Role of the 1st assistant director

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Film and video shoots are so complicated that you expect problems to come up. Having a competent 1st assistant director will help solve unforeseen problems more quickly and will take a huge burden off the director’s shoulders. A good AD will also keep the shoot’s momentum going and get the absolute best out of the crew, ensuring that there is as little downtime as possible in between setups.

If in addition to directing and shooting you also have to worry about the HMI lights that are mysteriously flickering or the generator which is refusing to work, you are in trouble.

The 1st AD’s main duties are scheduling the shoot shot by shot — in consultation with the director — and keeping the crew moving during the shoot itself, so that the director is not burned out by non-creative activities. The 1st AD constantly pushes the crew members to ensure that they remain on schedule and are doing the right thing at the right time. Good 1st ADs are worth every penny and are generally wonderful people — I have a soft spot for them!

For an ambitious project – regardless of whether it is a 30-second TV spot or a 3-hour epic – the AD should be a pro, or at least a reliable person who really understands the job.

The 1st AD attends the technical location scout with the director, DP and other department heads, and will warn the director about possible problems. For example, the AD might warn the director that clean sound recording might be a nightmare; there are many factors that can make a location impractical, and the tech scout is done partly to assess these difficulties in advance.

The most valuable qualities of assistant directors are energy and field experience – it is not uncommon for a 1st AD to be older than the director. For a young director shooting a serious project, even if it is a 30-second TV spot, an experienced 1st AD will be well worth the fee you have to disburse and will ensure that your production values are deployed with maximum efficiency.