By Jesus Nuñez
Oh boy, oh boy! You’re starting off your filmmaking career and almost everyone’s first job is to be a PA, or a production assistant. Now, what is a production assistant and what do they do? I mean the name pretty much describes it. You assist the production in whatever way they may need. You are the helpers who are needed in order to get things done when no one else can do them. Now what are these things I'm talking about that you need to do so production keeps running? It can range from driving around gathering crafty, helping escort people to where they are needed such as background extras, you can also be an office PA which helps the production office keep things in check to make sure there’s money when needed and people get paid when they are supposed to, helping the producers get paperwork from one place to another but it can also be something as simple as getting people’s coffee or lunch orders. You are there to fill the cracks so production can keep going as smoothly as possible.
Now, there are more specific production assistants such as camera PAs. You are there to help the camera crew get things done. This may mean you help them haul gear from the truck to the set. This may mean you help them move camera to where the DP wants it. Again, you are a helping hand.
As a PA there’s a couple of suggested guidelines I recommend. These are to help you stand out but also get things done.
1. Be Prepared
This first one may seem obvious but it has to be included here, and that is to BE PREPARED. Bring a simple multi -tool, you never know when it’ll come in handy. If you’re driving around the production van, make sure your license is valid and up to date. It’s simple and little things like this that matter. You can never be too prepared. You're either prepared or you're not.
2. Be Proactive
Another thing I recommend is to BE PROACTIVE and think on your feet so you can have enough foresight to prevent problems from happening and keep things running smoothly. Don’t wait for someone to tell you to do something and go and find a way to help production out. There’s always a million things to do. This will surely leave a good impression with everyone on production. This is the best way to get hired for another gig. Look at you getting more gigs!
3. Keep All Receipts
Another big one is, if you are purchasing anything for the production, KEEP ALL RECEIPTS. This is how production knows how much has been spent and on what. If you happen to pay for something for production out of your own pocket, which you should never do, that receipt will tell the production how much to reimburse you. We're working out here, we ain't got time to be spending our own cash!
4. Keep a Positive Attitude
Please know productions will run and should run between 10-12 hours depending on what you signed on for. They will be long hours but it’s important to keep a positive attitude and to be respectful always. It’s the little things that go a long way. I think I already said that in this article but you get my point!
5. Grow Into a Department
Finally, if you know what department you want to grow into, let your producer know. The production may be flexible enough to put you in that department so you can learn more and more. If you ain't learning, you ain't growing. And baby, this is all about growth!
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