JH
Not one of the more common job titles in television, and don't forget that different organisations often have different meanings for job positions. A director's assistant sounds pretty self-explanatory to me - a bit of a gopher/runner role!
IS
This'll be the job that's been advertised at Sky? My understanding of it that it's a gallery PA role: doing timings and dealing with run orders
Martin posted:
If someone was a "director's assistant" on a live tv show... what would they actually be doing? Just curious as to what the job entails, you know how people like to glamourise job descriptions.
This'll be the job that's been advertised at Sky? My understanding of it that it's a gallery PA role: doing timings and dealing with run orders
NG
noggin
Founding member
Director's Asst is not a term widely used in the UK, however in some areas in TV it is used when most people would use the word Production Assistant.
In live transmission terms the PA assists the director and producer with timing items and the overall programme. Their voice, along with the directors, is the one that most people on "talkback" hear. In music production they will also bar-count - so that everyone stays in sync, and camera operators and vision mixers know what is happening and how long each shot lasts. If you hear a voice counting backwards - it is probably the PA (apart from in BBC News where they don't have many of them any more...)
When not on-air, or when working on location stuff, the PA will often do all of the paperwork, alongside a production secretary (if there is one) - covering stuff like music copyright declaration etc., and may also provide production management if the show doesn't have a Unit Manager or Production Manager. On small productions the PA may book flights hotels, cars, track the production budget, shot list rushes, keep an eye on continuity, organise facilities, and generally keep everyone informed about what is going on.
In some areas - particularly the BBC - the job will vary production by production - and other job titles such as Production Co-Ordinator (usually meaning almost no live gallery work) or Transmission Assistant (usually meaning almost no paperwork or pre-production) are often used instead of PA these days - officially.
If the advertised job is for a gallery PA - you'll need excellent mental arithmetic (especially in time units - adding and subtracting minutes and seconds very quickly) - and the ability to stay calm and focused on your job, whilst also being aware of what is going on around you. Being a good PA isn't easy - but the best ones make it look it.
In live transmission terms the PA assists the director and producer with timing items and the overall programme. Their voice, along with the directors, is the one that most people on "talkback" hear. In music production they will also bar-count - so that everyone stays in sync, and camera operators and vision mixers know what is happening and how long each shot lasts. If you hear a voice counting backwards - it is probably the PA (apart from in BBC News where they don't have many of them any more...)
When not on-air, or when working on location stuff, the PA will often do all of the paperwork, alongside a production secretary (if there is one) - covering stuff like music copyright declaration etc., and may also provide production management if the show doesn't have a Unit Manager or Production Manager. On small productions the PA may book flights hotels, cars, track the production budget, shot list rushes, keep an eye on continuity, organise facilities, and generally keep everyone informed about what is going on.
In some areas - particularly the BBC - the job will vary production by production - and other job titles such as Production Co-Ordinator (usually meaning almost no live gallery work) or Transmission Assistant (usually meaning almost no paperwork or pre-production) are often used instead of PA these days - officially.
If the advertised job is for a gallery PA - you'll need excellent mental arithmetic (especially in time units - adding and subtracting minutes and seconds very quickly) - and the ability to stay calm and focused on your job, whilst also being aware of what is going on around you. Being a good PA isn't easy - but the best ones make it look it.