August 27, 1999
Los Angeles, CA — The Assistant Directors Training Program is now accepting applications for its Class of 2000. Established in 1965, the program is a joint venture of the Directors Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Each year the program accepts approximately 10 to 25 individuals from more than 800 applicants.
Assistant Director Trainees are paid to work and learn on the sets of various feature films, TV series and television movies. During the past year trainee assignments included Bowfinger, The Gen-eral's Daughter, Arli$$, Ed TV, Charmed, The Green Mile, Inspector Gadget, The Mod Squad, Ally McBeal, Cookie's Fortune, The Pretender, Frasier and End of Days. Trainees are currently assigned to E.R., The Perfect Storm, Buffy, the Vampire Killer, Beverly Hills, 90210, The West Wing, Oh Brother Where Art Thou, Party of Five, X-Files, The Practice, The Grinch, and many other productions.
While "on the set," trainees learn administrative and organizational production skills including set operations, paperwork, and how to supervise cast and crew members. They also study the working conditions and collective bargaining agreements of more than twenty guild and unions. Upon satisfactory completion of the program, trainees are placed on the Southern California Area Qualification List as Second Assistant Directors and become eligible for membership in the Directors Guild of America.
Program applicants must be at least 21 years old and have the legal right to work in the United States. They must have a Bachelor's or Asso-ciate's degree in any field by June 30, 2000; or two years of full-time, paid, on-set employment in motion picture or television production; or have achieved and been discharged at the level of E-5 or above in a branch of the U.S. military service.
Completed applications must be postmarked no later than November 12, 1999. Interested individuals can download applications from www.dgptp.org or have applications mailed to them by phoning the Training Plan office at 818-386-2545.
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