Don't Be Afriad to Ask For Help

2010 was a year of many [entertainment industry] firsts for me.  My first time writing a half-hour sitcom (since college).  My first time writing a pitch for a one-hour… and a half-hour…

Formatting of one-hour dramas is second nature to me.  But when it came time to write half-hour scripts and pitch documents, I was lost.  I’ve read literally hundreds of half-hour scripts, but the formatting never stuck in my head because I never paid much attention to it.  What do I capitalize?  What do I underline?  How many acts are in a half-hour multi-cam again?

Given the fact that I have an actual degree in scriptwriting, I was embarrassed that I didn’t know these things.  But the truth is, it’s completely normal to study television writing for four years and never see a production draft of a real television show or a pitch document.  (It’s also completely normal to actually work in television for four years and never see a pitch document.)

My point is, if you need help, don’t hesitate to ask for it.  I emailed my agent’s assistant and asked her to send me a half-hour multi-cam script so that I could study the formatting.  And I asked my husband to print out a couple of his old pitch documents so that I could read through them.  When I was writing my pilot set in med school, I asked my agency to send me scripts of several medical shows so I could learn how to format scenes that take place in the O.R. 

Many assistants are afraid to ask their co-workers and bosses for help because they don’t want to look unqualified.  But please trust me when I tell you that no one expects you to know everything.  I didn’t know what a call sheet looked like until I was hired as a PA.  So, on my first day, I asked a fellow PA, “When you have two minutes, can you walk me through this call sheet in case I ever need to update it?”  And he did.  When I became a line producer’s assistant, my boss asked me to do script coverage on every episode.  I had loads of experience writing coverage for films, but not for television.  Did he really want to me write a synopsis of the episode after he’s already attended several rehearsals.  So I asked him, “Do you just want me to type up a traditional coverage document with the logline, synopsis, etc.” 

“No.  I just need you to make a list of props for each scene so I can make sure the prop department is on top of everything.  Just write the list on the back of my script.”

Glad I asked.   The “coverage” took me about 10 minutes.   

Don’t ever be afraid to ask for help.  If you’ve never done something before, it’s okay to say, “This is my first time doing this, and I just want to make sure I’m doing it correctly.”  Asking for help doesn’t make you a bad assistant; it makes you a better one.