How To Be A Good PA (Top 5 Tips)
If you want to work in film, in commercials, with ad agencies, or as a creator, a great place to start is being a Production Assistant. Being a PA will give you the experience and the connections to work on big projects in the role you want to be in.
Here are my top five tips for being a good PA.
1 - Solve problems before they happen
If the director looks thirsty, go get her a bottle of water. If the gaffer looks like they need a hand, ask if they need a hand. If there’s a cup of coffee in the shot, go remove it from the shot. A little bit of intuition and proactivity can go a long way in being a great PA. The bad PAs I’ve worked with sit quietly in a corner until someone tells them to do something. The trouble with this is that usually it’s quicker for people to do things themselves than to find the PA and ask them to do it. At that point, the PA is useless. Be close by, be observant, and take care of things before they need to be taken care of.
2 - Don’t start long conversations
You’re on set to make connections. But this doesn’t mean it’s ok to start long conversations with the producer, the DP, or anyone. Sets are often “hurry up and wait” scenarios. People will work relentlessly for an hour to get everything set up, then wait an hour with nothing to do until the talent arrives. Then the crew needs to work again on a moment’s notice. If you start a long conversation with someone, and then they remember something they have to do, they’ll either have to cut you off and walk away (awkward), or they’ll wait and listen to your story and then the shoot will be delayed. By all means, connect with people. But do so by asking short questions, making light conversation, and always giving people a way out of the conversation.
3 - Don’t share ideas
Months of planning and hard work from dozens of people come together for one do-or-die day on set. The PA was likely texted two days before the shoot. Whatever you do, don’t share your ideas about the shoot. It’s not that you don’t have good ideas, and it’s not that people don’t care about you. It’s that the idea is about three weeks too late. Everything and everyone that showed up to set was hired based on the creative that was solidified weeks ago. Take your ideas, write them down, and incorporate them into your own work (more on that later).
4 - Be relentlessly positive
A PA role is not glamorous. It’s not always fun. It’s not creative. It’s hardly what you imagined for your life when you were in school. But it’s an essential part of the production. If a PA has a negative attitude on set, I simply won’t hire them again. But if a PA has a positive attitude, I’m very grateful to have them on board. I’m much more likely to get lunch with them later. I might start following them on Instagram, and then I’ll see the other work that they do. Your best bet for making connections is being hard-working and positive.
5 - Don’t do it forever
No one assumes you’ll be a PA for life. But no one is actively looking to get you new opportunities either. The gig economy has no ladder to climb. There’s no one who will say, “Hey, you’ve been a PA for three years, why don’t you come direct the next one?” The only way to get the work you want is to do the work you want to do on your own dime and time, until people start to notice. Some PAs I’ve worked with assume I will hire them for other roles without actively doing that role anywhere else. You’re the one who has to prove it to yourself, and to others, that you can do the work you want to do.
Good luck out there! Want to be a PA? Hit me up.
