Sonnyboo's post about Production Assistants gave me the idea for this thread. I imagine a few of us here have worked as PAs on at least one shoot. Would love to hear anecdotes about your most memorable experiences. I'll start...
On my first PA job, I was asked by the director to make coffee for the casting session. I didn't drink the stuff myself, so had never made a pot of it in my life. I figured out how the coffee machine worked, but had no idea how much coffee to use, so I asked the director how many scoops. She said, "Oh, I don't know. About one scoop per cup." It was a 12-cup coffee maker. I started scooping the grounds, but by the time I got to 6 scoops, the filter was almost full, so I figured I'd better stop there. Those of you who drink coffee can imagine the reactions it got.
On a shoot for Chevrolet, our prima donna director refused to drink anything but Evian bottled water, and crafty ran out. We were shooting out in the boonies and, since it was the 1980s, the local store didn't carry bottled water, let alone Evian. The director demanded that a PA drive 150 miles, round-trip, to get him his Evian.
On a shoot for Pepsi, the director arrived on set without his jacket, not realizing how cold it gets in Oregon. The UPM sent me to buy him a warm jacket. It was 7am, however, in a tiny town where most stores don't open until 10am. Only place open was the marine supply store. They carry only high-end, super thermal gear for professional mariners, so I bought him the cheapest jacket they had, which was still twice what the UPM wanted me to pay. The UPM had a fit, but the director was cold so they bit the bullet. The director loved the jacket, but wasn't pleased with my color choice.
Your turn!
On my first PA job, I was asked by the director to make coffee for the casting session. I didn't drink the stuff myself, so had never made a pot of it in my life. I figured out how the coffee machine worked, but had no idea how much coffee to use, so I asked the director how many scoops. She said, "Oh, I don't know. About one scoop per cup." It was a 12-cup coffee maker. I started scooping the grounds, but by the time I got to 6 scoops, the filter was almost full, so I figured I'd better stop there. Those of you who drink coffee can imagine the reactions it got.
On a shoot for Chevrolet, our prima donna director refused to drink anything but Evian bottled water, and crafty ran out. We were shooting out in the boonies and, since it was the 1980s, the local store didn't carry bottled water, let alone Evian. The director demanded that a PA drive 150 miles, round-trip, to get him his Evian.
On a shoot for Pepsi, the director arrived on set without his jacket, not realizing how cold it gets in Oregon. The UPM sent me to buy him a warm jacket. It was 7am, however, in a tiny town where most stores don't open until 10am. Only place open was the marine supply store. They carry only high-end, super thermal gear for professional mariners, so I bought him the cheapest jacket they had, which was still twice what the UPM wanted me to pay. The UPM had a fit, but the director was cold so they bit the bullet. The director loved the jacket, but wasn't pleased with my color choice.
Your turn!
