I have some borderline insane hobbies, one of which is being an extra in historical flicks. There's not really a big demand, it's just maybe a once per year thing, but I've been in some History Channel shows ("Battlefield Detectives", "George Washington") and some other stuff that I'm not even aware of because this usually ends up being edited and used as "stock footage" in a variety of shows.
Here's one from last year filmed up near Chicago with a WW2 theme. I believe that the footage isn't intended for television but rather for cultural museums and such, plus it was open to the public who enjoyed the heck out of it.
Here are some pics:
Me in the foreground adjusting helmet:
me second from left. My wife particularly loves the fact that the horse's arse is aiming at me:
Action shot, camera rolling, me in the middle. Notice the use of smoke to obliterate powerlines and other modern background stuff:
Cameraman standing in a recreated village. On film, the village looked incredibly real, in person they were just facades made out of railroad ties that looked ridiculous. Camera magic:
That sounds pretty fun.
In those pics, however, the very green and well-tended grass kinda throws off the vibe (IMO).
