Doing extra work in the Detroit area can mean you get good pay, even if the amount of work available can leave much to be desired and perhaps be a challenge for some just getting started in this area of the entertainment industry. Though the reason why things can be a bit more difficult, is because casting directors hire union extras before they will hire someone that is non union in Detroit. Which can be bad news for those that are non union yet, however there are ways to get your union affiliation in Detroit.
You should also keep in mind that if you have union affiliation that can be a factor in your pay as well. The consistency of work in your area really depends on location and how often films are being shot near you. When you live in a place like Detroit, your chances for getting extra work actually goes up quite a bit. The more experience you have the more often you will find yourself on set in Detroit.
Granted to be an extra you don’t really have to be part of a union like the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), they do provide good support to actors however, the ties to the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists better known as AFTRA could be very helpful if you are looking for extras work in Detroit. Upon getting membership to any of these unions; you should keep a photo (headshot) and resume at the headquarters for AFTRA in their “extras' ' file. AFTRA keeps this extras file so that directors and casting directors can just contact them and find a match to the production that they are working on at the time in Detroit. It can be a matter of convenience but time is money.
If you are seeking to join the Screen Actors Guild you should be aware that there are prerequisites to becoming a member, such as being a member with another performers union for at least one year prior. For example start out with a union like AFTRA. You would also need to work as a principal extra at least one time in that union's jurisdiction. Usually an extra will start their career in Detroit as a non union member; though with that said there is a huge difference in pay for someone that is a member of SAG versus someone that is non union.
Now don’t lose hope though, you can be hired on as a SAG extra to help you obtain membership with the Screen Actors Union in Detroit. This is the case in any city where SAG is active. When you are hired on as a SAG extra, you can work for just a minimum of three days to qualify for a SAG membership. In Detroit all productions have a requirement placed on them to hire a small handful of SAG extras for every day that they are filming on set before they are allowed to hire non union extras. If a SAG extra does not show up for the shoot that day a non union extra can be handed a voucher to fill that slot for the day in the Detroit area.
When this happens the non union members will get paid for that day, it only takes getting three of these vouchers for a non union extra to obtain qualification to join SAG in Detroit or any other city that is using extras for work in the US. You need to make sure you impress the assistant director if you are looking to get a SAG voucher though. You can not bribe the director; you can do this just by being polite and remember the names of the assistants and keep all small talk friendly and sweet while avoiding being a bother if the assistant director is busy. You can impress by being helpful on set but you need to make sure you are staying out of the way and also remember to have tact with your performance; also being patient and easy to work with. A thank you note sent out to the assistant director after working on set can make a good impression as well in Detroit. You can always find the assistant director’s mailing address online in the Director’s Guild of America (DGA), (http://www.dga.org/).
