I remember the first day of standing in on a film I was doing. It was a stressful first day of shooting. I showed up early only to be accused of being late. I was given a handout on how to stand in though I had some idea of how it was done.[*] And I didn’t know what craziness was about to ensue.

The person with whom I was standing in also had a tough morning. We resolved to take care of each other. A sort of “You watch my back, I’ll watch yours” policy. The policy was not unlike how many families are with their own: Families tend to take care of each other.

When I’m standing in regularly on a production, I like to think of the other stand-ins as family. If I can get them something, I do. If I need to cover for them, I do. If there is a new stand-in on set, I welcome them. I may help them get ahold of sides if they haven’t gotten them yet. I may give them the lowdown on the crew and the expectations of production.

The thought is that if I take care of the other stand-ins, they’ll return the kindness with favor. It will make working with them a pleasure. They’ll help me out when I’m in need by my helping with their needs.

The thought also is that I’ll have some added security when things start to get crazy on set. Another set of eyes and ears. A sense of perspective when things go wrong. Someone who will let me know what I missed if I missed something, or will cover for me when something goes down.

A nice consequence is that by seeing the other regular stand-ins as family, they start to feel like family. A home away from home. You can start to build attachments that last a long time.

A simple concept, but a beautiful one when embraced.


[*] I ended up being extremely grateful for having this handout, and it was the inspiration for this website.