Whilst the lowest paid within Production, and long hours make this job a hard one it is ideal for those willing to ‘do their time’, since film jobs are contracts and don’t last for ever the best advice is to keep your head down, be pleasant and fun and work very hard. From there you get to make contacts, meet lots of important people and to learn about what other roles and jobs within the department that you would like to progress to. This job title can be used for a broad range of roles – not just as described here – for example I have heard of duties that include child minder to the Producer.

On a day-to-day basis the kinds of things a Production Assistant does might seem menial; filing, photocopying, using phones, data entry, delivering of call-sheets and per-diems, script copying and compiling, office cleaning, meeting preparation – on other days you may be asked to perform stop gap duties on-set such as extras co-ordination or driving actors to locations. If you love movies and have graduated from a film studies course (rather than a film production course) this is a good place to start, alternatively you may have no professional film training, instead desire to develop a career as an office skills/managerial expert – well why not do the same things you would in other companies but within the fascinating are of film production. Perhaps the only reason would be the freelance nature of the work, that is the fact you end up between jobs out of work… but for me this just means nice long holidays! Certainly you will get to move all around the studios, meet and witness the whole process of film production and be constantly inspired and challenged!

Tips:

One of the key skills for this job is to be able to accept crticism even when it is not deserved, often as Production Assistant you will be taking directions from very stressed people with a lot of responsibilty resting on them. If they snap at you because you got a detail wrong you need to be able to not take it personally and to remain calm and efficient – this will stand you in good stead as robust enough to work in stressful postions yourself one day.

Attention to detail: keeping accurate notes of your own expenditure and information management is critical, but additionally staying focussed and attentive to discussions you over hear or are involved with so that you can be a second memory for you immediate superiors. Film Production is a fluid and constantly changing field, decisions are made revised and reversed on the move, and it is easy for a very busy production manager to forget small details. If you can stay attuned to what is happening around you rather than succumbing to chatting about your weeknd, or planning your evening then you will be an ideal Production Assistant.

To increase you chances of being hired over the competition; demonstrate that you have coped well with pressure in past challenges or jobs, learn how to use spreadsheets, know how to prepare basic notices or posters eg Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop, do a basic accounting course or teach yourself some software, get a heavy vehicle licsense, do a basic workplace Health and Saftey course appropriate to your country and its laws, join a film club and/or read up on basic film terminology so you understand what you are hearing e.g. ‘call-sheet’, when you are within at the production asking about employment opportunties and Production Assistant Jobs.

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The Boom Operator, as you can see in this image, operates the sound boom. Often doubling as assistant to the Sound Mixer this is an entry level role into the sound department and also to post production jobs.

Restrictions of the location, background noise, dialogue specifics and wether actors are moving, framing of shot by camera and the movement of the camera all need to be considered by the Boom Operator. Strong steady arms are required for this film job – the restrictions of boom length and cables back to the recording gear are all important to a good boom ‘swing’ as well as continuous concentration. Imagine the frustration of the director when half way through a take the day-dreaming Boom Operator does not respond quickly when the actor moves, or worse allows the boom to droop into shot!

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PLEASE HELP DEVELOP THIS FREE INFO SITE: If you work in this film job or have further details I could add to this job description, or if you just wish to comment please use the ‘leave a reply’ space at the very bottom of this page.

Thanks Admin