Being a Production Assistant
In the summer I was working as a P.A. [Production Assistant] in Television. I didn’t get fired but I haven’t been doing it for a while because the hours are insane and with my migraines it really wasn’t a good fit for me. Although it had its cool moments and I worked with some rad people, there is always the chance I’ll do some more work in the summer. But Adam and I also never saw each other when I was doing that work so who knows. I only did two shows. The first when I was brand spankin new was Scifi’s brand spankin new show Eureka, also shown on Space. Because there is really no training in this industry, when you walk on set as a P.A. it is ’sink or swim’ so thankfully you get the - easy you have way too much time to think jobs like watching cars if out on location.
I watched the episode of Eureka I had worked on and even though I was not right up in the action it ruled, I still knew almost all the lines from the script for that day- I’d had my first awestruck moment when Matt Frewer randomly patted me on the head. Living in Vancouver you see so many famous people if you are someone who is going to find yourself constantly star struck it is not an industry for you. This was simply first day on the job ever holy crap someone famous touched me for no reason. Via text message Adam said I had been anointed and that was the end of it.
There is only one other time in all my years living here that I have found myself star struck and it would make a good post probably.
But watching the episode was so awesome even if at the time I’d been watching cars and pretending to LOVE IT! YAY! I was also carefully observing and asking lots of questions because I wanted to do well, and learn fast because I knew it was just a matter of time before I was going to get called for Battlestar Galactica, Season 3 because I had a connection on that set who had passed my number on so I had gotten the Eureka work first.
Last night [Saturday] the start of the four episodes I worked on aired and because after maybe day two at the BSG studio I was working ON SET it was awesome being able to say ‘I’m standing right there’ pointing somewhere just off screen. Turned out last night was the Fall finale too. SWEET. Working with Tricia Helfer I found more funny than I did ‘beauty’ struck because I had never even heard of her but had just finished watching her host Canada’s Next Top Model for weeks and then here I was working with her- that was a little surreal. Mostly some of my friends were more excited about certain members of the cast than myself because I had never watched it. But I got so excited watching it last night I was like a four year old, quickly reminding myself of how much I hated the hours though and how much headache shit I had to take just to get through a day.
I think the best part was learning all the behind the scenes shit and how they do it all and how it is then put together but when I’d get home from a shift I would not be able to watch T.V. or movies because all I could see was the crew behind the scenes and it was terrible. I am MUCH more critical of T.V. now and watch WAY less than I did before and I can think of no other reason than having worked in it. Or maybe I’m just watching more of the Golf Channel. The Natalie Gulbis show is pretty addictive.
