At six in the morning a production assistant stands at the corner of a quiet street in a high-visibility vest, asking a jogger to wait thirty seconds while the camera rolls. Two hours later the same person is driving to a rental house for a missing cable, and in the afternoon they are copying script pages in the office. The production assistant, called a runner in the UK, does the jobs that keep a production moving.

What a production assistant does

There are two kinds. Office production assistants work for the production coordinator and handle errands, copying, deliveries and phone calls. Set production assistants (floor runners in the UK) work for the second assistant director and the first assistant director on set. They help hold locations quiet, guide cast to make-up and back, pass on messages by radio and keep the set clear.

The job starts in pre-production for office staff and on the first shoot day for set staff. It ends when the last equipment has been returned. Hours are long and the work is varied, which is exactly why it is the classic way into the industry.

Responsibilities

  • Run errands, pick up and return equipment and deliver documents
  • Help lock off streets and locations so the shot is not disturbed
  • Guide cast and extras between set, make-up, costume and holding areas
  • Pass on messages and timings by radio on set
  • Copy and distribute scripts, call sheets and schedules
  • Keep the production office, unit base and set tidy and supplied
  • Help the location manager leave each location as it was found

How the role touches the budget

No budget responsibility, and little influence on cost. A production assistant is a line in the crew budget, with their own day rate and overtime. They may hold a small cash float for purchases and hand in receipts afterwards, and those receipts end up in the cost report. Keeping every receipt, however small, is the main budget task of this role.

How people get into the role

Many start straight from school, film school or a short course, often through a recommendation or a trainee scheme. There is no fixed entry exam. A runner who is reliable, early and calm under pressure gets hired again. From there people move into the production office, into the assistant director team, or into a department they discovered while running errands for it.

In TV and commercials

In television, runners often work in a studio or a production company office and may move between programmes. On commercials the shoots are short, so runners are frequently freelancers booked per job, sometimes for just one or two days.