THE north’s first and largest extras agency has marked 10 years of successful business by rebranding itself as The Extras Dept
Previously known as Extras NI, it will mark the milestone by hosting a major blood drive with Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service today at Crumlin Road Gaol - with the help of more than 200 extras.
Siobhan Allan, co-founder and finance director of The Extras Dept, said the drive was meant to "give something back" to the community and "symbolise all the blood, sweat and tears that have not only gone into the last ten years of building the company".
The Extras Dept has more than 17,000 registered extras on its books, aged from two to 90 and from all walks of life.
It has provided thousands of background artists to support national and international productions such as BBC’s The Fall and HBO’s Game of Thrones.
The company has just celebrated a record-breaking year thanks to its work in 2016 with nine major productions as well as a number of commercials and smaller productions.
The number of days worked by the company’s extras has increased by 55 per cent in just two years.
Last year there were 3,900 individual extras working on productions shooting in Northern Ireland last year, culminating in a total of 20,167 days worked. This represents an increase of 7,149 days since 2014.
The extras themselves earned in total around £1.9 million in 2016, the equivalent of 80 people being employed full-time on an annual basis.
The highest extras numbers were courtesy of Game of Thrones followed by Lost City of Z (due to be released in the spring) and BBC police drama Line of Duty.
Carla Stronge, co-founder and director of The Extras Dept, said the last decade has been a "rollercoaster" for the company.
"The screen industries in Northern Ireland and the Republic have grown significantly in recent years, and The Extras Dept has mirrored this growth as it has sought to meet the industry's evolving needs," she added.
"We have continuously invested in, and developed, our systems of work so that we are at the forefront of our industry. Our aim is to ensure that our extras have a positive working experience, and that the production companies’ experience is hassle-free and seamless."
Other notable production which the company have been involved with in recent years include High Rise; Dracula Untold; Hunger; Good Vibrations; City of Ember; Starred Up; and Your Highness.
