Film Production
Destiny Griffin - Summer 2021
My Internship for this year took place on the set of a feature film production in Buffalo called Cabrini. Working on the production as an on-set intern, I had the responsibilities of an on-set production assistant or PA for short. The role of any PA is multifaceted but especially for an on-set PA as they are helping hands for their department first and foremost but also for the entirety of the set, including other PA’s. In preparation for the internship, as well as while I was working on it, I learned that there are a few different types of PA’s with specific responsibilities.
The head PA is called a Key PA. This is the person who assigns tasks for other PA’s, assigns lockups, daily timesheet duties and more. This PA works very closely with the second, second AD and therefore the first AD and director as well. On our production, the Key also decided or had a major role in deciding, which interns and additional PA’s would be on the schedule each day.
A First Team PA is responsible for the main cast members, so that would be the members of the cast that are on the call sheet and not background actors or extras. They are responsible for watching those actors and knowing where they are at all times and making sure the appropriate people know where they are, getting their lunches, and more. Most importantly would be reporting the status of those actors to the First Assistant Director, (AD) and any other AD’s that need to know because obviously the actors are needed in order to shoot the scene.
The Basecamp PA works from the base which is where the honeywagon and other trailers and working trucks are located. The honeywagon is just the AD trailer which also had the restrooms in it. Basecamp PAs are responsible for getting first team through hair, makeup and wardrobe or HMU. They also invite the actors to set and see to it that the actors are transported to set and are just as communicative with the ADs about the status of the actors as the First Team PA. On our set, the First Team and Basecamp PA’s worked closely together so I would imagine this to be the ideal way to work a production. Another aspect of the Basecamp PA’s job is handling some paperwork as well, primarily the exhibit g paperwork which is basically like the actors time cards. It documents their in and out times on set and their travel times.
Similarly, the Background PA is responsible for doing the same thing for background actors. While working as an additional background PA, I learned how to operate an online system called RABS (Run A Better Set), which is used to clock the background actors in and out, keep track of their paperwork, hours and more.
Another role in the AD department is the Walkie PA. This PA is responsible for distributing and keeping track of the walkies and walkie equipment which include batteries, called cold bricks for dead batteries and hot bricks for charged batteries, and charging stations. On our set, the Walkie PA would set up a charging station somewhere on set or close to set, and a dead battery bucket which would always have the extra call sheets and sides in them.
Lastly are the additional PA’s or just PA’s which are the general helping hands for the department, their tasks apply to all other PA’s and on-set interns as this was our technical position. Our jobs included performing lockups which is basically guarding the entrances to set so that people would not be able to just walk in while they’re shooting or reversing a scene. This is a really important job obviously because if someone walks in while the camera is rolling especially, the take would be ruined and that makes the day take longer and possibly prolongs the production. PA’s are also responsible for calling out rolls, cuts, and rehearsing. This goes hand and hand with the lockups as it lets everyone on the set, who might not be close enough to the set to hear or who might not be on walkie, know that they have to be quiet or that they won’t be able to get into that space. PA’s collect the crew’s dailies at the end of the day. This means going to the trucks and waiting for certain departments to finish loading their equipment and then having them sign their timesheet and taking that to the Key or AD trailer. PA’s also get assigned to call out last man, which is just calling over walkie when the last crew member gets their lunch so that the time for lunch and the back in time, which is either 30 minutes or an hour after last man is called, can be decided. Another responsibility of PA’s can be to “catch” traveling actors when they are expected to arrive at a location. There can be actors coming from base and arriving to the set and will need someone to greet them and walk them where they need to be. There can be background actors coming from set to lunch and will need to be met when they get dropped off and shown where to go. The main reason why this is important is because again, all actors need to be accounted for at all times, so making sure a PA is there to catch them each time they land in a new location is extremely important.
Most of the other tasks that PA’s get are decided by the Key or can just be part of helping out other PA’s. A lot of times a PA might be needed to help the First Team PA keep track of actors that may be going to the bathroom or craft services, etc. For this production, we changed caterers very often, and would usually have to send a PA down to the catering tent to get a menu for breakfast or lunch to send to the First Team or Basecamp PA so they could put in the actors' orders. Personally, the randomly assigned tasks like running errands, grabbing orders, etc, were my favorite to do because it made me feel more useful than some of the consistent tasks like locking up or fire watch which are both important and I would happily do that as well. While working on the second unit, there were not many people in our departments so us interns and additional PA’s were given a lot more to do, and much more responsibility which I really liked.
The best part of working on the set for me was being able to help out and being given more to do which felt very rewarding. I suppose that this was also my favorite because when another PA or an AD continues to ask you to do things for them, it implies that they trust you to do it, which is a great feeling.
Some of the other skills that I’ve learned on set included being able to use, put together and take apart a walkie talkie. Obviously, communication is such an overall requirement for every position in the AD department, and working on the set helped me to better develop my communication skills. I found out that I got the internship the day before it started and at that time I was extremely excited. By the next day, after I’d watched the 3 training videos suggested by one of the AD’s I was extremely nervous and that nervousness carried over into the start of the internship, as I was hyper aware that I am not a great communicator and can be relatively shy and reserved. By the last day of the production, being able to communicate well with the rest of the team had become second nature pretty much, especially with having taken on responsibilities of different PA positions. The fact that everyone on set was genuinely kind, and understanding and encouraging was really helpful in making me feel like I was able to learn and do my job correctly.
There were so many benefits to this internship. Generally and most importantly for me was being able to see and experience the actual film making process. I feel like in course we learn a lot about the theoretical and thematic aspects of film and though we do learn a little about the literal filmmaking process, I learned so much more on set that I have not and probably will not learn in a classroom. There were so many aspects of the production that I was constantly discovering and learning about up until the very end of the shoot. I learned that getting a position as a PA, or even as an intern, is like the stepping stone or the way to get your foot in the door. I think being in a PA position was extremely beneficial in that as a PA you are able to see the work of every department and also learn a little of their work as well. I remember that when I would express an interest in a certain department or position, senior crew members would allow me to shadow those departments or spend more time with people in those departments. This was particularly helpful for me in that I came into the internship with one set of interests in film, but by the time the production was finished, I had become more interested in different positions than before.
I feel that the most beneficial times for learning were often being on set while we weren’t shooting or while we were setting up for a scene, and even during other down times like lunch and riding or walking to different locations. During these times I was able to just talk to other crew members about their jobs and what they do, how they got started, and more. I saw that so many people were very willing to teach and give advice to me when they saw my interest and that I was willing to listen and learn. Similarly, this internship was particularly helpful in being able to make those connections. It helped that so many of the crew members were local, though a lot of our department was not. This internship is one that would add to my resume and also, if I wanted, my time on set as a PA for this production could help contribute to my total days as a PA that would be required if I wanted to get into the Directors Guild.
One of the negative sides of the internship could be the set up of the second unit. While my description of worker’s responsibilities is true for all productions, on this film, this was only the case for the main unit, which shot the majority of the film. While working on the second unit, this was not the case for the AD department. On second unit we had a single AD and a Key Set PA but all the other positions in our department were either additional PA or intern, and there were usually no more than three or four of us all together. While I did like having more responsibility and more to do, others might find it taxing, and daunting to say the least, to have to take on extra responsibilities. Another downside of the internship was not being able to be there on days where you could not work the full 12-14 hour shift. Similarly, it might be a drawback to some to have to work the full length of the day. Working 12-14 hour days, with a wrap day that was over 18 hours might be way too physically taxing on some, especially seeing as in our position, we are not really supposed to sit. However, I felt the minor downsides did not compare to the many benefits and overall amazing experience of the internship. So I would highly recommend this kind of internship for other students. I also would really like to have a career in this field of filmmaking because I absolutely enjoyed my experience and I felt very happy learning and doing the different jobs on set.