Side Notes
I forgot to mention one more peculiarity of sides in yesterday’s post. Opinions vary on whether the sides should be copied in script order, or shooting order. Script order is easy. You just copy the pages like I said yesterday. If the scenes are shot out of order, it’s fairly simple to find the one […]
A Side Order of Sides
“Sides” can mean to a couple of different things. I’m not sure how either of them are a side of anything, but whatever. When I found out that ADs are assistant directors but ACs are camera assistants, I stopped trying to make sense out of movie terms. During casting, actors are given a scene or […]
My Opinion
This morning, I was surprised to find an e-mail with the subject line, “P.a. Bootcamp.” There were also several new replies to my post from a few weeks ago regarding the PA Bootcamp. “pa bootcamp staff” writes: Can we ask you why you are slamming our services when you haven’t attend camp yourself and […]
Oh, Canada!
AQBemp writes: I’m in the UK and just about to finish uni (nothing film related). There is a scheme here where you can get a work permit/visa for Canada for a year once you’ve graduated as long as you get there by January 2010. At the moment I am really considering going to Vancouver. One […]
Unemployment
David wrote in about a subject everyone in the industry can relate to. He was making small talk with a clerk at an oil change place, and mentioned that he was out of a job, momentarily– it’s no biggie since the production season is winding down anyway and that I should be able to pick […]
Postings for Writers’ Assistants
Kathleen writes: I am about to graduate in this lovely economic recession with hopes of landing a job in an already competitive industry. I have literally done everything. I even tried finding old UTA joblists and emailing actually people on it trying to sell myself. The one type of job that is virtually impossible to […]
Who Hires Someone With No Experience?
Megan, who wrote in last week, has an interesting follow-up: You were right, I don’t have much experience. So far just one 3-day shoot for a low budget independent film and a few other things I did on my own while in school. Are there specific types of projects that are more likely to hire […]
Welcome to Los Angeles
Jeremiah writes: I’m moving to LA in 2 weeks to do the PA thing and possibly do some extras work with Central Casting (while I pursue writing and directing). I know, it is ill-advised to move out there right now but I’m doing it anyway. I was wondering if you could tell me your thoughts […]
Lucas, Spielberg, & Kasdan… Racists!
A few weeks ago, Mystery Man wrote about a transcript that’s been floating around the internet. It’s a story conference involving George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Lawrence Kasdan discussing Raiders of the Lost Ark. Should be fascinating to an aspiring screenwriter like me, right? Meh. Reading normal people talk the way normal be talk makes […]
Is PA Bootcamp Worth It?
A few days ago, Sophya asked if I’d heard of PA Bootcamp. I hadn’t, so she directed me to PABootcamp.com. I looked around their website and, to be perfectly honest, I’m not sure I see the point. It costs $285, but I tell you about most of the information in their course guide for free! […]
Think Positive
(Short post today, as I am busy in a casting session for a short film.) One particularly blustery day, the wind kept knocking over a reflector board, sitting atop a combo stand, sitting atop a high hill. The key grip sent a PA up to the top of said hill to hold the […]
Taking a Risk
Danny writes in: I have been interning for a distribution company for the past 2 years. Now that I am graduating, I am stuck between making the moves to become full time where I am, or moving on. My goal is to join the DGA ultimately, so I know that taking on as many PA […]