Roles and Responsibilities of First Assistant Director in Film Production

Have you ever wondered what it takes to be a First Assistant Director?

Well, wonder no more! We spoke to Kevin Welch, a DGA First Assistant Director (1st AD), to get the inside scoop on what it takes to excel in this role.

As a 1st AD, I approach each project differently. It’s easy and dangerous to get in a one-size-fits-all state of mind. I’m going to approach the schedule and creative a lot differently on a commercial set for a brand than I would a feature set for a production company/distributor. That being said, it all starts with the words — or, in some cases for commercials and docs, the pitch deck, storyboards, etc.

Once I get whatever it is broken down into my scheduling software — I use Movie Magic — I try to set up a meeting with the producer to learn the size of the sandbox we’re playing in. What are the rules and regulations for unions, the total hours in shoot days, the locations budget, the specialty items and crew — the list goes on and on.

After I have a good handle on that, I try to dive into the creative, working closely with the Director and DP to really understand their vision, their shot list, shooting style, and what’s important to them to tell the story. All of these things inform my job and both how I will schedule and ultimately run things on set.

Once we get to production, if I did my prep correctly, the shooting schedule should be followed without too much hardship. Of course, there are always factors you can’t control — weather, equipment not working, cast/crew coming down sick, etc. But if you have a solid plan coming out of the gate, you can fairly easily adjust to deal with these things as they happen.

Another big part of my job is set safety and union compliance, so ensuring the rules are being followed and things are operating in a safe, controlled manner to mitigate risk to the producers and production company.

So, what exactly does a 1st AD do? They are responsible for the logistics and operation of a working set. They ensure that the cast and crew are working on a schedule and plan for that daily schedule, as well as the overall production timeline. As such, the 1st AD must have enough knowledge about what every single department does on a film set in order to ensure effective communication. Let’s take a closer look at the skills and responsibilities required for this role.

Personality and Skills

Communication and organizational skills are vital in the role of first assistant director. Image via FrameStockFootages.

To excel as a 1st AD, one must possess a specific set of skills and personality traits. The 1st AD must be ultra-organized, have excellent communication and social skills, and be extremely knowledgeable about the needs of any production they are a part of. As a key point of contact for everyone on set, it’s essential that a 1st AD is able to clearly and confidently communicate logistical information.

Scheduling/ Call Sheets

Scheduling — and sharing and running the schedule with call sheets — is a major role of the 1st AD. A lot of time, energy, and effort goes into ensuring the production has an accurate and achievable schedule for the day. Most often, an experienced 1st AD is able to breakdown a script or storyboard to schedule appropriately and accurately for the day.

At the start of (and throughout) production, the 1st AD meets with key creative team leads to discuss their individual visions and how those plans might affect the day-to-day. Once they’ve received all the necessary information, they are then able to craft and maintain an effective production schedule.

Script Breakdowns

The first assistant director dissects the script into its key production elements. Image via Solis Images.

One of the 1st AD’s earliest duties on a production is to perform a script breakdown. Script breakdowns dissect a script into its key elements of need for a production.

These digestible breakdowns identify the specifics of what’s needed to pull off a day of shooting — characters, props, locations, etc. These breakdowns play a big part in letting department heads know what’s needed from their team and when.

Director’s Liaison

Another important role of a 1st AD is being the director’s liaison. The director is in charge of any creative decisions that affect