If you’re working as a background actor, and if you have ambitions of working as a stand-in on a production, knowledge of the specific production can go miles.

One big piece of information a background actor aspiring to stand in can have is figuring out who is the director of photography (the DP).

Usually the DP will be the most important person with whom stand-ins will interact, aside from possibly a director or a producer. While DPs take responsibility over lighting and figuring out shots using stand-ins, DPs will regularly give commands to stand-ins, such as to move, turn, look somewhere, etc.

Each DP is different. Some are friendly. Some are not. Some are great at giving directions. Some are not. Some are calm. Some are not. Some are demanding. Some are not.

If you are working as a background actor, take time to figure out who is the DP. Then, watch the DP work.

Ask yourself what the personality of the DP is. Is the DP personable? Arrogant? Calm? Stressed? Kind? Mean?

Figuring out some of the DP’s qualities can help you figure out the DP’s needs, such that should you be pulled to stand in, you’re not suddenly caught trying to figure out who the DP is and what the DP wants.

Especially take note of how the DP works with the current stand-ins. Stand-ins may frustrate a DP in various ways. If you figure out why the DP is frustrated with stand-ins, you can figure out ways to work as a stand-in should you get pulled, in order to please the DP. If you please the DP, you can go quite a ways toward working as a stand-in again.

You can think of stand-ins like tools, and a DP like a carpenter. A carpenter wants to have his or her tools close by and functional, in order to do a job. No carpenter wants to burn time searching around for tools, or working with bad or broken tools.

And each carpenter’s personality is different. If you can figure out what this carpenter wants, you can figure out how to please this carpenter.

Similarly with a DP, if you figure out what this DP wants, and if you can be a tool close at hand for this DP, you can please this DP. And from there, you may end up being the go-to background actor for stand-in work — or even becoming a regular stand-in on the production.

So study the DP when you’re doing background work. Your time doing so may pay off in an excellent experience working as a stand-in later!

Have you ever studied a DP when working as a background actor? What do you watch in a DP, in case you get pulled to stand in? Put your thoughts in the comments below!