1st project: Interview with Cynthia Felde PM

I am a Production Manager. I do mostly commercial work. Here's how I get hired: A client. let's say Rebok, hires an advertising agency who in turn hires a Production Company, who hires me. By the time I'm hired, the Producer, Director and DP are already on board. As a PM (Production Manager), I hire the rest of the crew and put all the equipment on hold. I am given a budget and must make the numbers work within or preferably under budget. The PM is with the project from Pre-Production until the film is processed and transfered or the video goes to the editor. When the shooting is over, I wrap the job, which means I gather all the invoices / payroll / petty cash and actualize all the numbers into a final actualized budget. That's it in a nutshell minus all the drama, personalities and stress that ensues along the way.

How did I get started?

I went to school for Film and Communication at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Upon graduation, I started working in the Commercial and Film industry in Canada. A few years later I moved to Texas and started over again. I worked on a few jobs as a PA (Production Assistant) and quickly moved up as I already had the skills.

How do you tell someone over you that you could not accomplish an assigned task?

In two words, you don't. There is no room for failure in this industry, if you make a mistake, you fess up immediately, so it can be remedied. If you don't know how to do something you say so right away. Everything about the Commercial world is about time and money. You don't want to cost the production either.

Some advise, you never take a job you are not equipped to do. There is nothing worse then screwing your production team because you are in over your head. Your job as a PA, which is where you would start, is to make your PM and Coordinator's job easier, there is nothing worse then having to micro manage someone who should know their job. You may want to volunteer your time on low budget films or music videos to cut your teeth and learn the ropes. Unfortunately, now is a bad time to enter the job market in the production world. The downturn in the economy has seriously hurt our industry, even seasoned PA's are having trouble finding work.

-Karmen Kaufmann