Create Authentic, Lively Background Scenes with Hired Crowds

Creating a believable, engaging TV advertisement is about more than just strong leads and good lighting. Often, it’s the people in the background — the chatter in a busy pub, the movement in a lively street, or the stillness of a theatre audience — that give your scene credibility. When you need to create a natural, convincing environment, hiring a professional crowd of background actors is one of the most effective solutions.

Whether you’re recreating a high street, packing out a concert hall, or simply giving a pub scene some depth, background talent plays a vital role in television production. In this article, we explore how crowd hire works, what to consider when hiring, and how it contributes to the overall quality of your commercial.

Why Use a Hired Crowd in a TV Advert?

While some adverts can be minimal and stylised, many need to feel rooted in the real world. If you’re trying to evoke a recognisable social setting, an empty room or quiet street simply won’t cut it. That’s where professional background actors come in.

Hiring a crowd helps to:

Create a lived-in atmosphere: Realistic ambient action adds credibility and visual texture.

Support storytelling: A pub full of patrons, or passers-by on the pavement, provides context and scale.

Control the environment: Unlike members of the public, hired extras follow direction, maintain continuity, and are fully briefed on their role in the scene.

Stay compliant: Professional actors have contracts, clearances, and understand the legal requirements of being filmed.

Key Environments Where Crowd Hire Makes a Difference
1. Pubs, Bars and Social Venues
Filming in a pub with no customers feels flat and unnatural, especially if the scene hinges on community, sport, or social energy. A group of well-placed background actors can be used to:

Fill tables and bar stools with natural, unrehearsed-looking interaction

Create moments of collective reaction (e.g. cheering for a sports event)

Reflect the type of customers your audience expects to see

Casting the right mix — by age, style, and energy — makes a huge difference. A local pub ad featuring silent, static extras feels false. But a setting with moving, chatting, subtly interacting patrons feels real.

2. Theatres, Cinemas and Concert Venues
Audiences are hard to fake. Even with clever camera work, a half-empty room can break the illusion of a sold-out performance or busy cultural event. Crowd actors can fill seats and respond on cue with the right reactions: laughter, applause, stillness, or tension.

These settings also benefit from:

Continuity in positioning (especially across multiple takes)

Authentic movement patterns (e.g. clapping in time, leaning forward, reacting naturally)

Wardrobe control (evening dress, business casual, or themed costume)

3. Busy High Streets or Outdoor Locations
Capturing street life often requires a lot more than just turning up with a camera. Filming in live public spaces introduces risks — both in terms of unpredictability and legality. Hiring a controlled crowd of extras enables you to:

Populate pavements, crossings or shopfronts

Represent your brand’s target demographic

Create planned motion and direction without random interference

Avoid filming members of the public without consent

From walking with purpose to pausing to check a phone or browse a window display, professional background actors help deliver scenes that feel dynamic but are carefully directed.

The Process: How Crowd Hire Works
Hiring a crowd for an advert involves more than just numbers. It’s about matching people to roles, movement to story, and tone to brand.

Step 1: Defining the Brief
Work with a crowd casting agency to define exactly what you need:

Number of people

Gender, age range, ethnicity

Clothing style

Required actions or reactions

Time and location of the shoot

Step 2: Casting and Scheduling
The agency will select suitable actors from their pool, confirm availability, and ensure all paperwork is in place — including release forms and any necessary insurance.

Step 3: On-Site Coordination
On shoot day, a crowd coordinator or assistant director will manage positioning, blocking and performance notes. This ensures consistency across takes and keeps production on schedule.

Step 4: Debrief and Wrap
After filming, the crowd team is signed out, and any notes or pickups are recorded. Professionalism throughout makes wrap-up faster and cleaner.

Why Not Just Use Real People?
It’s tempting to think you can fill your scene with friends, real customers, or passers-by. While that’s sometimes possible, it carries serious drawbacks:

Continuity problems: Most non-professionals can’t hold a consistent position or reaction over multiple takes.

Performance issues: Natural reactions are harder than they look. You’ll quickly notice overacting, hesitation or camera awareness.

Legal complexity: Without signed consent, you may not be able to use footage — or blur faces, which reduces impact.

Time costs: The delays from managing untrained people often outweigh the savings.

Hiring professionals removes these obstacles and elevates the quality of the final production.

Practical Tips for Hiring a Crowd for Your TV Advert

Plan early
Last-minute crowd casting is rarely successful. Give your agency enough lead time to find the right mix of people.

Be clear about the tone
Whether the crowd should feel lively, sombre, formal, or casual — make sure this is communicated clearly to your coordinator.

Provide wardrobe guidelines
Crowd actors may bring their own clothing unless otherwise arranged. Define the look you need to avoid visual mismatches.

Think about diversity
Modern adverts benefit from inclusive representation. Ensure your background reflects the variety of your real audience.

Always have a coordinator on set
A dedicated crowd manager ensures everyone is in the right place and performing appropriately. This frees up your director to focus on principal actors.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Hired Crowds
How many background actors do I need?
It depends on your location and shot size. A pub scene may only need 8–15 people to feel full. A theatre or high street scene might require 30 or more to look realistic from a wide camera angle.

Do I need permits for crowd scenes?
Yes, if filming in public spaces. Your production team or agency should secure the relevant permits from the local council or location authority.

Are background actors insured?
Reputable agencies ensure that all performers are covered by public liability and personal accident insurance for the duration of their booking.

Can crowd actors be directed to do specific actions?
Yes. Most are trained to follow direction for background movement, such as walking patterns, simple reactions or timed gestures.

What does it cost to hire a crowd?
Rates vary based on the number of people, duration, location, and whether the scene requires any special skills (e.g. dancing, period costume). 

Bringing Your Advert to Life with the Right Crowd
A strong TV advert depends on more than just great writing and standout talent. The world around your leads — the atmosphere, the energy, the realism — makes all the difference. Whether it’s a noisy bar, a full auditorium or a buzzing city street, a hired crowd transforms your shoot from staged to convincing.

With professional background actors, you’re not just filling the frame — you’re building a believable world that helps your message land with power and clarity.  Contact us to discuss your next TV advert campaign