The Job Everyone Wants
The hardest job to get on any TV series is probably not what you think.
The One Line Day Player
Okay, today’s episode is a little outside my usual PA mandate, but it keeps coming up on the show I’m on, and I want to rant somewhere.{{1}} A “day player,” for those who don’t know, is someone who works on the production for only a day. This can be because we have a big scene […]
An Unusual Route to Becoming a Writers’ Assistant
Reader Andrew writes in: There’s a small independent film company looking to break into TV. I know the producer, and she’s offered me a writer’s assistant position while they develop a pilot. So it’s really more of a development assistant position, but she calls it “writer’s assistant.” This makes me very nervous. On one hand, […]
When to Lie in an Interview
I interviewed recently to be the assistant to an EP on a network TV show. My interview philosophy has changed over the last few years. When I first started out, I lied my way through nearly every question in an interview. When they’d ask what I wanted to do in Hollywood for the rest of […]
Flat Rate
Jillian writes: I recently went on an interview for a production assistant position. I had been responding to an ad that had very little useful information on it, besides the shoot dates. During the interview, I asked what the production was and the rate. They told me they could not reveal any information about the […]
Meisner
If you hang around base camp long enough, you’ll start to hear actors talking about the Meisner technique. It seems to have replaced Method acting as the go-to acting fad. Near as I can tell, Meisner is a series of rehearsal practices designed to make the performer look like as big of an ass as […]
Revisions, Or: When Five Figures Isn’t Enough To Do It Right the First Time
Paul writes: When the hell are the pages going to come?!! A very valid question. The answer is, as always, they’ll get here when they get here. If you’ve never been the late shift PA, it’s hard to appreciate the agony of waiting for scripts to come out. This may come as a shock to […]
How to Approach Another Show on the Lot
Ms. Key (a pseudonym, I assume), writes: I intern on a major studio lot, which has been an awesome experience so far. I plan to do everything I can to make this last as long as possible and parlay it into a paying gig. My problem is that I’m interning on a talk show, while my […]
Script Coordinator: A Way Out of The PA Doldrums
I have no intention of being a PA forever. As I’ve said before, I’d ultimately like to write and direct. Every path out of PA-hood is unique, but one way out that doesn’t get enough attention is the PA –> Script Coordinator route. A Script Coordinator is the keeper of the script. He or she […]
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 […]
Let It Never Be Said That I Can’t Change My Mind
A couple of sound points came out of yesterday’s comments section. From Galen: Don’t forget that actors often have to go through hair and make up after the blocking during the lighting set-up. This takes a fair bit of time and it saves production money to have a [glossary]stand in[/glossary]. I’m all for efficiency on […]
Everyone Has a Boss
Regular readers may have noticed that I don’t like being told what to do. It’s a combination of youthful hubris and laziness-disguised-as-hubris. (“I know a better way to do this! I’ll not do it!”) Someday, I’ll be a showrunner, and everyone will have to do things my way. Directors will bow to the writer! The […]