Why No One Gives a Shit About Your Student Film
On last Friday’s blog post, I wrote: Directing a student film doesn’t really count for anything. As long as it’s clearly labeled as a student film section [on your resume], you can include your directing and producing credits. Just understand it’s not going to help you get anything better than a PA gig. Over on […]
Why Won’t He Call Me Back?
Ellis writes in: Newly minted PA here and I need some help with networking. Several crew members have given me their numbers and encouraged me to reach out and stay in touch. Here is the problem: Some respond and others don’t. For those that don’t respond, do I continue to reach out and stay in […]
Super Secret Blog Post
This whole Patreon thing seems to be working out. More than 50 patrons are supporting TAPA! They’re contributing well over $400 per month to keep the site going. Thanks so much, you guys! One of the reasons I started writing for The Anonymous Production Assistant was because of the anonymous part. It’s allowed me to […]
Who Do You Work For?
Judging by the comments on last week’s post, I’ve been a little too cute when discussing the question of who you work for. The truth is, there are several valid answers, depending on what you really want to know. Working on a film or television production is not really the same as working for the […]
The Company Car
Carl responded to Friday’s post: Fine for commuting if the PA wants, but if I were the UPM or Producer of the show, there would be a rule that a motorcycle could not be used for company runs at any time. The high incidence of motorcycle accidents, you point out, puts the company at significant […]
Can a PA Ride a Motorcycle?
Felicia writes in: I have a vehicle question. I understand that the aspiring P.A. absolutely must have a set of wheels. My question is: on a scale of 1 – 10, with 1 being “god’s own chariot,” 10 being “the bus,” how much will it count against me if my only set of wheels sits […]
Negotiating Your Rate
Brie writes in: Would you consider trying to negotiate a higher pay rate for a full-time PA gig? The backstory: I’m interviewing with a prod. co here in NYC — they’re offering $150 a day (which is pretty good by any standard for a PA) but I’ve got 1 year+ of Assistant experience, 4 years […]
I Fucked Up
Originally, this post was going to be titled “Lessons Learned,” but that was going too easy on myself. I fucked up, and I apologize. That’s hard to admit when you’re the supposed “expert” that people write to for advice. But instead of ignoring the issue or making excuses, I’m going to try and make this […]
I Got It
People on set are busy. If they’re not trying to get a shot, they’re packing up and moving on, turning around, setting up for the next shot. Everyone’s in a big damn hurry. And that’s fine, because time is money and all that. But sometimes you have to take just a sec to be sure […]
Should You Leave a Series Mid-Season?
Gary writes in: I’ve been a PA for over a year and thankfully have had some long runs on shows. I recently started a show for a 3 month run, but I was just offered a position on a feature film in another state that I have been trying extremely hard to get on. My […]
The Anonymous Production Assistant Book
The Anonymous Production Assistant has been around for eight years. Eight years. That means, if you’re graduating from film school now, this blog has been going since you were in junior high. In that time, there has been over a thousand blog posts, hundreds of answered questions, two score podcast episodes, a half-dozen TAPAs, and […]
Kit Fee, Kit Rental, Box Rental
Dwayne writes in: I’ve just been hired to do crafty for a set where there might be 100 people on the heaviest days. My instructions are: we could have 100 people at our heaviest days 21 day shoot (maybe 20) there is a $50/day Kit Fee your budget is small for crafty – just keep […]