Production Assistant Guidebook

Greetings to the Production Community!

In conjunction with my good friend Sharon Stein, we will be self publishing a guidebook for production assistants. Prior to publishing a paper version we have decided to run several chapters here online and hope to later do a series of podcasts. We know you'll find this information helpful and hope you'll send us feedback so we can finalize any last minute changes and go to press. Later, we'll post information on how you may obtain a complete hard copy. Please email your comments to Palmerx1964@gmail.com
Many Thanks,
Palmer

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
ABOUT THIS GUIDEBOOK

This guidebook will not tell you how to get a job in broadcast or film production. This book is for the new, or “green”, production assistant (PA). I am assuming that you have already gotten your first job as a PA. Now you need to know more about this alien world you’ve gotten yourself into.

I’ve put this guidebook together from a myriad of different publications that I’ve come across that instruct on how to get into the business, what a PA does, yadda, yadda, yadda. I own up now that I have relied on many sources. If I have inadvertantly plagerized your work, please accept my apologies. Also added to that is my own experience as a production assistant (yes, we all started as a PA), as well as my experience as a production manager and my expectations of the PAs I hire. I’ve also passed this book on to other production coordinators, managers and ADs as well as what I considered to be the “cream of the crop”(or Kick-ass) PAs. Their input has been invaluable.

This guidebook is geared to the Philadelphia market. Although the majority of the information is the same for anywhere you work, there are some things that are unique to this market. Also note that this booklet is written for PA’s working on TV commercial film shoots. Some things will be slightly different on other kinds of shoots.

For the purposes of this guidebook, “Production” refers collectively to the producer, production manager, production coordinator and assistant production coordinator. In this book, “us”, “we” and “our” refer to these people as well. On set, PA’s are also included when crew members and others say “Production.” Sometimes the Assistant Directors(AD) are included in our group as well.