Bill points at Satri the kid who plays Prashant Good job Satri but try to whisper a bit louder this time Got it says Satri Everybody ready asks Bill moving to the back of the room Pauline the hair and makeup lady comes over to me and powders my cheek and then lightly musses my hair She pulls back and squints then gives a thumbs-up Looking good Aiden she says Around the edges of the room the elec trics who are responsible for lights check with the camera operators and equipment is shifted around and tweaked once again for another run through of the scene Through the window I catch a glimpse of some kids strolling down the sidewalk They’re chatting away towels around their necks I assume they’re heading to the community pool It’s the dead of summer and school is out for another whole month But for those of us who attend Cherry Lane High School class is still in session Cherry Lane High School clhs for short is the fictitious secondary school that has been the 4 Tom Ryan
main setting for the popular cable tv show Pop Quiz for nine seasons For the past two years I’ve played a supporting role on the show Even though I spend a lot of my summer vacations working I love it As far as I’m concerned it’s the most fun job a fifteen-year-old could ask for I’ve been performing since I was a little kid When other kids my age were starting to play hockey or practice piano I was writing plays and performing them in my backyard Eventually my parents got the hint and enrolled me in acting lessons For years they drove me to private and group lessons twice a week and to make a long story short it paid off When I turned thirteen I was finally old enough to audition for Pop Quiz To my surprise I got a part Because the show relies on teenage actors production has to take place during the summer months It doesn’t bother me at all since this is how I want to spend my time anyway I know the rest of my castmates feel the same way Acting is fun and I won’t lie it’s pretty cool to be on tv Pop Quiz isn’t a massive hit or anything but it’s popular enough to keep chugging along and we definitely have a following I get recognized 5 PoP quiz
when I go to the mall and I even get fan mail sometimes Places everyone says Dexi Beales the assistant assistant director The two camera guys step back into position one in the corner of the room and the other one crouching off to the side his camera pointed directly at me I take a deep breath and roll my shoulders back sinking back into my character And Action yells Bill Ms Burke starts the lesson again and Dane’s already staring at Penny playing it up even more this time It doesn’t take much acting if I’m being totally honest 6 Tom Ryan
Two It takes another hour to wrap the scene including three camera changes A camera change is when the director of photography also known as the dop rearranges a shot Usually a scene starts with a wide shot of a whole room then it switches to some medium shots usually of two or three characters The final shots of a scene are the close-ups which are just what they sound like Later on after the shooting is finished the editors take all the footage and cut it together to make a scene It might not sound that complicated but every time the dop changes a shot the entire crew kicks into action The electrics move and tweak all the lights the art department hurries around shifting furniture and arranging props 7
