Your Ultimate Goals:
- Be Attentive
- Be Punctual
- Be Reliable
The additional PA position is a great way to get your foot into the door of a film set.
If you receive a call sheet, study it. All of the information you’ll need for your workday is probably on that document. Crew names, scenes, addresses, where breakfast and lunch are, it’s usually all there. You have a chance to impress on day 1 by knowing the general plan for the work ahead of time.
When you’re an additional PA, you might have very little time to make an impression, so be alert and ready to volunteer for any task that comes up throughout the day. It could be anything:
- Locking up a street corner all day
- Running water to crew members
- Cueing an actor
- Going on coffee runs
- Relaying notes to a camera team
- Any number of various things
Don’t get caught off guard sitting, playing on your phone, chatting with cast, or not knowing what’s going on around you. If someone asks “Where’s the bathroom?” you should know the answer. Someone needs a pen? You’re right there with one. “What scene are we on?” You know that one too because you’ve been following your call sheet.
Below is a general guide for what to expect on the job as an additional PA. This will vary show to show. You’ll want to check in with your Key PA for specifics and items which might not be listed here, or items listed that they don’t need you to do. These also aren’t listed in an order that necessarily must be followed. You’ll learn what to prioritize day to day as you find your way with your new crew. You can find a condensed version of this list on our Additional PA checklist to print out and carry with you throughout your day.
Things You Will Need
- A few 4-color pens
- A pocket sized notebook
- A surveillance mic
- Read the call sheet. Learn as many crew names and faces as you can. The Director, DP, and 1st AD are good ones to learn first thing in the morning. You may be asked to “keep eyes” on one of them later.
- Arrive early. Give yourself at least 30 minutes to grab breakfast and get a lay of the land (where basecamp is, where set is, where bathrooms are, where food is, etc). When your official call time hits, you’ll be fed and ready to go, and not still figuring out where you are.
- Get your walkie and startwork. Introduce yourself to the Walkie PA and get your walkie for the day. Do not just grab a walkie for yourself if you see one. It will need to be inventoried and tracked by the walkie PA. Also ask for startwork (you’ll fill this out once per show). Picking this up early will allow you to work on it throughout the day during down time, instead of after wrap when you’re trying to get home. Try to complete this and turn it in to the Paperwork (PPW) or Basecamp PA before wrap.
- A lot of shows have been moving to digital startwork, so check in with the Paperwork or Basecamp PA for help.
- Introduce yourself to the ADs and Key PA. The 2nd AD, 2nd 2nd AD, and Key PA will be your main points of contact throughout the day (and beyond, if you hope to get hired on more projects in the future). It is also not unheard of for a show to lose a full time PA staffer and turn to their best additional PAs to replace them.
- Carry hot bricks and some call sheets. The walkie PA or Key PA should be able to hook you up with these. A crew member near you at some point in the day will need a call sheet or a battery, and you’ll look pretty good for taking the initiative and having one for them. When you get a dead brick, swap it out for a good one ASAP either with the walkie PA or the set battery charging station.
- Read the sides. This will give you an idea of how complex the work is for the day. 2 people sitting in a room talking, or 5 cars driving down a road into an accident? Go in mentally prepared for the work that will be done.
- Some shows won’t give out sides. If not, no problem, you’ll get an idea of the work by reading your call sheet and observing the action around you.
- Keep your phone on silent. You may be added to a text thread with other PAs. This will go off once every .5 seconds sometimes. Make sure your phone is on silent, and check those messages discreetly.
- Listen to everything on channel 1. The 1st or 2nd 2nd AD will constantly be giving updates on what’s going on, what’s next, what’s done, etc. Take it all in and you’ll start learning the basic structure of how your set is run.
- Be ready for anything. If you find you don’t have a task, ask the Key PA if you can help anywhere.
- When the Key PA wraps you, turn in your walkie, make sure your startwork is complete, and do your timecard if it’s your last day of the week with that show.
- Thank your AD dept for the day. If you’re not back tomorrow, thank the ADs and PAs you worked closely with that day.
- Keep networking. The more AD departments you know and work well with, the more word will spread about you, and your chances of getting a full time slot will go up. Good luck!
Resources
- Check our Go For Resources pages for useful lingo, walkie etiquette, the PA belt, and how to read a call sheet. All good things to know on your first day, along with the Additional PA checklist.
- Check our Go For Community pages for ways to connect with shows that are hiring