Behind the scenes: The Role of 1st Assistant Director

Initially, when putting my hand up for this role - being an aspiring director - I figured this was a great way to work creatively with the director but also along side the other crew members, learning about their roles and responsibilities. In the end, I did learn a lot about the different departments on set - but I definitely learnt that I signed up for more than I expected.

The role of a 1st AD is not just to "assist the director" but to assist the whole production - schedules, cast and crew; keeping everyone on time and up to date about shooting days and changes during production. Working more along side the producer, you're responsible for coordinating the vision of the director and DP with the location and time limits.

You also have to be able to think on your feet and problem solve; a skill I definitely developed on set as 1st AD. As it happened many times - the schedule never pans out as planned - some shots are added, some are taken away, and some take way longer than expected, so you need to be able to prioritise what is vital to the story and what can be discarded, which shots can be combined etc.

Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy this role, and I would definitely do it again, but a lesson I did learn is to research more about a role before you put your hand up for it! Ask around, go on the wide web, learn everything you need to know.

To my enjoyment, the two music videos that I was 1st AD for this year had small crews, so I was able to be more hands on, help out with different departments on set and get involved more - I was constantly learning; which is the goal, isn't it?