The Anonymous Production Assistant

Six AM? Really?

Today’s post was going to be about something totally different, until I read this post from the Tightrope Walker blog this weekend. I should start by saying I enjoy this blog from Doris Egan, although I don’t watch any of the shows she writes for.  She’s interesting, informative, and funny. In fact, Saturday’s post was […]

Do Not Read Wannabetvwriter

I haven’t engaged in a flame war in a little while, so, in an effort to boost my stats, I decided to start one. I suggest you do not read wannabetvwriter’s blog.  She is a script coordinator that I don’t believe you’ll find to be either funny or insightful.  Certainly not this recent post, where she […]

Wisdom of the Aged

Whenever I write a woe-is-me post, like Wednesday’s, I get some very thoughtful comments from higher up-types. I recommend you read them. It’s good to be reminded that I don’t know everything. I also received some good advice from our construction coordinator this morning. I was performing a ridiculous task–  won’t say what; it’s so […]

Perfection

Following yesterday’s post, I had a few more thoughts on mistakes. I used to be a personal assistant to a producer. He asked me if I ever wanted to be a director, and I said I did. He told me I could never do that job until I could do this job perfectly. This statement […]

Mistakes Will be Made

Yesterday, Shawn commented on a grammatical mistake I made (now corrected): “Kids my age so comfortable and lazy that we can’t even muster the energy to leave the house, much less protest.” Or even do a simple grammar check. It’s true, I made a mistake, and it’s true that I often mock others for similar […]

Soldiers, Farmers, and Poets

A recent post on the Freakonomics website feature the following quote: “I must study Politicks and War that my sons may have liberty to study Mathematicks and Philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematicks and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study […]

Holding Back

Many people seem to be under the misapprehension that we in the office like to hold on to things. Several times a day, I get calls asking if a prelim callsheet has been published, or if a package has arrived, or if the latest draft of the script is out. You know what? No. If […]

House Guests

Ken Levine recently wrote a post about Eliza Dushku not swimming in his pool.  A location scout from Dollhouse wanted to shoot at his place, but Levine turned them down. His initial reaction is pretty much the standard for anyone working in the business. If you’ve ever shot on location, you know you don’t want […]

Something’s Wrong

Every once in a while, when I’m delivering stuff to set, the crew starts rolling before I get off the stage, and I’m stuck until the end of the take (or takes).  Yesterday was one of those times. With nothing to better to do, I watched the monitor.  After the fourth or fifth “Going again!”, […]

Bright Eyed and Bushy Tailed

Even when the crew has a night call, someone has to open up the office during business hours. And, as usual, by “someone,” I mean me. The morning shift on a late call offers very little to do. After turning on the coffee and setting out the bagels (both vitally important to the running of […]

Question for Coordinators

Who decides whether to send a PA or a teamster to pick something up?  And why?  It seems so arbitrary. Somethings are pretty standard.  If it’s too big to fit in a PA mobile like a Civic or a Corolla, the teamsters will pick it up in a truck.  If it’s a script delivery, a […]

Just Joking

When you’re carrying something big and heavy around a corner or down some stairs, it’s usually good form to call out a warning, like “Points!”, to make sure you don’t smack someone in the face. It doesn’t really matter if it’s pointy or not; it’s just what you say. Sometimes people try to come up […]