What I discovered is that Production Assistants or P.A.s do everything that nobody else wants to do. You are the lowest man on the totem pole, digging ditches, going for coffee, and any other backbreaking job your co-workers can concoct. This is a good thing, because I have a lot of experience with being a doormat, not literally, but I can work well in high paced stressful situations.
Second thing I did was emptied a backpack and packed it full of pens, pencils, markers, and paper. Then I packed my tool bag, making sure to include things like allen wrenches, flashlight, knife, and assorted screwdrivers. Then I carried it to the car and began to make a checklist of everything I had in my tool bag and backpack. Then I packed it away and made sure to stay up late so I could sleep in to throw off my schedule to compensate for the late night.
The meeting was at the producer's house at one o'clock we all met and I got to know everyone and casually introduced myself. Then we all piled into the car and drove to Shelby, NC. We arrived at the first location in a parking lot at about three-thirty and immediately started to set up. I was instructed to help set up the Jib with one of the camera men. We began the assembly process and attached the Jib arm to our tripod, then proceeded to attach the camera. I'm glad I had my tool bag handy, because I was going back and forth getting allen wrenches and screw drivers to tighten bolts and attaching the camera.
After assembling the Jib arm I watched the trailer and the equipment, which I learned was called Fire Watch. I was also trusted with a co-worker’s camera and took pictures of the crew working. The video was a rap video, so we had girls, smoke, and cars everywhere. Now I can tolerate a lot, but when a very heavy stranger comes over and sits on the company’s trailer that I am trusted to care for, I couldn't believe it. I will not go into details, but if something like this ever happens to you ask someone, don't leave the equipment unattended, but ask a department key or the director before you say anything.
After the parking lot scene was dinner and then we proceeded to the next scene, which was at a Holiday Inn. I helped get gear off the trailer and then resumed Fire Watch. As I was sitting there there were multiple crowds of people who came by and asked who I was with and how I was doing. I had been with working with them for a day I was a representative of the company.After the hotel the camera crew and the artists took a ride in a stretch hummer and me and the remainder of the crew followed, shooting the hummer from the outside. We travel for a while and arrived at a club in a downtown area and the crew shot another scene inside while me and the hummer driver talked outside. Finally the stretch hummer arrived at the final location at a night club.
Again I was on Fire Watch, so I took this time to reorganize the equipment trailer and put that equipment that was in the car into the trailer. If you have free time always use that time to be more productive, organizing, packing, exercising stands, and so on. After the camera crew was done we were off. Good thing I stayed up late the night before, because I was driving home. The crew arrived back into Greensboro at about seven O' clock in the morning and we were bushed, all of us.
I carpooled with someone so we all went our ways and I left with a new confidence about video making. We had little to no knowledge about each of the locations and none about the crowds that were attending. This production really put into perspective what kind of challenges you as a video producer can face and I can't wait to do it again.
