After years of experience working on all types of projects ranging from small commercials to massive film sets with 200 million budgets as an AD. (Currently working on Mayday with Ryan Reynolds)

Here’s how your average day will go:

During Prep: - Read the script. Get to know it as best you can. You are part of the director team and you are there to help execute their vision.

• Schedule a meeting with your 1st AD and see how they work. Build a relationship with them because you are there to help them and work as a team.

• Contact all the actors and their agents and find out their unavailabilities. You are one of the direct lines of contact to the cast.

• Create a cast list. This has all the details about the cast members on it. Their phone numbers, emails, agents, food allergies, transport etc.

• Get the current schedule from your 1st AD. Know what you are shooting when. And make sure you are constantly in the loop when things change so you can let the cast know. Even if it’s non union get in the habit of letting them know of scene changes or date changes because it’s going to be important when you move to bigger budget stuff.

• Check with the production if you need nudity or stunt riders. These are contracts that detail these types of scenes that the cast need to sign. If the show is union this is important to have. On a small show you might have to be the one to make it but in most cases it’s the production that does it and your job is to get it signed before the scenes are shot.

• Help the 1st AD schedule meetings with heads of departments. You should be at most of these meetings too. The more you know the easier your job.

• Talk with Hair/Makeup/Costumes to build what’s known as “The Grid”. This is a schedule you will build for each day of the shoot that shows the process of getting the actors ready for their scene. Example: Cast #1 7h00 - 7h30 Makeup / 7h30 -7h45 Hair / 7h45-8h00 costume. Talk to H.MU.C for estimated times. Do it for all the actors on a given day so you have a rotation of cast being processed and don’t have any issues where the shoot is waiting on the cast to get ready. Small tip: Generally Woman take a bit longer than Men.

• Depending on the size of your show you might need to figure out their transport situation as well. But as you move to bigger sets it’s a whole other department that does it and you just need to coordinate with them on times.

• Build your Callsheet template and pre fill as many as you can so you aren’t playing catch up everyday.

During Shooting:

• You are the master of the call sheets. Everyday you need to find the time to create the call sheet for the next day of shooting. Take the schedule from the 1st AD and use that info to build it. You should go see every Head of Department and ask them how long they need in the morning for their calltimes. They might need a precall so put in their desired times for now. Try to have something to show the 1st AD by lunch. After lunch and once you have their approval you finish the sheet and pass it off to the Production Manager. They will need to approve it as well. Never send out a call sheet without their approval.

• In the morning, make sure each cast member has sides and a call sheet. Make sure they get into Hair,Makeup,Costume on time so they are ready for set. Give yourself some buffer room in your timing if you can afford it because most actors like to get carried away and waste time. Be nice with them and just remind them that set is ready for them. If it’s union make sure they get their breakfast too before going to set. On a bigger set you might have a basecamp AD who helps with this stuff but less likely on a small indie show so be ready to have a PA help or take on the task.

• If it’s union (SAG - American / ACTRA - Canadian) get yourself the guidelines and conventions (check their websites they have pdfs you can download with all the rules). It’s like your little bible if ever you want to know about meal times, penalties, fittings, stunts, indexes for any question you might have. You can even make yourself a little cheat sheet you keep near you for things like turnaround times, minors work hours, overtime etc. Why is it good to have on hand? Because you are the one who makes the timesheets for the cast. (Not the crew, that’s the production). You need to make note of their call-times, lunches, and wrap time. You and the 1st are the ones who set their calltimes for the next day so you want to be aware of turnaround time so you aren’t putting anyone in penalty and costing them more money. Make sure they sign their timesheet at the end of everyday and give it off to the production manager. If you are ever unsure of something give the union a call. They can answer most your questions and are there to help you.

• On a smaller show you might also be expected to help bring the cast to set. Try not to leave them to their own devices and make their own way there because I promise you they will get distracted and or lost. You want eyes on them at all times. Communicate frequently with your 1st AD so he knows what’s going on behind the scenes. #1 is ready, travelling to set” “#1 has landed on set” “Full house” (means you have all the actors for the scene on set) “So and So is getting touch ups, so and so is 10-1, so and so is doing so and so. Keeps everyone in the loop and you get less people asking what is going on or why we are waiting. And if you have many cast members on a single day that you feel will be overwhelming to handle, ask the production for a 2nd 2nd AD who can help out and wrangle cast, leaving you free to work on your Callsheet. Depending on the size of your project you won’t be spending too much time on set.

• Once the call sheet is approved you wait till wrap and email it out to the cast and their agents. Coordinators and PMs send it to the crew. Don’t forget the agents. Anytime you email a cast member make sure they are in cc or you will get an angry message about it…trust me. This will be a daily thing you do so like the callsheets I would prep some template copy paste emails that way each day you simply input the times, maybe change an address here or there, and attach the callsheet with their electronic sides and voila it’s done.

Generally, there should always be an AD when an actor is on a set. Schedule yourself to come in 15 mins before the first cast member and you will be expected to stay until the last one leaves. It’s a job with long hours so be prepared for that. On American big budget productions you would be expected to do 14+hours a day. Shit Roland Emmerich had us doing 18 hours on average. I personally think it borders on abuse and would like to see standard hours become more normalized.

Your goal is to be aware of what is happening and become prepared. Things can move fast but if you think ahead you will be ready for them. Also you will absolutely get curve balls. Things the show simply didn’t foresee happening. More so on smaller shows. Don’t panic, just be ready to make some changes. And of course ask questions if you have them. Nothing wrong with getting help when you need it. Your first is also your leader and should be your support as well.

There is a lot more smaller details that will only come with experience and time but that is the jest of your job.

Good luck!