Production Meetings
Kara writes in: I have been talking to an AD for a TV show about getting a job as a Set PA for their upcoming season. He has contacted me about setting up an interview, but this happened a couple of weeks ago and I haven’t heard from him since. Thanks to social media, I […]
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 […]
Not ‘Till You Book It
When I was first starting out, I told my parents about every interview I went on, every potential job offer that came my way, every good parking space I found on lunch runs. Oh, how years in Hollywood have jaded me. Now, my parents know almost nothing about my professional life. Why? Because a PA’s […]
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 […]
One Big Happy Family
When you work in a production office, you spend long hours with the same people for months. You get to know each other. You learn their favorite and least favorite foods. You talk about dating and relationships and your families and your sports teams. And when it ends, you get that feeling you got when […]
The N-Word
Maybe it goes without saying, but considering that one of the PAs on my show said it to me last week, I’m going to go ahead and say it explicitly. It is never, ever, EVER okay to say the N-word at work. Never ever. I’m talking, of course, about “networking.” (This goes hand in hand […]
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 […]
Always Bring Candles
Production offices celebrate more birthday parties than Chuck E. Cheese. And they’re usually spontaneous. Someone notices on Facebook that the creepy girl from accounting is celebrating a birthday. Quick! Send a P.A. to CVS to buy a funny, unoffensive card. Quick! Send another P.A. to get a cake (cost of cake correlates to position in […]
No Crying in Baseball
You’ve got problems. Your girlfriend dumped you. Your little sister ran away from home. Your parents got a divorce. A family member died. You sliced your finger open. The kitchen ran out of your favorite kind of yogurt. But you know what? Keep that to yourself, nobody cares. (Or whine about it on your stupid […]
Send Button Anxiety
“Hey, TAPA, can you send out tomorrow’s call sheet? The email is already saved in the ‘Drafts’ folder.” That’s how it starts. Pretty soon, you’re drafting the email yourself. After that, the 2nd AD is emailing them to you directly instead of to the secretary (or APOC, in some cases). After you’ve drafted the email […]
It’s Always About the Food
On my new show, I’m responsible for [glossary slug=’craft-service’]crafty[/glossary] in the morning, lunch midday, and coffee in the afternoon. If it’s a late night, I’ve got to cover dinner, as well. It sounds menial and tedious, largely because it is. But that doesn’t make it unimportant. As one coordinator told me (many times), “It’s always about […]
“Just” a PA
When you tell people what you do for a living, there’s a tendency to undersell yourself. You say you’re “just” a PA. Stop doing that. You’re a PA, plain and simple. (Or you can be like everyone else in L.A. and say you’re a producer.)