Hand Delivery
If someone (whether it’s an accountant or a director or one of the camera assistants) hands you something to deliver, but doesn’t expressly state either “mail” or “hand deliver,” always, always ask.
Location Shooting
Unless you work on a multicam show, you’ll probably spend some time shooting on location. If you work in the office, this means printing maps (provided by the location department) and attaching them to each call sheet. For a set PA, the job is more-or-less the same, except everyone will be asking where the honey […]
Some Personal Duties
A typical day for an office PA means fielding a lot of phone calls, copying a lot of scripts, and picking up lunch. Every once in a while, the monotony gets broken up with an unusual request. It’s just that, sometimes, that request is also unusually stupid. Last week, we had a guest star from […]
It’s Labor Day!
What are you doing, reading my blog on a day off? Go to the beach or something.
First Day in the Production Office
Jerrica wrote in: I start an office PA position on a network show in a week and I was wondering If you had any advice for the first day/week. OR maybe a list of things to bring with you or make sure you have handy. I sort of want to be prepared since this a […]
PAing on a Live Show
Kate asks: I just landed my first ever PA gig, and it is for [a live awards show]… Looking through your blog posts, I haven’t seen any addressing PA’s for live shows. Is there anything I should know or be prepared for going into this position that may be different from regular set PAs? I […]
Shots Versus Setups
The following post applies to single camera shows. I honestly don’t know what they do for multicam series. I’ve noticed lately the some newbies confuse the terms “shot” and “setup.” These are related concepts, but they are distinct. In general, the “shot” is the image the camera operator is seeing through the lens.{{1}} The goal […]
Radio Silence
If you don’t read The Hills Are Burning,{{1}} you probably missed AJ’s most recent post, “Steppage.” She nicely illustrates just how fucking annoying it is when someone steps on you on the radio. So, here’s a little primer for you newbies, so you’re not the jerk annoying the shit out of everyone on set. When […]
How to Set Up a Courtesy Flag
It’s a grip’s job, but someone’s gotta do it.
How To Find Just About Anyone in Hollywood
Every once in a while, I get a strange email like this: Hello! We have a strange research question for Anonymous Productions Assistant’s Blog! I am helping a friend research and find pizza boxes for his Guinness Book of World Record Collection of pizza boxes. (He’s amazing – Scott Wiener – http://www.scottspizzatours.com/projects/pizzaboxes) He’s been traveling […]
Be Careful Who You Talk About
Celebrity gossip IS office gossip when you’re in Hollywood.
Annoying, Or Taking Initiative?
Ryan writes in: I recently got a job PAing at a fairly large production company for a couple of weeks. Due to lack of space, I was placed at a desk on a different floor than the people I am working directly for. When I arrive in the morning sometimes I am given a small […]