Directors Guild - Producer
Training Plan

Assistant Directors Training Program | 15301 Ventura Blvd. Bldg E #1075 | Sherman Oaks, CA 91403 | Phone: (818) 386-2545
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Message From The Chair
 

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Scottie Gissel

 

Assistant Directors work the line where business meets art in the collaborative, yet hierarchal, sphere of motion picture and television production.  In teamwork with the Director and Producer, the Assistant Director must facilitate production with all departments and prioritize with the ultimate result in mind: to finish the job - having done the work in the time allotted - without incident - beautifully!  Not for the faint of heart, but every AD has tales of adventure born of those they have worked on.

The Assistant Director Training Program is unique in that it seeks to provide education and opportunity for those who aspire to the job of DGA member Assistant Directors.  Acceptance into the program provides paid "on the job training" as well as mentorship throughout training. By nurturing our future Directors' Guild members, in turn, we nurture the motion picture and television production industry itself.

I was accepted into the Training Program 16 years ago and can attest that it gave me the building blocks of my professional network as well as working experience and knowledge of this industry.  I joined the Board of Trustees of the Program in 2003 and have served as Chair of Screening and Admissions since 2008.  I consider it a great honor to serve as Board Chair for the very Program that brought me from Texas and began my career as a DGA 1st Assistant Director member of this industry.