What is a First Assistant Director?
First Assistant Directors (1st ADs) act as the intermediary between the Director and the cast and crew, but they are also responsible for coordinating the whole production activity and providing the production office with regular updates from the shoot.
After going through the script, together with the Director, the First Assistant Director is in charge of creating the filming schedule, which has to take into account the availability of cast and crew involved, script coverage, budget and all other details of the production, making the 1st AD a key person in any production. For the rest of pre-production, Firsts oversee and check that all the necessary duties and tasks to prepare and organise shoots have been carried out.