BACKGROUND ARTIST'S GUIDE

The Casting Collective is not an extras agency or an employment agency. Background artists are booked by Casting Directors as independent performers and paid directly by the production. No fees or commissions are charged to background performers and they keep 100% of the money they earn. 

The Casting Collective and Casting Directors are not the employer of background artists. Background artists are self-employed direct hires (otherwise known as independent contractors) with the production, unless the performer has a registered Canadian Loan Out Corporation. The Casting Collective and Casting Directors do not have access to any individual's records of employment. Background artists must retain copies of their timesheets and cheque stubs for their own records. 

Creating a performer profile at The Casting Collective does not guarantee employment.

Payroll Information

When you create your performer profile, your valid Canadian Social Insurance Number (SIN) is required to verify your eligibility to work in Canada. Your Social Insurance Number is only visible to production's payroll departments, and only after you've completed a booking. Please always keep your profile details current and up-to-date, as payroll departments access your information to issue your payments after you've worked on a production. 

Your complete home mailing address is required on your profile for production's payroll departments to access when issuing payments. Note that addresses must be complete and contain a unit or suite number (if applicable), street address, city and postal code.

Payments to background artists are sent by cheque from the production. Cheques are mailed via Canada Post to the performer's home mailing address as listed on their profile. Cheques usually arrive within 2 to 3 weeks from the performer's work date. Cheques may be delayed if the performer's home mailing address is incomplete or incorrect on their Casting Collective profile. In future, direct deposit will be available on select productions who offer that option.

Productions engage payroll companies to process timesheets and issue payments for all crew, cast and background artists. The payroll company also retains all records of employment and issues all income documents. The two payroll companies that service the majority of productions shooting in British Columbia, Canada are listed below. Your timesheet and cheque receipt will indicate which payroll company was engaged by the production. Please contact the appropriate payroll company if you require assistance with any payroll documentation.

Entertainment Partners Payroll

Cast & Crew Payroll

Canadian Residency Document Requirements

Productions require that all background artists, cast and crew members provide proof of residency documents for the Government of British Columbia's tax incentives that are offered to film and television productions. These documents allow productions to claim the labour tax credit and it's the number one reason that US film and television productions come to Canada.

Prior to working on a production, you must upload the appropriate residency documents to your Casting Collective profile. A list of documents that productions will accept can be found on the Canadian Residency Declaration form of your profile. Note that income or financial details on these documents can be redacted or blacked out for privacy.

Background Artists with Work Permits

If you are not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident but have a Canadian work permit, you will need to upload copies of your valid work permit and SIN document to your performer profile to verify your eligibility for employment. Social Insurance Numbers (SIN) that start with a 9 indicate that a work permit and SIN document are required. 

Please ensure that these documents are valid and have not expired. The payroll department will not be able to process timesheets for payment until they have all of this required information.

Any individual who is not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and does not have a work permit is unable to create a performer profile with The Casting Collective as they can not be considered for employment opportunities in Canada.

Pay Rates for Background Artists

The majority of background artists are non-union performers and are engaged per British Columbia Employment Standards. The current minimum pay rate for non-union performers is $18.10 an hour which includes 4% vacation pay.

Productions which are signatory to the Union of BC Performers / ACTRA are required to engage a limited number of union performers as background artists. Please note that union members must be offered these positions prior to any other performers.

Questions Regarding Your Pay Cheque 

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your pay cheque, please contact the production's payroll department directly. You can find their contact information in your call time details message.

A reminder that cheques will arrive by mail within 2 to 3 weeks from your work date. Please do not contact the payroll department regarding missing cheques unless the 3 week window has expired.

If you are contacting production's payroll department, please note the following in your message:

- Legal name

- Payroll question 

- Work date

- Pay rate

- Complete mailing address, including the unit number (if applicable), street address, city and postal code.

Background Artist's Guide

Please review these other pages of the Background Artist's Guide:

Creating Your Performer Profile

Payroll & Residency Documents

Availability Inquiries & Bookings

Working On-Set

Department Requirements

Film Terminology

Frequently Asked Questions