Well, almost.

I got a notice last week about a movie shoot in Ann Arbor needing extras, so I applied.

Monday was the shoot, so I skipped my tango lesson to chase the bright lights of Hollywood. Or at least, the local film company.

Shooting started at 7:00 PM. I left at 11:00 PM.

In that time, they shot a three minute scene. They only had a single camera, so in order to get close ups, distance, from left, from right, etc, they had to shoot it over and over from a dozen different camera placements.

The acting part of this was two guys who have the conversation, the bartender who kicks one out, a guy playing the bar manager, who has no dialog, and two folks sitting at the bar (me and a young woman at the other end of the bar).

The woman and I were just at the bar being decorative. She was much more decorative than I am.

Being an extra runs in my family, I guess.

My uncle was an extra in several movies when New Orleans was a hot spot for "On Location" movies, and my mom was an extra in the movie "Contraband".

I was an extra in one of the Detroit area indie productions back in the early 2ks, and helped a film-student friend back in the 20'th century.

It was fun to see the changes in tech and how folks work between the late 90s, when they were still shooting on film, and now when it's all digital.

On film, there were long discussions about light-meter readings, F-Stops, film speeds, etc. They had one chance to get it right, and wouldn't know how the film looked for a couple days.

I didn't see a single light-meter. The camera operator looked at his screen and hollered "Too Bright" at the light guy, who would turn a dial and say "That's 25 Percent, does that work?"

There were six folks in the production crew. The director, the camera operator, the sound guy (one microphone), the lighting guy and two women who ran around coordinating things.

And another dozen or so extras who sat at tables and silently chatted. Sitting at the bar was the special spot.

I guess I must be as decorative as the young woman after all.