What to Expect Your First Day on Set

You booked a job! Yay, and congratulations! What's next?

A few days before…

Well, a few days before, wardrobe is going to call you and get your sizes. Sometimes that's even how you find out you booked the job — you get a call from wardrobe. They don’t have any time to waste. You may need to go in for a wardrobe fitting, or they might bring you in early on your first day if you were cast late in the process.

The night before …

The night before, they will email you a call sheet that will have the times the cast and crew are supposed to show up, where you're going to show up, parking instructions, and the order in which the scenes are going to be done for the day. You’ll want to confirm that you received your call sheet and your call time.

You're also going to want to make sure to leave yourself a lot of time to get to work in the morning. Most calls are pretty early so hopefully you won’t hit too much traffic, but you might have to park in a lot and shuttle in. You're going to want to be ready on set and ready to go by your call time, so allow for the unexpected. If you’re on location, they will most likely pick you up in a production van, and the time and place for your pickup will be on the call sheet.

When you arrive…

Hair, makeup, and wardrobe:

When you get to set, production will want to get you through what they call “The Works,” meaning hair, makeup and wardrobe. Make sure that you show up to set clean, so take a shower, wash your hair, wear comfortable clothes and a shirt that you can unbutton in case you may have a hairstyle that would get disturbed by pulling a shirt over it.

When you arrive, you’ll check in with the production assistant (PA) or the second assistant director (2nd AD), and you're gonna go to your trailer or your Honey Wagon — your place to change and wait. You’ll get dressed and have some quiet time.

You typically will get lunch or breakfast depending on what time you show up, so you don't have to worry about that. Then you're gonna go in and go through hair and makeup. If there's anything that you need specifically for you, I would bring it to have just in case. If you have a tattoo and you have tattoo cover that you like, also bring it (the makeup department will have that too though). If there is something specific that you like to use on your face, bring it. It doesn't mean that they'll get to use it, but oftentimes they want you to be comfortable. Everybody wants you to be comfortable. 

Typically you’re going to put on your wardrobe first, but it kind of depends on how soon you’re going to be working. Sometimes they don’t want you to put your wardrobe on. I would definitely bring neutral undergarments to make sure that you’re going to be comfortable. 

Chair etiquette

When you get to set, make sure that you don’t sit in another actor’s chair. There might be a chair for you or there might be a chair for the guest cast, but if you go and sit in a chair that’s for another actor, it’s just not good etiquette.

Microphone setup

Oftentimes you’ll get mic’d. That means that they’re going to put a little radio microphone on your shirt with a battery pack hidden on your back or leg. Sometimes the battery or mic will go in some intimate places. The sound department is usually very respectful and kind about that but be prepared. There’s usually a boom mic over you as well. 

Rehearsal

When you get to set, you might not get a rehearsal, so make sure you’re prepared. You know what you’re shooting and know your lines. If there’s no actor/director rehearsal, they’ll want a “camera block.” They'll want a rehearsal just so the camera knows what it is that you’re gonna do; so they can mark the places that you’ll need to stop to be in the frame and in focus and not blocking someone else. 

Remember to be natural and do what is normal. Don’t try to anticipate what the crew wants. If that does not work for the camera department, they’ll let you know. Sometimes they’ll say things like, “Can you banana?” which means they want you to walk in a curve. They might ask you to shift your weight to another leg. Remember, everybody wants to help you on set. You can ask questions if you don’t understand what’s happening. 

Action

Always wait for “Action” before you move or speak. Don’t start your scene before you hear action and don’t cut your scene. Wait for the director or somebody else to say “Cut” and keep going. They might love what’s happening or they might be focused on another actor, and if you stop, you might have ruined a perfectly good take. A take is action to cut. You’ll hear the assistant camera say, for example, “Rolling, a marker scene 15 take 3.” 

Lunch break

They’re going to break you for lunch and you’ll get a certain amount of time off. Sometimes they may cut you into the lunch line ahead of others to get you to start eating earlier. It feels like you’re being rude but you’re not, because they want to get you fed and touch up your hair, your makeup, and have you brush your teeth before you go back to work. So if they cut you in line, it’s to help their schedule. I wouldn’t cut yourself in line though!

Don’t disappear

 Make sure that you tell somebody when you’re going to move somewhere on set, don’t just disappear. If you want to walk and watch on set, which I think you absolutely should if you’re able, then tell the PA and say, “Hey, I'm gonna go wait on set.” You want to be quiet, so leave your phone in your trailer or have it turned off. I don’t want you to be the actor whose phone rings in the middle of a take or whose phone is vibrating so loudly that everybody can hear it and it is a distraction.  

Posting on social media

Don’t post anything on social media unless you are given permission to do so. Don’t say what you’re working on, don’t post a picture of yourself or anything in the background. And if you’re able to take a picture, that’s wonderful, but do not post it until you are given permission. You don’t want to give anything away and you want to be invited back. You’d be surprised how easy it is to give away a big plot twist. That’s why they ask you not to post. 

When it’s time to leave…

Don’t leave until you have officially been wrapped. They might just break you and they might still need you on set, but when you’re officially wrapped you will be given a signout sheet. You will be asked to change out of your wardrobe, and please hang your wardrobe up! Treating your wardrobe with respect makes it so much easier for the costumers at the end of the day, as well. Every little courtesy is really appreciated by every department. If you have a prop or something, return it to the prop department if they didn’t get it already.

Don’t “trash talk”

I know my students wouldn’t do this, but please don’t “trash talk” anyone. Don’t talk badly about the script, don’t complain about your call time, your scene, or your costars. DON’T COMPLAIN. You know there’s an old joke, “How do you make an actor complain? Give them a job.” It’s true. Yes, you are probably going to be there hours before you’re actually needed on set, but that’s what they’re paying you for. I wouldn’t complain about that. Remember I talked about having a mic on sometimes? When you’re talking smack, people are listening; the director, the sound department, anyone else who has headphones on, so just keep your discussions positive. Keep it about what you’re doing.

Gratitude and thanks

Be grateful! Yes you’re working, but you are living your dream. At the end of the day, say goodbye and thank you to everyone you worked with, if you’re able. Who knows, maybe you'll be seeing them again soon.

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