Well, a month or two ago, a good friend text me saying that she was put in contact with someone who was planning on filming a movie here in Central Alberta. To say I was happy for her is an understatement. Knowing that she was able to branch out as a makeup artist and build her skill and do makeup for the cast of a movie, well that's pretty damn exciting if you ask me. I had joked with her that I should see if they were looking for extras. Little did I know, they were. And a few weeks after those initial text messages happened, emails were passed between me and the director, and I had myself a role as a zombie extra. In a movie. A real movie.
Now, don't get me wrong, I wasn't one who thought that being on a film set would be glamorous and pampering and stress-free. However, it was a little different then I thought too.
The movie, Masked Maniac VS The Zombies, directed by CJ Hutchinson, is a low-budget film, which had everyone working as volunteers. I arrived on set at 830 in the morning and shortly after was "zombiefied". The makeup process itself was relatively quick and pain-free and soon I was looking like the walking dead. The director was busy shooting scenes all day, but it wasn't until mid-afternoon when the zombie extras were called into play. Which means, it was a lot of sitting outside, waiting, freezing one second, sweating the next - this is Alberta after all that's what our weather does - and once we got going there were lots of "let's try that again", and "lets take a quick break", and by the end of the day, I had one heck of a headache. The joys of what the sun does to me unfortunately. If you asked me Friday night when I finally got home, which was after 730, what I thought of the experience, I would have told you "never again", because of how I was feeling. Unfortunately, you would have be misinformed. Let me tell you why.
Being in this movie, is something that I feel that I was very lucky to be a part of. At any time I could have be asked to leave, or told that I didn't suit the type of movie, but that didn't happen. I was able to sway and groan and act full out zombie right alongside all the other extras. And it is something that I'll never forget.
Would I want to do another zombie film? Let's be honest now. The blood is so ridiculously sticky, and the makeup is a pain to get off, but I'd like to think that if the opportunity presented itself that I would jump on it. As for any other type of movie? Well, now that my headache is gone, I think I can say I would. Why not. I honestly don't see it happening any time soon, or ever, and I don't see myself as being a movie star in this life, or the next, but what have I got to lose. Get a new experience, meet some new people (although I seriously need to work on my shyness, as it is crazy hard to meet people when you choke up) and get to be a part of something, that in the end, is this fantastic piece of work that was dreamt up, wrote out, and actually made to make someones dreams of being a filmmaker come true.
So although my day was anything but glamorous, I take away with me memories and an experience and something I will be able to tell my girls about and look back on for many years to come. It was completely worth it.
