Can a 2nd 2nd AD Hire Me?
Jessica writes in: Do 2nd 2nd ADs have authority to hire PAs? I saw that a mutual friend of mine was a 2nd 2nd on a pretty big TV show and I’ve been thinking about reaching out to her for a PA job when the time comes. Some of my readers may be wondering what […]
Three Common Resume Mistakes
After cleaning up a couple of hundred resumes, I’ve found some common resume mistakes pop up over and over. These are really easy to fix, and you don’t even need to hire me to correct them yourself. Where are you? Most resume templates have a line for your physical address. I have no idea why […]
Bringing Your Significant Other on Location
Ashton wants to know if it’s okay to bring her significant other on location— I have a 3 day gig coming up next week – the shoot is taking place 3 hours outside my city so I’m getting put up for the duration. My husband works from home and thought it would be fun to […]
Why Does the Schedule Count Pages Per Day?
Anyone who’s read a screenwriting book knows that one page of screenplay is equal to one minute of screen time. Anyone who’s spent anytime on set knows this isn’t true.{{1}} So why do the schedules and callsheet refer to “pages per day”? Shouldn’t we be counting the minutes we’ve shot? Well, to start with, no […]
What a Script Supervisor Does
Shannon writes in about becoming a script supervisor: I love the work you do, just LOVE. Right now I’m a proud PA but like all PAs I want to grow. I work in the office which I quite enjoy but my heart is in scripts. What is the path to go from where I am […]
How Do I Tell My Boss His Script Sucks?
I found this question over on r/screenwriting about giving notes, but I thought the answer might be useful for my readers, as well– I’m a recent film school graduate, and like every film school graduate – I’m desperate to work. I saw an ad for a script supervisor on a local filmmakers page and jumped […]
A PA’s Guide to Film Festivals
Will writes in about attending film festivals: Are film festivals useful in terms of networking for film crew/PAs? Or are they mainly for aspiring directors and writers? What are film festivals for? Film festivals are for anyone who likes to watch movies. Seriously, buy a weekend pass to virtually any fest, and you’ll get to […]
Choosing Between Gigs
Ryan writes in about being forced to choose between jobs: A predicament that I had earlier this summer was that I was offered an Additional PA gig on a TV show for one day at the time, but with the opportunity for more days; but I was simultaneously offered a six-week Set PA gig on […]
Getting Hired as Local Crew
Deborah writes in about getting hired as local crew: I emailed the 1st AD of a tv show that will be filming in [my city] for a couple weeks. I let him know that I don’t have experience, but I am willing to work for free just to get the chance to help production out. […]
What’s Your Name?
Your name is pretty important. It’s how people know you’re you, and not someone else. And since, nowadays, we often introduce ourselves via email, your name in your email is very important, too. I received an email from a reader who shall remain nameless because… I have no idea what their name is. Their email […]
What Is a Hollywood Assistant?
I frequently get emails from new readers who are confused about what an assistant in Hollywood actually is.There are a lot of jobs in Hollywood with the word “assistant” in the title, which can be very misleading to someone new to the Industry. These seem like entry-level positions, but many of them are not; in […]
How Long Will This Scene Take?
There’s an old joke in Hollywood– “Cleopatra enters, 1/8th of a page.” That’s it. That’s the whole joke. If you’re new to the industry, that may not make much sense. First, you have to have seen Cleopatra, or at least be familiar with the massively expensive (and time consuming) entrance Elizabeth Taylor makes in the […]