On set of a DePaul Commercial -xoTani
At first, I had to apply for this opportunity by providing a photo of my face and a full body shot while wearing an outfit which I normally wear on campus. Then, my next communications went straight through Katie Carelle, the Director of Advertising, who after being accepted, sent me some more details and communication about the shoot. i.e the location, what to expect and when the approximate time frame will be.
The final details came to me a day before the shoot. I was expected to come to the Lincoln Park Campus’ SAC at 2:30 pm in clothes which had no big logos or weren’t black or white. With a blue t-shirt I had lying around, which resembled the classic DePaul University blue and some blue pants and a darker blue zip-up, I was ready in a school-friendly outfit which would be appropriate for this shoot.
To oversimplify it, I was acting as a DePaul student who was happy to be there and was walking to and from classes (So there was not a lot of acting involved – that is what I do every day!). After grabbing portraits and all the shots for this one scene, we were done for the day! That was the last scene of the day, and soon everyone was able to leave the set.
This experience of mine further highlights one of the best things about DePaul: despite being an international student majoring in STEM, I had an incredible opportunity to work on set as an extra. The opportunities are endless here if you know how to find them.
Amidst the assignments and exams, it is sometimes hard to fight for school spirit. Through this exciting opportunity, not only was I able to connect with DePaul, but I also helped the university reach newer audiences. While I am unsure about this factually being accurate, I heard chatter
-xoTani
Learn More about Student Life at DePaul!
Last summer, I had an incredible opportunity to take over @iamdepaul’s Instagram account to highlight four of the things I adore ever since my journey here at DePaul University started – Education, Food, Friends and Chicago (READ MORE HERE: PART 1, PART 2). Through this opportunity, I was able to get in contact with Maria Hench, the Content Editor & Producer for University Branding and Marketing. Not only did I try my best to put my best foot forward while working on @iamdepaul, but I also ensured to let her know that I am indeed interested if other exciting opportunities arise in the future.
This is how I got to know about a casting call opportunity for a recent DePaul University branding campaign. DePaul was filming a new and very unique commercial, and while I can’t expose much about the commercial itself, I wanted to share my experience was being an extra for this commercial.
After arriving at the location, I had to wait for a bit till the next scene was set up. In the meantime, I used that time to catch up on some of my Data Science homework, which was due that night. The room I was in was one of the auditoriums on the first floor. It was buzzing with people trickling in and out who were working hard on this four-day project. I was invited to be there only for the first day. At the foot of the room were two huge racks full of outfits wrapped in plastic protective cases. The other side of the room had an expansive snack bar with different types of little things such as chip bags, small chocolate bars like KitKat, chewing gum and even had refreshments such as coffee or water – perfect to gain energy for between scenes.
Soon, the scene was set up on the staircase in the SAC. After getting my outfit for the scene approved from the wardrobe specialist on set, I was ready. I was given a prop school bag and a binder with a DePaul logo on it. I had an opportunity to work alongside other extras who were a part of an official casting agency. Despite having no acting experience, the creative team on set was really nice and made sure we knew what we were doing.
