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Femme Florals

March 9, 2018 by The Lady Nerd 1 Comment

A couple weeks ago I had the pleasure of experiencing something I never have before in all my years of modeling….Modeling with a group! Our lovely photographer (and fellow model), Astrid, was in town from traveling and wanted to see her friends. Since a decent amount of her friends are models, well,…we just had to have ourselves a photoshoot. It was a fun day of frolicking around a park, laughing as we goofily attempted to run down a hill barefoot, making new friends, sharing hopes and dreams. So please enjoy this unintentional Anthroplogie-esque featuring vintage fashions from local Atlanta store, Coco and Mischa as well as jewelry from Canned Goods!

Photography: Astrid Kallsen
Wardrobe: Coco and Mischa
Jewelry: Canned Goods
Other Models:
@itsnikki.g
@nomibowie
@mirandalindseymerrill
@channysteele

New Haircut

February 7, 2018 by The Lady Nerd 3 Comments

New Year.
New Look.
New Gameplan.

Last year held a lot of depression, problems, and generally being stuck in a rut. Things have begun to move forward in such a way that I felt I needed a little ‘makeover’ to reflect that. I wanted something simple, but strong. I needed a hairstyle that I could easily maintain with my hectic lifestyle, yet still look polished with. Enter the Blunt Bang.

With my limp noodle hair, there’s not much I can do to make it look great naturally. But as if magic, simply cutting my fringe into a straight-across cut to match my naturally sleek tresses (or flat, limp pieces of string as I like to yell at them most days of the week…) pulls together for a potentially signature look. I can style it just like this or I can do updos for a quirky-cute flair, or style my bangs and various ways (including my beloved Belle/Aeris bangs).

Sometimes you just need a new hairstyle to make you feel like you can take on the world. Or pretend you’re a super secret agent. Whatever floats your boat.

Photography: James “Frameshot” Garner
Editing: Me

Spider-girl for Charity

February 3, 2018 by The Lady Nerd 6 Comments

As mentioned in my previous post, I originally wanted to do a Spider-girl cosplay for the express purpose of wearing her to charity events. Alas due to finances and my own near-fatal car accident, I didn’t get to fulfill that goal until late 2016. It was a small holiday meet-and-greet at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta where I was joined by my friend Jefferson as Captain America and Valeria as Super-girl.

Many kids in hospitals are too sick to leave the grounds, so with special permission, sometimes charity groups are allowed in. Rather than going into individual hospital rooms (which can sometimes be dangerous for patients, depending on the severity level of their condition), we stationed ourselves in the lobby where those well enough (or with the help of caretakers) could come see us.

As one might expect most were very shy, but there was no mistaking the light in their eyes to see their favourite superheroes or the therapy dogs nearby. It seems like it’s not a big deal, but it can make a world of difference to a child.

I remember one charity event I did as Belle from Beauty and the Beast, there was a painfully shy little girl that I got down on the ground to give a hug to. She seemed like she wanted nothing to do with me, only giving me a hug when her parents asked her to. I didn’t think anything of it until her parents told me that the little girl was so excited she almost fainted when she saw me. “We just got back from a Make a Wish trip to Disney world. Belle is her favourite, but there was no Belle when we there. So when she saw you, we told her Belle had come just for her.” (Oh yeah, cue the waterworks on my account!) So I kept that in mind with the quiet, shy children at this charity event. Some were shy or in so much pain they couldn’t bring themselves to smile, but you could still see it in their eyes. I spoke quiet encouragement to some of them, hugged those who wanted it, and posed for pictures for hopefully good memories.

Be the joy you want to see in the world.

Love,
~ Your neighbourhood friendly Spider-girl

Photography: Chelsea Patricia Photography
Captain America: Jefferson Bell
Super-girl: Val Jean

Silly Wolf Spirit Hood

January 26, 2018 by The Lady Nerd 4 Comments

In all my years of picture-taking, I’ve noticed I have two modes: Model face and Derp face. There is no inbetween. The angular, don’t-you-even-think-about-smiling model face is my usual go-to when my spidey senses go off that a camera is near. But every photographer I’ve worked with knows that it’s not a true photoshoot with me until there’s derp face. In 0.5 seconds I’ll go from intense Vogueing to my tonge hanging out like a total goofball. But laughter is good for the soul! Life is far too short to take yourself seriously all the time. So while I was doing my model thing for the previous Spirit Hood post, there were a bunch of silly outtakes that were just fun to hide away. May this spread some joy and bring a smile to your face!

Grey Wolf Spirit Hood smile. Made in California. Worn by The Lady Nerd. Photographed by The Gluttonous Geek

Life is short. Smile while you still have teeth.

Silly itch in a Grey Wolf Spirit Hood. Made in California. Worn by The Lady Nerd. Photographed by The Gluttonous Geek

When you get an itch you can’t quite reach…

“INCOMING!!!”

That moment of abject terror when my roommate’s husband (also known as my other roommate/landlord/brother-from-another-mother) came to check out the photoshoot only to start hurdling snowball’s at me for good “photo effect”.

My life flashed before my eyes

The look of having wet, cold snow in my gloves

BRING IT ON

Man, the faces I make sometimes….Anyways, I was not able to get my quick-footed roommate back and quickly succumbed the freezing temperatures. So I called a cease-fire to get our frigid bums back inside for some hot chocolate. Ah, it was a fun day.

There’s STILL snow in my gloves!

Spirit Hood: Grey Wolf
Photograph: Catherine of The Gluttonous Geek
Coat: Goodwill (I’ve had it since middle school!)

A Day on Set of The Gifted: Part II

January 19, 2018 by The Lady Nerd 2 Comments

Read A Day on Set of The Gifted: Part I here
————————————————————-
In a flash, the stand-in cave under the stairs empties as second team makes a dash of Olympic levels into the headquarters. (For those not in the know, “first team” is the name given to the actors. Thus “second team” refers to their stand-ins and photo doubles.) At this point, we join the mass of crew members crowded around as the actors get into place for a marking rehearsal. As they do their thing, one of the camera assistants zips in and out placing neon coloured taped underneath the actors. This ensures everyone knows exactly where the actors end up. Meanwhile us stand-ins are watching the actors’ moves like steely-eyed hawks, memorizing their every turn, head tilt, posture, and walking directions.

“Alright, the crew has it!”

This is usually when quick ‘good mornings’ and ‘hellos’ between first and second team occur. Of course, Emma Dumont and I have to take it up a notch with a secret handshake. Because we are just too cool for school. From here, the set becomes a bustling hive of activity as the director teams up with various department heads to set up the shot. Cameras get set up on their dollies, grips scurry to set up lights, and P.As position background extras in the scene. Although there are attempts to keep this process quiet, it rarely happens. The amount of people and activity in one spot makes for noise. (Although it can be frustrating for a half-deaf gal like me to hear as I swear they always call out directions on my left/deaf side…thank goodness for other stand-ins keeping an ear out for me!) Due to sizes of lenses, camera angles, and lights, us stand-ins get shuffled around A. LOT. But it’s why we’re here – to help set up the shot so the actor’s can just come in and do their jobs. Standing around for hours can wear you out or at the very least, make you quite antsy. So while it’s an extremely low-paying and often thankless job, it’s a very necessary one.

I’m going to stop here to make an important note of one of the reasons I love working on The Gifted. In the previous post I mentioned how Emma makes me feel like an equal. She is not the only one. Our executive producers Derek Hoffman and Craig Siebels (my favourite director I have EVER worked for) are always there with a smile, a friendly chat, and make the set feel like a safe, very fun place to be. And then there’s our showrunner, Matt Nix. I once had the embarrassing notion of thinking he was the head writer and not the uh…show creator. So when he visited set for the first time from LA, I brazenly waltzed right up to say hi and chat over the silly Instagram posts from the writer’s room. After the initial, “Hi, what do you do on set?” the very next thing out of Matt’s mouth was, “So, do you like comics?” DO I. Thus began a 30 minute super geeky conversation about X-Men (which truthfully is my favourite comic series. Always has been). It wasn’t until the series premiere when I saw his name on the title screen that I realized my error. Oops…

Photograph Ⓒ Derek Hoffman

Now, back to set!

My body is aching. I’ve been holding this position for the last hour. Dear Emma has a habit of perching on chairs and tables which work perfectly for Polaris, but can be a bit tricky to hold for 1-2 hours. Behold the perching gargoyle (I started calling her halfway through the season)…

Everything is now in place. The call goes out over the walkies to invite in first team.

“10 POINTS TO SLYTHERIN!”

Emma yells as she bursts onto set. Each actor arrives and trade off with their stand-in. I smile and say good morning to the other actors on my way out. “Morning, love!” Sean Teale’s Colgate smile greets me with a hug as he dashes onto set. I don’t know whether it’s his infectious smile or the fact that he reminds me a lot of my boyfriend, but I do so enjoy running into Sean on set (same with Jermaine Rivers (Shatter) and Hayley Lovitt (Sage). I like trying to see how big I can get the 3 of them to smile. What? They have great grins!)

The stage grows quiet and I peer over the producers’ shoulders to watch the monitors (despite setting up the shot with us stand-ins, things almost always change once shooting begins. So we have to be aware of any changes made). I watch it two times through and once I realize that nothing’s changing in this long, scene, I go to crafty to get my morning cup of tea. Back in the stand-in cave, I settle in to the quiet conversation happening. As per usual, the topics of conversation range from opinions on various geek-related things and acting.

Most stand-ins are newbie actors, struggling actors, or actors who’ve fallen on hard times. So you’ll get a range of folks who take acting seriously and are using their stand-in job as a sort of Masterclass to learn from their actor while others are feeling out their place on set, to see if acting is a really a thing for them or if they like a different department better. (Still others spend their time complaining about not having gotten anywhere career-wise, but that’s when it’s best to have a book to read on set and ignore them without seeming rude).

Personally, I find myself in the undecided category. I love acting and previously had an agent, done many auditions, etc. I fall into a natural rhythm on set acting out the sides or with doing line rehearsals the actors. But with the industry being SO competitive and much of one’s hard-earned money going to tools to help one get work with usually little to no return, it’s a struggle. But I try not to fall into the trap of whining endlessly about it on set as some do, but to problem-solve this with my fellow stand-ins and to be grateful for where I am. Many do not. Many stand-ins I meet on sets are discontent and bitter they haven’t “made it” yet. I can understand a frustrating day here or there, but a sense of perspective gets lost. Perhaps one day I’ll be a working actress. Perhaps I’m meant for something else. But every day I try to make the choice to be grateful for what is given to me. I could be stuck on a terrible set. I could be stuck with an actress who wants nothing to do with me. I could be stuck nowhere near an industry I love.

Oh look…lunchtime!

Stay tuned for what happens in the lunchline and afterwards in Part III!

A Day on Set of The Gifted: Part I

January 17, 2018 by The Lady Nerd 4 Comments

BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!BEEP!smackcrashHGNHgroan….

Such is the sound of 4am.

The sun hasn’t even thought about rising yet, so I greet the darkness with a habitual groan as I fumble for the lights. Thankfully I had the foresight to set out my clothes and backpack the night before so I can simply grab-and-go. Once situated in my trusty transportation, I turn on the radio to some lively jams to keep myself awake for the hour drive to the Stages. (If I had a later call time, that hour would easily turn into 1.5-2 hours. Atlanta traffic is fun, lemme tell you…) As I pull up the exit ramp to the Stages, I look over to see Stephen Moyer playing with his two dogs by the treeline with more energy than I can currently muster. With zombie drivers at the wheel, cars fall into line at the front security gate.

The morning shuffle continues.

Still in a zombie-like haze, we meander out of our cars to our respective spots; some to set, some to trailers, some to trucks, and some to catering. Depending on how close I am to call time, I’ll either make a beeline to food or check in with wardrobe. Today is the latter. I wave at the various crew members hurriedly trying to get equipment in place for the morning and to a fresh-faced Jamie Chung out walking her spunky pup, Ewok. I ascend the wardrobe trailer steps to find our lovely wardrobe ladies busily hustling between clothing racks. I normally have my proper colour coverage, but today, I have the special treat of being a photo double. Never knew I could pull off a modern grungy look!

Emma Dumont's Polaris photo double, Briana Lamb in wardrobe on set of The GIfted.

When you’re on second unit and your actress is on first unit, goofy pictures get texted…

Afterwards, I begin my favourite part of the morning – getting wigged up. (Stand-ins and actors (known as first team) are usually kept separate. But for most of the season, it was insisted that I wear a wig similar to Polaris for lighting purposes.) I pop into the 5^th trailer on the line to see Charles, Curtis, Lisa, Jenny, Gambi, and the rest of the lovely men and women of the hair and makeup departments.

No sooner do I enter than a friendly screech is emitted from one of the chairs. “Briaaaaanaaa! I have to tell you what happened this weekend!”

Enter Emma Dumont.

Most actors are friendly, but there is usually minimal interaction between an actor and their stand-in. I’ve been incredibly lucky to be paired with Emma, the bright, bubbly green ray of sunshine she is. I’ll never forget that by day two she declared aloud that we were new best friends. I laughed and figured that was cast-speak for “I like you. We will have fun on set” but no more. Oh I was wrong. Multiple girl brunches at Café Intermezzo and ridiculous midnight pun texts later, I’m happy to say we are actually friends (or as Emma likes to say “Twins for life!”) Emma treats me as an equal (for those of you not in the industry, that’s also not common. Actors tend to be nice to second team, but there is definitely a classist level between the two. But not with Emma. She sees cast and crew as they should be – equal people with different roles). As someone who just got used to the second-rate nature of being a stand-in (after years of being an-even-lower-than background extra), being treated as an equal and person of value by so many people on set of The Gifted is a truly beautiful thing.

30 minutes of many gossip conversations and a weird mix of hair pulling and a head massage later, I shuffle out of the hair and makeup trailer to go to set. I walk into Stage 5 where the coolest set I have ever worked on is housed. Behold the Mutant Underground Headquarters.

Photograph © Todd Lee

Mutant Underground Vault on set of The Gifted. Taken by Brad Marques

Photograph © Brad Marques

A chorus of ‘good morning’s’ greet me as I make my way over to the staircase, under which the stand-ins have made camp. This particular morning I notice a few grips inside installing something. “What’s going on?” I ask.

“We’re getting lights! I don’t know who they’re from, but we’re not the red-headed stepchildren kept in the dark under the stairs anymore!” excitedly says my set best friend, Ashley, who stands in for Amy Acker.

We all watch as string lights encompass our whole seating area. I stare in wonder as this simple, but beautiful gesture. I can read my books now! We take turns trying to guess who might have given us such a gift. Could it be Kay, our resident set mom (aka Jamie Chung’s stand-in), or maybe it was someone from the lighting department, or one of our friendly PA team? Suddenly, a familiar bearded face pokes through one of the wooden slats. “Whatdya think? It was just so dark in here, I thought you might like them,” smiles our beloved executive producer, Derek Hoffman. We fall all over ourselves in such excited gratitude that we almost miss the bellow of “SECOND TEAM” being yelled from set. And off we go!

Time to work.

Stay tuned for Part II…

Wolf Spirit Hood

January 13, 2018 by The Lady Nerd 3 Comments

I’m not quite sure when my desire for a Spirit Hood started, or even why, but over the past few years I’ve grown to adore them. There’s just something so whimsical about these furry hats! Harkening back to childhood I suppose, in a rather Neverland’s Lost Boys kind of way. I can’t wear one and not smile (oh don’t worry, there’s an entire blog post of silly derp faces in this hood coming soon).

My favourite animal is the wolf. There are plenty of other animals I am fond of, but my longest zoological love has been for canis lupus. I have fond memories of spending hours at the wolf exhibit at Grassmere Wildlife Reserve (before it became the Nashville Zoo). Later on, I did a short summer program as one of their junior zoologists. Of course that meant scooping the poo out of cages more than anything else, but I didn’t care. I was so happy to be on the “other” side of the fence. From then until the wolf exhibit was taken out of the zoo, I’d come every summer to see those majestic creatures (I’d swear the lone wolf always seemed very happy to see me…). A few years ago I had the once-in-a-lifetime experience of shooting with a beautiful Timberwolf rescue named Breeze. (You can see the photoshoot right here!) So when I saw Spirit Hoods, the mature fashionista disappeared and wolf-loving kid Briana showed up instead.

Now, Spirit Hoods run a bit on the pricier side at $99-$300 USD, but that’s due to the high quality faux-fur products being handmade in California. Being the starving artist I am, I had put off getting a Spirit Hood as some future thing, but thanks to a sweet friend’s surprise generosity, I became the proud owner of a Grey Wolf Spirit Hood. I LOVE IT! It’s surprisingly warm with pawkets (oh the puns) and little hidden pocket to store small items like keys or a credit card. A portion of the proceeds also go to conservation of various endangered animals (pretty nifty!). Among them are Predator Defense, Snow Leopard Conservancy, Panthera, Pandas International, and Polar Bears International.

I have way too much wearing this puppy out in public. Not only does it make me happy, but it automatically seems to bring smiles to others (I’ve been known to wear it on set when it gets cold, much to the crew’s amusement). So I decided it was high time to document said happiness. For the first time in years we had snow here in Atlanta, so I batted my eyelashes at my roommates and out we went into our backyard to snap some pictures (complete with cheap fangs I bought a while back for some costume…).

There is also a student discount to get 15% off! (No, this is not a sponsored post. I just really love my Spirit Hood and want to pass on the joy!)

Spirit Hood: Grey Wolf
Photograph: Catherine of The Gluttonous Geek
Coat: Goodwill (I’ve had it since middle school!)

H&M Han Solo

January 8, 2018 by The Lady Nerd Leave a Comment

This post contains affiliate links

It’s amazing the things you can find at your local mall if you look hard enough. Or, as what happened in the case, smacked me square in the face. On an outing with a friend recently, we decided to peruse on of our favourite stores, H&M. No sooner had we walked in then I saw them…

H&M Navy Pants with Side Stripes – $34.99

I turned to my friend as her face registered the same thought. In less than 12 parsecs, my friend and I went tearing around the store to build a certain smuggler’s outfit with what pieces we could find. Although I have pieces at home I could use, we were having entirely too much fun confusing the poor employees and amusing ourselves with our geekbounding luck. I felt a looser button up silk blouse would be best to match the dressy style of the pants. Alas, they were sold out. But we did manage to find a safari-esque button-up collared top in clearance. Paired with a mens’ vest (as there were no womens’ vests to be found), my own boots, belt, and a smug smile and VOILA! A femme scruffy looking nerfherder appeared!

Better yet, the pants are quite comfy. I wasn’t sure what the make of the bunched elastic waist at the back (my upper lip may have curled slightly into what one might call a sneer), but then I put the pants on. Oh. OHH. It made the sleek-looking waistband fit like a glove, but a comfortable one. The pants themselves have cropped leg hems but those become a non-issue when tucked into knee-high boots. Now would be a great time to snatch up these pants for a geekbounding Han Solo, especially with the film coming out in May.

Here’s a few shirt options from H&M:

Linen Shirt – $24.99 (the same as I’m wearing in the above picture)
Polyester Blouse -$17.99
Satin Blouse – $24.99
Long-sleeve Button Blouse – $24.99
Fitted V-neck Shirt – $19.99
Creped Blouse – $29.99
V-Neck Blouse – $24.99

Black Suit Vest – $24.99

But that’s not all! Oh no, in the outerwear section we found a great everyday navy winter coat, perfect for a geekbounding Echo Base Han Solo. Pair it with some tan pants (of which there were NONE in the store for me to try on for pictures) and ta-dah!

This particular one I couldn’t find on the website, but should still be in stores. For you crafty sorts, here’s some other options that would work (though the fur trim on the collar would need to be switched out for lighter brown fur).

Navy Padded Parka – $54.99
Navy Padded Parka – $59.99

Happy hunting!

Winter is Coming

January 3, 2018 by The Lady Nerd 2 Comments

Winter is coming…

Cold is here.

No, seriously. It’s about 16 degrees right now (-8.8 for you Celsius folks). As I shake like a human maraca next to my space heater, I find myself wanting to express to the world a major pet peeve of mine: When the temperature drops below freezing and there is NO SNOW. I feel this should be a crime of nature somehow. What a cruel fate to be forced to endure such bitter cold with no reprieve of that magical white mixture that seems to transform everything it touches.

But I’m reminded that only a few weeks ago, such a magical event did occur. For you Northerners, I can understand this being a common occurrence and therefore, not a big deal. Oh but it is… Keep in mind, the last snowfall I saw was in 2011. SIX YEARS AGO. Six years since I’ve seen anything outside my window besides a dusting of flurries. Six years since I was able to play in the snow. So you can imagine the utter glee I felt to wake up on December 8 and see the winter wonderland unfolding outside my window. I came very close to crying from sheer joy. I managed to run a quick errand and beheld the magic of the flurries as everyone was talking excitedly as if old friends over the white beauty falling from the sky. There were no strangers, only wide-eyed comrades.

So while I currently sulk in the dry, freezing air, wishing for snow, I’ll content myself with sharing pictures from December with you. Between artsy angles and Snapseed editing (aka Briana tries to be aesthetic), here are my captures. Enjoy!

“The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found?”

Of course, I had to actually go play IN the snow. It actually stuck around long enough for me to get a photoshoot in (stay tuned for that post, coming soon!) and build a snowman! Naturally me being me, I couldn’t just a build a regular ol’ snowman. No, I had to build a snow BB8. (Not pictured – my attempt at making it look more like BB8 with orange food colouring. It, uh…just ended up looking like “yellow snow”…) Snowballs were also hurled. Mainly at me. By my roommates. I couldn’t waddle fast enough to pick up snow to retaliate. Next time, Gadget…

For those of you who have experienced snow recently, what did you do? Was it a harrowing experience of shoveling out your car to go to work? Or did you turn into a kid again and play snowball war with your neighbours? Leave your experiences in the comments below! Let me live vicariously through them!

Catching Fire – District 12 Set Diary – Part I

November 23, 2015 by Briana Leave a Comment

As Mockingjay Part 2 premieres in theaters, it brings an end to the era of The Hunger Games films. I had the great privilege of being able to work on Catching Fire, Mockingjay Part I, and Part II as a core background extra (meaning that I was there for many months of filming. Some crew joked that we were there more than the actors!). While most behind-the-scenes videos and commentary are understandably focused on the main cast and heads of crew departments, I thought I’d lend my voice to the little people – the professional blurs in the background. So without further adieu, here’s a background extra’s look at the behind-the-scenes of Catching Fire. Enjoy!

************************************************************************************
It was a brisk Saturday morning in October 2012. At 3:30am, I rolled off the air mattress on my friend’s floor to pack my bag and head out for my first day ever as an extra on a film set. (What a set to start on, right? I couldn’t start on a small film to get my feet wet. Oh no, as per usual, I had to go for the gusto!) I had no idea what to expect, but I packed my little bag with a book and some light snacks and headed off to set.

Upon arrival, I got my first lesson in the game that extras know how to play best – waiting in line. Waiting in line to check in. Waiting in line to drop off cellphones. Waiting in line for wardrobe. Waiting in line for hair and makeup. (Though I’ve now come to enjoy waiting in line at extra gigs as there usually at one engrossing conversation going on Or the amusing antics of punch-drunk-sleepy extras at the bum-crack of dawn).

Photo courtesy of Continuity

I was cast as one of the many thin, plain looking District 12 extras (between this and The Walking Dead, I fear I’m getting typecast. Hehe). I changed into my costume and shuffled into the back of the makeup line. After an hour of doing my best not to complain about the nippy cold outside (a stamping of feet still happened despite best efforts), I was ushered inside the (slightly) warmer tent. I found that I was one of the last of a few hundred extras to plop down in the makeup chair. I had just settled in when an exasperated Production Assistant came running in, “The extras aren’t dirty enough! They’re getting to set and the director says they’re just not dirty enough. This is a coal mining town. Get that dirt in their pores!” And get the dirt in my pores they did…

Only about 7 shades darker than my usual pale as snow.

By the end of the three days of filming of those scenes, I garnered the reputation for being the dirtiest extra on set (that stuff was fun to wash off, lemme tell ya. Took almost a week to get the dirt out from under my fingernails). This ended up working in my favour though as because I was so dirty, the Assistant Director wanted me up front to better represent the look of the district. Funny how that works, eh?

After makeup came hair. One of my favourite parts of the daily lineup. (I’m the gal that’ll sometimes fall asleep in the chair because getting my hair and face fussed with can be rather relaxing.) The look for District 12 was based on Depression Era Appalachia, so the wardrobe and hairstyles were simple. Some had their hair down, some had braids, but nothing too intricate. I overheard the hair stylists double-checking their lookbook notes, “No down braids of any kind on any of the female District 12 extras. That is reserved for Katniss only.” Fair enough.

As the stylist started doing my hair, I felt a familiar shape taking hold….She was doing the iconic Katniss braid on me. I remarked on that as I didn’t want her to inadvertently get in trouble for giving me a braid (silly me thought she might be a day-player. Oh no, she had done the Katniss braid on Jennifer Lawrence before, so she knew exactly what she was doing). “Oh don’t worry, hun. I’m doing this as an updo, so you won’t have a down braid.” Good! Because my hair looks like a rat’s tail when it’s braided….but then she secured the braid with only two small bobby pins. I politely let her know that my hair is a thin, slippery son-of-a-gun, so more bobby pins would be a good idea. She waved me off, “nah, you’ll be fine!”

The extras piled into a pair of coach buses that drove us over to a holding tent just outside of set (which happened to be the Goat Farm Arts Center in Atlanta). The sun broke over the horizon as we filed in to claim a spot at the tables laid out inside. Then began the long wait….

Photo courtesy of paparazzi who thought they were going to get pictures of the cast. Hah!

A small handful of extras were called in for the first two scenes. I, however, was not called in until many hours later for the last scene of the day. But time is rarely ever wasted among extras who are friendly and a wee bit creative. I had the fortune of sitting at a table of fun, chatty folks. As I was a complete newbie at the time to being an extra, I was full of questions and bright-eyed cheeriness. I made some fast friends.

Now, remember the two small bobby pins I mentioned holding my hair up earlier? Surprise, surprise, they fell down. So there I sat with my Katniss braid laid over my shoulder. Of course I couldn’t find where the bobby pins had launched off to in order to resecure my hair. “Don’t worry, the hair stylists will see you on set and immediately stick your hair up. No Katniss braids for anyone in District 12!” the other extras said playfully. Well, the hair stylists did come around to check the extras before a group went on to set and not a single comment was made about my hair. This got the wheels turning at our table.

One of the things we did to pass the time was create characters for ourselves. Who were we? What roles did we play in District 12? One of the odd things that happened earlier on in the day was folks telling me I looked like Katniss. Not the Jennifer Lawrence version, but that I reminded them more of book Katniss (sans colouring). So I rolled that into the creation of my character, Ora; a factory worker who separated the coal and the ore (hence the name and an explanation as to why I was SO covered in soot!). She idolizes Katniss Everdeen, but alas, is not the brightest bulb in the box. Whatever Ora see Katniss do, she tries to replicate, only fails miserable. For instance, she tries to be the ‘girl on fire’, but doesn’t understand the stunt in the arena was synthetic fire. So she runs through town with a torch, but ends up singeing off half of own hair (explanation of why my hair is so thin).

And thus ‘Reverse Katniss’ was born.

Another extra made this shirt for me for the Mockingjay Part I premiere.

The other extras at my table came up with equally interesting characters as well. One guy was Pumpernickel, rival baker to Peeta (as the extra looked alot like Josh Hutcherson). He thought he was a better baker, but in fact was much worse, not being able to quite tell the difference between rocks and bread. (On set he’d try to pass off rocks as food.) There was Buttons, seamstress, babysitter, and tutor to Prim. Then Star, the town prostitute who didn’t actually sleep with anybody, just stole their supplies (and had a chastity belt ala Robin Hood: Men in Tights hidden under her way-too-large costume). My personal favourite was Hingle McCringleberry, mechanic and general fixer-upper who purposely didn’t fix things completely so he could get more work. Only spoke in the 3rd person. (I’m still friends with that lovely extra to this day. He looks like a mini-Cinna.)

It finally came time where we were all called to set. The scene set was where Katniss returns to District 12 via train to greet her family and the adoring throngs of District 12 to welcome her home. But all is not well as you can see in the deleted scene below.

Can you spot me? 🙂

While filming this scene we discovered that Jennifer Lawrence and I are the same height. (There was some talk of me coming back to be cast as her stand-in for Mockingjay, but only if her current stand-in didn’t return. While that would’ve been fun, I’m glad the original stand-in returned. She was lovely, professional, and super funny.)

One thing that was not so pleasant was getting my foot crunched by Josh Hutcherson who was hugging his ‘family’ too fast. There wasn’t an easy opening for me to slip into due to extras who were bent on being camera hogs (there were SO MANY). He moved too fast and I didn’t move fast enough. I think one of the family extras mentioned something to him because the subsequent takes were slower. But such things happen on film sets. No harm was done and it was an honest accident. Nothing to get upset over. So I kept quiet and happily went on filming the rest of the scene.

That’s a wrap on Day One of my first ever extra gig! Stay tuned for Part II!