If you look away at the wrong moment, you'll miss it.

But for five proud Sussex families, one ten-second clip from new feature film Miss Potter is the highlight of the movie.

Producers plucked five schoolchildren from obscurity to appear in the hit film, which stars award-winning actress Renée Zellweger.

The film tells the story of troubled children's writer Beatrix Potter and key scenes were filmed at the vintage Bluebell Railway near Uckfield last summer.

Lucky youngsters Thomas Van Vliet, Alex Evans, Ainsley Mitchell, Becky Thompson and Charley Guile were all chosen as extras in scenes filmed at the railway.

The children, who attend Shana Goldman's Stage School in Hove, were thrilled to meet the film's leading man Ewan McGregor on set.

Thomas, from Hill Farm Way in Southwick, said: "He was really nice to us and kept waving.

"It was good fun to be filming with him. My mum was very pleased."

Charley, from Sandringham Close in Hove, said: "We didn't get to have a proper conversation with him but we met him while we were filming and he was really friendly."

The young actors were forced to endure gruelling conditions to achieve their five minutes of fame.

A i n s l e y , from Wilson Avenue in Whitehawk, said: "They had these big sprinklers and we had to run through them so it looked like it was raining but we had to keep doing it and got completely soaked.

"We had to keep running along the platform until they said cut' and then we'd have to do it again and again.

"But I enjoyed it. It was a great experience."

Although the scenes were shot in the summer, the British weather saw to it that the special effects were accompanied by real rain.

Becky, 15, from Eridge Road in Hove, said: "It did seem to rain a lot and we were outside most of the time but the costumes had quite a few layers so we didn't get too wet."

The shoot also inspired 12-year-old Ainsley to try his hand at professional acting.

He said: "If I could get a proper acting job, I'd love that. It was so amazing to see a proper film set."

Before filming began the quintet were taken to Momentum's prop centre in London to be fitted for their costumes.

Ainsley, who attends Longhill High School in Falmer Road, Rottingdean, said: "It was such a weird place. There were all these rooms just filled with costumes and jewellery and really strange props. I thought it was pretty cool."

After three days of intense filming, the children's work was cut to a few seconds of screen time but their faces can still be seen on camera.

Charley, 13, said: "When I appeared my mum got really excited and everyone in the cinema started looking at me. It was really embarrassing."

But Thomas, 15, added: "My mum was really proud even though you can only just see me on the film. All my friends were really chuffed for me."

Stage school manager Shana Goldman said: "They had a lovely time. It was good for them to do a really big film like Miss Potter.

"I'm really proud of them. They worked hard and it just goes to show what you can achieve if you put in the effort."