The Hustle: Production Assistant Tips for Female and Nonbinary Filmmakers
In this edition of the Hustle, Lauren Lee shares her best tips for production assistants heading onto professional sets. Lauren is an Austin TX native and filmmaker focused on following her passions in art no matter where they take her. With a past life as a youtube vlogger and social media coordinator - Lauren has proudly served as a production assistant (various roles) across multiple seasons of the hit “Fear of the Walking Dead” and other productions in the franchise. She’s doing the thing and sharing what she’s learned so far! Remember - there is NO room for gatekeeping here. Lauren previously worked with TLL, building the youtube channel and working with creative outreach to filmmakers and we love her! Follow her journey on Instagram.
It was the time of quarantine and remote work, when I found myself daydreaming about what it might be like to work on a film & TV set. Maybe I had just watched La La Land for the millionth time or maybe I needed a serious overhaul in my career. After trapping myself in virtual video production and social media jobs during the pandemic, I longed to try something brand new and outside the comfortable bounds of my room and computer. The night before my first day on set, I remember frantically googling (and failing) to find stories from young women, GNC and queer folks about their experience as a production assistants. Honest recounts from my demographic about the most popular entry level job in film & TV were nowhere to be found.
Here’s my take on a previously missing in action production assistant help guide for all the young women, GNC and queer folks out there working in older male dominated film & TV environments. If that’s you, here’s what I wish I knew before I ever stepped foot on set:
Be the person that you want to encounter on set
I can’t emphasize enough how far being genuine, excited and curious will get you in this industry! From your very first step into that AD trailer, your energy will be noticed. Truthfully, I didn’t think of myself as much of a people person until I started working on sets. Now people are my favorite part of the job! This industry can be unforgiving – the crew will no doubtedly be stressed and exhausted a lot of the time. Your job revolves around these people like the earth around the sun, so nurture your relationships first and foremost. I want every PA to experience the euphoric feeling of a crew becoming a family.
Take every opportunity you can to step up
My favorite way to do this is by simply always being there. You want your ADs to turn around when they need something and boom, there you are, waiting and ready to pounce on that task! Find reasons to keep yourself close to set (passing out waters and walkie batteries are easy ways to do this). You will establish yourself as an AD’s go to person and slowly but surely get entrusted with more responsibility because they know you actually want to learn and grow as a PA!
KNOW THAT You are a connector
PAs and ADs are the link between every single department on set. You want to garner respect and camaraderie with the other departments, because the more they trust you, the easier it will be to do your job. This will make your lockups easier, tracking down props easier, getting actors wired easier, and so on. You do not want to be on anyone’s bad side and more importantly, you don’t want to be a stranger!
LEARN NEW TERMS (IE “Catching the ball”)
Photo by Lê Minh from Pexels
You may not be the designated background or first team PA, but I’ve found it’s good training to treat everything you see and hear like it applies to you. This comes in handy because not only will it prepare you for future jobs where you are in those positions, but because knowing how to delegate tasks to other PAs on your team is a crucial survival skill on set. I like to think of this as “catching the ball.” As much as you may like to, you can’t do it all on your own, so tasks will be delegated and passed around. Catch what comes your way and grow your repertoire of PA skills!
BUILD YOUR Self care in the in-between moments
If you’re a full time PA, it’s not uncommon to have 60-80 hour work weeks. You've got the longest hours in the game, often being the first to get to set and the last to leave. Getting a “rest day” just isn’t in the cards. Instead, I’ve learned to treasure in-between moments of peace during my work day and little routines I’ve made for myself that feel good. I think this kind of attention to how you feel at work is especially important for young woman, GNC and queer folks moving through the film & TV industry. Your very existence on set challenges a traditionally discriminatory workplace, one that is still only accessible via a certain degree of privilege. At the end of the day, it is just a show or film and your mental and physical safety on set are significantly more important!
This is how I’ve found budding success as a young PA at the very start of my film & TV career. I love the production department because I believe as creators we can make art that we’re passionate about without compromising the mental and physical safety of the crew and actors. You can be a good-hearted person and an effective and strong leader at the same time – you don’t have to choose between the two.