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Newborn Baby Extras In Films

I've seen ads for baby extras, twins under 3 months etc.

Thats more like it. Where do you get involved in stuff like that? Do they drive you out to a disused warhouse on wasteland miles out of town, before 'testing you out' to see if you really want into the game?
 
A colleague just brought her one and a half month old into the office. Damn, I could have kidnapped her and started a whole new career as a baby wrangler for films :mad:
 
i'm on the mailing list for the local national childbirth trust and we fairly often get requests for newborn babies for filming/research - although the filming requests are generally for friend of a friend, local media etc. rather than an agency recruitment drive - they generally ask for people who are currently pregnant, with due dates whenever filming is due to take place. pays pretty well iirc.
 
Crazy shit. I'd definitely want top money giving my newborn child to a film crew to shoot a film, while they play touch rugby with it between takes or something
 
twins are particularly popular cos they can be switched in and out to get around the strict time limits on children working on a film/tv set. we had one for ?coronations st? that was def under 6 weeks, which still counts as newborn in my book.
 
As per the Simpson's episode "Radioactive Man" movie magic is explained;

Martin: Uh, Sir, why don't you just use real cows?

Painter: Cows don't look like cows on film. You gotta use horses.

Martin: Uh, Sir, why don't you just use real cows?

Painter: Cows don't look like cows on film. You gotta use horses.

Ralph: What do you do if you want something that looks like a horse?

Painter: Ehh, usually we just tape a bunch of cats together.

-- Clever film techniques, "Radioactive Man"

So to answer your question they don't use real babies they just shave a bunch of rats and glue em together.

No there are agencies, but often if a member of the crew, or their partner has recently had a baby, then that baby will be used. Instead of taking your kid in a pram to work to show em off, you take em to work, and let strangers pretend to be their mum and dad.

Seriously it's not like they're kept in a prop box, and carried out by a leg, as and when they are needed (though that is how grown up extras get treated) The mother is always the closest person off camera to the baby, and instantly takes it after each take.
 
The majority of them look more like six months or so. You don't really realise this til you've had kids...

I have not had kids and realised this a long time ago.

They usually look like they are just about to spout their first words whilst being held upside down and splattered with fake uterus bits.

You do very occasionally however get one that does make you do a double take and think "heck, that kid really does only look about 2 weeks old".
 
Exactly!

Of course, as you say, there are a few which genuinely do look newborn or as near as damn it...

There are also highly realistic dolls you can get, smear em in some red jelly, dub in some newborn squeals, and you've got a baby.
 
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