Where Do I Go?
[Name Redacted]{{1}} asks: A question I’m always asking myself when I step on a set as a day player is where do I go? It can be confusing with so many people and so many trailers. And no one wants to be late for call time. So where do you go? First of all, don’t […]
The Wrong Department
Sasha writes: My first job on a show was in the construction office, which was great in a bunch of ways. As someone who’d like to end up somewhere on the producer/UPM spectrum eventually, I got a really great understanding of how budgeting for that department works, which I think is an area where a […]
Can I Take My Computer In There With Me?
Sometimes, a PA task requires you to go into another room and work all by yourself. Prepping wrap gifts and proofreading the script and making ID badges have all sent me to production office exile. I could not – in a million years – dream of asking, “Can I take my computer in there with […]
“In the Next Day or Two…”
As my unemployment comes to a temporary respite, I was thinking about a phrase I’ve heard a lot lately: Expect a call in the next day or two. Usually, it’s a friend of mine who calls to tell me about a job opening. He (or she) gives me the preliminary info and tells me that […]
Reader Advice
Some of my oldish posts have been getting comments, recently. Not really sure why this is happening now, but they do bring up interesting points. Sarah replied to my post “No, You Don’t Need to Go to Film School”: You don’t need to go to any school, but film school is one of the few […]
Interview Advice
Since I’m looking for a new job right now, a former boss gave me some advice about interviewing: “Don’t want the job too badly.” People don’t like to see desperation. They want to see calm and confident. Someone who’s desperate for a job will say anything to get it; it’s impossible to judge if they’ll actually […]
PA Rate… and Raises
I’ve talked before about PA rate in a blog post appropriately titled… “PA Rate.” Everything there still applies, but I wanted to talk for a moment about negotiating for a higher rate. On every PA interview I’ve been on, the coordinator will ask either “What’s your rate?” or “What did they pay you on your […]
Chatty Cathy PA
The new PA in the office caught a bad rap on his first day. Actually, he walked in with a bad rap, and his first day only confirmed it. He’s chatty. There’s a fine line between being friendly and being chatty. He has crossed that line, and, while he doesn’t know that the coordinator, APOC, […]
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 […]
Old People Stand In The Way of the Future
If you were born in a decade that starts with the number 7, then you are old. Don’t be offended. Let me be the first to welcome you to your golden years. That being said, stop standing in the way of the future! I’m almost positive that I could write an entire blog about old […]
Apple on set
Here’s a short digression from the normal PA stuff: Despite the disillusionment I still somehow find some good in my blackened heart to help friends out on their shoots (as long as they’re not, you know, on the beach) or foof around in filmmaking myself. Knowing firsthand the intensity, scale, and inevitable costs of production […]