Film Student Resume

BrandonD

BrandonD

Member
This one is mostly for my fellow film school survivors, but feel free to chime in even if you aren't.

So, I'm just about finished with my B.A. (taking last two electives online) and I'm trying to land a P.A. job or something along those "entry level" lines. I don't have much experience film-wise other than the various projects I worked on during school.

What I'm trying to figure out is what should be going into my resume that I send out for these P.A. jobs? Are they going to care about my retail experience at Sprint? Probably not. What about the student film projects I worked on at school? Anyone have format tips or examples for a film student's resume? I would really appreciate any advice. Thanks!
 
trying to get a pa job? first talk to your teachers probli the one who works in the business go through them first. next network as much as you can. then look for jobs. even free ones. or ones close to you. your in CA so you're lucky. then go from there. so just network. resumes work later but you have to jump right in. having some experienced will make you go far. so just network.
 
P.A. jobs should not be difficult to land. Film professors might be a good resource but would be the last resource I would try. (They have hundreds of students all wanting the same thing.)

Here's what I did with only a high school diploma. I found a department head and called his number. I showed interest in working with him & he invited me to work on a project with him. For a while, I interned for free but eventually we figured out a rate for me and I was making money working on movies.


So how do you go about this? Local film commissions. Call the film commission or visit the website. Ask about a directory. They should have production companies and department heads listed with contact numbers.

Don't worry so much with a resume unless they ask for one. The important thing is to find the department you are interested in: camera work, lighting, makeup, props, special effects. Producers & directors rarely ever give you jobs in these areas because they delegate to their department heads (who they sometimes have JUST met) So the producers will only ever offer you an office job or possibly give the "set PA" job. You'll drive people to set or put up signs or any number of tedious things that nobody wants to do.

So my advice is, ignore PA work & go for a specialized job within an department. It might take a few tries to get an internship but many people will be very welcoming if you are offering free labor. Think about it. You watch them working very closely & learn what it takes. Soon you'll know if you even want to pursue that job anymore or try something else. As a P.A. you'll see the department heads but will only really talk to them if you sit next to them at lunch. What their job entails still remains a mystery to you & you never really feel like you fit in.

Resume or not, you can get onto a filmset. Just don't ask the director or the producer for work. Ask the department head.
 
PA doesn't lead to much but other PAing gigs. SO first you should figure out what's your skill set. You are into lighting? You like recording sound? You are into make-up? Etc? Then based on that try to put together your "reel" for free productions -- you get more experience in the field, they get "decent" job of whatever it is you are doing for free.

Soon you will realise that making movies is as much about fun as it's about business. G&E guys & sound always gets paid as you can't pull "for your reel" card with them. Make-up, DP, director sometimes work for their reel, but even then soon the money exchage comes in place.

I make my living DPing and besides my first free gig (that at the end still turned out to be $50/day) i always get my rate.
 
Yeah, PA jobs lead to much more. If you know your stuff, it will be evident. Show off your knowledge and crew members will ask you to work with them in the future.
 
I dont think it has to do with being a mediocre PA or not that landed the producer and AD their current jobs. It would have to do with being a a great creative person... probably has nothing to do with being a PA.

Don't ever be a PA.

I've been offered many times to fill in for PAs who have not shown up or been fired... never taken one tho. all you do is get coffee for people, and random **** jobs like everyone else says.

if you really are desperate to get a peek up close of how they make a movie, then go be a PA.. it would take no previous experience of any kind. but if you want to get your foot in the door, do as the others suggested up there ^^^^

or i dunno what its like in the states, but in canada (or at least BC) you can join the iatse union which covers a plethora of technical but skill jobs... and it is sntry level, but you can progress MUCH better when your an iatse member..

(although you wont be progressing to DOP or anything like that anytime soon)
 
My point was that if you work your ass off as a PA, you will impress people and it will lead to bigger and better things. Being a PA allows you to put yourself in a position to impress those people, so in that regard it's invaluable.

I can't stand it when people say "don't be a PA" just because it's not the shortcut to success. The path to success is a process, not a race. The industry would be a lot less cutthroat if more people accepted that.
 
Yeah but you alo have to be raelistic. If one of my regular G&E guys or AC can't make it then i don't start thinking of the most hard working PA to come and replace him, i ask for a recomendation of a G&E or AC. It would be the last resort to call a PA that was helping out with lights on the last shoot to G&E this one... I've worked with some uber hard working PAs but none of them have "graduated" to better positions.
 
Well, being an AC or a grip require different skill sets. I think if one of your AD's or co-producers bailed out, you might consider one of your best PA's to fill in.
 
Saying that PA jobs only lead to more PA jobs seems to be forgetting that the most important part of this business is networking. PAs meet lots and lots of people. Remember you are not just being hired by the head honcho, but by your peers as well.

When the AC moves up to DP on his next project, he might be looking to the cool PA who treated him like he was the man to be his AC. Same with any position on the set.

If the PA knows what he wants to do that is not being a PA, he will get to know the people who will be in position to hire him, not just today or tomorrow, but a year down the line.
 
I agree with Eastside Pkwy about whoever says NEVER PA is crazy. That is ignorant. PA work is a way to get your foot in the door and learn. If all you're looking to do is be the director or the DP and you think you're qualified to do that job yesterday - then being a PA with a poor attitude will get you nowhere. However... If you really want to learn and make good contacts then you should definitely take PA work. There will be jobs that don't progress your career. But, you also have a chance to meet some people who can make a difference. I haven no patience for people who graduate film school and feel they are too good to PA. A PA with a great attitude will not be a PA forever. But, a PA with a crappy attitude will never be hired a second time on any of my shoots. By all means if you know you're interested in a specific department, try to be a PA in that dept.
 
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Whatever works for you.

I still stick to my original statement that after your first PA job see what position you wnat to have and next time apply for a free job in that departmnet -- since it's free you are not expected to know it all, you will learn and a few jibs later you are getting paid working in the business.
 
Seriously, which production companies are you working for that allows the PA "to meet lots and lots of people"? I agree wholeheartedly that networking is important but most PAs I see hang out with other PAs and talk about how today they lucked out because they rotated outside of the production office.

My advice is simple. PA for the production company unless you want to learn advanced skills within a certain department. Pouring coffee and making copies is no where near as cool as making props or signs that you can point to and say "i did that" while watching the movie. There's no lack of networking NOT being a P.A.

I think you guys are forgetting all the other cool assistant jobs that aren't production assistant.
 
I don't know if the market is much different in LA. In Texas my experience has always been that department assistants get somewhere much faster than PAing for the production company.

But I'm willing to admit that PAing for one of the big studios is probably much different. Here's the thing tho. No matter how good you are for the studio, do they fly PAs for location shooting in another state?

Because when I worked on studio features, the PAs were always local.
 
I find you really network when you're a PA. But it all depends on the set or the company of course. My experience is with indy here in montreal, so it may be a different case.

Either way, PA work is a good starting job. It may not lead to better, but you get a sense of how it works on set, and you do know a few people. You may end up going for an interview a few years later, and they see your stuff and like it, but they like 5 others. But then they realize you were that hard working PA that used to work there and that's they're deciding factor to hire you.

All kind of situations can arise. Maybe nothing will arise. But I don't see how PA work can hurt you.

If you feel that it really would hurt you, then don't put PA work in your resume.

But I know a gemini nominee director I worked for started as a PA. He'd joke around, when I'm moping a floor, saying "don't worry Jonathan, I used to be just like you."
 
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