Mostly, your job will start with an availability check, which is where we will phone you to find out if you are able to work on a particular day or period. If you are available, we will then suggest you to the casting director or second assistant director of the project, generally just send them a photograph of you.

If the job is for a more heavily featured role, where you will be doing more than just background work, they may want to meet you at in person at a casting or audition.

Once production have confirmed that they would like you to work, you might be pencilled - provisionally booked for the job. This might then be rubbed out, or you will be booked. As soon as you are booked for a job, it's an almost unbreakable commitment, and you will be given a date to call in to the office and find out where to be and when, what to wear, and confirmation of what you will be doing.

When you arrive on the set or location of the shoot, you will need to sign in by letting whoever your contact is know that you have arrived. This person may be a second assistant director (2nd AD), a third assistant director (3rd AD) or someone dedicated just to you (a crowd 2nd or wrangler). Whoever they are this person will probably be extremely busy, and under a huge amount of pressure, so try to be professional, courteous and understanding.

You may need to see the costume, hair and make-up departments to get you ready, and have some breakfast if it is an early call. Film units are always on a tight schedule, so try to be ready to film as soon as you can.

Until you are required, remain in the areas that have been assigned. When you are needed on set, the second, a runner or wrangler will call you and take you to where the filming will actually happen. Once on set the 3rd AD or occasionally the 1st AD may tell you what to do, and you'll rehearse until he or she is happy with the result. Usually at the last minute any principals in the scene (actors) will join you on set. Again, no matter how much you may love an autograph from the latest starlet, these are people doing their jobs, which can be difficult and require great concentration, so they too should be left alone. Finally, the director or 1st AD will call for background action, which is when you start doing whatever it is you've been asked to do, and then action for the actors to begin their acting.

When the action is completed, the director will call cut, or say thank you, and much checking and re-checking of what was filmed will ensue. If there are problems or anyone is unhappy, the whole process will be repeated, possibly many times over.

Once all departments are happy with the shot you will probably go back to your rest area until you are needed again. You may be used for several shots of the same scene - closeups, midshots and long shots all may be required. You may be used on several different scenes during the course of the day - maybe as the same character, maybe as a different one in a different outfit.

At the end of the day, you will need to sign out, filling in a salary voucher or chit. You'll also need to return to the costume and props departments to hand back everything that you were given. You will finally be released and should promptly leave the set and return home. Often you will be expected to find your own way home on public transport, but if for some reason this is not feasable, arrangements will be made.

We will then get copies of your salary vouchers, or confirmation that you attended and that the job and all went smoothly. We amalgamate this information into an invoice for everyone on the shoot for that day, which we send to the production company concerned. As soon as this is paid, we will send you a cheque or pay you directly into your bank account, minus our commission, VAT and any National Insurance. Sometimes, particularly on very big jobs, it may take 6-8 weeks for this process to be completed, but we always pay you within a couple of days of the cheque hitting the desk at our office.