It is important for a production assistant (assistant of any kind, for that matter) to know when to ask questions, and when not to. One way to make yourself look more experienced is to ask a different question than the one you actually have.
Yes. Yes I Can.
I was at a networking event the other day,{{1}} and I met a gaffer. We got to talking about how he got his start in the business. (A conversation I’m used to having on our podcast, which you should listen to, if you don’t already.)
He told me he started out doing lighting for live shows. One day, a friend of his was line producing an independent movie, and she was short an SLT.{{2}} So she asked him, “Do you know electric?”
“You mean like lighting? Sure.” She hired him on the spot.
Now, I don’t know if you know this, but film lighting and concert lighting are… a little different.
What Do You Do When You Don’t Know What to Do?
So he shows up on set, and people start using terms for equipment he doesn’t know. For example, someone asked him for a turtle stand, which isn’t what they call it in live shows. (If you’re unfamiliar, it’s pictured right.)
What does he do? What he doesn’t do is say, “What’s a turtle stand?” That’s fine for a PA, but pretty much no one else on set.
Instead, he goes to the truck, and acts lost. “Hey, where are the turtle stands? I can’t find them.” Then whoever’s on the truck, usually the best boy, points to the rack.
Next it’s, “We have Cardellinis, right? I don’t see them.” “Where do you guys put the 4/0 cable?” And so on. He just acted like the truck was disorganized, or organized differently than he was used to.
Three shows later, the line producer casually asked him, “When did you start working on movies?”
“My first show was the one you hired me on back in April.” The line producer couldn’t believe it. He’d been sneakily learning on the job, getting paid a higher rate than most people who’d never actually worked on a film before.
Granted, he had done lighting for concerts, so he knew enough to not electrocute himself or anyone else. But it’s not a typical place to start your very first movie.
Sometimes, all it takes is the guts to ask the right question.
[[1]]Hey, remember those from, like, 2019?[[1]]
[[2]]Set Lighting Technician.[[2]]
