What I Really Want to Do is Direct

PART III: THE ASSISTANT

by Jonathan Goldman

Directing is a craft best learned by osmosis.  A classroom and textbook can only teach you so much.  The best way to learn the skills needed to succeed is by being around people making movies.

 If you’re just starting out, try and get a job on set as a Production Assistant.  You can get a great overview of life during production as a PA and you may find – after watching the director – that it’s not for you after all.  Perhaps you gravitate towards the camera truck, or production design, maybe you’d make a good production coordinator or producing is your strong point.  Whatever interests you, it’s hard to know for sure until you’ve seen all the positions on a film set working together in harmony.  The Production Assistant is an entry level position that allows you to meet many different people (aka contacts) from all departments and I guarantee that when the job is over, the next one will come from someone you met while working as a PA.

Another great way to learn about directing is to become a Director’s Assistant (not to be confused with an Assistant Director [AD]).  Being a Director’s Assistant exposes you to all aspects of production (Development, pre-production, production, post-production and sometimes marketing) from the Director’s POV.  The better you are at your job, the more you will become involved.  It’s a demanding job, but if you align yourself with a good director and work on a project with them from start to finish, I guarantee it will give you more experience, knowledge and insight than any film school in the country.  There is no substitute for hands-on, in the trench experience.  Sure, you may find yourself answering phones, doing coffee runs and taking care of his/her personal life, but at the same time – if you’re lucky – your boss can become a mentor.  As a director, having a good mentor is invaluable because when it’s your time to take the chair, there will be an experienced pro for you to seek out advise.  How do you get this job?  Start working on sets – see if the director already has an assistant – if they don’t, get in there.  Put the word out that you’re interested in such a job, but don’t start calling director’s offices from their listing in the InfoSource or Creative Directory, you’ll just get their assistant on the phone.  Hence, no dice.  It’s not an easy job to find because it’s in demand, but it’s worth it.  Easily the best film school in the world. 

For more help on getting a job in Hollywood and succeeding as an assistant, see the Assistants section.

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