Production Assistant Training Allows For Better Entry Into A Career Of Film Production

20 December 2016
 Categories: Education & Development, Blog

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Working in the film industry is something many people dream of doing. The approach most commonly taken is to enroll in classes teaching overviews of very lofty positions such as directing and screenwriting. Having lofty goals is good as these goals do direct people in the direction of their optimal career path. There does, however, have to be a desire to also enroll in entertainment industry training that teaches important points about entry level jobs. After all, no one starts out as a director or a producer. Working up the ladder is required. A solid course on entry level work leads to stepping on the first rung of the ladder the right way.

Introduction to Production Assistant Work

The most basic job a person could hold on a film crew would be that of a production assistant. The description of the job sounds fairly easy. Lifting and moving things, running errands, and otherwise helping out the crew are among the tasks of a P.A. The job, however, require long hours, a lot of grunt work, and a tremendous amount of efficiency. Production assistants have to work quick and, sometimes, make sense of very vague instructions passed down from a frazzled production manager. Those who perform well might find themselves moving up the ladder quickly.

Proper Training to Advance

Someone who jumps into P.A. work with little or no experience may be overwhelmed. A P.A. who can quickly take the reigns of any task directed towards him/her is going to shine. Experience and insight helps with shining the right way. A well-designed course that covers all the basics of production assistant work helps prime those landing on a movie set for the first time for the job. Rough edges can be smoothed out by performing basic work in a laboratory in which helpful criticism can be levied at the enrollees.

Jumping Ahead for Better Insight

In addition to enrolling in a class or workshop dealing with entry level work, signing up for a course teaching the basics of a position higher up on the chain could be helpful. A class detailing the ins and outs of being a second assistant director allows a potential P.A. to see what more expanded responsibilities are required in more sophisticated jobs. This allows a P.A. to better understand the overall picture and assist higher ups in the crew better. And the P.A. also gains insight into jobs he/she hopes to be promoted to.

Ultimately, those who climb the entertainment career ladder the right way won't slip off one of the rungs on the way to the top. Contact a company like Showbiz Trades to learn more.