A production assistant, also known as a PA, is a job title used in filmmaking and television for a person responsible for various aspects of a production. The jobs of a PA vary greatly. Some production assistants play a pivotal role in production (more often in television), performing tasks such as editing, writing, graphics coordinator, and assistant director. Other production assitants may be relegated to odd jobs and various administrative tasks (more often in filmmaking), such as stopping traffic, acting as couriers, getting items from craft service,filing, photocopying, typing/Word processing, taking/making telephone calls and organising the diary for the day. Production assistants on films are often attached to individual actors or filmmakers. In television and film, production assistants are sometimes divided into two categories or more: "office PAs" or "set PAs". Other variations exist depending on a show's structure. Office PAs spend most hours in the respective show's production office handling such tasks as phones, deliveries, lunch pick ups, script copies, and other tasks. This should not be confused with a "Production Coordinator", who works closely with lead producers in scheduling the crew, regulating purchase orders and payments, among other tasks. "Production Coordinators" are required to join "I.A.T.S.E", whereas no union yet exists for PAs. It should also not be confused with "Writer's Assistant", who works exclusively with writers in the writer's room. Set PAs work directly on the respective production, whether on location or on a sound stage. They report to the Second Assistant Director (Second AD) and less often the First Assistant Director (First AD). Set PAs usually work 10- to 16-hour days and are regularly the "first to arrive and the last to leave". Duties can interchange, such as an "Office PA" working on location if an extra hand is needed, or a "Set PA" working in the office on hiatus weeks when the physical production is shut down. Pay varies widely depending on the type of television show or film production, but standard rates in film usually range from 100-150 dollars a day. On a television show, pay ranges from $8 an hour with overtime, to flat fees of 500-650 dollars a week, including or excluding possible overtime. Benefits are conferred depending on where a PA is employed. Sony Pictures Entertainment, Warner Brothers, Touchstone Television, and NBC all offer benefits to PAs.
External links
- How To Get Your First PA Job
- A Few Things I Learned From My First Experience As A Television Production Assistant (A first-hand account of one PA's experiences and lessons learned on the job)
- The Production Assistant's Pocket Handbook (An experienced insider's guide to being a Production Assistant (PA) in a handy downloadable PDF booklet).
