Too Early To Think About Lunch
This week, we had a lot of new crew members starting in the office, so we switched from individual lunch orders to family-style catering. Before the switch, lunch went as follows: I printed out a menu and a spreadsheet with everyone’s name on it. The menu and order form passed around the office like a […]
On Your Own
There’s an old PA folktale that was passed down to me. On location in Dupont Circle, a DP finishes explaining a complicated camera set-up and then turns to a PA and says, “Two creams. Three sugars.” The PA scurries away. About half an hour later, the PA returns and promptly hands the DP two of […]
The “Strong” Pot of Coffee
As the “early PA,” I’m the first one in the office each morning. Like the class president of Mrs. Jewls’ class, it’s my job to turn the lights on. (Important job! No one else is capable or qualified!) It also means that I have to brew the first pot of coffee. This has transformed me […]
The Never-Ending Crafty Run
On set, they have a craft service department, whose job it is to make sure that the actors and crew have all the snacks they need to endure a twelve to sixteen hour day without losing their mind and storming off the set. If Karl Marx had ever worked on a film set, he would’ve […]
Political Hires
They exist on every crew. They pop up in nearly any department. Just like Cylons, they look like the rest of us. They may even appear hardworking and good-natured, but make no mistake about it: Most of them are lazy, ineffective, and self-important. On my last show, I counted at least five of them. Always […]
Email Cover Letters
Elysia asks: When a production, indie or major, asks for applicants to send a resume via email should you attach a cover letter as well or write it in the body of the email? Absolutely include a cover letter. Without a cover letter, people will assume you just don’t care about the job, and you’re […]
Beach Party Summer
In honor of Memorial Day: One of the best things about the entertainment industry being planted in LA is the gorgeous pacific coastline that offers such breathtaking scenery. It’s pretty much an unavoidable filming location. I love the beach (though I try not to think about where the city’s sewage goes) and you’d think that […]
How Old Is Too Old?
Barbara asks: I had a question about age – I looked through your posts but was not able to find any posts about it – how old is ‘too old’ from what you’ve seen in the work field? Are people willing to hire inexperienced PAs only in their early 20s? I’ve met at least two […]
The Name Game
Last week, I started working in a new production office, which means lots of new show anxiety. New show anxiety means frantically digging through my room, looking for my social security card in order to prove my identity for my I-9, telling myself over and over, “I should really invest in a filing cabinet.” New […]
New Beginnings…
I’m usually the last person to need motivation, when it comes to work. I love what I do, but that doesn’t mean I have a hard time getting out of bed at 2:30am for a 4:30 call that’s an hour’s drive away. Some days you just feel like you’re stuck in a rut. A perpetuation […]
The Remember Letter
The film industry is notorious for its transience. Finding steady work is like finding the fountain of youth: chasing a mirage. Back in the golden days of Hollywood, crew were devoted to a studio. They signed a contract to just work on Warner pictures or MGM pictures and films were cranked out assembly-line-like as they […]
PA Rate
A reader who didn’t sign her email and has an incomprehensible list of letters and numbers for an address (at netscape.net, of all domain names) asks: I’m currently working as an Office PA on a […] film which I have been told is trying to keep things cheap, and was a little shocked that I […]