Become A Production Assistant
An anonymous reader sent me her producer’s assistant’s This is what the assistant does during work hours.
And that’s just a couple of terrible assistants. What’s worse is what
these assistants will eventually become. I know many producers who have
never worked in any department but the writer’s office. Either
through connections or luck or whatever, they’ve lived in a rarefied
world for their entire career.This becomes a problem when they start making changes to a script
without actually understanding the consequences to the budget, the
schedule, or the crew. You know, the people who actually work so hard
every day to bring your imaginary story to life?Hell, the showrunner I work for now, I’d bet you a thousand dollars
he couldn’t point out a grip on set, much less tell me what a grip does.
I’ve actually heard him say, “Why would making it a cost more?”He’s a showrunner. Why doesn’t he know these things? Because
he had connections and became a writers’ assistant straight out of film
school. Just like you, Jack.Does that sound like somebody you’d like to be? I hope not. At the
beginning of this post, I advised you to use whatever connections you
had. Here’s some better advice: don’t use your connections yet.Try to become a more rounded person, learn about all the departments,
what they do, what sort of people they are. Being a set or an office PA
is the best way to do that. After a season or two, ask your friends if
they might help you get in the writer’s room. You’ll be a better writer,
and better producer, for it.
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