Never Good Enough
Sometimes, you just can’t win. Over the long weekend, I had to set up a meeting between my boss and the producer, because the showrunner did a major re-write on the script that changed the budget drastically. I actually thought I got the good end of the deal, because one of the PAs had to […]
You Can’t Beat Stupid
Some days, I’ll read a script that’s inspiringly good. “This is how I want to write,” I think to myself. “This well-crafted story, these original characters, these hilarious jokes.” Other days, the writers will turn in a real stinker, and it’ll inspire me in another way: “Shit, I can write better than this.” And then […]
Job Offer I Don’t Want
A Canadian reader wrote in– I recently moved to a big city in Canada to work in the film/tv industry. I graduated from uni last year and I thought I wanted to do editing. Then I did editing at a small company in my hometown and realized that it was not what I dreamed it […]
It’s Out Of Your Hands
The gods of TV have spoken, smiting the wicked who hath not wrought high ratings, returning from the grave those who might yet do so, and bringing forth a new schedule that shall surely disappoint come September. That new schedule means some of you who landed pilots have a good twelve episodes to look forward […]
The Right Title
Alex writes: I got my first big PA job! A friend in the camera dept. put a good name in for me. I’m a 3D Camera PA for [REDACTED]. I was just curious how I should put that on my resume. Do I specify what kind of PA I am or just put Set PA […]
Working in Another State
Reader Amy writes in: Do you know anything about working on a show in a different state while maintaining permanent residence in Los Angeles? I see posts about people wanting to hire locals but does that mean I have to have a license/ID from that state or do I just have to physically live there? […]
Think About It
Just about every time I post a new joblist, someone emails or tweets me, “Hey, TAPA, are all of these jobs for LA?” or something to that effect. Also on almost every joblist there is a section with the header, “NON-LA POSITIONS (All Locations/All Positions)”. In big, bold font, just like that. Now, I realize […]
Where Do I Go?
[Name Redacted]{{1}} asks: A question I’m always asking myself when I step on a set as a day player is where do I go? It can be confusing with so many people and so many trailers. And no one wants to be late for call time. So where do you go? First of all, don’t […]
Corrections on the ESPN Overtime Issue
I received a lengthy email correcting several points on Thursday’s post. In order to protect the reader’s anonymity (something I’m familiar with), I’ll try to hide any personal details. First, it turns out Severn Sandt is a woman. I used the masculine pronoun because I was unfamiliar with the name Severn, and a quick google […]
Clocking Out
Some readers emailed me about my use of the term “clocking out” in yesterday’s post. No, there is no actual clock to punch on my show, or any show I’ve ever been on. No, nothing cool like that. We actually fill out time cards here in Hollywood. “That just seems really archaic, filling out a […]
Reporting Overtime
Reader Joe called my attention to this article on Deadspin, about a leaked memo to the crew of the X-Games in Brazil. In it, Severn Sandt, senior TV operations person for the X-Games Remote,{{1}} tells the crew to dress appropriately, don’t make fun of the locals (who he all but calls “lazy”), and remember that […]
The Wrong Department
Sasha writes: My first job on a show was in the construction office, which was great in a bunch of ways. As someone who’d like to end up somewhere on the producer/UPM spectrum eventually, I got a really great understanding of how budgeting for that department works, which I think is an area where a […]