Photo courtesy of Lauren Elizabeth Williams

Compass called me and told me they had and internship opportunity in Grand Rapids. The next morning I found myself in the production office of The Gun, starring 50 Cent and Val Kilmer.

I was assigned to intern in the Locations Department. Immediately, I was introduced to all the department heads. I committed their names to memory. Then, I was sent to work.

I spent most of the first I spent most of the first day at the copier/fax machine, looking up and calling tent rentals, and Googling potential locations. The work was far from glamorous, but necessary.

When I returned the next morning, there was a shift in supervisors in the department. Great. I thought I was out an internship after only the first day. I sat down with the 2nd AD Johnny Recher, and after a brief interview, I was back on as a set intern.

“Take the weekend off,” he said, “enjoy your Christmas and be on set bright and early on Sunday.”

The majority of the next three weeks were spent outside in the cold. We shot at bars, clubs, a motel, a condo, a bridge and plenty of other places scattered around Grand Rapids.

A typical day started with turning on a walkie and tuning in the morning stress. I’d grab my breakfast, along with five others, and run around set, handing them to the appropriate people while eating mine on the go. After that, Iʼd pass out a case of water and set up trash cans nearby.

After everyone had eaten and the set was lit, most of the day would be spent on a lockup. I would stand in a doorway or at the end of a bridge, away from set, waiting to hear “Pictureʼs up!” “Roll sound!”. Then, I’d make sure passers-by didn’t interfere with the filming. When I wasn’t a Locations PA, I order meals for the actors. One of my favorite jobs was trying to find a restaurant that would make a “Turkey Burger on one piece of rye bread with steamed broccoli and brown rice, all without salt.”

My overall experience on the Gun set was very rewarding.I had opportunities to talk to a lot of different people on set and learn from their stories, opinions, and attitudes. It was a real look at life on-set and taught me the perseverance needed to make a  decent hour-and-ahalf picture. It was very much a worthwhile internship and I look forward to landing my next job.