In my post about the different types of productions, I talked about on location shoots. Good locations can make a huge difference in creating the atmosphere of a production, so it’s important to find the perfect place. On many projects, there is a Locations Scout to do just that. Finding […]

“Hurry up and wait.” This may as well be the motto of production. From call time to wrap, there are constant moments of pressure to hustle somewhere, followed by seemingly endless moments of standing around waiting for things to start. This is especially true when you’re a PA; your superiors […]

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to work as a Script Supervisor for the first time on a short student film. It’s a massively underappreciated job, and I thought this seemed like a good opportunity to give some love to all the Scriptys out there. On every movie and TV […]

(Apologies for the punny title. Jessica Fletcher would probably politely roll her eyes at me, but I just couldn’t resist.)   Let’s take a look back in the industry to a few years ago, around 2008. Chances are, your favorite shows suddenly went into reruns, ended their seasons suddenly, or […]

Whether you ultimately want to be a producer, director, grip, or set designer, you’ll have to start your career as a Production Assistant. It’s not the most glamorous job—in fact, it’s the least glamorous job—but if you’re willing to put in some grunt work, it’ll get you where you want […]

Being on set for the first time can be pretty confusing and overwhelming, especially if you’re not prepared for all the special lingo that gets thrown around. Did that guy just ask for a martini? It may feel a little ridiculous sometimes, but every industry loves its jargon, right? It […]

If you saw a really great movie over the holidays, you’ll probably want to tell everyone all about it. I’m sure you’ll want to know exactly how to describe what your favorite scene looked like, and the place to start is with shot types. There are many different types of […]

In college, I spent a semester as the lighting director on a student-run sketch comedy. In an attempt to recruit some people for my lighting team, I told everyone, “Without us, you’d just be sitting around in the dark!” Hey, it actually worked for a couple of people. Good lighting […]

In my last post, we talked about the above-the-line crew on set: the Producers, Directors, Screenwriters, Cinematographers—basically everyone you’ve heard of. In this post, we’ll take on the below-the-line crew, who get a lot less recognition, but who are the backbone of any production. These are the people who do […]