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What do they talk about in the background? |
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#1 |
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Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 974
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What do they talk about in the background?
When there's a scene in a pub or cafe and the people in the background are chatting to each other does anyone else ever wonder what the're talking about?
Just watched a scene in the Rovers featuring Peter Barlow with Kevin and Sally in the background having a good old chin wag. Do you think they just casually chat as they would do off camera.....wish I could lip read.
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#2 |
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Join Date: Oct 2011
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My drama teacher at school once told me that extras in the background are told to say "rhubarb and custard" repeatedly at different speeds and in different accents to give the impression of conversation. I doubt it's true though lol!
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#3 |
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Join Date: Sep 2012
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I've always wondered this!
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#4 |
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Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 11,177
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Probably just random things like the weather or who turned on Fiz's sewing machine.
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#5 |
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Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 210
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It's what ModyInk said. It's just a phrase repeated over and over to make it look like you're having a conversation, as the background actors cannot actually speak because their sound will go into the mic and you won't be able to hear what's going on in the scene.
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#6 |
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#7 |
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Join Date: Feb 2012
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They probably talk about what they are having for tea or something .
I wonder if any extras may read this and pop on here to spill the beans . |
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#8 |
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Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 459
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Pretty sure they do not actually speak. They just mime mouth movements.
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#9 |
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 2,409
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Most of them are told to mime, but I always assumed they just talked about general chit chat.
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#10 |
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Join Date: Mar 2011
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I always love it when you get an extra who is desperately trying to watch the main scene without being noticed!
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#11 |
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Join Date: Jun 2011
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Quote:
I always love it when you get an extra who is desperately trying to watch the main scene without being noticed!
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#12 |
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Join Date: Jan 2012
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Trivial things I guess. The weather, what they're planning to do after filming, what idiots the actors are for messing up their scene 27 times. That sort of thing.
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#13 |
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Sex positions
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#14 |
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Quote:
Trivial things I guess. The weather, what they're planning to do after filming, what idiots the actors are for messing up their scene 27 times. That sort of thing.
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#15 |
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Join Date: May 2012
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Lol, I think sometimes they just have random idle chit-chat in the background and then I remember watching Eastenders Revealed a few years back and if they are quite close in proximity to the people actually talking for the camera in a scene, then they have to mime talking.
It was a scene where Bianca and Tiffany were randomly miming to each other without uttering a sound so the mic doesn't hear them.
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#16 |
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Join Date: Nov 2011
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Quote:
My drama teacher at school once told me that extras in the background are told to say "rhubarb and custard" repeatedly at different speeds and in different accents to give the impression of conversation. I doubt it's true though lol!
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#17 |
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Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 11,109
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rhubarb rhubarb (uncountable)
(chiefly UK, film) Background noise of several "conversations," none of which are decipherable since all the actors are actually just repeating the word rhubarb (chosen because it contains no very sharp or recognisable phonemes), or other words with similar attributes. |
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#18 |
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Join Date: Oct 2012
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I wonder if anyone is reading this silently mouthing 'rhubarb and rabble' to themselves I am
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#19 |
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Quote:
I wonder if anyone is reading this silently mouthing 'rhubarb and rabble' to themselves I am
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#20 |
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Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: North East England
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Yeah it is true they use words like rhubarb at different speeds to imitate conversation
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#21 |
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Join Date: Jul 2010
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Quote:
I wonder if anyone is reading this silently mouthing 'rhubarb and rabble' to themselves I am
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#22 |
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Join Date: Sep 2011
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I was told they just mime to each-other... Not actually speak :P
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#23 |
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haha great thread! Yes I've always wondered if it was the actors just having idle chat, 'what time you working until?/heard about x' etc!
I spose whether they speak/mime depends on their proximity to the actual scene and whether what they say will be picked up at all? It must be rather strange to be an extra and do so many scenes where you are just miming, smiling and staring at somebody over and over again!!! |
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#24 |
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Join Date: Oct 2012
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If they are miming it must be difficult for them not to 'speak' at the same time rather than look like the're having a 2 way conversation. I'm going to keep an eye on this from now on
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#25 |
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Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 459
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A lot of extras do it as a full time job. Part of the job is acting in a professional manner on set - and that means no talking and no noise!
They can't talk because it would be picked up by the mikes that are whizzing around above the actors following them and picking up the dialogue. To me it seems embarassing to sit there looking at someone and miming a conversation with them and I imagine I would burst out laughing. But, it is their job, and they do it. I saw a documentary about the film 'The Shining' where one of the assistant directors directs the extras. (The actual director does not direct extras.) The assistant told them "DON'T nod!!!". They also moved one set of extras from near the camera to the back of the room and by golly they were unhappy about being moved away from the camera. In the commentary for film 'Dog Day Afternoon' the director says he loves the extras in the film. It was shot in New York, so all the extras were out of work Broadway actors, so the extras were actually 'actors'. He said that in Los Angeles there are thousands of people who work as extras and that is all they do. He implied they weren't always that interesting or as good at acting as the Broadway bunch. |
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