For a Production Assistant on their first day a film set can be overwhelming. Whether it’s a small production or a big one, there’s people moving around, cords everywhere, and equipment that looks really expensive. My first day on a set I was handed a boom mic and told not to touch anything else, which was fine by me! Luckily I’ve learned a lot since then, so I figured I’d lay out some of the rules of film set etiquette that I’ve picked up over the past few years. Because there are a few things that you definitely DO NOT want to do on your first day on set!
DO be on time. (Or don’t be late, whichever will motivate you better.) Basically, a production staying on budget depends heavily upon staying on schedule. If you have a shot list that you need to get through and can’t because of missing personnel, it’ll cost you money. Whatever your role is in the production, I can guarantee someone will be angry if you’re late. Punctuality is a common courtesy, so practice it!
DO NOT touch anything you haven’t been specifically told to touch. Maybe you think that light stand is in the way, and you should just scoot it over to the side by a few feet. Or maybe that cable looks all tangled so you’ll just loop it up and nicely put it away. Whatever you’re thinking, unless you’ve been specifically told to do it, just don’t. Maybe that audio cable was about to get plugged in, maybe that light is placed for the next shot. By moving things you’ve not been told to, you risk slowing down the production and causing unnecessary delays. So don’t do that.
DO pay attention. Sure, sometimes a production can get slow and its tempting to just browse Facebook for a bit. But if you’re fixated by your phone you’re not going to notice when someone needs your help. So pay attention to what’s going on and be ready to help make that happen.
DO NOT unplug anything. True story, on an early shoot I misunderstood what the Director wanted and unplugged a huge array of lights. Did I mention it was like, midnight, and those lights were illuminating our video village and DIT station? Yeah. That got me a yelling at. Moral of the story? Don’t unplug a thing unless you’ve specifically been told that the thing needs unplugging. And even then you might want to double-check.
DO introduce yourself to people. Productions can have a lot of people involved, and if you need an answer to a question it helps to know who can answer it! So be sure to introduce yourself to people throughout the day. Not only can you make friends on set that way, but you might get involved in the more interesting parts of the production. Much better than emptying the coffee machine of grinds for the third time.
Everyone’s first day is different, just like everyone’s production is different. The list above is just a few of the things I’ve learned since I started working for MLP. There are a ton of resources out there with even more advice; I really like The Black and Blue’s A-Z Guide to Film Set Etiquette – funny and honest! And don’t forget to tune into our Media Studies 101 series – Courtney goes over all sorts of aspects of production, including a Who’s Who for film production. Enjoy!