A PA in the Life: Understanding the World of Film/TV Production

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Credit: Helena Emmanuel

If there’s a TV show that filmed in NYC in the last 8 years, chances are high that I worked on it. 

Ever since I knew that making TV was a job that you could have, I wanted it to be mine. I didn’t know quite what that meant or how it would even happen, but I was engrossed by it. I was helplessly drawn to each morsel of behind the scenes content that I could find like a moth to a flame. I memorised director's commentaries. I spent my preteen and adolescent years devouring every special feature each DVD had to offer, yelling an impassioned and incredulous 'I AM!!!!' whenever a director, writer, or actor joked, 'Who’s even watching this? Who even cares?' I was. I did. So much

I still do.

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Credit: Helena Emmanuel

How a TV show was made was magical and incredible but still hypothetical, until I saw 30 Rock’s second live episode, 'Live From Studio 6H'' in 2012. And then the theoretical magic was suddenly real. Right in front of me. It was a behind the scenes video and I had stepped inside it, except I couldn’t pause it. I had to remember as many details as I possibly could. I did my best to imprint those snapshots in my brain and spent the rest of my time in Studio 8H keeping myself from jumping out of my seat and down onto the floor to join the crew. My heart and mind were there already! If only my body could join them.

From then on, I can only describe how I’ve felt about TV as urgent. There’s an immediacy and a hunger to how I consume it - and media about it. I need the context. I need the process. I need to know what was that scene like to shoot? And why was it shot that way? And was that colour choice deliberate and how long did that sequence take to shoot and what was the set like and how many takes did you get for that shot and was there anything you had to change last minute because something went wrong and what was the hardest day and the most fun day and how did you approach this character and was that done on the day vs in post and did you have this actor in mind when you were writing and did you crossboard and and and-

The urgency is best exemplified by a single sentence in the first chapter of Maureen Ryan’s Burn It Down, about her then-upcoming visit to the Friday Night Lights set: 'I knew that if I did not see how these people did this magic trick, I would explode'. 

I worked ardently to avoid explosion, transferring into film school for the last three years of my undergrad degree and going from casting offices to chat shows to production offices until I found myself standing on a TV set armed with nothing but my years of nerdiness, wonder, curiosity, and a walkie-talkie that I didn’t really know how to use. But I was a production assistant in the Assistant Director department. And it was fucking awesome.

Yet even with all of my ravenous consumption and study of anything to do with how a show is run and made, I still got onto my first professional set completely overwhelmed and feeling out of my depth. Of course that isn’t a new feeling for anyone in a new job, but the fact that I went in with a decent general understanding of what was going on and still felt lost made me grateful that I had the education, formal or otherwise, that I had had. If I hadn’t had access to all those DVDs and books and a great though extortionately-priced film school in a major city, I wouldn’t have had a fucking clue or anyone around to give me one. Because film school is certainly not a pre-requisite to working in film and television. So how do you learn?

Accessibility (or lackthereof) to the entry level of the entertainment industry is something that has become increasingly important to me.  While it’s slowly becoming less so, information like what to do on set, how to use a walkie, how to read a call sheet, what everyone’s jobs are, basic set etiquette and more has famously been gatekept, as if the inner and most basic workings of a production are an upper class secret that only that kid whose dad’s college friend’s brother’s son’s father-in-law who works at Warner Brothers has access to. 

So how do we change that? Many ways. By making PA work more sustainable financially and physically is a great start. (Check out this LA-based movement to unionize film/tv PAs!) But I’m just one person who doesn’t work on set anymore, so I can’t do much about that. But what I can do is talk about it. Tell you all the 'secrets' you find out via trial by fire on the day, like what does a call sheet look like and how the hell do you make sense of it? What are assistant directors and why are there so many of them? What is an apple box and why does it have nothing to do with fruit? Can you wear shoes with no arch support for a 12+ hour day? (Technically yes, but you really shouldn’t.)

For now, I’ll stick to the Assistant Director department, because that’s my bread and butter. But before I do, please note that this is specifically my experience in NYC. The responsibilities are pretty universal but may not look or be delegated in the same way elsewhere. If you’re from a different place, especially another country, and your experiences/terms differ, please share! The production nerd inside me is still going strong and I wanna know.

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Credit: Helena Emmanuel

So. What is an Assistant Director (AD)? What do they do? Great question! In the simplest terms, ADs are responsible for keeping the set running. They build the schedules, plan the day, and do their best to keep everyone (all ~50-100 of them!) on track. While no department on set is unimportant, the AD department is vital.  Without them, nothing would run! Or at least run well…

On any given union set, there will be at least three ADs: the 1st, the 2nd, and the 2nd 2nd (or if you’re in the UK and also probably anywhere else, the 3rd. I don’t know why it’s like that and yes ours does sound silly). 

  • The 1st AD is the director’s right hand - they dictate the director’s vision to everyone, keep the director on schedule, and generally oversee the set. They’re also responsible for safety, which means they’re the person to go to if and when something goes wrong (or you’re anticipating it might). 
  • The 2nd AD reports to the 1st AD and is responsible for creating call sheets for the following day and ensuring everything is confirmed and ready to go. They’re usually in the production trailer off of set in order to communicate more easily with actors, agents, vendors, and the production office to make sure everyone is available, everyone’s contracts are being met, and everyone knows what time they will be reporting to set. 
  • The 2nd 2nd (or 3rd) AD is on set with the 1st AD. They do a lot, but among that is managing extras - especially during big crowd scenes-, relaying information from the 1st AD to the rest of the set and vice versa, and directly overseeing the production assistants.

The titles and roles of set PAs differ slightly depending on what country - or even city - you’re in. In America, they’re usually called 'set production assistants' (PAs). In other English-speaking countries, they’re sometimes called 'runners'. Just to make it more confusing, some jobs, at least here, use both terms, often in order to add specificity or clarity to responsibilities or function. But they all essentially do the same thing: support the ADs, and therefore, the show at large.

Okay, but does every PA do the same thing? Nope! Let’s look at the options:

Key PA: In short, they oversee the PAs on set and help the 2nd 2nd and 1st ADs manage the set. They’re your most immediate boss. They’ll be who hires additional PAs! They’ve usually held every other PA position, and they’re about to be in the DGA (the Director’s Guild of America, one of the entertainment industry’s unions). Listen to them. They are very stressed.

Credit: Helena Emmanuel

First Team (FT) PA: aka First Team Runner aka Basecamp PA, they’re in charge of getting the cast ready for the camera. This is where I found my niche! It's the position I know best. For all intents and purposes, you’re their handler, and you run this shit.  (Actually, the 2nd AD does, but you’re in charge of executing everything. Just don’t be an ass about it.) The amount of time you’re actually on set can vary from day to day and job to job, from very frequently to almost not at all. You’ll have a helper, thank goodness, and they’re known as the 'first team helper', but are sometimes listed on a call sheet as an 'Add’l PA'. General responsibilities (in NYC) include:

  • Getting the cast’s trailers/dressing rooms ready. Make sure they’re clean, the lights are on, and they have a copy of the call sheet and sides. If they’re not labeled already, label ‘em!
  • Keeping hair, make-up, and wardrobe departments in the loop
  • Getting the cast through hair and make-up and into their costume
  • Getting them to set
  • Making sure they’re mic’ed up (and finding out if they need to be)
  • Making sure they’re fed
  • Making sure the cast, hair and make-up, and wardrobe know what’s going on (are you moving on to the next scene? Is what the camera’s doing changing?)
  • Getting them to lunch
  • Getting them back from set
  • Making sure they change costumes, hair, and make-up if needed (and checking if it’s needed)
  • Keeping hair, make-up, and wardrobe aware of when cast are wrapped
  • Recording when cast 'land' (arrive at their trailer/room), when they go to set, when they eat lunch, and when they wrap (there’s a special SAG-AFTRA form for this called the Exhibit G, aka 'the G'. It’s very important.)
  • Cleaning up trailers/rooms at the end of the day
  • KEEPING YOUR PHONE CHARGED!!!!
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Credit: Helena Emmanuel

Paperwork PA: They’re set up in basecamp with the 2nd AD. Aptly, they handle the paperwork. General responsibilities include:

  • Printing and distributing call sheets
  • Keeping things like timesheets, accident reports, and other official paperwork stocked
  • Keeping track of everyone’s timesheets and start paperwork, aka their contracts/payment info
  • Record each department’s 'out time,' aka when they’re wrapped for the day. This is different from 'camera wrap' aka what happens when the 1st AD says 'that’s a wrap!' Even though you’re done filming, everyone still has to secure and pack up their equipment. A department’s out time is when the last person in each department is done doing that.
  • Filling out and submitting the Production Report (PR), which is a form that summarises each day’s work with every little detail. (When was lunch? When did you film the first shot of the day? Which crew was actually working that day? When did each scene start and end? Were there any delays and why did they happen? Was anyone injured? Did someone do something inappropriate? What were everyone’s out times? Things like that.)

Background (BG) PA: Like the First Team PA is in charge of getting the actors ready, the Background PA is in charge of getting the background, or 'extras,' ready. They’ll start and end their day in 'Holding' which is where all the BG check in, get ready, and check out. They have to go through wardrobe (and sometimes hair and make up) too! The same information that you keep track of, record, and share for the cast is also done for the BG. The BG PA will have a helper ('BG Helper'), sometimes listed on the call sheet as 'Add'l PA' who’ll help with that process and also stay in holding to keep watch over everyone’s stuff. They also:

  • Make sure they’re fed
  • Check and approve their paperwork
  • Get them to and from set
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Credit: Helena Emmanuel

Walkie PA: Congrats, you’re in charge of the walkie-talkies aka radios aka walkies! You’ll spend your day on set, so you are also the de-facto second hand to the Key PA. You’re also responsible for:

  • Giving each crew member a walkie. For the full-time crew, they should use the same one the whole time. For crew that are in and out daily, you’ll need to give them one each time.
  • Keeping walkie batteries ('bricks') charged ('hot') and available for crew. Cold bricks make everyone sad.
  • RECORD. EACH. WALKIE. NUMBER. THAT. YOU. GIVE. OUT. Seriously. Have a running list/database of how many each department has, which numbers they have, and even which crew member has each specific one. This is especially important for the people only working for a day at a time.
  • Making sure every walkie that you handed out gets returned. It’s rented equipment, and the production has to return every one at the end of the show. And each one costs several hundred dollars.
  • Helping the Key PA on set

Additional PA: This is a PA who is hired on a day-to-day basis, as needed. Any crew member who’s hired like this is called a 'day player' (because they only 'play' for the day, even if they’re hired for multiple consecutive days. This term exists across all departments!) Add’l PAs are brought in when the scenes being filmed that day are especially large or complicated, or if you’re filming on location in a busy area. Every person who has a full-time PA position started as an Additional, and still are expected to perform most of the same duties when needed. What are those duties?

  • Take breakfast orders. This might sound a bit uneventful, but it can sneak up on you. Your job is to get to the breakfast truck and wait for the Key PA to send you orders for all the higher-ups like the director, producers, 1st AD, cinematographer, and whoever else. Then the most important thing you are doing and have ever done becomes getting those orders right and getting them back to set as quickly as possible. People have very specific dietary needs or preferences and don’t like cold food! Make sure you have some sharpies and a pen or two on you.
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    Credit: Helena Emmanuel

    Perform 'lock-ups', which means you stand just outside of the camera’s frame and stop people from walking into the shot or into a dangerous stunt set up. They stop both crew members and the general public! Have you ever seen a crew member in the background of a shot or seen someone who looks like they don’t belong in the setting of the show (i.e. someone wearing winter clothes when the show takes place in summer)? That person got past the lock-up. This can be either incredibly boring or incredibly stressful. There’s rarely an in-between. But sometimes there a puppy!

  • Many times, your lock-up is just for sound! The microphones on set pick up everything, and people are very loud, even when they think they’re being quiet. This can range from telling grip #4 that no, not is not a good time to move equipment to running across the street to convince the truck that keeps backing up to stop while the camera’s rolling.
  • Gaff vans. In NYC, if the set is far enough away, the production will provide passenger vans to transport the crew, background/extras, and sometimes even cast to set. There’s always someone from the AD department at the vans to make sure everyone who needs to get on one does and that they get on the right one. That person might be you! The Key PA or an AD will send you a list of who needs to be on which one, and it’s your job to get everyone on that list into that van and to make sure that van leaves on schedule. Text the Key PA/AD updates of who you’re still waiting for as time passes. As a general rule, always get the ok from one of them to send the van before you do. When it leaves, congrats, that van is 'wheels up'! Make sure your boss(es) know that and what time it happened.
  • Go on coffee runs. Sometimes it’s to a coffee shop and sometimes it’s just to craft services (where the snacks are). No, it’s not just a cliche or stereotype! You will actually do this. Make sure you have some sharpies and a pen or two on you, and maybe practice carrying 4, 6, 8, 10 coffee cups of varying sizes simultaneously. You’ll become an expert and impress all your friends! (Maybe not the latter, but it is still a skill I have many years later. Not a great party trick, but I can do it. My girlfriend tells me it's cool.)
  • Fire watch. Crew lunch is almost always at a separate location from where set and/or the equipment trucks are. It’s inconvenient and inefficient to pack up everything just to unpack it and set it up again after 30+ minutes, but it also can’t just be left alone. So what’s the solution? Have PAs fire watch. You basically stake out the equipment/set for the duration of the lunch break to make sure there’s no fire, literal or otherwise. Equipment is obscenely expensive, so damage or theft of it is a huge issue. If you are firewatching during lunch, the Key PA will make sure someone brings you food. Note: this will be exceptionally boring. Make sure you have an external phone battery or an active imagination. (I once spent ~1 hour outside of a truck in the pouring rain seeing how far into the Hamilton soundtrack I could get before I forgot the words. I’d start over once I did. It was a long lunch.)
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    Credit: Helena Emmanuel

    General help. You’re there to fill in the gaps! Someone called out sick? Someone needs to be in two places at once? You’re up. If you’re super green (aka new and inexperienced), you probably don’t need to stress about suddenly being in charge of something like handling the cast. You might still get thrown in to help out though, so be a sponge and remember as much as you can of what you observe. It’s always best to ask for clarity on how to do something than to just guess. Even if the person seems frustrated with you for asking, productions are run like machines and are beholden to tight time restraints and union contracts, and the last thing you want to do is mess one of those up. Certainly, the last thing they want to do is have to clean it up.

Still here? Thanks for hanging around. This was just the tip of the AD department iceberg, yet alone production as a whole, if you can believe it.  If you’re interested in more, I’ll make this a series! If not, I’ll probably still make this a series. I’ve got a lot to share.

Got questions? Concerns? Grievances? Feel free to share ‘em! Until then, enjoy some pics of me in all my PA glory.

 

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Credit: Helena Emmanuel

Words: Helena Emmanuel (she/they)

 

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