- Always Ask Questions
You’re an intern. Nobody expects you to be well-versed in everything that goes into making a movie – if you were, you wouldn’t be an intern. You’re there to learn, so ask as many questions as you can. It will help prepare you for jobs on other film sets, and it will almost always make the person you’re questioning feel confident and important.
2. Save All Receipts/Never Spend Your Own Money
This advice was given to me by several people on set, and it’s one of the golden rules of being a production assistant. You’ll often be sent out to get supplies, in which case you will be given the production credit card. If you don’t return with a receipt for the production manager, you’re in for a lot of eye rolling and snippy “what were you thinking?” comments. Receipts are how the production company keeps track of their budget, so make sure to never throw them away. Additionally, never spend your own money on any supplies, as the production company will most likely not being paying you back.
3. Never Sit Down
Production assistants are paid to literally be Olympic athletes that never stop running around set. Still, there will be times where there just isn’t anything to do, no matter how many times you rearrange craft services. In these cases where you might have a free ten minutes to relax, make sure to relax out of sight. At the bottom of the food chain, P.A.s are the last people that should be appearing lazy.
4. Remember Names
Plain and simple, remembering people’s names is a sign of respect. If you are constantly having to ask what someone’s name is, they are going to be less inclined to answer your questions or help you when you need it – and no, the excuse “I’m bad with names” isn’t going to save you here. Make sure to repeat someone’s name aloud when you first meet them, and perhaps write their name down in your phone if that helps you.
5. Learn Radio Etiquette
As a P.A., you are going to be the most popular person on the radio. Everyone is always going to be needing a P.A. for every menial task on set, so you need to be alert and professional when responding to a call. For example, when someone says “Sam for Erin”, the correct response would be “Go for Erin”, not “yes” or “here”. If someone then says “Erin, we need you in the production office”, you answer with “copy you” or “copy that”. Again, “yes” is not going to be the correct response here. Learning radio etiquette may seem like a waste of time, but knowing the correct responses is going to make you appear more professional to the people that have the power to hire you again.
6. Stay Away From Gossip
Film sets are kind of like high school – the cattiness, the power complexes and behind-the-back talking never really go away. Still, it’s important to remember that getting sucked into the gossip is the last thing you want to do, especially as a production assistant intern. You want people to take you seriously, and if you’re participating in any sort of gossip or cattiness, you’re just going to appear young and incapable. Let the gossipers gossip, and focus on the film. After all, that’s why you’re here.
7. Make Connections
Let’s say you went to UCLA for business, and you are now applying for a job at a local company. Your opponent studied business at Cal State Fullerton, and is applying for the same position – only, they’ve known the CEO for around five years now, and the two have kept up an email/Linked in relationship. Your opponent is getting the job.
In this day and age, who you know trumps where you went to college. It’s just a fact. People are more inclined to hire people they are already connected with. I couldn’t have gotten this internship on my merits alone – why would a production company hire a senior in high school who’s had absolutely no experience on a film set? I got the internship because I know the director. Now, two weeks later, I know two assistant directors, a production manager, a producer, an art director, a production coordinator, a DIT and two accomplished production assistants – nine more connections than I had before, which means nine more opportunities to work on another film set.
Connections are the key to any industry. If you walk away from an internship having made zero connections, you have made zero progress. These people will go on to new movies, new television shows and new projects, and if you don’t exchange information, connect with them on Linked in and keep in touch, they will forget all about you.
8. Never Lose Yourself
This is a big piece of advice I wish I had known about before I started my internship. On a film set, there’s going to be a mirage of different personalities that you have to learn how to work with. There’s going to be people you love, people you like, people you hate and people you just can’t stand to work with for even one more day. Because of this, it’s important to draw the line between production assistant and slave. Make sure you never let someone with a big personality walk all over you. Establish the fact that you are a production assistant, but you are also a person. If your superiors treat you with respect, you are more likely to do the job in a better, more timely manner. In short – be tactful, be helpful, be willing, but never lose your personality, morals or dignity in the process. People are bound to respect someone who also respects themselves.
