ASK & DISCUSS INDEX

9 years, 4 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

Hi Pilar,

Research is more relevant in factual, and movies /tend/ to be more dramatic/fiction.

Research assistants are much more likely to be working in TV, it's the step between runner and researcher

9 years, 4 months ago - Pilar Marin

Hi Paddy,

Thanks! This is what I suspected... I guess I would need to move from Research to Production Assistant somehow. Thank you for taking the time to answer...

Best,
P

Pilar

9 years, 4 months ago - Paddy Robinson-Griffin

If you think about it, most of the research is done long before you get anywhere even near set/location. What there is will be mostly at story stage, before the script is written, even, let alone sold.

To become a production assistant, just start answering adverts, help with a couple of shorts and see if you can meet the right people to get onto a feature. Useful skills will be being able to drive, being very organised, being very tidy (tidying up after the producer, probably!), being VERY diligent (if you're told to do something by the PM or whoever, there will be a reason, so there's no place for 'I forgot' or 'I thought I'd do this fun task instead first'. Be humble, no job is beneath you and you can bet people higher up the chain have done the same job themselves, any cockiness can get you into trouble incredibly quickly. When someone's spending tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds a day on a production, they can get upset if anything unnecessary interrupts the smooth running!

But mostly a Production Assistant will be office-based, not on the floor. If that suits you, you have an advantage as most people want to be in the heart of the shoot, thinking it glamorous or fun (it's neither to any great extent!), so is a route to working up to PM if you show interest and aptitude. If that's not where you want to end up, PA may not be the role you want. Hours will be brutal, reward scant, but an essential step.

Any help?

9 years, 4 months ago - Dan Selakovich

What Paddy said. But I'll add this; do you have any interest in post-production? All the skills you list are important for an assistant editor. Perhaps you can work your way in as an apprentice editor or post P.A.

Way back in the mid 80s, I used to take films and TV shows to the same post house. There was this kid there that just walked in and told the owner he'd do anything for free. So he ordered food, got coffee, all the usual crap. But every chance he got, he sat with the color timer for films being transferred to VHS. All the studios loved this guy, so they did a lot of studio films there. He learned tons from the top flight colorist, and eventually became a colorist himself, and became one of the top telecine operators in town.

I'm afraid all those entry level jobs mean eating Ramen noodles for awhile, but the payoff can be big. Good luck.

9 years, 4 months ago - Pilar Marin

Hey guys , thanks a lot for your incredibly helpful advice. I've got a much better idea of what an entry level job would entail now. What truly interests me is scriptwriting, so my idea was to get a job in production to get a general idea of what the making of a film involves on a practical level while I'd work on my writing on the side. I would definitely be interested in getting involved in some shorts, so let's see. Thanks again for taking the time to answer. P