#MediaMonday: How to PA
Good Afternoon Everyone,
A major philosophy of my teaching comes down to reflection. In my classroom, my personal goal is to prepare my students for their first year in a film or journalism school as best I can; Beyond that, their college can take it from there.
When I have students come back from various programs around the country, I always try to ask them the same question: "What could I have taught you that would have made your first year better?". With every answer, I have been able to consider and adjust the way that I approach the teaching of media.
One of the most striking answers can a couple years ago from a former film student. He told me that he wished I had taught him how to be a production assistant on a film set. And, as a lifelong teacher, I asked myself while I nodded along "what in the heck is a PA?!?"
Therefore, today's lesson is: *How to teach Students to be Production Assistants.
Now as many of you may already know, a Production Assistant (or PA) is literally the first job of any new filmmaker on a film set. This can mean anything from setting up lights to grabbing coffee. Working as a Production Assistant is an excellent way to get to know all the various departments on a film set and figure out what a person wants to do. It is also the way that directors and producers decide who they want to work with again. Since our students are typically trying to break into the industry for the first time, they need to know how to do this well.
So, here are the tips that I give my kids when they going one of our film sets for the first time:
If a job starts at 8:00am, a PA is there at 7:45am. (Early is on-time; on-time is late).
Listen and don't try to impress people with how much you know; they know more.
Help with anything and everything. No job is too small or beneath you.
Watch out for everything! If you see a problem, fix the problem.
Do not sit down! PA's are on their feet all day, every day. A sitting PA is a useless PA.
Ask the right people the right questions. A PA knows who to go to for issues. NEVER go to the actors or director.
Stay off your phone! Only use your phone for work-related tasks and calls.
As film sets are a professional (and dangerous) work environment, this is how they need to dress:
Dress in black or dark colors.
Dress for the weather.
Wear a comfortable pair of shoes that are closed-toed.
Wear pants with pockets; you are going to have a lot of stuff that you carry. Also consider a belt.
Dress for full-coverage under any circumstance (crawling, on a ladder, arms above your head, etc.)
Ideal outfit: plain black t-shirt, dark pants (a female PA once suggested no leggings) and comfy shoes.
And finally, for PAs to be successful, they need to pack for the day (I often have kids show up with fanny packs and bags full of gear):
Stuff you should carry in your pockets when shooting a film is:
A Sharpie
A Small Notebook
A Multi-tool or small pocketknife
A Phone and phone charger
Your Call Sheet
The Sides (scripts) for that day's shoot
Snacks
Batteries for your radio (if you are using them)
When a student becomes a junior in my film program, they are automatically a PA for the first project. You would be surprised how easy it becomes for students to spot the hard-working PAs on set and how quickly those same PAs are offered bigger roles in future projects. Teaching kids to be PAs gives them the foundation to understand the value of reputation and hard-work.
If you have the opportunity to teach kids to be PAs, do it. Who knows, you might get a call someday from a former student thanking you for preparing them to excel when the right people are watching on-set.
Talk to you soon,
Josh Cantrell