Screen Credit
Sally writes: I’m working an unpaid position as a “Set Intern” on an Indie Film with some recognizable names. Since we’re not receiving school credit or financial compensation, I was banking on receiving screen credit. Now it seems that may not happen. Is that normal? Is it normal to work 15-hour days for 3 weeks […]
How To Pad Your Resume…
…without actually lying. Chris writes: I was what you might call a “day player” on a game show a few days ago. Is this experience worth mentioning in a résumé and cover letter, or is it better left unsaid — perhaps even reserved for an interview? First, don’t accent the accented é’s in “resume.” We’re […]
How to Become a Producer
Dylan writes: I just graduated in May and I plan on moving to LA at the soonest possible time. My question, though, is this: what exactly is the best route to producing features? I’ve heard advice to get an office PA job and try my best to attach myself to a producer that will take […]
Should I Mention that I’m Moving?
Mike asks: In two months I am moving to Los Angeles, and am wondering how to go about mentioning this in my cover letter. Does it just take a sentence or two? I know you’ve stressed being as brief as possible. As per the advice of my industry friends, they have prompted me to get […]
Agent’s Assistant (Experience Required)
An anonymous reader writes in: I interned at a sports agency for a summer. Through a couple people I knew, I was able to get interviews set up with Gersh, ICM and WME. However, none of them worked out. My experience is just not enough, and every job I look at seems to say “1-2 […]
Am I Really Hired?
Kacy writes: I was hired as a PA on a new show for a big company. They weren’t sure when production would be starting and said they would email me once they had more information. They thought production would start sometime around mid-August. It’s mid-August and I haven’t received anything yet. I have emailed and […]
Follow Me
If you subscribe to TAPA’s RSS feed, you might be wondering why I haven’t uploaded the UTA Joblist lately. That’s because you’re not following me on Twitter or liking me on Facebook. You should do that. I have been updating the joblist as regularly as ever, but I just decided to stop wasting blog space with straight […]
Political Advice
I’ve written about politics in the past, but it’s been four years since the last big election, and many of my readers weren’t even of voting age at the time. Yesterday, the Supreme Court handed down a decision to strike down uphold the Affordable Healthcare Act. Of course, in an industry dominated by unions, only […]
The First Origin Story
I’ve created a Facebook page for TAPA! I’m not really sure what to do with it. Heck, I can’t even figure out how to repost my blog entries on the fb page. If anyone knows anything about that, please send me an email. Speaking of Facebook, some people who seem to know what they’re doing […]
Origin Story
One of the most common questions I get, especially one someone emails me to use my resume editing service,{{1}} “How do I find my first job, if I have no experience?” The short answer is, as always, work for free (or, preferably, intern before you graduate from college), until you have enough experience to get […]
Female Dress Code
RL asks: What do female set PA’s normally wear on the job? Do I need to get a fanny pack? Cargo pants? Or are jeans ok? Ashley and VancouverPA have already chimed in, but since it’s my pseudonym on the blog, I figured I should answer the question, too. You’re right to ask what a female PA should […]
A New Way to Network
Walking around the lot today, I ran into a UPM I worked for last year. During that show, she had recommended I read a book that was very important to her life. (She also claimed it was the second most read book in the world, but that isn’t actually true.) Anyway, I had read the […]