Film terms

Being hired as a temporary or permanent employee and put on the payroll. This means that appropriate taxes will be deducted from your compensation.

Petty cash is a pre-determined amount of cash that a producer will bring on a shoot to buy last minute needs. Often the Production Assistant helps with these purchases, tracking the petty cash and submitting the petty cash recap form.

In general, a Producer is a person who manages many aspects of the production or project. They are typically in a category known as Above the Line, along with Directors, Lead Actors, Writers, and other managerial positions. Besides the basic Producer role, there are also Executive Producers, Co-Producers, Associate Producers, Independent Producers, Line Producers, Music Producers, and more.

This is an entry-level position in the film, video, and television industry. PAs perform all kinds of tasks that seem small but are a critical part of any production. Working in the office, around the set, and on location, a PA’s duties may include crowd control, running errands, cleaning up locations, driving talent, and playing an important role supporting the Producer. Almost all productions, no matter how small, use PAs.

This person works directly with the Director and the DOP to create the overall visual design of the film or video. This is a creative role and one that requires the ability to communicate the vision to all departments so that the desired look and feel is achieved.

This person is responsible for managing the budget and the hired crew. They often have a say in who is hired and what equipment is used. They work closely with the Producer and are typically jumping between being on-set or in the office, making sure that everything runs smoothly during filming. A way to tell who is who, is often the Line Producer is on-set while the Production Manager or Unit Production Manager is at the computer.

This person helps most with logistics. They arrange for equipment, hotels, vehicle rentals, and generally run the production office on a project.

This PA is dedicated to the props department. They back up the Assistant Props person as needed.

A pyrotechnician is a licensed expert, both on the state and the federal level, who specializes in fire, explosions, and weapons. An armorer is a similar role but tends to focus solely on weapons (armorers typically have a background in law enforcement, the military, or have apprenticed under a professional weapons expert.