Our student Matt Cottingham on landing himself a film role as an extra and getting into the movie business

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of being in a film, knowing that - for a short while at least - you’ll be the centre of attention for a certain audience, however large or small. I’ve always had an interest in film and have been involved in various productions, so when I was invited, through a friend at university, to spend a weekend on the set of British-made film Lady Godiva, I took up the offer immediately.

After leaving school with A-levels, the natural progression for many of us is to go to university, give or take a gap year. Vicky Jewson took a slightly different lean on things. Within a few months of leaving school she had already prepared the script of Lady Godiva and was providing corporate film services. A year later, she founded Jewson Productions and after extensive fundraising was able to begin the Lady Godiva project.

Chances are you will have heard of the legend of Lady Godiva, yet few know the complete story. Legend has it Lady Godiva rode naked through the town of Coventry in order to protest against her husband’s oppressive taxation of the town’s people. In the film this forms the prologue, with the remainder of the tale embodying a love story set in contemporary Oxford. The location used as medieval Coventry for the film is a dominating 14th century fortress in southern France. So, two weeks after my invitation, I ditched the essays and swapped the medieval spires of Cambridge for, well, more medieval spires, this time those of Carcassonne.

The nature of the location meant access was tricky, so only the essential aspects of the production were actually in the fortress. In my role as an extra (a peasant) I was required to be covered in muddy rags and this was done early on Saturday morning. When we finally made it on to the set in the afternoon, my first impression was one of awe. Ok, so I’d met this Vicky Jewson, the young director who had managed to gather the capital to make a film professionally, yet I’d never really clocked what an achievement this was until I arrived on set and saw the project in the flesh.

The plan for Saturday was to film the passage of Lady Godiva riding naked on the back of her horse through the market. This is harder than it sounds; steep cobbles meant working with horses was even more complicated than usual, and many takes were required. As an extra my job was to mill around the market, doing my best to come across as a 14th century peasant. On the entrance of Lady Godiva, the peasants were instructed to cover their eyes in order to protect her dignity, all except a certain boy named Tom (which is, of course, where the phrase “peeping Tom” comes from). This sequence took a whole afternoon; filming was finally halted by the failing light.

Milling around as a peasant for such a long time was actually quite a challenge. There were no set actions to carry out; instead we were given a rather diffuse set of ideas to manifest. Performing this over and over again did become tiresome, although spending a whole afternoon on one scene is to be expected, especially since this scene would form a crucial part of exposition. The crew were entertaining and talkative between takes and over lunch, with the exception of the slightly aloof camera crew.

A film set is a fascinating place to be. Specialised teams of lighting engineers and camera grips mean that, between shots, the entire set erupts in activity, only to shrink to a terse silence at a shout from the director or assistant. Because the scene was a market through which Lady Godiva was to ride naked, entire French families had been costumed as peasants. They remained good-natured throughout, even rounding the day off by singing some (probably revolutionary) songs. The weekend was a stimulating experience; I hadn’t been involved in any films since starting at Cambridge, and this was a return to the excitement of filming that I remembered so well.

When it comes to actually landing a job in film (and indeed, the media in general) I am inclined to agree with the regular refrain, “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know”. The greater the number of reliable contacts you possess, the more opportunities will present themselves. Getting into the film industry to begin with can be difficult, yet once you have a foothold, if you are dedicated, motivated and good with people you have a high chance of progressing further. Academic qualifications obviously carry worth in certain institutions, but in the world of film this importance is certainly played down. Of course, this isn’t to say that some qualifications aren’t important. Training is key for those wanting to do, say, lighting. Just don’t go away thinking that people will require you to have done a media degree if you want to start working on films – there are people of all backgrounds on most sets and this is in part, I think, what makes them such interesting places.

If you are excited by the prospect of working in the film industry, one of the best things to do if you don’t have any contacts is to take a job as a runner (the lowest of the low on film sets) where you will spend entire weekends doing exactly that – running props between different parts of the location, making tea and driving actors and actresses around. That may not sound particularly glamorous or interesting, but the potential benefit in terms of rubbing shoulders with the right company is huge. If you can make an impact on a film set by doing the most menial jobs in an approachable and enthusiastic way, all sorts of doors will eventually open themselves.

Times recommends

• Students face big rise in university fees
• Students to rate lecturers online
• Lord heads team to look at raising tuition fees