Actors and Extras and Sets?

So, I want to make a video, never had any formal training.
I live in the New England area in United Sates.
I don’t know anything about finding extras or sets.
I’ve heard Graiglist might be good for this but honestly I’m afraid of that website.
Are there any conventions or stuff to recruit from.
What should I expect to pay an unskilled extra (flat amount + time?)
How do I find a place to shoot if I need a specific type of scene? How much can this cost?
Also, how should “costumes/clothing”, hairstyles be handled?
Also, how can I insure I get a diverse group and not just a group of the same gender and race.

Those questions would require a long time to answer. But for the most part as long as you are not looking for SAG union extras then your price amount will decrease for their cost (but still pricey as they don’t have to abide by the Union laws) Then there is expenses if they have to travel to get to you (are you going to provide room and board and food) Then there is the process of shooting locations, is there any restrictions for that location by local/state/government, always wise to scout locations you are wanting to shoot at then find out specifics about it. Find out who owns the land/building contact them and ask permission/compensation for using their property (get approval in electronic or written form). Also have medical staff be it just someone trained and licensed in first aid on days of shooting to prevent any possible lawsuits from an injured cast member/extra. This is just some of the process to going about a safe and legal shoot.

Now for the cough cough other method. You can just go to your local hangouts and talk to people and mention that you are wanting to make a short film and need people to play a part in it and see if they are on board (might only cost you a case or so of beer for their compensation) Picking a site to shoot at revolves along your ability to gather everyone and set up and shoot all without the comfort of knowing if police/property owner/gunpoint trespass is going to show up when you pan your camera around.

For both options you can go to a thrift store and look around, there is a lot of cool older stuff in them that can be used or modified just a bit for cheap to fit the looks you are going for. Think last time I needed a suit for a shot I did I spent a whole $6.00 on the whole suit minus the shoes and tie. Also if you need props it is a great place to look too, not sure if you have like we do a trash transfer/recycling station where they get people that take their old stuff to throw away and if it is still usable the transfer station holds on to it and puts it back up for sale dirt cheap. Find kids toys and old computers and stuff all the time there.

But again this is just a tiny tiny portion of what to look at and for. Best wishes and hope your project comes together for you and smoothly.

Hmmm maybe I should just get mannequins.

@macktruck6666 ROFL no not at all. I was just saying a few things if you were going full on professional about it (professional doesn’t mean Hollywood) I mean if you just get together somewhere and film that is a public place I am sure that you won’t have police or SAG or the actors union threatening you. And again it all depends on the type of film/short you will be doing. Is there going to be any props or scenes that locals watching may deem unfit or unsafe? If not then I wouldn’t worry about it. And in all honesty all they can do is tell you that you can’t be there and you are asked to leave. If you haven’t found FilmRiot on YouTube then I would recommend that you take a peek as he puts quite a bit of quality info into his videos and is fun about it as well.

Pretty simple video. The only public scene would be a night/dusk beach scene. Nothing explicit. Then it’s all indoors. Hopefully could find a small furnished office building. Props I can make myself. I would hope that all the video could be shot in a couple hours with the exception of the beach scene which would take a little more time for one actor. It’s a short vid, about 3 minutes.

Look if there are any acting schools nearby and ask the students. Offer some money, like $50 a person and have plenty of food and drinks for your extras. That way they will like it even more to be on the set.

Also they would might have better knowledge about filming so you might learn a thing or two.