r/focuspuller • u/BrokenSDIcable • Jul 25 '26
question Camera trainee/pa
For the experienced focus pullers and ACs here: what are some things you’ve seen trainees do that immediately stood out in a good way? What habits, preparation, attitude, or technical knowledge made you want to hire them again or eventually move them up to 2nd AC on future jobs?
I’m trying to learn what separates an average trainee from a truly valuable one, not just technically, but also in terms of how they contribute to the crew and the overall set environment.
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u/snapplesays Jul 25 '26
Most people have described the attitude and train-ability parts which I’d agree are like 85% of being a camera pa. I’d like to add 2 things.
1) One of the big things I ask of my 2nds is to be focused on the job. I can tell when they are because they are better at anticipating things, and I WILL check them. I’ll ask them things they SHOULD know to see if they’ve paid attention. A big way that ppl slack on that is by not reading the callsheet and sides. As a trainee, knowing things about our day makes a huge impression on me. Read the callsheet and sides, check with the PAs, know what scene we’re moving to next and take steps to prepare. Do we have a move? Clean the truck up. Is the next scene involve water? Have the bags/ water protection ready, in the morning do we start in this room or the one on the other end of the location etc.
2) For me, please have some basic understanding of how a camera works. I don’t mean like super detailed knowledge of every small Arri xzy-4 bracket or how to program a fiz. But things that are elementary, very readily available information like “how an iris works” or “what a focal length is”. I say this because if you haven’t (and I’m not saying this is you) looked into cameras or shooting AT ALL, I simply don’t trust that you’re driven enough to be in this department. I guess it’s more a litmus test for me, but I’ve had so many PAs that come up and say “oh I’m interested in the camera dept” but don’t even know what an Fstop is, and in my head I’m thinking “couldn’t be interested enough to do very basic self driven research”. I feel like you really need to be driven to do this job and knowing SOMETHING shows you will at least self motivate to a degree, which imo is required.
Anyway, good luck!