The Anonymous Production Assistant

Just tell the whole world why don’t you…

I understand. Humans are forgetful. We get emotional and angry and our heads fill with stormclouds and all we see is red, but please, PLEASE, this is a professional environment. Do not under any circumstances, chide a person over walkie. It happens to us PA’s all the time. We’re human too. We fuck up here and […]

The Decision

Photo by Jason Strull on Unsplash

Stick with a safe job, or make the jump to something more challenging?

When I grow up I wanna be…

When you first start working in the film industry you realize that it is, well, big. I mean crazy small REALLY big. It employs a lot of people (although never enough it seems…). The term “filmmaker” is kind of a misnomer; everyone who works here actually does something else that they happen to translate to the […]

Old People Stand In The Way of the Future

If you were born in a decade that starts with the number 7, then you are old. Don’t be offended. Let me be the first to welcome you to your golden years. That being said, stop standing in the way of the future! I’m almost positive that I could write an entire blog about old […]

What’s the Point of the UTA Joblist?

First off, there’s a new UTA Joblist on the TAPA site, dated 6/21 (thanks to the readers who sent me the new one). I don’t know why some people get the list earlier than others. If you ever happen to get a more up-to-date one than you see here, please send me a copy, so […]

Too Early To Think About Lunch

This week, we had a lot of new crew members starting in the office, so we switched from individual lunch orders to family-style catering. Before the switch, lunch went as follows: I printed out a menu and a spreadsheet with everyone’s name on it. The menu and order form passed around the office like a […]

On Your Own

There’s an old PA folktale that was passed down to me. On location in Dupont Circle, a DP finishes explaining a complicated camera set-up and then turns to a PA and says, “Two creams. Three sugars.” The PA scurries away. About half an hour later, the PA returns and promptly hands the DP two of […]

Life’s Not Fair

Running the same train if thought as political hires, I recall a specific event that happened on a previous gig that hammered home how unfair it all is. I was working as a PA in the post department on a major studio film (can’t say which but when I mean big I mean summer blockbuster […]

The “Strong” Pot of Coffee

As the “early PA,” I’m the first one in the office each morning. Like the class president of Mrs. Jewls’ class, it’s my job to turn the lights on. (Important job! No one else is capable or qualified!) It also means that I have to brew the first pot of coffee. This has transformed me […]

Key is the key

Oscar writes: Hi there, I read most of your site and enjoyed it a lot… But what I’ve failed to find info on online is what exactly it is that a Key set PA does. I’ve been hired into this position in a film and I want to educate myself on the position. I mean, I’m […]

The Never-Ending Crafty Run

On set, they have a craft service department, whose job it is to make sure that the actors and crew have all the snacks they need to endure a twelve to sixteen hour day without losing their mind and storming off the set. If Karl Marx had ever worked on a film set, he would’ve […]