The Anonymous Production Assistant

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 […]

Keep Copies of Everything

Andi followed up on yesterday’s post: Total bummer though about the mileage. I’ll definitely be claiming it on my taxes however. Should I still keep tracking my mileage on a mileage form in case I’m audited? Absolutely! In fact, make copies of everything you fill out around the office– mileage reports, petty cash receipts, petty […]

Debating Actors

There’s an old TAPA post about wrangling extras that still gets comments from time to time, because it has some unflattering things to say about background actors. Extras are basically untalented actors… They tend to not listen to instruction, dawdle, or just plain wander off. If you’ve ever been a camp counselor or grade school […]

Being an Actor Is Really Hard

Gina writes in: Hey there ! I hope you’re having a great Memorial Day weekend. I stumbled across your blog today while job searching. I am an actress trying to get started out in LA and working my booty off to pay my rent. I just hate how my everyday job isn’t helping me work […]

How To Make an Appointment When You Don’t Know Your Schedule

wonderingeyeoftheeverydaytraveler commented on Friday’s post: Unless you’ve all found weekend hours ( do you even get weekends in the biz?) for this kind of thing, what about sick time for important stuff like doctor/dentist appointments? On most shows, you won’t know what your schedule is next week, much less next month or six months from […]

Calling in Sick

Joey writes in: A few days ago, I was referred to day play on a TV series by someone I had PA’d for once before, which I was really excited about. That morning, I woke up with the worse flu I’ve ever head. We’re talking vomiting, sweating, all the gross stuff. I know this is […]

Production Assistants Doing Union Work

Last week to support Crew Call! Contribute today. A reader, who I’ll call Ivan, wrote in about a tricky situation. I’m going to modify some of the details, to keep Ivan’s identity a secret, but the gist is the same– I’ve been hired as a set dec{{1}} PA on a big feature. I have been […]

You Control the Information

Brianna writes in: I’ve been hesitant to take anything reality-based work that I am offered. An acquaintance (who is now an AD after earning his PA days) told me that no one will hire a PA on a scripted show if they only have reality on their resume because they’re two different worlds. My entire […]

Don’t Be a Flake

One of the most important qualities in a PA is reliability. Your boss, whether an AD or production coordinator or whatever, wants to know that when she gives you a task, you will get it done. Your job is, naturally, to do it, as efficiently and effectively as possible. Which seems simple, but shit happens, […]

Use Your Boredom

Kelly asks: I was in film school and started this internship at a film production company here in Hollywood. I learned a lot, but just as I was ready to leave they hired me for 6 months to run their office while they went on location for their next production. So now I’m alone in […]

The Match Game

This is another one of those things I keep seeing when I help people with their resume and cover letter: the name on your resume needs to match the name on your email address. This is especially true of Gmail accounts, since it’s probably the most common email out there, both for individuals and for […]

Errors and Omissions

There were quite a few good comments this week; in case you missed them, I thought I’d point them out. Regarding internships and college credit, WireMonkey said: I found this strange but I interviewed at a few significant companies for internship positions. I always casually dropped that I could earn college credit for the reasons […]