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Assistant Directors · Stage 1

Floor Runner and Set PA

The set runs on its runners: join the AD department and learn to hold the line.

The floor runner, or set PA, is the most sought-after entry-level job on a UK set and the first rung of the AD ladder. What the AD department does, a shooting day, the walkie and the language of the set, the safety training, where experience comes from, the CV that gets read, and a plan to Stage 2.

2 hours · 6 modules · 18 lessons

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What you’ll learn

  • Know what the 1st, 2nd and 3rd ADs do, who hires you, who runs you, and what a floor runner does from the callsheet the night before to wrap.
  • You will be able to use a walkie properly, hold a lock-off, echo the 1st, and understand the language of a working set.
  • You will know where floor runner experience really comes from, what the rules are on pay, unpaid work, hours and tax, and which free safety training to do before your first day.
  • You will have a Stage 1 CV outline for the role, three named routes to experience this month, and a plan with a review date.
  • You will be able to say MFJF's five Stage 1 exit statements honestly, and know what to do next on the site.

Where this leads

By the end you will have written your own Stage 1 plan, checked yourself against MFJF's five Stage 1 statements, and know exactly what to do next: a mentor clinic, an Academy workshop, and Stage 2, the HotList.

Finish the course and you can build your personal plan: MFJF's three-stage planner for this role, ticked from Your Profile and your CV, with dated next steps and the CV line each one becomes.

Module 1

The role and the AD department

20 min

What the assistant directors' department is for, who is in it, who you answer to, and what a floor runner's day actually contains.

  1. readThe AD department: what it does and who is in it8 min
  2. readA floor runner's day, hour by hour8 min
  3. checkCheck: the department and the day4 min
Module 2

Before day one: walkie, language, skills, kit and safety

20 min

The radio discipline and vocabulary you must arrive with, the skills ADs actually hire for, the kit, the safety basics and the ten tips.

  1. readWalkie etiquette and the language of the set7 min
  2. readSkills, kit, safety and the ten tips7 min
  3. taskTask: the skills self-audit6 min
Module 3

Getting experience at Stage 1

20 min

Where floor runner experience really comes from, and the rules on pay, unpaid work, hours, tax and safety that go with it.

  1. readWhere floor runner experience really comes from8 min
  2. readThe rules: pay, unpaid work, hours, tax and safety6 min
  3. taskTask: find three routes this month6 min
Module 4

Your CV, cover letter and first approaches

20 min

What a Stage 1 floor runner CV contains, the title at the top, the cover letter, how to approach a 2nd AD without annoying them, and what a reference really is.

  1. readYour Stage 1 CV, cover letter and first approaches8 min
  2. taskTask: draft the CV outline8 min
  3. checkCheck: the CV and the approach4 min
Module 5

The industry around the role

20 min

Who hires floor runners and where, indie against studio against commercial, the three-year plan and the AD ladder, where else the skills take you, and what the people in the case studies did.

  1. readThe map: who hires floor runners and where the job leads7 min
  2. resourcesThe floor runner's library8 min
  3. checkCheck: the map and the ladder5 min
Module 6

Your plan: Stage 1 to Stage 2

20 min

Your plan, saved; then the five statements that tell you Stage 1 is over, and what to do next on MFJF.

  1. plannerYour floor runner plan10 min
  2. readHow you know you are ready for Stage 26 min
  3. checkCheck: Stage 1 to Stage 24 min
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Sources and references

Where this course comes from. Open any of them yourself.

What this course was written from

Every link checked 19 September 2026.

You are not doing this alone

You have your own personal career mentor

That is us, the MFJF team. Book an MFJF Mentor Session with us every month: we guide you through this journey and answer all your questions, from which job is yours to your CV and your next application.

Book my MFJF Mentor Session

Where next

Your recommended next steps

Picked for Assistant Directors. Signed in, they follow your stage and the roles your answers point to. See your whole MFJF journey, step by step →

  1. My MFJF JourneyOne page for everything MFJF has built, in the order you need it.
  2. My Reading ListThe books, blogs and bodies you have saved, in one place.
  3. Start the Stage 1 course: Assistant DirectorsTwo hours on what the job is, how people get in and what to do first.
  4. Get on the HotListPut yourself in front of productions looking for crew.
  5. Join MFJF DayPlayersDay work on productions for crew with the credits and the skills.
  6. The career planner: Assistant DirectorsWhat to do, learn and be able to do, from no experience to paid work.
  7. The career guide: Assistant DirectorsThe job, the day, the way in and the pay, in one guide.
  8. See how it all fits on the career maps17 maps of how films get made: the people, the process and the departments.
  9. Who works whereEvery department on a shoot and every kind of film company: who is in each and what they do.
  10. Industry EssentialsThe books, industry bodies, websites and blogs worth knowing, department by department.
  11. Read the MFJF Survival GuidesStraight answers to what everyone starting out asks: how long it takes, what you get paid, and what to do every day.
  12. MFJF Academy workshopsLive sessions with people who do the job, and the monthly career clinic.
  13. Build your CV with the CV BuilderThe industry's format, built from your profile and your current CV.

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