The summer UNC turned pretty: Community participates in visiting TV production set

For UNC rising senior Reece Tuggle, the July 2024 filming of "The Summer I Turned Pretty" on UNC’s campus is the summer she will never forget. 

Beneath the bright, Carolina Blue skies, crowds of people perched in the Upper Quad, while others stood on their tiptoes as they strained to see the action — or, more specifically, the show's stars: Lola Tung, who plays Belly; Gavin Casalegno, who plays Jeremiah; and Christopher Briney, who plays Conrad. On the set, however, far beyond the view of onlookers, many UNC students waited to be called to action. 

Tuggle is a journalism major and works as a part-time commercial actor at a web development company in Raleigh. Most of the time, she is standing in front of a teleprompter, a green screen behind her, wearing everything from polo shirts to a karate gi. When Tuggle came across the opportunity to be an extra, she jumped on it. 

Tuggle quickly realized how different this experience was going to be from her everyday voice acting, however, she said. 

When Tuggle first arrived, she went to a tent designated for hair and makeup, where there was food for all the extras. She also got to meet the actors, including Casalegno. Compared to commercial acting, there are a lot more people involved in the filming, which Tuggle said surprised her. 

She said that the scenes she was assigned to were shot around five to 10 times.

“I think the biggest learning experience was just watching how a TV show comes together,” Tuggle said. “I feel like now whenever I watch a show, I’m gonna be like, 'That man in the background, he definitely had to walk in a circle 1,000 times.'”

For rising senior and sports administration major Dylan Vogt, his experience was a bit longer — and a lot more close-up. 

While taking an internship class for his major, his professor mentioned the filming of the show, and it immediately caught his interest. Originally, he never heard back. But after speaking with a friend who was in contact with the extras casting director, Marty Keener Cherrix, Vogt learned that they were looking for a new stand-in, also known as a lighting double. Vogt matched the height and physique of the stand-in they were looking for, and he was selected. 

“It’s not really relevant to what I'm trying to do with my career or anything, but it’s just something cool to talk about,” he said. “My parents were super, super excited about it.” 

Vogt was on set during every filming day, July 8-10, while the crew prepared various shots and scenes for the actors. Vogt stood on marked lines while the lighting and camera crew worked to match his features. Once they were ready, Vogt stepped off — and the actors stepped on. 

“Now I know how much work goes into each scene,” he said. “And to know I was a part of getting each angle, and correcting stuff, was super cool.”

While Vogt is thankful for his experience, filming was long and detailed. Many shots were filmed several times for different camera angles with Vogt was on stand-by, waiting to be shuttled to another set and for the actors to arrive.

While Vogt is not very familiar with the show, he said that he is excited for the next season to come out, so he can watch all the scenes filmed at UNC, as well as all the scenes he had a part in. 

“I can do so much stuff for the athletic department, and [UNC is] a legit Division I school that allows their students to be so involved in things that they do — and that’s just career-wise — but also stuff like this, a [show] being filmed at our University,” he said. “Everything just falls into our laps here, and we have so many opportunities just to pursue, and I think that's just a huge part of why I love it here so much.”

UNC nursing student and rising junior Selah Smith’s film day started like Tuggle’s: at a hair and makeup tent. After getting changed into one of the outfits she brought, Smith moved into a lecture hall, where she waited to be called to set. 

That day, Smith saw Casalegno, waving at some of the extras. 

“I’m not gonna lie, I was starstruck, and I made a face at him — but when I make a face, it low-key looks like I’m judging — so, he gave me a weird look back, and I was like, 'Oh my god, this man probably thinks I’m judging him,'” she said.  

Smith is a huge fan of Tung, including her work on Broadway, and is looking forward to finding out what happens in season 3. 

“I won't forget it for sure, being with the actors and stuff,” she said. “It’s a very cool experience.”

Like Smith, Tuggle said that it was interesting to play a college student on her own campus, doing many of the same things she might do on a daily basis. 

Whenever she walks past spots she filmed at, she said that she will forever think about her experience in the show. 

“I’ll always associate the show with UNC from now on,” she said.

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