Time Is The Enemy: Working as an Extra on 1917

Last week I posted a review of 1917. Needless to say, I rather liked it. If you missed it, you can click here and see what I thought in-depth.

A friend of mine it into a Facebook group which we're both a part of, for the extras who worked on the film as the soldiers etc. By chance, it caught the eye of the military advisor of the movie, who asked if I could do a piece on what it was like working as an extra on 1917; from selection to shooting.

Since I glossed over what it was like to be a general extra a while ago, I thought the idea of digging deep into one type of film would be pretty interesting. All pictures, unless stated otherwise, are provided by Paul Biddiss, the aforementioned Military Technical Advisor for 1917 and also Julian Rochfort, Military Assistant.

Selection & Assessment

If you'd like a brief TL;DR of my Life as a Movie Extra article: once you've signed with a casting agency, it's usually a case of them coming to you rather than vice versa. For 1917, they required around 500 extras to portray the soldiers in the background of nigh-on every shot of the film. For this, they will have asked probably somewhere upwards of 1300 people, as not everyone will be able to make the dates required for the shoot. Of those who could make the dates, they then had to whittle the numbers down to fit to what they needed.

Now, for most films, you would find out if you're in or if you're out. But, as I mentioned in my review, 1917 isn't like most films.

At this stage, I found out I was possibly in; subject to a fitness assessment. Those who know me will know that while my physical strength isn't terrible, what is terrible is my cardio-vascular endurance, so I was already panicking about how to survive that (turns out a few extra runs a week helps, who knew?)

It was at this fitness assessment that we first met Paul; the ex-paratrooper-turned-advisor to some of the biggest movies and TV shows around, such as Strike Back, Wonder Woman 1984 and the Mission Impossible franchise. He knows his stuff and when he talks, you best be damned sure that you are listening. Imagine if Mr Incredible had become part of the Forces in his prime as opposed to a superhero, you get the idea.

Once we arrived we were split into groups and taken through some basic drills. The first thing we learned was how to march in formation, how to stand to attention. Despite being someone who's got military history on both sides of my family, this was the first time I'd been directly involved with anything military-related myself.

We were split further into groups of five after being shown the basics. We were shown several points in the distance we needed to make it to, and to keep our formation in a straight line, always keeping just far enough apart we weren't stumbling over each other. (Apparently, I looked responsible enough to lead my group, mixed results.)

Whenever Paul shouted "bang" into his megaphone, we were to drop to the floor as though a bomb had just gone off near us. It was fun for a while, something I've never done before. It became quite a challenge traipsing across some incredibly uneven ground and throwing yourself willingly amongst the mud and the weeds.

We repeated this for over an hour at varying degrees of speed, but eventually it began to wear a lot of people down. While the exercise in itself isn't particularly difficult, the repetition is what does you in, especially if you're throwing yourself to the ground and then up again every few steps.

My mantra was; give it your everything, and then if your lungs collapse, maybe they'll mistake your lack of fitness for dedication to the role and keep you anyway. Somehow, that worked.

One thing Paul didn't let us forget was a saying for the whole group, something to remember while on set at all times:

"Do not forget your weapon, do not forget your webbing and do not forget your helmet."

It is a phrase that has embedded itself into my brain and I don't think it's being displaced any time soon. For those who do not know, webbing is all the things you carry over the top of your uniform, so a water bottle, containers for food, medical supplies, gas mask etc.

Paul would call out what we needed to remember and just like that, we bleated back the "weapon, webbing, helmet" mantra and all of a sudden, we weren't all strangers, we were becoming an army regiment.

Costume Fitting

Within a few weeks, I found out I was one of the lucky ones to be selected to work on 1917. Celebrations aside, it was time to try and get marginally fitter. This was going to be the most work I'd ever done on a movie, and I needed to go the distance. I tried going on runs every few days in the build up and really did try to develop a sleeping pattern but the less said about that, the better.

In the space of a few days, I travelled to Salisbury for a costume fitting and then a boot camp. The one request we'd all received was if we could grow facial hair, we were to grow and keep a moustache for the entire time we were required filming; a period of about seven to eight weeks all together.

Slightly embarrassed by my pathetic attempt at facial hair, I appeared at my costume fitting praying to all that is holy they'd take pity and let me shave it off; no such luck. The fitting itself took between two and three hours. For this, it took into account having basic makeup applied to "dirty" you up, to look muddy and rotten and run down.

In some instances people may have had their hair cut depending on what they showed up with. The standard for the solider look was a faded back and sides with a bit of length on top (if you know me, then you'll know I struggle with the latter). Depending on the time of day and the length of queues, some would have their costume fitted before their make up, others vice versa.

One of the costume team takes you in and checks your measurements to see what uniforms they have that can fit you, or can be altered to fit you. It's then that you realise just how much effort goes into the creation of these costumes. Every single person had their own kit with plenty of spare parts to cover anything that goes missing or breaks.

I distinctly remember my designated costume lady was convinced that my uniform looked better with a scarf, but her superiors thought otherwise. They wanted everyone to look the part, even a man that barely appears on screen. One thing I won't miss from the costumes are the puttees we wrapped our legs up in from the knees down. A bugger to put on and even more of a bugger to redo if you got them wrong. Oh, and the amount of chalk we would be caked in for the trench scenes in the latter end of the film. It would crack even the strongest of lungs the amount we were powdered in.

Bootcamp

With a costume sorted, our first boot camp took place near where we were shooting on Salisbury Plain. We were each given a dummy rifle and we were to keep hold of it at all times. "Don't forget your weapon, don't forget your webbing, don't forget your helmet!"

We each took it in turns to fire a real rifle, they brought another weapons expert to show us how to hold it properly, re-chamber after each shot and then firing again. Another test to see who was suitable to fire a weapon whilst on set. As it turned out, very few people were handed such a responsibility in the interest of general safety, when there were upwards of 300 people on set pretty much at all times; that's including the crew behind the cameras. A few lucky chaps got to carry mountable machine guns which, after holding one for precisely five seconds, felt like a punishment. But they certainly looked brilliant on camera.

Once again, we went through drills similar to what Paul had us do during our fitness assessment, albeit at near-maximum pace. Things became much more urgent and intense and, thanks to our costumes, the ideas of what we would be facing, what those brave men faced 100 years ago, became much clearer.

What was important was making sure we were all reacting to call-outs quickly, if even one person is slow to react to an explosion or go over the top of the trenches out of sync, it could ruin the immersion that the film pulls you in with.

And... Action!

With costumes sorted, soldiers enlisted and the sets in place, it was time to start shooting... just as soon as that cloud comes over head. Yes, as with the movie's tagline "Time is the enemy", it was also ours. Along with the weather.

Every day where there was overcast and/or rain, we'd have a great time. Rehearsals were constant, the crew could see how the scene looked and we could work on the momentum of the scene and how everything flowed.

If I could say the one thing you need to even think about attempting a 'one-shot' style movie; it's patience, and lots of it. The first few days I worked on the film (coincidentally, these came and went in the first minute of the movie) were reasonably straightforward in comparison to what came after.

As the clouds rolled over, filming could begin. After a few successful rehearsals and some minor changes to the positioning of some extras, the cameras began to roll. There's always a buzz when you know the crew are doing a take.

The set quietens, and everyone has their set of actions to do. Me? I was washing dishes. When you're taught that a lot of soldiers would tip their helmets in a certain direction as they believed it was lucky, you tip it away from the camera so you'll see yourself on screen. That's me, I did that.

A few bouts of torrential rain were the only things that stopped us from working fairly efficiently through those first few scenes. Several soldiers were taken to the side so they could do some actions against a green screen so the editors could bulk up the numbers in the final edit.

That's what may surprise some people, it wasn't just that there could be 500 extras on the set at any given time; they were the exact same 500 extras throughout the movie.

We were all playing several different soldiers, costumes slightly altered depending on where we were at in the film. I think I must have played at least three different soldiers myself. You always saw the same faces every day, portraying numbers significantly larger than what we had even on the busiest of days.

It meant a lot to me. By the end of the shoots, you felt like a big family, a part of something great. The camaraderie was real. As a person who's default setting is anxiety, it was calming, knowing who would be there and who I could get to work with again the following day. Suddenly, the massive crowds weren't intimidating, they were welcoming. You'd see the faces of people you now knew, because you spent so much time together.

Getting Over The Line

As I mentioned above, our greatest enemies were time and the weather. Whenever it was a beautiful, sunny morning, it didn't bring the usual smiles and positive feelings that being out in the summer sun would normally bring; it meant we wouldn't be shooting for the day. We'd have to stick to rehearsing so that, when we eventually could shoot, things would go much more smoothly.

Several days went by where we couldn't film because it was too sunny and warm. The weather had to be right, the continuity had to be perfect otherwise the whole film was ruined. Those days were the toughest, not because we were doing loads and the sun made it harder to exercise, it was the fact we couldn't do anything and the sun was making waiting around unbearable.

The days dragged on and on and the heat began to rile a few people, but many remained in good spirit. Shout out to my buddies in group five in the trenches, best group in the world. We entertained everyone about five groups either side of us, because we were the only ones who could fill the air with enjoyment and laughter at times.

But once a patch of cloud smothered that unforgiving June sun, the whole set sprung into life. Over 600 people preparing for a shoot and in their positions, in front and behind the camera, in about five minutes. I've not seen anything like it. Even those who had managed to fall asleep had got their gear back on and were ready for another sprint across Salisbury Plain.

No doubt you've probably seen the scene of George MacKay running across the front line as hundreds of soldiers go over the top to their deaths. It's beautifully done, but it was one hell of an effort to get there. That run is done in one take, and George did it again and again and again, the absolute nutter. We'd rehearse in the sun, shoot in the shade and eventually, we got something amazing out of it.

Everything you see in that scene is practical, all of the explosions were genuine, prepped and reloaded before each take. It was imperative that we all reacted accordingly when they went off. I don't know about anyone else, but I found it hard not to react. You could feel those explosions thump at your chest, and you couldn't not duck your head and brace yourself otherwise you'd be getting a face full of debris. There were probably a few takes where you could hear me shouting some form of expletive as I tried not to crap myself at the next explosion.

Fun fact: I was quite close to where George starts his unbelievable 400m sprint. It also meant that, when I went over the top, I had the furthest to run. You weren't supposed to "drop dead" unless you were specifically told to, but I don't think anyone will mind me admitting I did a few times, it was either that or I dropped dead for real.

Fun fact #2: I was also right outside the bunker that Benedict Cumberbatch's character appears in at the opposite end of the trench; the magic of cinema, eh?

Every action was overlooked by the crew and Paul or Julian were always on hand to suggest ways to make our movements and reactions more believable, or simply if we should just run a little faster.

Set Changes & War Wounds

The final scene of the movie (spoilers ahead so run away now) where George's character is wondering through the medical tents to look for Dean's older brother, played by Richard Madden. A lot of people had a second make-up day, myself included, for some additional war wounds.

The next photo comes with a trigger warning just in case anyone is easily distressed by blood and gore effects. I assure you it is all make-up and definitely not my blood you are seeing. Although, I did accidentally get some of the fake blood in my eye during the session from tilting my head wrong. All I'll say is, I could feel the Fairy Liquid they add to the substance to "make it shine". Don't tell anyone I took this, oh wait.

Shrapnel wound front and back. Don't look at the moustache. It's horrible. BUT, it was all for a good reason.

If you have seen the movie, then you know the stretchers are organised very neatly throughout the tents. Initially, there were a bunch strewn out in front of the tents haphazardly. It showed the frenzied chaos of being freshly picked up off the battlefield, but it made it so much more difficult to navigate for the camera crew and George.

So, a day later, we arrived again and the stretchers were positioned as they were in the final scenes in the movie. The flow cannot be messed up, not at the climax of the movie. It was a logical change that worked out in everyone's favour, since I then had a roof over my head.

This was the easiest part of the shoot by far. I got to lie down on a stretcher for most of the last few days. Occasionally have my war wounds redone and then back to acting like I was dying. I loved it. You can see me doing my best fake crying as George passes my tent, look for a bloodied face and a big nose and you're probably looking at me.

Closing Words

In the end, I finished a day earlier than I anticipated. I hadn't managed to say all my goodbyes properly to my friends, the members of the makeup team who were on hand to make me pretty and were always kind. But, looking back nearly seven or eight months later, I remember the whole experience rather fondly.

There were many long, tiring days. Despite that, each day was like an adventure. I met a lot of great people behind and in front of the lens. I don't think it is a coincidence that the biggest film, the film that I spent the most time working on, ended up being the best experience I've had as a supporting artist so far.

Every challenge we overcame, every time we had to redo a take, feels worth it. It's no surprise that the film is being nominated (and winning) numerous awards, because it is a superbly made film. It's a different kind of war movie, one we weren't sure was going to work sometimes, but I don't think I've ever been happier to be proved wrong.

To my brothers in arms, well done, I salute you all. Until next time.