I've asked a lot of people who work in the entertainment industry a lot of
questions, but the one that I always ask is this: How can I get started in the
industry, meet people, and earn money. The answer most give is to become a
production assistant on anything that is shooting in the area--just get out there
and meet people, even if it doesn't pay. So it was that when I heard that there
was an opportunity to work on the set for As The World Turns while it shot in
Pittsburgh I nearly fell over myself to reply to the email and get myself
onboard. My swiftness paid off, and I was hired as a runner for the show.
I was also lucky enough to be paid for the day, owing only to the fact that they
needed a runner with a car and I happened to have one. I met the production team
in the Wyndham Garden Hotel at 6:30 on a Thursday morning. The person who I was
directly responsible to was Nick Bernstein, the location manager. His father, I
learned, is Walter Bernstein, the screenwriter on such films as Fail Safe and The
Magnificent Seven. Nick and I hit it off well, since the early morning call
introduced me to something that would be a common practice for the day--waiting
until I could do something. While we were talking, Nick told me that I had two
major tasks for the day--to find the wardrobe department an iron (without a
safety shut-off, no less) and to find a FedEx shipping office.
I was assigned to the makeup department briefly at the hotel, and helped them
load some of their things onto the bus that the production was taking from city
to city. After a time of loading things and conversing with the very friendly
people in the make-up department, we were off to the shooting site at Frick Fine
Arts Building.
It was a beautiful day for shooting. My tasks on set were simple, usually
consisting of hauling things or directing passersby away from the camera's view.
Because it was shot on digital video, the director was able to fly through scenes
and setups. When I wasn't busy I made sure to take advantage of the craft
services, something I recommend to any hungry, monetarily-challenged college
student. Very good food.
When there was a break in the action I jumped into my car and went about my
tasks. I went to the post office in South Oakland but they didn't have the
address for the FedEx shipping office (for the tapes at the end of the day) so I
turned to Pitt's old dependable 4-FACT hotline. Picking up the iron for wardrobe
was a simple matter, and I paid for it with the petty cash they had given me for
that purpose.
When I made it back to the set they had already moved to the inside of Frick Fine
Arts. In fact, it was nearly finished. It was about an hour longer until it
wrapped. I spent the time trying to hold people from walking into the shots. After
the shooting had wrapped I found that I was in demand as a source of information
about the area--where to eat or pick things up for the road. I did my best to
help them, and when I didn't know the answers I tried to send them to someone who
would.
Just when I thought my day was done, Nick told me some people needed to be driven
to the airport--two production workers and two of the stars. That was a bit too
many people for my little Dodge Neon, so I was given the minivan the production
had rented. I had a nice chat with my passengers on the way to the airport,
although mostly it was them asking questions about the city.
After I had dropped them off I returned to Oakland to give the minivan back to
Nick. He told me he was very pleased with my work and would happily be a
reference for me if I should ever need it in the future. We said goodbye and I
was back to my mundane life as a college student.
To be honest, the experience was not entirely new to me. I've worked on a few
television and independent film sets. What was new was that this job was much
bigger in the general scheme of things. I met good people, learned how to carry
myself on a professional set, and made some money for my troubles. Besides, it's
a satisfying feeling knowing that you're actually working on something that will
be seen by a national audience. So I suppose you should heed people when they
suggest that you work a PA job to become acquainted with the industry. All it can
do is help you.
