The Anonymous Production Assistant

There’s Always Someone Below You

I went on a run today, to pick up something for the Big Awesome Show I work for. I went to the will-call window, and the guy’s eyes lit up. “You’re a PA on Big Awesome Show? How did you land that job?” I couldn’t really say. It was just a combination of experience, networking, […]

Casting Called Out

I asked an AD to look over my resume, and make some suggestions. He pointed to two listings for “Casting PA,” both on game shows. “Get rid of these” “Why?” “No one respects the casting department. They don’t do any work. It makes you look lazy.” Wow. The thing is, I knew he kinda had […]

What Time of Year Do Shows Hire?

Linda asks: If a television production is nearly done shooting for the season, would this be considered a poor time to contact the production office to inquire about open positions for a production assistant? If so, when is the appropriate time to contact a television production office? Most shows are nearly done by now, if […]

Perspective

Yesterday’s post produced some interesting comments.  Capn Cookie said that, while Bale’s outburst was uncalled for, the DP was still kind of a dick.  Which called to mind an incident that happened on set only a few weeks ago. As you probably know, it’s standard procedure to turn your cell phone to vibrate when on […]

Self Perception

I ran into someone I knew from another show. We hadn’t seen each other in a while, so we caught up on the usual “How ya doin? What’ve you been working on?” stuff. Then she said an odd thing. She said she always remembered me as the guy who smiled a lot. Me? Really? Don’t […]

Life Cycle of a Show (Act III)

Step Nine: The News You might think that there is a fixed schedule, by which you can determine when your time on a show will be up. You would be wrong. Even when you can see the ratings drop week by week, the producers put on a happy face. “They’re giving us time to find […]

Delivery

The other day, one of our actresses decided she really, really, really wanted a pizza. Naturally, my boss sent me out to the nearest CPK to pick up some hideous Ninja Turtles-style concoction with goat cheese and spinach and who knows what else. Driving back, my car smelling like a culinary nightmare, I wondered to […]

Distro

One of the basic tasks of a PA is distributing paperwork that no one wants to read.  (With good reason, usually; more than a few times, I’ve passed out a memo regarding the fact that the elevators in our building would be shut down… on Saturday.  When no one was going to be there.) As […]

Whoooooo are you? Who, who? Who, who?

It’s virtually impossible to tell, by eye, an office PA from a young producer. Unstylish clothing, disheveled hair, four-day beard growth. (Of course, you’ll know immediately if you see them getting out of their car.) But if you see me on the set without a walkie or a pair of gloves on my belt, I […]

A Tip for Production Assistants

When you go on a run, you’re generally expected to call the office after you’ve picked up or dropped off whatever it is you were supposed to to drop off or pick up. (I’m not sure how they did this before cell phones.  Did you go out with a roll of quarters in your pocket?) […]

Passive Voice

Photo by Dan Burton on Unsplash

It’s a great way of diverting blame, but every once in a while, though, the passive voice turns around and bites you on the ass.

Double the Standards, Double the Fun!

I was overcome with curiosity by my fellow PA’s statement yesterday, “You don’t know who I know. I could make your life a living hell.” (Seriously, though, he’s a nice guy. This is waaay out of context.) I knew he had been hired because the coordinator was told she had to hire him. So today, […]