Interview with Industry Insider: Production Coordinator Sara Laskow

Name: Sara Laskow

Industry:  Television Production

Where do you work?

Disney Channel (It's a Laugh Productions).  I am a Production Coordinator and I also do Audience Coordinating when I work on shows that have live studio audiences.  In the production office, I am responsible for a lot of things including the PA's.  I do everything from crew paperwork, to Deal Memos and contracts for the DGA, AFTRA, etc.  I am basically the "go to" person for any production needs. When I do audience related stuff, I am the liason between theaudience service we use and the production I am on. I also take care of any VIP audience guest requests.

What made you choose this as a career path? 

When I was little I used to come to LA to visit my dad and he would take me on studio tours.  Anything that was going on at any given time always seemed really exciting to me and I told my dad that I had no idea what I wanted to do but I knew it had to be in the entertainment industry.  Nothing else ever grabbed my attention the way the excitement of making a TV show or film did and after my first PA job working as a set PA on a Burger King Commercial in the middle of midtown Manhattan, during rush hour, I was hooked
.

Tell us your funniest experience on the job. 

I was working as a PA on a promo for Nurse Jackie in Brooklyn with Edie Falco and Melissa Etheridge.  For some reason, the director took a particular liking to me and instead of doing normal PA duties, he had me stand in for her the whole day. The funniest moment was when they were planning a shot of Melissa rocking out on her guitar with the wind blowing her hair.  I had to stand there pretending to play guitar in front of the whole crew with two gigantic, industrial fans blowing my hair all over the place.  I couldn't see at all and all my hair was getting in my mouth.  Looking back on it, it was really funny but at the time I was mortified.  I was happy that I didn't have to do any heavy lifting or cleaning up that day though.

What was something that took you by surprise when you first 
got started?

I was surprised by how important PA's are to a job but how much of what they do goes unnoticed.  The hours are long, people just expect you to know everything, and when you get something right, generally, people aren't there to pat you on the back, they just expect that is how it should always be done. While starting out as a PA is one of the best learning experiences you can have, it is not a teaching job.  You have to best fast on your feet and anticipate the needs of those around you.

What are the best / most difficult parts of your job.

One of my favorite things in terms of what I do is coordinating audience on show nights.  I love it because it gives me the gratification I need at the end of a long, hard, shoot week.  I am the one that can make a kid's dream come true by introducing them to their  favorite Disney star.  I have had opportunities to be involved in a few Make a Wish wishes and I think it will be hard to come across a more rewarding experience in my lifetime.  One of the hardest things is the politics of it all.  There will be times when you work with people that you absolutely love and want to work on every job with but then there will also be times where you just have to put up with people that you may not like.  On the last show I was on, I was working with someone who was not good at their job and I was picking up most of the slack.  I was then repremanded for not doing something that I was apparently supposed to do but was never told to do.  The job was very stressful and the hours were very long.   Everyone was

under a lot of pressure and I am sure things were just taken out on me for the wrong reasons but I had no choice but to smile and say, "ok". It is never in your best interest to throw someone else under the bus even if it is their fault because you never know who you will be working with on your next job.  For such a big industry, it is a small world.

Any projects/jobs coming up that you'd like to talk about?

I just finished the Girl Meets World Pilot for the Disney Channel.  It was one of those jobs that I got really excited about.  Getting to work on something that had a lot of hype was crazy! It was also really fungetting to work with people I  grew up watching on TV. The Executive Producer is also a really inspiring person to work with.  He is someone who is EXTREMELY passionate about what he does and wants everyone to learn which I feel is rare.  He would make sure all the PA's each had an opportunity to sit in the writer's room and contribute.  One of the PA's even ended up getting a joke in the script. This man was very old school and very dedicated to his craft. He wouldn't let anyone push him around and if he had a vision, he wanted to see it through and I really admired him for that. It was a wonderful experience and I hope I get brought on to do the series.

Advice for up and comers trying to break into you area of media?  

Love what you do and you'll never work a day in your life...for the most part.  When you are passionate about something, not only does it make things more exciting for you, but those around you will see it as well.  Treat each job like it is the most important one in the world, even if it is getting water for someone, you never know who you are getting water for.  I've worked with someone people who i've been told were extremely difficult but i've found if you treat them like you would like to be treated, then it pays off.  There are constant opportunities to network yourself and meet new people so take advantage of those opportunities without being too pushy or demanding, it is important to know your place in the world of production and have large amounts of respect for those around you and ALWAYS anticipate their needs as well but don't be annoying about it.  It could be as simple as restocking the fridge when the sodas get low or telling your boss to order more paper for the supply room.  Whatever it is, try and be on the ball.  It makes our jobs easier when we don't have to tell you do things and I promise, those things do not go unnoticed.