Joining the DGA
Madeline writes in: I have a lot of questions and they relate to DGA so I apologise if they aren’t the right questions for this blog. I did try to do my own DGA research but I’m very confused. Once your in the DGA, are you allowed to have multiple titles? e.g be a UMP […]
Fired for Doing the Right Thing
I had planned to write an entirely different post today, until I saw this comment from Pete on an old post: I was just fired from a shoot after the AD’s placed me in back-to-back dangerous situations. The UPM declared that a PA is easier to replace than an AD, so they fired me. Oh, […]
You Don’t Have to be a Jerk
I’m traveling today (long story), so I don’t have time to write a post. Instead, here’s a copypasta from a comment left on a really old post yesterday: So, as a production manager and line producer, I can say, from personal experience, being an asshole is simply a crap choice the ADs, Producers, or UPMs […]
Shooting Location Change
How to handle a production changing their location after you’ve signed on.
Seeking Decent ADs and Coordinators
It’s very easy to complain about your boss. Nobody likes to be told what to do, and the very definition of “boss” is someone who tells you what to do. Sometimes they’re crazy or irrational or just plain mean. But you know what? There are some good ones out there, too. And I’d like to […]
Making the Jump
Andrew writes in: I’ve recently (a month ago) started reading your blog and I’ve got to say it is awesome! It’s such a great resource for information that would otherwise be hidden by the exclusivity of film sets. I also love how personal your stories are! If you’re ever in Georgia, I’d love to buy […]
How To Randomize A Crowd
Most of the time, you’re not going to deal with more than a handful of extras in any one scene. That’s because extras are people, too, and people cost a lot of money. Still, every once in a while, you’ll get a crowd scene. The problem with a crowd of extras is that, at a […]
Managing Background Actors
If you follow me on Twitter, you might have heard some of my frustrations with background actors on a small shoot I was helping out on. First of all, bear in mind that I definitely did not say any of these things on set. That would be even less professional than the extras{{1}} I was […]
How to Run a Production Meeting
Dax asks: I’ve experienced several different production meetings. Two seem to be the most common. The first AD reads through the script in scene order and then through the one liner in schedule order. if this is correct? If so, should the AD just read the slug lines for each scene and then summarize the […]
Paperwork PA
Adrienne writes in: I’ve just signed on to be a day-player, but as a paperwork PA for a major TV show. I’ve only done paperwork for small shoots before. Any advice you could give me about the position would be helpful. “Paperwork PA” is often a euphemism for basecamp PA, because, technically, a DGA member […]
How Many Languages Do YOU Speak?
I had a coordinator once who was Vietnamese. She’s been in America for a couple of decades, so she didn’t have much of an accent, but she still occasionally got colloquialisms wrong. For instance, she would say, “Do you grab my drift?”{{1}} I understood what she was saying, obviously, but it still bumps you for […]
Asking Too Many Questions
Tara writes in: I just graduated from college and got my first job as a Production Assistant for a talk show. I’ve done some freelance PAing and the biggest problem I seem to have is that I can’t find the balance between making sure I get everything right and asking too many questions. I understand […]