Production Assistant (Film Television Radio Stage)

Hey, what’s up guys? Jordan Anderson here and on today's [YouTube] episode let's talk about the best and worst position possible on a film set, and that is the production assistant. The production assistant, yeah, I've been a production assistant, better known as a PA.

The production assistant, I call it the most essential and useless position on a film set. And why I say it's the most essential is because on a film set everyone has a very specific job and what the production assistant is able to do is they are able to sort of fill in the gaps, they are able to do those in-between jobs that is not necessarily the gaffer's job, is not necessarily the sound guy's job, not necessarily even the director's job – what the PA can do is they can go and fill in those spots, fill in those gaps.

It's the most useless [position] I say because you don't have to have any skill to be a PA necessarily. Well, I mean the more skill you have as a filmmaker or the more wherewithal you have in the film-making process you're going to be a better PA, but you can have zero experience and show up on set and help out in some cases.

So some good etiquette as a PA, this may sound a little bit rough so bear with me again. I've been a PA – I know what it's like – I would say probably the best etiquette of a PA is to be seen and not heard and that's very like Victorian old-school.

What I mean by that is you don't need to put yourself in this situation, you just need to help the situation. Don't try to hide a problem from the producer and don't get in the way of the film-making process. You're there as help, you're an unskilled worker essentially so leave the big jobs to the more skilled positions. Again, don't take offence. I can already see some of you taking offence, I've been a PM my whole life.

So some more PA etiquette is to have a good attitude. Showing up on set we want you to be in a good mood, if you're going to be in a bad mood then we don't want you on set. I don't want you there, I don't want you around, I don't want you to bring down the set. The PA is the lowest position so that means it's the most expendable. If a PA is acting up, if a PA is bringing down the whole cast and crew or distracting them somehow, interrupting the process, I have no problem firing a PA. I’ll fill in their job for that day, but a good PA can really help the production move forward.

As a PA you want to always be ready and this kind of ties into seen and not heard, be on the sidelines ready to dive into solve the problem. If you get that the grip needs help or the gaffer needs help, if they need help then do it. Know how to hold the door while the camera crew comes in to get the shot. You know, simple things like that. Be ready, be alert, don't just be on your phone when you're on set, don't just be goofing off in the back, don't sleep on set.

Yeah, just be an active participant on set, but at the same time don't get in the way. Sometimes a producer or director or any head of department will ask a PA to do something and they're usually expected to do that. What do you do if you have no idea what they're talking about? You have no film-making experience and they just told you to go set this kind of stand up, or even go grab a c47 and you have no idea what they're talking about. A lot of people will try to play it cool and pretend like they know what they're talking about and like yeah I'll go do it and what they usually end up doing is screwing it up or completely missing the instructions. People understand that you're a production assistant people, there's an understanding that you're not the most skilled and you don't have very much experience. So don't be embarrassed, don't be afraid to ask questions, don't annoy the director or producer with questions constantly, but if you're honestly not sure how to do something, or if you have no idea what the instructions are, then please ask.

I'd rather you ask than for you to screw it up and then me have to correct it and then tell you to do something again. You want to be just, how should I put it, be like shamelessly ignorant – that's probably a good way to put it – like just don't be embarrassed that you don't know something. Can you go grab a c-47? “Honestly I don't know what that is can you explain to me what this is?” Some people may get mad, some people may have short patience with you. Unfortunately a lot of anger is taken out on the PA which I don't really like. I can kind of understand it, a high-stress situation and you asked the wrong question to the wrong person and they kind of chew your ass out about something. That unfortunately happens and I don't wish that on anybody, I don't want that to happen anybody, especially on my film set. You want to encourage an open environment and a learning environment. I don't want anybody to be embarrassed to ask a question or two, to feel like they'll be threatened or to feel like they'll be fired if they say "I don't know how to do that".

So usually PAs on a super high-end professional set, I've been paid like150 [US dollars] bucks a day. On a low-budget film it's probably free or maybe even a slice of pizza is what you'll get. Being a PA, everyone says you got to put in your time going on to paying your dues. Don't be ashamed to be a PA. Be open to the idea of a PA.

I think is a great starting point, at least if you want to stop being a production assistant as soon as possible. You want to, while you’re on set, ask about certain departments or if you're drawn to the camera department then start to talk to the AC, start to talk to the cinematographer about that department, how they work.

That's a quick little video on life as a PA and how you should act as a PA and we'll see you next time in the Valley Films video blog. As always my name is Jordan Anderson from Valley Films. Be sure to follow us on Snapchat at valley_films and follow us on Instagram.