Experiences

Diary of a Production Assistant

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Most of the people who hear about their job descriptions of a Production Assistant think that their lives are quite a walk in the park. This is because it does somehow seem like all they do is go to the field to do interviews, cover events, and come back with lots of goody bags, fun pictures and eat great food and treats. Well some of it is true, but I feel it’s about time we shed light on this myth by telling you, my reader, about just how a normal ordinary day is like for a production assistant.
They usually are up by early morning hours of 5am, to try to beat the traffic and get to work by 7am. Brief niceties are exchanged as they drive off to the office location, at Hevea Court on Eldama Ravine road, with each of them looking lost in their thoughts, mostly about planning how their day will go.

As is with the Kuza Biashara work culture, each of the teams does a huddle which helps the teams to realize what their day will involve, and also act as a forum to help bring out any issue that might make a certain goal not be achieved. This goes on for another 15 minutes, before everyone breaks off, with laptops humming to life, to start their day.

For the production assistant, a quick glance at the chart on the wall quickly makes him get on his phone to make a furry of calls; confirming interviews, and checking with the events contact to confirm admittance. Arrangement of transport for the crew and looking up traffic updates to know which route to best use, to avoid the city rush are also part of the duties bestowed. Interviews are usually put in cluster groups based mostly on their geographical locations. This is to make transition from one location to another shift smoothly with minimal hitches. An hour to the actual interviews time, a quick equipment check is done, and a mini-huddle to get the team spirit up before they head out to the field.

On location, the lights go on and the film starts rolling as each member does his duty carefully to make sure the interview goes on without a hitch.

The team heads to the vehicle, where bonding happens as they eat snacks, and talk about how the interview went, while also discussing how to go about the event they are to attend in the next hour or so.

A quick drive around the city blocks searching for a parking space, and they are finally on location at an event at KICC. With the cameras on their shoulders they go in, find a suitable place to act as a base of operations, where they convene and leave a member or two to watch the equipment, as the rest go out to mingle with those displaying their wares in the booths, to get contacts and take photos.

The events usually are packed with food and drink, and the team gobbles down with much pleasure over laughter and talk about the event. The team then starts to head out where they get the goody bags as they exit the event.

Back at the office, the other teams look through their work stations at the flurry of activity that usually accompanies the arrival presence of the field team with curious ears straining to hear a bit of what the day at the field went like.



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