{"id":49260,"date":"2015-04-23T11:00:48","date_gmt":"2015-04-23T16:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/?p=49260"},"modified":"2015-04-23T09:09:49","modified_gmt":"2015-04-23T14:09:49","slug":"4-tips-for-being-an-awesome-assistant-director","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/4-tips-for-being-an-awesome-assistant-director\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Tips for Being an Awesome Assistant Director"},"content":{"rendered":"

Working as an Assistant Director (AD) can be unbelievably challenging. To survive on set and off, take some key steps to position yourself for success.<\/h2>\n

Top image from DIY Film<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Working as an AD is one of the most stressful jobs on set, but can also be one of the most rewarding. You are literally responsible for tackling more at any given time than any other crew member, and need to juggle logistical, creative, and technical aspects of your project without blinking an eye.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many aspiring producers attempt to jump into the role of an AD before they are truly ready, which ultimately can negatively impact their productions and lead them to possibly even lose their jobs. So if you are starting to work as an AD or even thinking about it \u2014read on. These tips will keep you from falling on your face during the filmmaking process and will dramatically increase your chances of\u00a0success.<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Be Really Involved in Pre-Production<\/h3>\n

\"AssistantImage from Sarah K. Shoen<\/a><\/p>\n

When it comes to being an AD, the question isn\u2019t \u201cwhat does an AD do\u201d but \u201cwhat doesn\u2019t<\/i> an AD do<\/strong>\u201d. This applies not only to your on set work, but pre-production\/development time too. Don\u2019t ever make the naive mistake of believing you are just going to walk onto set on day one and be able to do your job properly. It takes a lot of prep work to do your job well, so don\u2019t ever try to skimp out during prep or it will show.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The success (or failure) you experience in your role as an AD is often directly related to how involved you are in pre-production. <\/strong>As someone who oversees just about everything on set, you are expected to know what\u2019s going on every step of the way. You’d be flat out wrong to believe you could get away without putting in your time during pre-pro. As you hopefully already know, for many crew members you (as the AD) are their \u2018go-to\u2019 person for information.<\/p>\n

If you aren\u2019t prepared enough to assist them when you’re needed, you aren\u2019t doing your job properly and ultimately shouldn\u2019t be holding that position to begin with. Be committed to knowing as much as possible<\/strong>, for your sake and those around you. I can\u2019t stress enough how important it is that you find an immense amount of self motivation when working as an AD, as no one else is going to tell you where to put in the extra leg work.<\/p>\n

Also, never wait on the\u00a0Director or Producer of the film to involve you in pre-production matters<\/strong>, as they each have a lot on their plate and are expecting you to rise to the occasion. Be assertive in your role. If you require\u00a0information from the Director to do your job, tell them. Don\u2019t wait to be included in the discussion…\u00a0initiate\u00a0it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

2. Communicate Exceptionally Well<\/h3>\n

\"Assistant
\n<\/a>I<\/em>mage via\u00a0<\/em>DIY Film<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not already an amazing communicator, you better get cracking on your communication skill set ASAP<\/strong>. <\/b>As someone who liaises with the Director and pretty much everyone else on set, stellar communication skills are the ultimate key to your success in this role. You need to be able to understand, relay, and translate information quickly and efficiently while also coming across as an authoritative figure, and trust me – this is easier said than done.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The best ADs that I’ve ever worked with know how to command a room. They let department heads know when there is an issue, they keep the Director moving efficiently, and can quickly wrangle up every last crew member when the next shot is up.<\/p>\n

If you aren\u2019t 110% confident that you can handle this, then you have your work cut out for you. The good news is that 90% of what you need to do is mental<\/strong>. You need to understand your role and the responsibility that you have, and allow yourself to be confident and assertive on set even if it doesn\u2019t come naturally to you.<\/p>\n

3. Delegate if Possible<\/h3>\n

\"AssistantImage from Cleveland.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

ADs always have a ton of work on their plates. As I stated earlier, they are usually the busiest crew member on set. That said, being busy doesn\u2019t mean having to do everything yourself \u2014 one of the largest responsibilities of an AD is to delegate<\/strong>. While there are some specific tasks that an AD needs to tackle themselves, the vast majority of their work during production comes down to relaying information and delegating responsibilities as efficiently as possible.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be afraid to ask for help or assign jobs to your crew, as that\u2019s what they\u2019re there for. If your Producer or Director finds you trying to juggle too many things at once, they are likely to come down on your for it, as you aren\u2019t actually fulfilling your responsibilities properly. It may feel like you are working harder than everyone around you<\/strong> (and maybe you are), but that doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re doing the right work.<\/p>\n

There are a lot of lines that get blurred when you work as an AD, since you\u2019re wearing so many hats – but by default you should always attempt to delegate responsibilities (other than your key AD tasks) first and foremost, and only when those tasks can\u2019t be delegated can you step in to get your hands dirty.<\/strong><\/p>\n

4. Never Micromanage<\/h3>\n

\"micromanageImage from HowToFilmSchool<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s always important to remember that there’s a balance to everything.<\/strong> Even though I mentioned above that you need to delegate as much as possible on set, you also don\u2019t want to fall into a parallel trap of\u00a0micromanaging your crew. Doing so will make them feel like you don\u2019t trust them, and it will also waste a lot of your precious time that could likely be better served doing something far more productive.<\/p>\n

You need to trust that your directions have been received and heard by your crew. Assuming you are working with professional crew members, you should be able to count on your team.<\/p>\n

When you attempt to micromanage everyone, you\u2019re assuming that you know how to do everyone’s job better than they do (whether you realize it or not) and it comes across very poorly on set<\/strong>. Let those around you shine; as an AD this makes you look good and leaves more time open for you to actually run your set.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In\u00a0Conclusion<\/h3>\n

\"AssistantImage from the Annapurna International School of Film + Media<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Being a great AD is much harder work than you might think, but that doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t pull it off, even without much experience on set. Always remember to be assertive, understand your role inside and out, take part in prep as much as you can, communicate\/delegate effectively, and never micromanage.<\/p>\n

And just as importantly as everything we touched on above, you\u2019ve got be incredibly hard working, exceptionally organized, and a master problem solver.<\/strong>\u00a0Always remember that the better you are at your role, the easier it is for the Director to concentrate freely on the creative process in front of them. If you can accomplish that? You’re on the right track.<\/p>\n

Here are a few more articles from PremiumBeat<\/a> that cover the ins and outs of working on film sets:<\/p>\n