Even a Cold Dead Stiff Needs Perky Pizazz

By Wang Wei

More than 300,000 extras are employed by in Hengdian World Studios of Zhejiang each year.

Any background extra can make a death look just as convincing as any star or supporting player, but for performing the same death scene,the pay scale same extras receive is as different as night and day.Low-level extras are given 48 yuan per day. Extras on special contract earn 80 yuan a day, and are classified as minor, mid-level and major. Less than 100 major extras can earn up to 5,000 yuan per day and receive name credit.

Don’t even think that the older they are, the higher the salary they command, because no studio is going to waste even a single dime, and the reason is simple;there is a big difference between just play acting and acting out a realistic death scene. People react on instinct when they are alive,but in death even if a cold cadaver square in the face were hit square in the face by chards of shrapnel from an exploding squib nearby, it wouldn’t move an inch. Being that it’s a stiff, if it were rolled down a hill, its limbs would well… remain stiff. There are many different ways to die. When running full speed ahead, a man would not fall down as soon as he was shot; he would stagger forward a few big steps and fall forward flat on his face. Anyone poisoned would have painful spasms before death; their face would grimace, their eyeballs would pop out and they would involuntarily stick their hands in their mouth.

For a living man to act like a dead man would in real life is easier said than done, which is why a minor extra who is up to the task might earn anywhere from 100 to 300 yuan per day. To act out a death scene realistically,a good background performer would rush to the hospital ICUs and mortuaries wherever they had free time, and closely observe every minute detail of the process of death as it unfolds. Even in the still of night, if they get word of a traffic accident orfight, they would get dressed and rush to the scene, no matter how late or how tired they felt, which is why they are often mistaken for the perpetrator returning to the scene of a crime.

Let’s take a look at what a midlevel extra earning anywhere from 400 to 800 yuan a day does in the craft of acting out a realistic death scene. His or her pupils would slowly dilate and then shrink and keep staring straight ahead completely motionless for a minute or more even when exposed to strong light.

Upon their arrival at the studio,after getting into costume and make-up, some extras just find a cozy place to hide and sleep.When it’s time tofilm their scene,they walk lazily in front of the camera, sometimes even act like a goofball in front of the camera.Would an extra like this even be worth the 48 yuan a day?

As Shakespeare once said, “All the world is a stage.” The one who has a cameo as a cadaver is not much different from you and me.Even with diligence, you may not make it, but if you do get your big break someday, it would definitely be the result of your hard work.

浙江横店影视城一年需要使用的群众演员达30余万人之多。

同样是群众演员，同样是扮演死人，酬劳却大相径庭。最底层的群演，一天48元；接着是群众特约，一天80元；然后就是特约，又分为小特、中特、大特三等之不同。大特不到100人，酬劳最高的一天可以拿到5000元，还能在演员表上露脸。

别以为群众演员资格越老越值钱，剧组开的酬劳再高，也没有一元钱是白花的。道理很简单，扮演一个死人和演好一个死人是不一样的。人活着，肯定会有本能反应，但死人是没有的，连鞭炮炸裂的纸屑打在脸上都不为所动。死人从山坡上滚下来，手脚不会打弯，只会僵直地滚。各种死法也不一样。人在奔跑时，中枪不会立刻倒下，而是会踉跄着向前冲几步扑倒在地。中毒的人死前会痛苦地痉挛，面部狰狞，眼球突出，用手卡住嘴巴。

这活儿说起来容易，但让一个大活人演得惟妙惟肖是不容易的，能做到的就是日薪100元至300元的小特。为了演好一个死人，他们一有空闲就会往医院重症病房和太平间跑，近距离观察人死亡的过程和细节。晚上收工回来，只要听说哪里发生交通事故或者斗殴案件，再晚、再累也要披衣直奔现场，以至于经常被人误以为是肇事者。

再看看日薪400元至800元的中特是怎么做的：瞳孔可以慢慢放大，然后慢慢缩小，即便用强光照射，眼睛也是直直的，整个过程可以持续1分钟。

一些群众演员，一到片场，穿好戏服，就找地方躲起来睡觉。到拍摄自己的戏份时，才懒洋洋地在镜头前走场，不时闹出镜头穿帮的低级笑话。像这样的群众演员，48元的日薪不给他们，该给谁呢？

人生如戏，其实，“死跑龙套的”和你我并无多大不同，你用功了，不见得能做到，但哪天做到了，那一定是你用功了。