Production Assistant (PA)

Also called: PA, set PA, office PA, runner

A production assistant (PA) is the entry-level crew member who keeps a shoot moving for every department: locking up the set, handing out radios and sides, wrangling background actors, running paperwork and errands. On most sets PAs work for the assistant directors or the production office, and for many crew it is the first job in film.

What it does: Takes every small task off the heads of departments and ADs so the camera can keep rolling.
Use it when: Any shoot bigger than a handful of people: one good PA per unit saves more time than any piece of gear.
Watch out: A PA who leaves a lockup, talks on the wrong radio channel or wanders into an eyeline during a take costs the whole crew a take.
Try this prompt: Radio call: 'Lockup on the east corner, copy? We're rolling… and cut, release the walkers.'

What is a production assistant?

A production assistant is the most junior position in the production department of a film crew. The job has no fixed craft: a PA fills whatever gap would otherwise stop the day, from carrying a cart of water up four flights of stairs to standing on a corner stopping pedestrians during a take.

Part of it is menial. But the PA sits in the one place where every department's needs cross: the assistant directors' radio channel and the production office's paperwork. A PA who pays attention learns in a few months how a set actually runs: who talks to whom, what the call time means, why a company move takes an hour, how a scene gets from the call sheet to the camera. That is why so many ADs, producers and directors started with this title. In the UK the same job is called a runner. For how the PA fits among the other roles, see the filmmaking process and crew hub.

What does a production assistant do on set?

A set PA's day starts before crew call and ends after wrap. The recurring tasks:

Lockups. During takes, PAs hold the perimeter: stopping pedestrians, keeping neighbors and crew out of frame, holding doors, asking passers-by to wait. On a street they stand at the edges of the shot on radio and release people on "cut." Traffic control on public roads is handled by police or licensed traffic crews where the permit requires it, not by PAs improvising.
Radios and paperwork. PAs sign out walkie-talkies and headsets in the morning and collect them at wrap, then hand out sides, the pocket-size copies of the day's scenes, to cast and department heads. Knowing the radio shorthand ("copy," "flying in," "going 10-1") is part of the job.
Echoing calls. When the 1st AD calls "rolling" or "cut," PAs repeat it loudly at their posts so crew in the next room and at the trucks know to freeze or to move.
Cast and background. PAs walk actors between base camp, hair and makeup and set, knock on trailer doors when first team is needed, and help check in, hold and place background actors under the 2nd AD's direction.
Runs. Fetching a forgotten lens adapter, printing revised pages, picking up an actor at the hotel. Office PAs do most of the driving; set PAs mostly stay on set.
Keeping the set clean. Trash, coffee cups, cables left by a closed door: small things that show up in frame or trip someone.

None of it is creative, but all of it decides whether the company makes its day.

Set PA, office PA and other kinds of PA

On a larger show, PAs split into lanes:

Key set PA leads the set PAs, assigns lockups and is the 2nd AD's right hand; often the next step up is a trainee or 2nd 2nd AD position.
Set PA works under the AD team on the shooting floor.
Office PA works in the production office under the production coordinator: phones, copying, deliveries, supply runs, drive-ons at the studio gate.
Background PA helps manage extras on crowd days, from holding area to set.
Department PAs such as art, locations, costume or accounting PAs are hired by a department head to help that department only. A locations PA, for example, sets up signage, parking and cones at a filming location.

On a micro-budget short, one or two PAs cover all of these at once, which is exactly why they learn fast.

Production assistant vs. assistant director

The two titles get confused because they work side by side, but they are different ranks. The 1st AD runs the set and the schedule; the 2nd AD builds the call sheet and manages cast and background; a 2nd 2nd AD may run the floor on big shows. PAs are the layer below: they carry out the AD team's decisions and never make scheduling calls themselves. Office PAs report up a different line, through the coordinator to the production manager.

In practice that means a set PA takes direction from the AD team, not from whoever shouts loudest. If a gaffer asks for help moving a light, a good PA checks with the key PA or 2nd AD first: moving gear belongs to another department, and a PA who touches it can create a safety or union problem.

How to become a production assistant (and be a good one)

Most PA work is non-union day-rate work, found through crew groups, local film commission listings, student and indie productions, and above all referrals from people you have already worked for. Reliability matters more than experience; a car, rain gear and comfortable shoes help.

What separates the PAs who get rehired:

Early is on time. Arrive before your call and read the call sheet the night before: scenes, locations, parking, weather.
Answer the radio, every time. "Copy" when you hear a request; "on it" when you start; "done" when you finish.
Stay at your lockup until you are released, even when nothing seems to be happening.
Know the set etiquette: stay out of eyelines, keep your phone silent during takes, don't touch another department's gear, and don't pitch ideas to the director or chat with the cast unless they start it.
Anticipate. If the next scene is at night in the rain, the PA who has already staged towels and umbrellas is the one the AD remembers.

On productions that plan on a shared FlashBoards board, a PA who has looked at the day's storyboard frames and location references knows ahead of time which corner the camera faces, where to hold a lockup and where background will cross, before the AD has to explain it on the radio.

FlashBoardsDirect the production assistant (PA) on one board

Keep the reference frames, prompts and every generated take side by side — images and video in one canvas.

Open FlashBoards

FAQ

5 questions

What does a production assistant do?

A production assistant supports the whole production with whatever keeps the shoot on schedule. Set PAs lock up the set during takes, hand out radios and sides, echo "rolling" and "cut," move cast and background actors and keep the set clean. Office PAs handle phones, copying, deliveries and errands for the production office. Both jobs are entry level and are often the first paid job in film.

What does PA stand for in film?

In film and television, PA stands for production assistant. On a call sheet or crew list you will also see "key PA" for the lead production assistant, "set PA" for PAs working the shooting floor and "office PA" for those working in the production office. In the UK the equivalent role is usually called a runner rather than a PA.

Who does a production assistant report to?

A set PA reports to the assistant directors, usually through the key PA to the 2nd AD or 2nd 2nd AD. An office PA reports to the production coordinator and, above them, the production manager. Department PAs, such as art or locations PAs, report to the head of the department that hired them. PAs take instructions from their own chain rather than from anyone on set.

Do you need experience to be a PA?

No formal training is required, which is why the job is the classic way in. What productions want is reliability: arriving early, answering the radio, staying at a lockup and knowing basic set etiquette. Student films and indie shoots are good first credits; referrals from ADs lead to the next jobs.

What is the difference between a PA and a runner?

They are largely the same job under different names. "Production assistant" is the US term; "runner" is common in the UK and some other countries, with variants such as floor runner, office runner and unit runner. Both are entry-level roles supporting the assistant directors and the production office. A UK floor runner works closely with the 3rd AD, much like a US set PA.