What does a production runner do?
Production runners are the hands and feet of the production team. They copy the call sheets, sides, scripts, health and safety notices and other paperwork and run around distributing it to the crew. They take lunch and breakfast orders for the production office, do runs to the post office or other suppliers.
They do general office jobs like answering the phone, filing paperwork and entering data. They sometimes book travel and accommodation. They manage a float, buy stationery and keep everyone stocked up with caffeine and snacks. Runners are usually freelancers.
What’s a production runner good at?
- Taking instruction: listen carefully, do what’s asked quickly, stay calm under pressure
- Taking initiative: have common sense, see what needs to be done in a situation, work without supervision
- Multi-tasking: be able to be organised and prioritise when asked to do different things by different people at the same time
- Watching film and TV drama: have a passion for the genre and a love of the industry
- Learning by watching and asking: observe what’s happening and know when to ask about things you don’t understand
- Reliability: get to set on time
- Communication: work well with the rest of the production team and the crew
