story, what were you before you became the ‘undead’? In this series there are different “stages” of being undead. Those who have just ‘turned’ are kind of between being human and being a zombie. Those are what we are calling FAST ZOMBIES. You can think of them as being FRESH zombies. They are still somewhere in between being human and being fully undead. They can move more quickly and in some ways they are even more determined to kill.
All zombies have ONE motivation. To survive as a species (an undead species). They NEED to eat human flesh. They NEED to feed on the living. Fast zombies have a little bit more going on in the senses department. They are stimulated more quickly by movement or noise. SLOW ZOMBIES have been ‘undead’ for a longer amount of time. They move more slowly. They have slowed down so much, that they are more easily avoided especially on a one-one encounter. Where they are more dangerous is in groups.
NOTE: If zombies were left alone in a room with no stimulants (no noise, no movement by living things) they would eventually just stand still. They do not have any brain, they do not think, they do not act… they only REACT. They can’t open a door unless it is by accident… they don’t know how to do things.
We will have both FAST ZOMBIES and SLOW ZOMBIES in this series. Please be somewhat familiar with these two distinctions when you come to audition. Below are a few links to help you.
Fast vs Slow Zombies
Fast Zombies in action (Reference: 28 Days Later —- warning foul language —- watch from 1:45 – 3:20 – notice that fast zombies look more human than slow zombies — their reactions are quicker) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbcuK8WBKE8
Slow Zombies in action (Reference: The Walking Dead —- any episode)
Great Reference
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TALENT HANDBOOK FOR FILM/TELEVISION PRODUCTION PROJECTS
Pearls, guides & etiquette that set a Big Fish talent apart from all the others.
If something happens that makes it impossible for you to make your assigned call, you MUST CALL US IMMEDIATELY. Please do not email … CALL! 877.424.4347 ext. 0. However, if you commit to a booking, at all reasonable cost, you MUST be on location the date and at the time requested.
By accepting a booking, you are saying you will and can be on set from your call time until they tell you to stop. You will be given call time and location information as soon as it is available to the Big Fish office … Realizing that it might be very late on the day before we get the shoot info for the next day.
Call your agent and your on-set contact, the minute you’re aware, should you find that you are unable to make it to a location for any reason. Understand that throughout film productions our office hours expand. On production days we have been known to put calls out and still be working the next day’s casting until late night. So, if you are called, don’t hesitate to call back even if it is late in the day and if you have a problem, ever, don’t hesitate to call.
Remember when you are on set you are representing yourself, Big Fish NW Talent, the casting director, the producer, the production community of Spokane, the city of Spokane and the state of Washington. That may sound dramatic but it is truer than you know. Be a Big Fish. The following notes will give you an idea of things to do and not do to assure we all play the part.
CONFIDENTIALITY is a necessity. IT IS IMPERATIVE that any information given to you by Big Fish NW Talent or the production office of this project remain for your eyes/ears only; and, that what you see, hear and/or encounter on set remain on set.
Do not take anyone with you. Children should be accompanied by only 1 parent or guardian. Parent/Guardian: You are best to let your child do what they are there to do … in other words, stay out of the way, let the production team direct. Take things to keep yourself busy throughout the day as you wait for them.
NO CELL PHONES ON SET. Turn them off.
You should arrive 15 minutes prior to your requested call time. No more or less. Really, 15 minutes is good. Consider Traffic and/or construction.
You are there to do whatever needed to support the scene. The principal characters are there to do the same. DO NOT ask anyone for autographs and DO NOT take pictures on set. You are a professional actor.
Food is generally provided if your time on set runs through regular meal hours; however, there are exceptions. we encourage you to take along in your ‘shoot bag’ water, snacks or any special dietary needs, medication and items to occupy down times. Please take anything you feel you might need to get yourself through the day.
Take along the on-set contact’s phone number, which will be given with your final shoot notice, to call should you run into any difficulties en route.
You will report to the ‘Talent/Extras Wrangler’, they will be your boss for the day. Your job, throughout the day, is solely to listen and follow directions. It will be necessary for the wrangler to know where you are at all times. Do not leave the ‘holding’ room or the set without asking permission from the wrangler. Once you begin your scene, the director is then your boss. Your job, again, is to listen, follow directions, and have fun with it … whatever the director asks … however many times he asks … enjoy the magical process.
If, however, at any time you feel you’re being asked to do anything that seems above and beyond what you knew your role to be or, if anything about the project is different from what you understood it would be, request permission to use your phone to contact your agent.
You will be asked to fill out paperwork for this project when you arrive on set. Please take a working pen and be sure to turn in your voucher, WA Residency form and any other paperwork as directed by your contact.
Social Media/Anti-piracy Policy … from the casting office …
Basically we need to protect all intellectual property that has to do with the show in any way. That includes actors, story lines, spoilers, locations, scripts, characters and creative elements. We do, however, want people to be able to share their participation! They can mention Z Nation, that it will air on SyFy, zombies are cool etc. They can also share any and all information that is public from local news agencies and national agencies such as IMDB or SyFy http://www.syfy.com/znation. Expect that you will be asked to sign a non-disclosure form on set.
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Please confirm your booking as directed in the Booking Confirmation email you received.
Thank you,
Becky Reilly
Big Fish NW Talent
509.328.3474 x 1
becky@bigfishnw.com