S102

Society Protocol 02

Extra

Min-hyuk works part-time as an extra on weekends.

After browsing online job sites, he decided to pursue this role.

He went to the office in Yeouido, took a photo, and applied for actor registration.

He deposited a few tens of thousands of won as a deposit and waited for a call.

Normally, filming takes place on weekdays, but he can't film on weekdays due to school.

Many students prefer to film only on weekends, so opportunities don't come often.

And Minhyuk's looks were too striking for supporting roles, so after several modern drama shoots,

he never heard back.

Supporting roles require unobtrusive appearances in multiple scenes, but Minhyuk's looks were striking.

That's why he mostly ended up doing historical dramas, often with beards and makeup.

He usually receives a text message a day or two in advance, confirming his participation, and accepts applications on a first-come, first-served basis.

Once he receives the OK message, he fills out his personal information and contact information and

submits it to the assistant cast leader before the event begins.

Today, he will be appearing in a historical drama that is quite popular on public broadcasting.

Since the filming support bus departed from Yeouido at dawn, he took the last bus of the night and stayed up all night at a 24-hour fast food restaurant before going to the gathering place.

Even though it was spring, there were men gathered there, wearing thick parkas.

Some had long beards, and some had their own traditional shoes.

People who knew each other gathered together, drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes.

They talked about the night before, drinking, and talking about women.

I found it quite amusing to overhear their conversation.

Today, there were more than three buses, a large scene.

Although there were quite a few women, the first bus was reserved for women only.

Because the women needed to change clothes and apply makeup in the bus, men weren't allowed on that bus.

Min-hyuk boarded the last bus, put his earphones in, and fell asleep.

The passing scenery showed that some areas of the mountains still had snow.

People rustled inside the bus, and when he opened his eyes, a sign reading "Mungyeong" caught his eye.

After getting off the bus, everyone was gathered in one place.

Besides the people from Seoul, there were several other buses. It seemed like a fairly large scene.

People lined up in rows, like a military inspection.

The extra director selected people he knew and sent them to one side.

He then selected the taller ones, and on one side, a group of men with shaved heads gathered.

They were gathered to play the monks.

The ground in Mungyeong was still covered in white snow, the snow still lingering.

Minhyuk, feeling like he'd traveled far, watched the crowds.

Makeup and costume vans were ready, and people were lining up to wait.

The supporting director gathered the remaining cast members and prepared them on one side.

Min-hyuk's role was that of a commoner.

While waiting in line, experienced extras helped with the makeup.

They applied glue to their faces, and when their turn came, the makeup artists applied beards.

The glue had a strong smell and didn't come off easily after filming,

so the professional artists kept beards.

Min-hyuk felt like an actor, so he didn't pay much attention to things like adhesive.

The first people to be cast were officials, wearing red and blue robes.

They also wore sturdy-looking shoes.

They were buckling each other's belts.

The big men chosen from the middle were dressed as soldiers on one side, wielding tridents, and marching around.

On the other side, they were dressed as merchants, gangsters, or bandits.

Min-hyuk, a commoner, wore traditional Korean socks and straw shoes.

Others with experience wore white slippers or plastic shoes, over which they wore beoseon (traditional Korean socks).

But Minhyuk hadn't prepared for anything like that, so he wore beoseon and straw sandals on his bare feet.

He wore a white sash around his head and a bundle on his back.

Min-hyuk's face beamed with a smile, as if he were the main character,

but the others moved about in a businesslike manner, expressionless. The makeup artists and costume designers were no exception.

"Okay, gather here. We'll walk to the filming location. And the filming location is non-smoking, so don't smoke. I'll give you some time, so you can smoke later. Okay, let's move."

As the supporting director spoke into the loudspeaker, people began to move slowly.

An old man, watching Min-hyuk as he hurriedly put on his costume, spoke to him.

"Is this your first time?"

"It's not my first time filming, but it's my first time playing a commoner."

The man picked up a piece of cloth that Minhyuk didn't know where to put it and wrapped it around Min-hyuk's wrist.

"You should use these instead of gloves. It's still cold, so your hands will be numb. And I'll wrap your feet with bandages. Wrap mine too."

He wrapped the hem of his trousers and used the remaining fabric to tie around his ankles.

Min-hyuk followed suit and adjusted his clothes.

“I guess you’ve done a lot of filming, sir?”

"It's been over ten years already. Before that, I made mother-of-pearl furniture. That didn't work out, so I've been making a living with this."

Now that I think about it, I think I saw it briefly in a drama.

“You’ve been doing this for ten years, that’s impressive. You must have seen a lot of actors.”

“I see actors all the time. Did you come wearing shoes?”

“I just wore them with socks.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. It would have been nice if there were at least a plastic bag.”

At that time, I didn't know why the old man said that.

Upon arriving at the filming location in Mun-gyeong, Min-hyuk was astonished. Gwanghwamun was right in front of him.

To Minhyuk, it looked almost identical to the real thing.

In front of Gwanghwamun, there were street vendors, and houses with thatched roofs and tiled roofs could be seen.

There was also a market, filled with all sorts of goods.

It felt like a museum or a folk village, something he'd seen as a child.

The extra director gathered everyone together and began speaking.

Today's scene was so large that there seemed to be about five directors.

The person who appeared to be the general director began explaining to the extras.

"Today's shoot is quite large-scale. You'll see.

Since there are multiple cameras rolling simultaneously, you can't just sit there and hide.

Today, there's a scene where two factions of market merchants are fighting.

You all know this, right? Don't pretend to know the actors. Don't talk to them. Don't look at them.

And don't smoke."

The drama director came over and said, "Please take care of us." The people applauded and filming began.

Jimmy Jib appeared, and a massive crane ascended.

A large light was attached to the crane, illuminating it like the sun.

It was a test, a preparation for night filming. The work will continue into the night.

Min-hyuk's role was that of a servant assisting a nobleman.

He was paired with a supporting actor dressed in nobleman attire.

His role was to walk alongside the nobleman in front of a tile-roofed house, and then defend him when a fight broke out.

Luckily, he was able to stand right next to a famous actor from the very first scene.

Min-hyuk, knowing that his face might even appear briefly on screen, strengthened his resolve to work even harder.

In a scene where the father, a merchant boss, and the main actor, a man of immense strength, converse,

Min-hyuk acted as if they were talking to the nobleman next to him.

It seemed like they were having a conversation, but no sound was allowed.

The main character was much larger than he appeared on TV.

"Director, I don't think we should do that here. Even though they have their conflicts, they're still people who know each other to some degree."

He'd never seen a young actor express his opinions to the director before, and it felt new to him. When the veteran actor playing the lead character's father appeared, people bowed their heads in greeting.

The veteran actor also greeted some of the supporting actors he knew, asking how they were doing.

Other filming locations are usually quite dreary, but perhaps because it was a historical drama or a public broadcast, the atmosphere was pleasant.

But a filming location is a filming location. One minor mistake can start everything over again.

A real ox-drawn cart appeared and filming began with the ox cart moving.

“Ready, action.”

An oxcart appeared directly in front of the camera, and the jib began to rise, capturing the entire scene.

The lead actor, leaning against the wall, exchanged a few words with a larger actor next to him, then ran outside.

Min-hyuk acted out a conversation with the nobleman right next to the wall.

“Cut. OK, next scene.”

It was his first time experiencing the ability to move from one scene to the next in one go.

Typically, in modern dramas, when actors talk, they're filmed from the front, the side, the other person, and the back.

Most of the time, they're filmed repeatedly, repeating the same lines. Perhaps because they had to capture a large screen, the scenes ended quickly.

The full-blown action scene began.

Rogue-like merchants appeared, armed, and the lead actor and his associates engaged in a fight.

Passersby either fled or watched the fight.

When the gangsters appeared, Min-hyuk defended the nobleman. When the fight began, he watched,

with a somewhat surprised expression.

He might seem like a tiny dot on screen, but Min-hyuk did his best to act as if he were the main character.

The action scenes were performed by professional stuntmen, so watching them up close and personal brought out cheers.

A veteran actor appeared in the middle of the fight.

"What the hell are you guys doing?"

Even though there was no loudspeaker, he shouted so loudly that the gangsters and merchants stopped fighting.

[Wow, this is an actor]

Min-hyuk was deeply moved and watched every bit of his performance with genuine respect for the actor.

After the fight scene, it was time for a short break. But then a problem arose for Minhyuk.

As daylight came, the snow melted and turned to water, and his feet, wearing straw sandals and socks, got wet.

At first, it was bearable, but as time passed, his feet felt like they were freezing.

"It's time to eat. Please return to your seat in an hour."

The food truck on set was surprisingly delicious. And the side dishes were quite good.

It was much more upscale than the school cafeteria, and they served a generous portion of meat.

Min-hyuk followed Nobleman, who was filming with him, to the food truck.

"Is it worth it?"

Nobleman asked.

"Yes, but my feet are a little cold."

"You're not wearing shoes? Oh, my."

The nobleman looked quite sorry to see his slave's feet cold, but he couldn't do anything about it.

He followed the nobleman, carrying his tray, for a while, and they came upon a thatched cottage with a trickling stream.

Sitting on the wooden floor and eating, it was quite a charming experience.

After eating, he toured the set and the cameras set up.

The director of photography glanced at him but didn't stop him.

Seeing the enormous, expensive-looking camera with his own eyes was fascinating.

But his feet were the problem.

He felt like he was going to get frostbite. In the thatched-roof house, women had brought out camping chairs and were sitting around drinking coffee.

Seeing Min-hyuk shivering in the cold, she took pity on him, pouring coffee from a thermos into a paper cup and offering it to him.

Min-hyuk felt incredibly grateful. The female extras were quite beautiful.

Surely, some of them dreamed of becoming actors.

He drank the coffee well, but he needed to do something about his feet.

Looking around, he found a black plastic bag in the trash can next to the bathroom.

He took it out, put it on, and then put his socks back on. It was much better than before, though.

Life for the common people of the Joseon Dynasty must have been truly difficult.

As darkness fell, the lights on the crane shone like the sun, and filming ended at midnight.

Some people actually enjoyed it because they received extra pay after 9 p.m.

Time was calculated from the time they left for the set, but not the time they returned.

The day's pay was calculated from the moment filming ended on set.

After texting the agency about the end time, Min-hyuk reflected on the bus ride back home.

[I absolutely must become an actor.]