What I learned About Being a Production Assistant.

On Wednesday, my class is premiering our film The Hidden. I held many titles throughout the steps of production  ranging from Writer to Production Assistant. Being a PA was probably one of my hardest jobs. Being a PA means doing things that no one else wants to do while also helping out where needed. Throughout the production, I was in charge of snacks on set, helping run lights, doing makeup, transporting all the equipment and just doing little odd jobs all over the place. It doesn't really sound like the job to aim for, but I had a blast! Sure, it had it's rough parts, but it was still nice to be able to go everywhere and help out in lots of different areas,.

After reading No Film School's article 7 Tips on How to Survive Being a Production Assistant, I learned a lot on how I can help myself improve at being a PA and help the future PAs in my film class to be the best they can be.

Communication

Communication is key on a film set. Everyone has jobs to do and it's important to be on top of it and communicating with others. At any given time, a PA can being doing several jobs and mus communicate with the 1st AD on how those jobs are going, if they are happening and other key details. Without proper communication, everything would be a mess. One way in the professional world to keep communication up are walkie-talkies. Being a small production where everyone on set is usually shouting distance away, we didn't have need for these high tech gadgets, but in the professional world, it's necessary. 

Being Prepared

A PA must be prepared for anything. You never know when someone might need a pen, pencil, water or batteries for their walkie-talkies (or in our case, our zoom). I was constantly running around, grabbing lights, water bottles, gathering props. Pretty much, if anyone needed anything, I was their gal. There are so many times I wasn't prepared this year, but now I know what I need to improve.

Being a PA isn't Easy

Nor do many people actually keep the job for a life time. Most PAs are aspiring cinematographers or directors or any other crew role looking to gain experience on a film set. It's a very taxing job, you're at the bottom of the crew totem pole. Besides what's mentioned above, PAs are often looked to in order to keep the set clean, organize and set up food, keep everyone quiet and many other jobs. It involves a lot of running around. During my time as a PA, I didn't do half the jobs mentioned on No Film School's website, but I still got lots of fun experience and would definitely do it again if I had to! 

Article: https://nofilmschool.com/2016/05/7-tips-how-survive-being-production-assistant