Don’t Slave Your Resume to IMDb
I’ve noticed a pattern among clients of my resume service. One of the first things I ask people to do is give me a list of every movie, show, commercial, video, or whatever that they’ve ever worked on. Even if it was just for a day, or all you did was deliver some DVDs to […]
Crafty Service – Comic
This story is 100% true. [glossary]Craft Service[/glossary] really is required to pick up horse manure. This comes up less often than it used to, when every other movie was a Western, which is why it always comes as a surprise.
Your Rate Quote
Rob asks: I’m working on getting a PA position, and the coordinator wants me to give her my last 3 weekly rates. She says it’s studio policy. I’m wondering if this is a normal practice or is this a trap? Am I allowed to stretch the truth a little here, in order to hopefully get […]
Gratitude
Kara writes in: I recently got offered a small PA gig and found out I had been recommended for it by a PM I worked under last month. I’m not in regular contact with her, so would it be appropriate to drop her a email, or maybe a message on facebook, thanking her for the […]
How Crises Start – Comic
Today, we’re introducing a new weekly feature, an Anonymous Production Assistant comic!
Many Departments, One Screw Up
Over at the Hills are Burning blog, AJ has a great post about how you need to take responsibility for your own time card. Basically, the best boy grip on one of her shows told her he doesn’t bother keeping track of in and out times on his department’s time cards, because all of that […]
Accepting Friends
Brittany writes in (via Facebook): Hi TAPA, what better way to ask a question about Facebook, then via FB message? I’m wondering where you come down on adding other crew members (including those that are above you) or cast as friends on Facebook. What if THEY friend request you? Should you wait until the project […]
Dan Harmon Apologizes & The Black Swan Interns Win
If you’re not a fan of Community, you may not have heard about the whole Dan Harmon saga. Basically, he created a funny show, then got fired being kind of a jerk, and the show went on without him. The season was generally reviled, but Community is still coming back next fall, somehow. NBC decided […]
Perks of Being an Assistant
Sasha writes in: Can you talk a little about the following, in regards to PAs AND Director/Producer assistants for a mid- to big- budget feature? – Box rentals/kit fees – Vehicle costs/mileage reimbursement – Cell phone usage – Meal allowance – Overtime when working on a weekly rate For those of you who are new […]
What Is Success?
Mike, the Hollywood Juicer, sent me an interesting blog post written by Gorman Bechard. You should read it. Seriously, click on that link, then come on back. I’ll wait. You’re back? Great! Some of you, I’m sure, cheated, expecting that I would quote the relevant parts to explain the point I’m getting at. Well, I […]
TAPA Tweets for the week ending 2013-06-09
Working Title http://t.co/b9fWPGFfQX 07:19:06, 2013-06-03 Awwww, I remember when this was me: http://t.co/yqwBj17Dey 09:48:55, 2013-06-04 RT "If you tweet #FML, your Fun My Life wish may just be satisfied. By us. http://t.co/HQnwFFjLjF" Quick, NO ONE tell @JELLO what FML means. in reply to JELLO 09:50:16, 2013-06-04 @AdamUltraberg – @YahtzeeCroshaw called it XBone, to my endless […]
How to Interview
[Redacted]{{1}} asks: I just got a call to come in for an interview next week on a new show. Over the past decade of my production experience, every significant job I’ve had came from word-of-mouth, friends, people I’ve worked with before, etc. – I’d never even had a resume till recently, and I’ve never actually […]