600 Pound Crosses and Buckets of Fake Blood: The not-so-glamorous life of a PA
Christian Beushausen,senior, has a lot to tell about his experience as a production assistant, commonly referred to as a PA, on the sets of the TV shows Fear the Walking Dead and Kingdom.
“So far, the most challenging thing for me, it was kind of strange,” Beushausen said. “While working on the set of Kingdom we got randomly pulled away to put up a 600 pound, giant rock and steel cross sculpture, with only five people, for the director’s backyard, for personal use. I got paid though, so not too shabby. But instead of dumping it over the fence, we had to walk it through his entire apartment, because there were multiple trees in the way. It was quite challenging.”
Beushausen’s friend, Ryan Reid, senior, describes the job of PA as being “essentially a glorified pack mule.”
“I pretty much run and get things for people, deliver stuff and help build props and what not,” Beushausen said. But the comparison to a pack mule doesn’t end with the work load. The hours Beushausen works on the set rival those of a pack animal. “I work super ridiculous 15 hour shifts but that’s just because they have deadlines and you have to be there for it,” Beushausen said.
As for his most grueling jobs, Beushausen credits Fear the Walking Dead with being the harshest, as he was on set “about 36 solid hours over three days of work.”
Despite the heavy workload, Beushausen is grateful for the experience, as it has allowed him to see props that he has built make their way onto the screen. Simultaneously, the job has satisfied his curiosity regarding the film industry and the secrets of the trade.
“My love for film really attracted me to this job. I don’t want to get into the business, but I’ve always been fascinated with how they do everything,” Beaushausen said. “Like when you see a blood splatter against the wall (I thought) ‘Oh how do they do that?’ Well now I get to find out.”
Beushausen’s thirst for understanding of fake blood has been more than quenched in this position. “You couldn’t imagine how much fake blood I deal with. With Fear the Walking Dead it’s just ridiculous, they go through a lot of blood and clean ups.” Beushausen goes on to explain his role in working with the fake blood, saying “I also get to do resets for scenes, so I get to sponge up all the blood off the floor every single time they decide to do a scene change. It’s pretty great.”
However, Beushausen does not intend to continue on this career path. “Oddly enough, my goal is to be a biotech major, so this experience might be the polar opposite,” Beushausen said. “(But) it’s my first legitimate job, and I’m pretty happy about that. I’m not working at McDonald’s like pretty much everyone else.”
Reid draws on his own experience from the set of Reading Rainbow to describe the gig as interesting and bittersweet, going on to say “I carried 60 pounds of camera equipment and water, and gave it to LeVar Burton, or the crew, whenever they needed it.”
From an outside perspective, Nathaniel Gough, senior, realizes that the job “requires a hardworking person” and thinks it would be “fun and entertaining.”
While Reid agrees that the job was fun, and he enjoyed the fact that “most stuff was comped” for him on set, he says “besides that it’s work, like it’s actual work.”
