Who wants to act in a music video?

Who wants to act in a music video? That’s right: everyone. Once the singer posts that he is seeking extras to come on set for an upcoming production, the volunteers start to pour in.

“The messages come in like crazy, within hours,” says Shlomo Rivkin, “but we have to find the people with the right look for that project — for example, bearded guys, younger people, or older and weather-beaten.”

For Michoel Pruzansky’s “Simchat Chatanim” video, Moshe Finkelstein created a wedding scene. With his technical expertise, there was no need for hundreds, but besides the professional dancers he still needed 40 people, who all responded to the singer’s post and came forward to volunteer. These are generally the “extras,” whose parts don’t require rehearsal — the people can just come on the day of the shoot, be given costumes and be told what to do.

Where professional actors and dancers are used, they need to rehearse, which has to be incorporated into the budget.

“I like to use the dancers as actors too, where possible, so they don’t just land on the set and dance, but become part of the story,” Rivkin says.

While relying on volunteers helps keep the budget down, sometimes it also means that the timekeeping and commitment can be less than professional.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, issue 907)