---

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our exclusive Production Assistant Workshop on Saturday, January 28, 2023! Led by Cleveland Native and Unit Production Manager / DGA First Assistant Director Mikki Ziska (The Americans, Orange Is The New Black, Elementary, 30 Rock and more), attendees learned how to get their start in the film industry as a Production Assistant (P.A.).

P.A.s are essential support for the cast and crew on a production. This entry-level position is the best place to learn how a film set operates and how to get your career started in this industry.

Workshop Topics Included

• 
  
  How to structure your production resumé to stand out


• 
  
  Set hierarchy and job descriptions


• 
  
  Breakdown of specific Production Assistant responsibilities


• 
  
  Background actor coordination


• 
  
  Principle actor coordination


• 
  
  Film set terminology, protocols, and etiquette


• 
  
  Interpreting industry paperwork


• 
  
  How to break down a script


• 
  
  Scouting filming locations


• 
  
  Walkie-talkie lingo and etiquette


• 
  
  Q&A with our experts


• 
  
  Plus much more!

---

PANELISTS




Mikki Ziska is a veteran Unit Production Manager and a Directors Guild of America First Assistant Director. The Northeast Ohio native started her career as a Production Assistant and steadily moved up the ranks as a Second Assistant Director and First Assistant Director before becoming a UPM. Her credits include hit shows The Sopranos, Sex and the City, 30 Rock, Law & Order, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Elementary, Orange is the New Black and The Americans. Her feature film credits include Analyze This and A Beautiful Mind. On her most recent projects, she served as UPM on the feature American Son (starring Kerry Washington) and the series The Politician, (starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Jessica Lange, and Bette Midler), both currently streaming on Netflix.

 

 

 




Bill Garvey, President of the Greater Cleveland Film Commission, is a former motion picture & television location manager and scout with 26 years of experience. He recently won the Location Managers Guild International Award for best period location management for his work on the academy award-winning Judas & the Black Messiah (Warner Bros, starring Daniel Kaluuya). His credits include White Noise (Netflix, starring Adam Driver), Hillbilly Elegy (Netflix, starring Amy Adams & Glenn Close), Fast & Furious 8: Fate of the Furious (Universal Pictures, starring Vin Diesel & The Rock), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Marvel Studios, starring Chris Evans), The Avengers (Marvel Studios, starring Robert Downey Jr), and over 30 other feature films, over a dozen TV Shows, and dozens of national & local TV Commercials.

 

 




Mike Wendt is an award-winning director, producer, and location manager/scout. He currently is the Production Coordinator for the GCFC. His credits includeCaptain America: The Winter Soldier, Fate of the Furious, My Friend Dahmer, and White Boy Rick. His first feature-length documentary The End Of The World As We Knew It was a selection of the 33rd Cleveland International Film Festival and his short film Goodbye, Ohio played numerous film festivals.