At first glance, there is little common ground between the Extras. According to the original game's lead animator, however, its close-up, over-the-shoulder camera angles during dialogue were inspired by the show. The tone and subject matter of Mass Effect and Extras are worlds apart, but the uncomfortably close cameras angles present in both ultimately lead to increasingly humanized characters, no longer simply RPG archetypes or celebrity icons.
Extras was a two-season BBC comedy series written by comedy duo Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, who had previously worked on the original, UK version of The Office. Regarded as among their funniest works, Extras featured Gervais as a would-be actor relegated to "background performer" roles for the first season, with Merchant playing his ineffective talent agent. One of the recurring gags of Extras was that Gervais’ character, Andy Millman, and his friends often found themselves spending one-on-one time with a major celebrity, where the celebrity guest would act extremely out of character from their typical stage persona, such as a surprisingly foul-mouthed Kate Winslet.
In 2017, Mass Effect's principal lead animator, Mass Effect's dialogue presentation may seem bizarre, but stripping away its comedic elements, it is easier to understand why the show’s presentation might have been considered a good fit for the RPG series.
Extras & Mass Effect Used Close-Up Conversations To Add Humanity
In Extras' celebrity encounter scenes, the somewhat idealistic Andy met with his heroes. Those heroes consistently swerved against the grain of expectations, often shocking him with their crass vulgarity, their childlike simplicity, and, above all, their simple humanity. The gags were consistently funny, but at their core they also delivered a message that even mega-celebrities are still people, with all the flaws and quirks inherent to humanity. The close-ups helped convey this, lending a realistically awkward feel to their scenes.
Mass Effect's characters, too - human and non-human alike - are all shaped by their own histories and carry their own baggage (though they are united in resisting the existential threat of the Reapers). The series has a few funny moments, as all BioWare games tend to, but its use of Extras' close-in camera style mostly heightens the uncomfortable intimacy and drama of conversations between people. Extras made its celebrities flawed humans instead of icons, to comic effect, while Mass Effect sought to turn RPG archetypes into fully realized, complex people, to tell a richer story. The close-up camera style worked towards both of those goals, benefitting two very different forms of entertainment media.