Your Belt
Your belt (and pockets) is what will get you through your day. It should have everything on it you could possibly need, which will vary from PA to PA, but here’s a good start:
- Walkie Talkie & surveillance mic
- 1-2 Additional hot walkie batteries (get these from the walkie or key PA)
- A couple call sheets for that day
- A pen (multi-colored are very useful on set)
- An extra pen
- A pencil
- An extra pencil
- a black Sharpie to draw mustaches on other PAs that pass out after another hard night of drinking
- A small notebook
- A lighter
- Is it going to rain today? Have a raincoat with you (or nearby)
- Cold? Sweatshirt/Jacket
- Multi-tool w/ knife (not required but can really come in handy)
- Cell phone (you may be added to a group text for the day. You’ll want to check this covertly, don’t be caught staring at your phone all the time)
- If you really want to impress, ask for sides to carry on you. Not all shows will give them out, but if yours does it will be useful to read them, and it’s good to have them in case someone asks for a copy.
Once you’re on set for the day, it is unlikely you’ll get a chance to run to basecamp, or your car, or anywhere, for something you forgot. Travel lightly and efficiently. Know what you’ll need before you need it and carry it with you.
Belts are also a great way to identify unknown crew members by looking at what they’re carrying. More on that later…
The point of those items is to be able to provide, in a flash, a basic need for another crew member, so that they do not lose any time or suffer any lack in communication while waiting for something that could have easily been provided by the person standing next to them; YOU. Even if it’s an actor going, “Could I please get a bottle of room-temp water?” that’s something that you should be able to provide quickly and efficiently, if you are within earshot. If the Gaffer is standing there trying to tell his guys how to light the set through a walkie with a chirping dead battery, that is something that you, with your finely tuned ear, can step immediately in to take care of, not sacrificing a single moment of Production time. The second that someone is delayed from performing their duties on a film set is a second spent hemorrhaging money, time and/or momentum.
The Production Department is the grease in the wheels, the oil in the engine, the juice in the fruit, the glue that holds it all together. Yes, it can be grease and glue simultaneously. And you should gain some sense of perverse satisfaction with offhandedly hearing a producer ask the air in front of them, “Is there a pen anywhere?” and then one magically appears in their face from your hand.