The Best Advice For Becoming a Writers’ Assistant
Earlier this week, script coordinator Kate Powers shared some advice with fellow SCs on a private board. With her permission, I’m re-posting it here for all of you to read: If there’s a job you’re interested in, approach someone who does that job and see if they’ll talk to you about their path, what their […]
Crew Call Episode 003: Set Lighting Technician Michael Taylor
This week, we’re joined by set lighting technician, Michael Taylor, aka The Hollywood Juicer. Along with being an electrician with decades of experience on sets, he also writes the Blood, Sweat, and Tedium blog, which regular readers of TAPA are very familiar with. Mike tells us about the difference between single camera and multicamera sets, […]
Invoices
Ian writes in: I very recently got my first paid PA gig and the production coordinator sent me the contract and W9 form. She told me to fill out the paperwork and return it to her after the shoot along with an invoice. Is there a specific format for a PA’s invoice? What information do […]
When Is an Intern Not an Intern?
When she’s an unpaid PA, of course! B.W. writes in: Most of my experience comes from working for producers in the advertising world as an intern. I’ve been able to work on a lot of really great commercials with a lot of notable clients, but my positions were always “production intern,” “intern,” etc. However, in […]
Crew Call Episode 002: Location Manager Nathan Gendzier
In today’s episode, Nathan Gendzier tells us all about location management, from aesthetic considerations to logistic requirements. At the end of the episode, Nathan also weighs in on the Sarah Jones tragedy. If you’re unfamiliar with what happened on the set of Midnight Rider, The Hollywood Reporter has a thorough summary here. Nathan also writes […]
Experience is a Terrible Teacher
There’s an old saying: “Experience is the best teacher.” That’s stupid.
How to Make a Sign
A job that comes up more often than you might think– making direction signs. Most production offices have some sort of conference room, which is great for departmental meetings. But it’s the rare office that has room for an entire production meeting (which has representatives from every single department) or table read.{{1}} So, every week […]
Crew Call Episode 001: Camera Assistant Evan Luzi
In the premier episode of Crew Call, TAPA speaks with camera assistant, and creator of The Black and Blue blog, Evan Luzi. He tells about being on the front lines of the set, the 12on12off initiative, and skinny dipping. If you want to learn more about 12on12off, visit Haskell Wexler’s website. To download the episode, […]
Professional Email
Helen writes in: I’ve been looking for my second job in the industry as a production assistant and ended up sending my resume out to a low/no pay web series I saw listed on Craigslist. I received a timely reply: “Thanks for your resume. I sure could use soneone with your skill set, not to […]
How I Spent My Summer Hiatus
It’s hiatus, which means I have a lot of time on my hands. If you’re in the same situation, I thought I’d offer some suggestions of what you could do with your time. First of all, I’m trying to catch up on some reading. During production, I never have time to actually sit and read […]
Students Can’t be Choosers
Emily writes in: I noticed that you said certain PA jobs can only be found through a certain networking group within the industry. I am still a student, and looking into getting an internship in the area of television development/ Writer’s office. I have seen certain postings in the common areas such as entertainmentcareers and […]
Quick Update and Twitter Feud
I was intending to post the first podcast episode today. It’s an interview with Evan Luzi, the creator of The Black and Blue website. We had a great conversation, and I think you’re really going to dig it. But you’re going to have to wait until next week to hear it. 🙂 Instead, I’ll just […]