Paying Off Debt

If you’re curious about working in Canada, be sure to check out yesterday’s comments.  Which reminds me, I recently got another email from America Jr:

As a recent Canadian(Vancouver) graduate from film school I am in debts from upwards of 5000$.

I quit my regular serving job in the summer to be available for on-call PA work. I have only formally worked on one big feature for about 11 days and I am currently non-union.I have received little work but made many contacts who may call me in the future again.

My savings have dwindled, and I want to make a commitment to pay off those debts with another serving job and hopefully be able to have another shot at being an on-call PA again. I have begun training for my steady job, but unexpectedly, a film contact I met prior contacted me, asking if I could come in for a day call on a new show.I declined her offer, because of my other commitment, but I feel like I may have missed out on an opportunity.

So to my question,  Am I making a big mistake by declining work that could lead to future opportunities and contacts? Or should prioritize paying off my debts and making the habit of following through with the commitments I make?

First of all, what’s with putting the dollar sign after the amount?  Is that a Canadian thing?  So people know it’s your Monopoly money, and not real dollars?

Anyway.

This is always a tough question.  I’ve known many people who’ve tried to focus on their entertainment career for several years, only to eventually drop out due to debt, late rent payments, and so forth.

On the other hand, once you start working a regular job with regular hours and regular pay, it gets hard to give that up, even when your student loans are paid off.

My natural inclination is to pay off debts as quickly as possible.  If we were talking about credit card debt, I wouldn’t have any doubt at all; you’d lose a fortune with a 5000$ balance.  Luckily, student loans tend to be low-interest.

The question becomes, how quickly can you pay off your debt, and get back to working in whatever the Canadian equivalent to Hollywood is?

No Experience Necessary! (Some Experience Required)

Leala writes:

Ok, I keep reading “no experience” needed to PA. So why it so hard to land a PA job?

I actually have some experience -film school, student projects, independent projects, game show pilot, award shows, major network webisode and even dayplayed in the production office of a network TV show.

I get Production Weekly and PRS, contact the offices and fax/email resume, make sure it’s received and follow up til I get “we’re currently crewed up”. I’ve tried pilots, shows already on air, award shows, films and nothing. I’ve even offered to work for free just for the experience but since I’m currently not a student that doesn’t help.

I’m still working on independent projects but how do you make that leap from those to features/tv? Obviously I’m doing something wrong. Any ideas?

I must admit, I am being a little cheeky when I say things like, “A monkey could do my job.”  PAs get fired all the time, for slacking off, for screwing up, for having the gall to speak to a producer when he’s having a bad day.

There is a certain amount of skill involved, even if the main skill is simply being able to stick to it long enough to get promoted.  Not everyone has that skill.

That being said, a lot of people do have that skill, or at least think they do.  On my show, we get at least three PA resumes a day, and we’re in the middle of the season!  At the beginning of the season, we could fill a binder with resumes.

This is also why, by the way, PAs get paid so little (as I explained in a post a few weeks ago).  While there’s always a demand for a good PA, there is an even greater supply of good PAs.

Note the lack of a "Hard Work" curve.

I don’t think you’re actually doing anything wrong.  In fact, it sounds like you’re doing everything right.  There’s no secret or trick that you’re missing. You have to be good and smart and experienced, it’s true.

But you also have to submit your resume at the exact moment that they’re looking for a PA with your exact qualifications.  You have to connect with the AD or coordinator some indefinable way.  You have to be ready when they need you to be ready.

In short, not only do you have to be good, you have to be lucky.

I wish I could be of more help than that, but I can’t.

Atlanta Isn’t Burning (With Jobs)

Kyle writes in:

I recently stumbled across your blog and have really enjoyed the reading. I have a few questions I was hoping you might give some advice on. I have interned as a P.A. on a few different occasions for editing studios in Atlanta, Ga. However, now that I have graduated I am finding it extremely difficult to find any production jobs (I found it easier as a student). Maybe I am going about this the wrong way, do you have any advice? Should I pursue a larger market than Atlanta?

Hard to say.

I don’t know if you’re going about it “the wrong way.”  Times are tough all over; you may just be yet another victim of the economic downturn.

Atlanta has a fairly large production base.  Ted Turner’s companies are there, and Tyler Perry just built a fancy new studio.  I’m sure there are a bunch of smaller, local companies there, too.

But that it doesn’t come close to what we’ve got in Los Angeles.  We have thousands of productions companies.  You could make a whole career and earn a pretty good living working for production companies nobody’s ever heard of.  Even with all the runaway production, no where else in the world has the film community we have, outside of possibly Mumbai.

That being said, there are a lot of people out of work here, too. You can’t expect to get a job right away.

I assume you made some connections during your internships? Why not use those to your advantage?  You’ll be starting from scratch here.  It’s tough all over, and you should use an advantage you can get.

Does Age Matter? – II

Adam writes in with another age-related question:

How old are most office and set production assistants?  I mean, ignoring the happenstance of Hollywood, not to mention just finding those first few jobs, isn’t one looking at a commitment of several years just as PA before even the possibility of moving to a position higher up shows on the horizon?

And speaking of finding those first few jobs–I doubt any tv show or movie will hire someone with no volunteer-PA experience, correct?  Or is that at all plausible?  Of all my questions this is the worst.

Have you befriended any other PAs or is there really no opportunity to?

How much has networking on the set helped you find other jobs?

Lotsa questions there.

Almost all PAs are in their twenties.  I’ve met a few older ones, and they were either people who waited a long time to decide on their path in life, or people who just failed at life generally.  A thirty-five year old PA is a sad sight.

That being said, it can (and does, in my case) require years of work to be promoted.

Due to various labor laws, you can’t work on a show for free.  You can, however, intern in exchange for school credit.

Of course I’ve made friends with other PAs.  It’d be kinda weird if you didn’t make friends at work, right?

But that kind of networking doesn’t tend to lead to jobs.  Since just about anybody can be a PA, just about everybody knows someone who wants to do it.  When a set PA spot opened recently on my show, I asked the AD if I recommend a friend.  He said, “Sure, but there are about thirty other people who also have recommendations.”

And all thirty of those people outranked me.

You’re not going to get a job by networking with your peers.  (At least, not anytime soon.  If I make it as a writer, and one of my friends becomes a studio executive, then I suppose he can get me a job.)  You also need to network with your superiors– ADs, coordinators, even producers.  They’re the ones who make the decisions that actually affect your job.

Does Age Matter?

Reader Dan writes:

I am 17, soon to be 18. When I am 18, or sort of maybe a few months after I’m 18, I wanted to be a PA for reality tlelevision. I’m worried I’m a bit too young to do this. I’ll be ready late this year or early 2010, depending on how much I can save for a chance to move to LA. Do PA jobs prefer or even require someone to be a certain age?

I have never heard of any age limit, other than being old enough to drive.  I’ve worked with nineteen and twenty year olds in the past.  PAing is the very definition of “no experience required,” and that includes life experience.

My main recommendation is that you should recognize you know nothing.  You were, what, ten when Survivor came out?  Whatever you think you know about the creation of a reality show, you’re wrong.  And for every one thing you’re wrong about,  there are a thousand things it didn’t even occur to you think about in the first place.

The main purpose of taking a PA gig is to learn.  You work horrible hours for terrible pay and zero respect, but if you shut up and listen, you’ll advance quickly.

I, on the other hand, can’t keep my trap shut, and I’m still a PA several years out of film school.  Learn from my mistakes, Dan.

Overheard in the Production Office

I was filling out my mileage form yesterday, and I wondered how much it was going to be worth.  The current rate is 50.5 cents, and that extra half cent threw me off.

“Goddamn it, why can’t they just use whole numbers?  Decimals just screw me up.”

Without looking up, the coordinator said, “Use improper fractions.”

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On a completely unrelated note, why is “maggie gyllenhaal” the most common search leading to my blog for the last month?

Insults

A friend of mine wrote in response to yesterday’s post:

What’s the difference between a grip and a PA?

A PA can spell “grip.”

Now, I like grips, but I had to laugh at that.

It’s strange how making fun of each other is a way of bonding on set.  People are constantly busting each others’ chops.  Within a department, between departments, up the chain, down, whatever.  And man, you should hear what our writer’s assistant says to the showrunner.

Just the other day, my boss showed me a picture of his kids.  I said, “Cute.  Take after their mother, do they?”  He gave me a little swat on the back of the head, but was clearly amused.

Why does this work?  Shouldn’t I be fired for something like that?

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On a completely unrelated topic, you should check out the On Set Podcast.  It’s a great little program where they interview real crew working on real movies and TV shows.  It’s fairly new, so there’s only a couple of episodes yet, but still worth checking out.

They actually asked to interview me at one point, but I said I needed one of those voice modifier things.  They felt that wouldn’t fit well with the general tone of their podcast.  Alas, you’ll have to wait until they find some other exceptionally eloquent and erudite PA to interview.

Useless

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again– nothing we do in Hollywood matters. We’re not doctors or soldiers or police or fire fighters. No one’s going to die if we make a bad TV show.

There are a few individual exceptions. People can get hurt if a grip or an electric or a stuntwoman doesn’t do her job right.  Interestingly, these are the same people who will survive the inevitable zombie apocalypse.

The face of inevitability.

Everyone else on the crew will be only so much fresh meat. Above the line? Dead. Camera department? Dead. Hair and make up? Dead and dead.  Almost nothing they do bears any resemblance to actual, necessary life skills.

The same goes for me. I don’t know how to fight or shoot a gun. I don’t even know first aid.

I went to film school for four years. What am I gonna do, dazzle them with a trenchant analysis of Michael Bay’s oeuvre? All that knowledge is just gonna make my brains tastier.

One might argue that writers will be necessary in the post-apocalypse. Someone must bear witness to the end of history, right?

Sure, but that’s a secondary skill. It’s what Michael Taylor will do while taking a break from building his zombie trebuchet.

Friendly Reminder

The other PAs and I got an annoying boss-emails today. You know, the kind that starts with, “Just a reminder…”, and then goes on to re-explain all the basic PA duties that you already do.

This kind of note always fills me with a combination of fear and annoyance. Why is he reminding me to clean up the kitchen after lunch? I already did that. Am I not doing it fast enough? Thoroughly enough? What’s the problem?

Or is it an email meant for one of the other guys? I mean, I was gone during lunch yesterday. If the kitchen wasn’t cleaned up, it wasn’t my fault. I was on the 405.

I think it comes from a desire to not pick on any one PA. I appreciate the sentiment, but I hate being made to feel like I’ve done something wrong when I haven’t.

Picky Picky

Whether you’re on set or in the office, lunch is always provided (unless you work on a cheap-ass reality show; then all bets are off).

Of course, if you’re somewhere else, as I am right now*, you might miss out on the food. If you’re lucky, someone will remember to set aside a plate for you. If you’re smart, you’ll ask them to do so before you leave.

The problem with this plan, besides the cold food, is that you don’t always know what will be served, particularly if you’re eating off the catering truck. Not a good situation for picky eaters.

I don’t want to be that guy with the bizarre dietary requirements, but there are some foods I just can’t stomach. Tomatoes, for instance. Cooked, raw, sauce, stew, doesn’t matter, it’s all gross. And tomatoes are in everything. ::Shudder::

So, instead of asking the other PA to make me a plate of dry pasta, with a liiiiiitle bit of cheese, extra olives, and four-fifths of a chicken breast, I just say, “Grab me a plate of whatever, but with no tomatoes. I’m allergic to tomatoes.”

The allergy thing is the most important point, if you’re picky. No one takes you seriously if you simply “don’t like” something. Who doesn’t like tomatoes? they think. I bet Anonymous will like marinara sauce if he just tries it.

You know what? I have tried it. I didn’t like it.  Quite trying to be my mom.

But when someone hears “allergy,” they suddenly imagine you going into anaphylactic shock and collapsing at your desk, drowning in a plateful of spaghetti.

If you’re not a picky eater, congratulations!  You’re not seven!  But still, don’t forget to ask someone to set aside a plate.  If you don’t, you’ll wind up eating a banana and some peanut butter cups for lunch.

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*That’s right, I’m blogging from my iPhone. All I need is an ironic 80’s cartoon t-shirt to complete the douche-bag trifecta. If you catch me driving a Prius, I herby grant you permission to punch me in the nuts.