What Makes A Great Post-Production Assistant?
Wanna know a little secret? I miss being a Post-PA. You’re probably like, “Yeah right Fonz, you’re just saying that to create an interesting opener for your blog.” You’re right, I am. Because it is interesting if you think about it. A lot of newcomers to the cutting rooms DREAD being the “lowest ranked position” when you’re literally surrounded with the most talented and generous people in the entertainment industry. Really.
Most people think, do your job well, go home, repeat. That’s great but when you realize the incredible benefits of being a Post-PA… my god, the rewards are life-changing. It’s a shift in the mindset that most people starting out don’t see. Let me share.
(These reasons are explained in my featured Wednesday Webisode video, “What Makes A Great Post-Production Assistant?” if you would like to check out the video version.)
Access, Access, Access. Say it three more times. Don’t ever take it for granted that you have access to learn from talented filmmakers who have experience. I remember when I was working for Travel Channel’s Hotel Secrets & Legends, I would get so excited to finish my work for the day just so I can hang out with the editor and shadow him. He was so open to teaching me (shoutout to Editor, David Michael Maurer, ACE). His love for VFX motivated me to learn After Effects. He would teach me how to motion track objects, how to properly use the RGB color map to blend VFX elements and make it look extremely realistic, and even tutored me on some of my practice shots that I did.
After the gig was over, I took what I learned and created this fun little VFX clip with my brother. If you’re looking for an action star for your next film by the way, he goes by the handle, @enriquecarrion92. He can dodge fires, run from explosions, and leap away from helicopters. Actually, just see for yourself below.
This all happened because I spent time shadowing David and put in the effort to learn everything and stayed late after hours to ask him a ton of questions. Shadow your Editors & Assistant Editors. This is the time to do it.
Carry Around A Film Editing Notebook
Why? Because 5 years from now, you will thank yourself for accumulating all of this knowledge in one location. The notebook I carry today is the same notebook that I used when I first started out as a Logger on MTV’s The Real World. I’ve accumulated so many troubleshooting issues, error codes, nuggets of advice, step-by-step guides in this notebook that I refer to it on a regular basis. Trust me on this one. Start now.
Be your-awesome-self.
Be that Post-PA that everyone loves. You’re already working crazy hours, you might as well have fun at your job and be that positive person driving up the morale of the crew. It doesn’t have to be happy go lucky everyday but you will do your best to help in any way possible. If that means driving an hour away to pickup a hard drive, picking up lunches, getting dinner for your editor who is staying late, moving furniture out of a room, buying office supplies, etc. - do it without a second thought.
Please note though that if you ever feel taken advantaged of, speak up. There are cutting rooms out there that are incredibly unrealistic in their requests and you have every right to speak up if you feel in your gut that what’s asked is not in your job description. Use your instincts. I’m relaying advice on the cutting rooms that have positive environments that your supervisors have your best intentions and want you to move up.
At the end of the day, you need feel like you’re effectively contributing to your team and they’re giving back to you. It needs to be a win-win. Remember that.
Well, those are my top three tips on how to make the most out of the Post-PA position. Next week, (sneak peek) I’ll be talking about Handling Lunch Orders because that in itself needs its own video/blog.
Thanks so much for reading - hope you got something out of it. If you’d like to get my help personally in breaking into Hollywood Editing. Check out my 1-on-1 phone sessions here. I genuinely want to help young professionals/college graduates break into the Hollywood Editing Industry. Thanks again for stopping by.
-Alfonso