The Factory Floor
Rachel writes: First off I love your blog! It’s comforting to hear that another PA is dealing with the same stuff I deal with. 🙂 I have been working as a PA for the past year on different reality shows. My resume is obviously OK (or at least decent) otherwise I wouldn’t be getting any work, […]
It’s Not All About You
Not long ago, I was working casting on a reality show. It’s very different from (read: “less professional than“) a scripted show. In scripted, the actors have scheduled appointments; they have scenes that they’re supposed to have prepared; they’re polite, but focused on the task at hand. For reality shows, it’s basically a cattle call. These […]
The Bus Story
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. There’s this PA, right? He just fell off the turnip truck, doesn’t know anything about the Industry, but he seems to be a nice enough guy and a hard worker, so the coordinator hires him. On his first day, his boss sends him out on a run, […]
Emailing Strangers
Danielle asks: I recently graduated college, during which I had internships on the corporate side of three different television stations (all headquartered in NYC). Since graduating, I’m looking to move into the production side but don’t have the contact base required, since the stations outsourced to external production houses. Through some serious stalking, I uncovered […]
Let It Never Be Said That I Can’t Change My Mind
A couple of sound points came out of yesterday’s comments section. From Galen: Don’t forget that actors often have to go through hair and make up after the blocking during the lighting set-up. This takes a fair bit of time and it saves production money to have a [glossary]stand in[/glossary]. I’m all for efficiency on […]
Missed Opportunity
Should you call in sick to your day job for a gig on set?
Not Scheduled
Elyse writes: I was told by the UPM to go ahead with getting a job as a PA on the tv show set I’ve been standing-in on, and she told me to speak with one of the ADs. I spoke with one and he was going to set me up with the person to hire […]
Money Can’t Buy Happiness
…but it can buy not-unhappiness. (I’m paraphrasing Adam Carolla, here.) (Yes, really.) (No, I’m not some kind of misogynist. I just think he’s funny, okay?) (Shut up.) Anyway. There are rich people who are sad. There are poor people who are happy. To a large degree, our ability to put up with things (or not) […]
Quit Whining
After reading the previous post, my wife slapped me across the email, and wrote, “Try doing my job for just one day, then you can tell me how difficult your job is.” I suppose it is better than pushing crates on a dock for a living.
Maybe I Should Quit
Here’s how I tell if someone is smarter than me– when they tell me something, I think to myself, “That makes perfect sense, and I never would have thought of it.” Case in point: I suspect a lot of people aren’t sure what’s the top idea in their mind at any given time. I’m often […]
What to Wear to an Interview
Patrick asks a question I’ve touched on before, but I think bears some detailed answering: What should I wear to an interview for a P.A. job? Should I dress formally? My dad used to tell me I should dress one level higher than the guy I’m interviewing with. If he’s wearing shorts, I should wear […]
We Don’t Need No Education
Commenting on yesterday’s post, Tom asked: Correct me if I am wrong but… Nobody cares if you have a college degree in the industry anyway. You are not wrong. Being a filmmaker, from the biggest producer to the lowliest PA, is not like being a doctor or engineer. If we screw up, nobody dies. You’ll just […]