I'm a level 65 Production Assistant.

A lot of people have asked me what exactly it is I do at my super awesome amazing job in the movies, so I thought I'd share the details with you. While I was writing, I figured out that in many ways my job is like a video game, and I thought it would be fun to share the metaphor with you!

So by title I am a Production Assistant, or PA. I am working in the production office instead of on set, so when people at work refer to my position, they call my counterpart and I the Office PAs. We, and the production secretary work under the APOC (assistant production office coordinator), who works under the POC (production office coordinator), who works under the UPM (unit production manager), who works under the producers. The producers work for the executives, the folks with all the money, who have assigned us all the daunting task of creating a good movie that will sell to distributors and make them lots more money so they can make more movies.

So I imagine that the producers (the ones on my movie, not my friend, who produces cartoon shows) are the king and queen of Hyrule. Princess Zelda has been kidnapped, and we won't get her back without the power of the Triforce: a movie that is 1) good, 2) on time, and 3) under budget!

Basically I have a home base (the production office) where I have a lot of maintenance and general upkeep tasks to do (like The Sims). My performance and efficiency levels give me points toward bonus rounds (runs), which are more fun in terms of game play and also are more lucrative in terms of points. These bonus rounds are known as 'runs.'

Runs are like little missions assigned to me by the APOC. Throughout the course of a production there are about a million little things that need to get done every day: location permits must be picked up, frivoloties must be purchased to placate megastars, scripts must be delivered to talent, paperwork must be brought to set and back, etc. etc. etc. Each is a mission that involves finding your way to the thing you need to do, making sure it gets done right, and then checking in with the home base to see if there are any other missions you need to complete before you can come home and potentially level up.

Leveling up is an anticlimactic event that is often marked by learning a new skill or impressing someone important. It usually happens either at home base or out on set (like our space ship that travels around on its own mission). I'd say right now I'm a level sixty-five or so out of a hundred. That's a lot or a little, depending on how you look at it. It's really not too bad for my first time playing the actual game and not just a practice round, but I think I leveled down this week when I forgot to get a schedule A (location permit thingy) from the Mayor's office. It turned out okay, but still...that I forgot is not okay.

There are also hit points in the game. The higher your level, the more hit points you can lose before your career falls flat. HP are lost in a variety of ways; by getting lost, taking too long on a mission, your cell phone ringing on set, accidents, saying the wrong thing to the wrong person...you get the idea. HP can be restored by scoring points. If you lose enough HP your level can actually decrease, so it's worth it to go the extra mile whenever possible.

Just like any good RPG there is a point to all the stuff I do. There is an end goal. If by the end of the film I have maintained a certain level, then I can get to the next stage! What that will be depends on a lot of things...mostly on whether I get asked on to another job and what the position is that they want me for. I like this office gig; it's not bad. But if I can get on set, that might not be bad either. We'll see. If I keep doing a good job, and if I can decide on a department I'd like to try, then eventually I'll get a job in a department, or move up the production ladder. That's the prize for winning!