The Anonymous Production Assistant

I Have Experience… Should I Still Go to PA Bootcamp?

Lonnie writes in: I have two questions: First, what kind of help are you requesting for your new video? I’d like to be involved. That’s easy. Since there have already been several TAPAs, I got the idea that we could all be TAPA. So, I’m asking a bunch of readers/listeners to record themselves giving the […]

Big Announcement

When you work in production (and if you’re reading this blog, I assume you either do or want to), plans change all the time. As the saying goes, the reed bends with the wind, where the mighty oak breaks. Such was the case yesterday. We had planned for Crew Call producer Chris Henry to make […]

Animator Jason Bierut

It’s the final episode of Crew Call for the year! Today’s guest is an experienced animator, and now technical director. Jason Bierut has worked on The Powerpuff Girls, Mucha Lucha, and most recently, Jake and the Never Land Pirates. He talks about the state of modern animation, and what it takes to break into that […]

2nd AD Anthony Robinson

Today’s guest is a 2nd AD who got into the DGA the hard way– by earning his days as a set PA. It is not easy. Anthony Robinson tells us about everything from buying lunch to directing background actors, all while maintaining a positive attitude. Here’s a little secret that even Anthony doesn’t know– I’ve […]

Sound Mixer Chris Henry

Today’s guest is a voice you may find familiar– our very own producer, Chris Henry. Besides recording and editing Crew Call, Chris is an on-set sound mixer for indie movies. He’s relatively new to Los Angeles, and so I felt his experiences might be useful to some of the younger listeners out there, who are […]

Production Designer Vincent Reynaud

Today’s episode features yet another department about which I know precious little. Our guest is a production designer, Vincent Reynaud. We talk about color, design, and many things I just plain don’t understand. Plus, Vincent has a delightful accent. The producer of today’s episode was Chris Henry, who also wrote the theme. (I screwed up […]

Costume Designer Eden Miller

Today’s guest is Eden Miller, a costume designer who’s worked on everything from soap operas to features. She’s even designed her own fashion line, Cabiria! This is one of those episodes where I went in almost totally blind. I know almost nothing about this department. Luckily, Eden knows everything, and gives us the lowdown from […]

Technical Difficulties

It had to happen some time, folks. Twenty amazing episodes, and then PPPBLLT. Due to technical difficulties, there will be no Crew Call this week. I could explain to you what went wrong,{{1}} but I don’t want to bore you with the details. All you need to know is, Crew Call will be back next […]

Line Producer Ryan Murphy

Today’s guest is Ryan Murphy. No, not the creator of Glee and American Horror Story. He’s above the line. Our Ryan Murphy is a line producer, with Danger Close Media. Don’t let the word “producer” in the title fool you. He’s not the kind of producer who wears slick suits and shows up on set […]

Editor Scott Powell

_    Our guest today is an Emmy-nominated editor: Scott Powell. Scott has cut such shows as 24, Person of Interest, and Hawaii Five-0 (the new one; he’s not that old). There’s still time to enter the CAPS Payroll contest! They’re giving away two pairs of tickets to Crew Call listeners for their VIP suite at […]

Production Supervisor Kelley Sims

Our guest today, Kelley Sims, has had a long a varied career– from actor to accountant to production supervisor to, most recently, co-producer. These are the kinds of jobs you don’t necessarily dream about when you’re in film school, but they’re vitally important to the running of a show. And, as Kelley points out, working […]

Visual Effects Data Integration Lead Viki Chan

Today’s guest has a job you’ve probably never heard of– Viki Chan is a Data Integration Lead in the visual effects department. She’s worked on such big film as The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Ender’s Game.{{1}} Viki is not a US citizen, and she tells us a little bit about getting sponsored for […]