Spending Money Before You Have It
How to plan ahead in a business of freelancers.
Bad Mouthing the Talent
@AltSnacks sent a question over Twitter about Twitter: Is it bad etiquette even in the twitter age for any below the line people to publicly roast Roseanne (or any talent) for basically costing them money? Would a PA get looked down upon for that? Don’t do it. It’s that simple. Don’t bad mouth anyone in […]
How to Ask for the Day Off
Zack writes in about taking days off in the middle of a production: I am about to start work as an Office PA on a TV show. It’s a long run, from July to April. I have 2 -3 days sporadically that I know I will need off. I am prepared to ask well in […]
“Go To 2”
If you’re new to the business, walkie talkie lingo can be daunting to get used to. “I’m going 10-1,” “Copy,” and “Go to 2” are all things you’re going to hear frequently. The first to are relatively easy (“I’m going to the bathroom,” and “I understand,” respectively), but the third one merits some deeper explanation. […]
How to Balance Different Titles on Your Resume
Jim writes in about how he should handle varying credits on his resume– It’s a pretty random career so far. I’ve held positions in the camera department, art department, prod office, post. if I’m applying for a Day Player Set PA position should I downplay the specific PA credits and just make it a general […]
Fire Watch With Me
Lauren tweeted a question at me: @TheAnonymousPA Hey TAPA this might be a dumb question but I’m just starting to get more professional gigs. When I’m on fire watch do I count as available? I.e. if someone asks for something flown in elsewhere I can’t leave my post right? Even if everyone else is on […]
Keep Your Eye on Your Long Term Goal
Marty Lang contacted me on Twitter, presumably in refernce to the joblist, or my own jobs page: @TheAnonymousPA there really is no way to get an inside track on a writer’s assistant position, is there? I scour sites all over the place, and the closest I ever came to finding one was the showrunners assistant […]
Amazon Rentals
Jamie writes in: I just got a job as a PA (really an unpaid intern) on an independent movie. They put with the production designer as part of the ‘art department’. (really just the two of us). She told me we would be using Amazon Rentals for most of the set decorations. I can’t seem […]
Letters of Recommendation
I saw this harrowing tale about an internship gone wrong recently. I recommend reading it, if you want to know how badly these things can go. But there was one complaint the poster had that I think is completely unwarranted: What really pissed me off is she wouldn’t write me a letter of recommendation. She […]
One Simple Tool Every PA Should Have
As a PA, you have to remember a lot of things: people’s names, directions to set, the producer’s favorite brand of liquor. It can be a bit overwhleming, especially if you don’t have an eidetic memory. So what do you do? There’s an Easy Solution Get a notebook. Not a notebook computer. Not The Notebook. […]
When Your Boss Gives You Work That’s Not Your Job
Samantha writes in: I work as an office PA, but cover also as a runner and as our Post PA too. I have a quick question to ask if I’m getting taken advantage of or not in my workload. Now, the question I have pertains to a Sr./ Co-EP Story Producer asking me to go […]
Do You NEED to be Good at Networking?
Nancy has a question about networking:{{1}} Thinking of switching from medical office work to office work in the film industry. From what I’ve been reading online (mostly from this site – you’ve been quite a valuable resource), it sounds like you only get jobs if the right people remember your name when jobs come up. […]