question: What do extras actually say in the background of scenes ? Is it nothing ?
comment: They can talk about whatever they want, it just has to be done quietly. I talk about my day or about the scene, some actors get really into character and that can also be fun. Some times the set requires no talking and in that case you mouth whatever words you want or you just look occupied. (source: I work for Nickelodeon Live Action and have done background work for 3 years/know many background actors)
passages: Since there are no actual characters, the actors' job is merely to recite the lines to the audience. The more objective they are, the closer they are to Handke's intention of isolating the actors from the audience in order to emphasize the language. Handke listed some "Rules for the actors" at the beginning of the script including such things as watching "the behaviour of tramps and idlers as they amble on the street and play the machines in the penny arcades."
  
  Section::::Genre.
   Astier usually writes the actual dialogue the night before a scene is shot. Thus if a three-minute episode includes an exterior scene, a scene in a bedroom, and a scene in the hallway, the actors would be learning their lines for the episode (along with the lines for other bits of episodes using that set) on three different days.
  
  Section::::Content.
   We wrote it as we went along, watching just what each member of the cast could best do, and adapting accordingly. We tell the actors the idea of a scene, but let them speak it in their own words. There are no elocution experts around our outfit and no one talks in that foreign Hollywood language, which has nothing to do with how people speak in the street. This way the characters don't sound like actors. It will be a strange experience, seeing my film, but I hope it will be entertaining as well as having something to say. Perhaps there will be many young people who will say we haven't gone far enough out of the old technique. Well, if I could put on the screen what is in my head, I would never get it down at all.
   Section::::Production.:Filming styles and locations.
   Some series are accompanied by a special programme exposing errors that occurred during the filming. The show, titled "Two Pints of Lager Outtakes", features interviews with cast and crew, each explaining the difficulties of getting various scenes to be performed as expected.
   Leigh said that some actors were not "excited" about singing but still could participate in the episode. "There were certain ways in which the scenes were written, even if there was a song in there, that perhaps a line was spoken instead of sung," she said.
   Before a recording, Lawrence prepares when the crew sends a storyboard. She explains, "I absolutely love that! Not only do I get to read the script, I can actually see what the artists have in mind. It is an amazing process and I feel so fortunate to be able to work that way![...] I would prefer to let the script come alive in me before a taping."
   BULLET::::- The Exhibit G from the First Team production assistant. This form indicates the work status, in and out times, the meal times, meal penalties, and pick-up and drop-off times of the principal cast and bears their signatures.
  
  BULLET::::- The Extras Breakdown from the Background PA. This form records the number of background actors and lists their pay rates, in and out times, lunch times, meal penalties, and overtime, and whether they performed any special actions or services that merit bonus pay.
  
  Section::::Back.
   McGinley says the film contains many improvised moments. "It was like jazz on that set". One example he recalled was when Paul Willson as Bob Porter cannot pronounce Samir's last name: "Naga ... Naga ... well, not gonna work here anymore anyway." Naidu, for his part, improvised the break dancing, which he did with local friends after shooting his scenes during the day.
   The theme song, written by the show's co-writer David Croft and composer Ronnie Hazlehurst, consists of a lift girl (whose voice was provided by Stephanie Gathercole) announcing each floor over the "musique concrète" sounds of a cash register (which effectively serves as the only percussion instrument) and a simple musical accompaniment.
   There are variations on the standard setup: occasionally the greeting will be slightly changed to better suit the setting (e.g. "Thank the gods you're here!" for a scene featuring Vikings or "Thank God you're alive" in a scene featuring a car accident), and often an alternative entrance will be built into the set. These are often used for comic effect, as in the aforementioned car accident scenario where the contestant (Matthew Newton) climbed through the back of the set and emerged from the door of a wrecked car embedded in the wall of a second-storey flat.
  
  Section::::Ensemble cast.
   The presence of studio audiences/canned laughter, and the reliance on funny wigs, costumes and catchphrases for humour is a comment on British comedy hits such as "Little Britain" and "The League of Gentlemen". Many people that Millman sees at the recording of the pilot wear T-shirts displaying comedy catchphrases, such as "Wassup", "It's Chico Time", "I'm a lady!", "Am I bovvered?" and "Garlic bread?." (These shirts are not shown in the US version of "Extras".) Some of the reviews that the show gets refer to it as a "time warp comedy", and Millman's character talks about 1970s catchphrases such as Mr Humphreys' "I'm Free" (from "Are You Being Served?") and Frank Spencer's "Ooh Betty" (from "Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em"), suggesting that it is also partly sending up 1970s British comedy. In episode 2.5, Germaine Greer suggests that "When the Whistle Blows" is "sub "Carry On"".
   In Season 2, episode 3, in the scene where Darren Lamb tells Andy Millman about an offer that has come in for Andy to play a supporting role in a film, Lamb mistakenly says the film stars Billie Piper. For the American broadcast, an alternative take was used where Merchant's character says, "How do you fancy three days with Halle Berry?" In each case, Piper and Berry's names are mistaken for the name Harry Potter (actor Daniel Radcliffe guest stars in the episode).
   In comparison to the original series, Inman described this version of the series as "tighter - there's less padding." 
  
  For the opening theme, Inman himself performed vocals.
  
  Section::::Premise.
   BULLET::::8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
  
  BULLET::::9. What profession would you not like to do?
  
  BULLET::::10. If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?
  
  The program usually concludes with a question-and-answer session with the students.
  
  In France, the show has been broadcast since 1999 on Paris Première, with French subtitles.
  
  Section::::In popular culture.
   BULLET::::5. Reciting items in order from an extensive list
  
  BULLET::::6. Trivia questions about events in the seven days before taping
   In Season 2, episode 4, a scene featuring UK TV presenter Moira Stuart was completely excised from the US version and a song by Coldplay frontman Chris Martin replaced it; the latter was featured as a deleted scene on the DVD releases.
   When filming the scene with Michael in the improv class, Ken Jeong, who played Bill, said that "they (the crew) would shoot the scenes as scripted the first few takes, and then we would improvise after that." For example, "the scene where I (Ken Jeong) say 'Good job' to Michael and he says 'Nice job, Bill... not' was improvised." Jeong, who had previously taken part in an actual improv class, noted that "Anyone who's ever taken an improv class appreciates that bit [with Michael starting every session with a gun]."
   The back lists the names of the entire crew and production office staff separated by department, with each person's in/out times, meal times, and meal penalties. The back also records the number of meals consumed (and thus paid for by the company), any special equipment rented, and has a notes section to mark down any random important information such as details of a theft, fire or accident.
  
  Section::::Filling out the report.
   BULLET::::- Mr Wilberforce Claybourne Humphries (John Inman) (Series 1–10), a sales assistant in gents'; a camp-acting man who lives with his mother, also played on several occasions by John Inman. He made frequent use of double entendre, especially related to his implied gay lifestyle. He often breaks the fourth wall by talking directly to the television audience, unusual at the time of the original broadcast.
   BULLET::::- The Exhibit G from the First Team production assistant (PA). This form indicates the work status, in/out times, the meal times, meal penalties, and pick-up/drop-off times of the principal cast.
  
  BULLET::::- The Extras Breakdown from the Background PA. This form records the number of background actors, lists their pay rates, their in/out times, lunch times, meal penalties, overtime, and whether they performed any special actions or services that merit bonus pay.
  
  Section::::The back.
   Whilst the majority of the show is performed in English it is based in and around Swansea where there are Welsh speakers. Although English is used throughout so as to make the story flow, there are some basic Welsh phrases used throughout the two seasons.
  
  The most commonly used expressions is "Iechyd da" (good health) and is used throughout the 2 series by the Thomas family when greeting each other. Other words are also used within the family for terms of endearment. 
   Programme trailers sometimes have the narrator repeating things that characters have said, such as, in a trailer for "Ugly Betty" that includes one character asking Betty "Why are you crying in the bathroom?", the narrator immediately asks "Why "is" Betty crying in the bathroom?!". And on another occasion, he says "Oh No! Kerry Katona must be double booked." commenting on a cameo by Victoria Beckham. Sometimes the narrator appears to interact with the characters of the programme, especially notable in trailers for "Miss Match" and "What About Brian". The announcers also occasionally gently poke fun at the series they introduce, such as heralding an episode of "Life Unexpected" by calling it "The show where no one - except Cate - has a sensible name."
   English playwright William Shakespeare is seen taking a walk in one of the cutaways, receiving homophobic abuse for wearing a ruff. In another, Peter competes in a "Tori Spelling Bee", spelling disparaging words about the actress. The wedding of Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow is seen in another cutaway, where the minister concludes the service by saying "I now pronounce you pretentious and terrible". Peter explains that he is speaking incoherently after drinking four Ensure health drinks.
   The Silence’s Echo therefore, re-shoots these actors’ roles in the international films for which they work in a way that turns the positions upside down to give a voice to the muffled and to create an image to the obscured faces. it sheds light on the psychological, social, and financial state of the poor actors and extras to widen their space in the existence…
  