Film Locations Glossary
Extras holding
What is extras holding?
Also called background holding, or BG holding.
Extras holding is the area where background performers wait, change, and eat between calls, sized to the day's numbers and kept separate from crew and cast areas.
On location it needs shelter, seating, restrooms, and a route to set that does not cross frame. Underestimating it produces a crowd of background artists visible in the shot or spilling onto a neighbor's property.
Example
Eighty background performers on a street scene need shelter, seating, restrooms, a changing area, and a route to set that does not cross frame. Solve it badly and eighty people in period costume are visible in the wide shot.
Figures are illustrative, chosen to show the mechanics rather than to quote market rates.
Where you'll see it
Placed by locations with the second AD, on the base camp or a secondary holding site.
Common mistake
Sizing holding for the average day rather than the biggest one. Eighty costumed background performers with nowhere to sit end up visible in the wide shot or in a neighbor's garden.
Related questions
- What does extras holding need?
- Shelter, seating, restrooms, a changing area, catering access, and a route to set that does not cross frame or public space.
- Where is extras holding usually placed?
- At base camp or on a secondary site nearby, secured by locations with its own agreement when the shooting location cannot absorb it.