Sparkman On Set
Sparkman On: Judging A Book By Its Resume
To piggyback off of my last post about networking, let me talk about its sneaky friend that can sink into your mindset: judgment. While navigating our industry where “it’s all about who you know,” I found myself seeing people only for their resumes.
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Sparkman On: Taking the ‘Work’ Out of Networking (Mostly)
Networking. It’s a word that used to fill my soul with intimidation and anxiety. And I would stare into the dark abyss of terror as my brain beat me up.
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Sparkman On: When Size Doesn’t Matter
As PAs, we are often asked to perform tasks that could easily be mistaken for something small and unimportant. For example, we might be asked to get extra printer ink for the Honeywagon.
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Sparkman On: Being the Best BG Actor You Can Be
Seldom does a day go by on a NYC film set when someone passing by doesn’t approach the PAs and ask if they can be an extra. Hanging out on a movie set with famous actors? Sounds glamorous, right?
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Sparkman On: Loving Thy Bogies
Bogie (noun): One who should not be in a film production’s shot but has walked into it either accidentally… or otherwise.
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Sparkman On: Post Production Blues
When I booked my first crew job on a major feature film, to say I was ecstatic is an understatement. I was high on life and wanted to know every single person on that crew.
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Sparkman On: Major F*ck Ups
Every single person in our industry has f*cked up. Badly. Comically badly. In this line of work, it comes with the territory. And I love that. But I’ve learned that when we inevitably mess up, what matters most is that we take responsibility, problem solve, and learn from it best we can.
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Sparkman On: Advice Overload
What never ceases to amaze me about our industry is how many unique and inspiring people you meet. Every single person has the most incredible stories, whether it be from their time on set, or how they got their first job (check out FACES “Breaking In” Series for some of them!).
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Sparkman On: Why PAs Are Important AF
A looottt of people complain that being a PA (aka Production Assistant, aka lowest woman on the production totem pole) is the worst job ever. I’ve heard people brag that they’ve never PA’d. I’ve heard crew members laugh as they warn PAs that their job sucks. I’ve even heard someone compare PAing to slavery.
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Breaking In Series: Sparkman Clark
My name is Sparkman. Seriously. It’s not my last name. That’s Clark. So first name Sparkman, last name Clark. (That’s the rundown I give the baristas at Starbucks.) I currently work on a 30+ million budget feature film as the Director’s Assistant.
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