The Anonymous Production Assistant

Day Player: A Way In

A day player is a PA who works on a show sporadically. He or she doesn’t have the luxury of a regular Monday through Friday prison sentence work schedule. They could work two days one week, three days the next, five days the next, and then not at all for four weeks. It all depends […]

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 […]

The Similarities Between My Job and ‘The Wire’

I wrote on Twitter that I’ve been using this lull in the pre-production schedule to make my way through Season 3 of THE WIRE. For those uninitiated to one of the greatest shows ever, THE WIRE follows a police unit’s investigations of the criminal underworld in Baltimore, Maryland. In the show, the police commanders have […]

The Goldilocks Problem

In case you don’t know the story of Goldilocks, it’s a nineteenth century fairy tale about a girl who discovers the home of three porridge-loving bears. She has some of their porridge – a spoonful from each bowl. One is too hot, one is too cold, and one is just right. The story doesn’t say […]