Tobias Ferreira-Lund Key Set Production Assistant Atlanta, 30307, United States [email protected] · (404) 555-0117
11 September 2026
Ms. Adaeze Okonjo-Hale Production Coordinator, Fairhaven Road Silverpine Television Atlanta, United States
Application for Set Production Assistant, Fairhaven Road
Dear Ms. Okonjo-Hale,
I am writing about set PA work on Fairhaven Road. Marguerite Oyelaran, who keyed the second season of Hollow Creek, suggested I get in touch with you directly.
I have been on set in the Atlanta market for five years, most recently keying a team of four PAs across main and splinter units on Hollow Creek season two, 42 shoot days for Silverpine Television. Before that I ran lockups and background holding on season one, and I spent a spring in the production office on an independent feature handling distribution, petty cash and crew travel for a 62 person unit. I have logged 118 days in the last twelve months, and I am tracking toward second assistant director qualification.
I am local to Atlanta, I have my own vehicle and I am comfortable driving a 15 passenger van. I hold OSHA 30 and a current Red Cross first aid and CPR certificate, and my passport is valid if the show goes out of state. I am clear from 6 October and can start on any notice you need.
My resume is attached with the full credits list. Marguerite and Dominic Achterberg, the coordinator on The Long Field, are both happy to speak to my work. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely, Tobias Ferreira-Lund
Summary
A production assistant cover letter is a short email that tells a coordinator which department you work in, what you have been on, who will vouch for you, and the dates you are available. This guide gives you a full adaptable letter, the openings that get read, and what to send when you have no credits yet.
Production Assistant cover letter examples by experience level
A production assistant cover letter is a short message, usually an email body rather than an attachment, that tells a production coordinator or a second assistant director four things: which department you work in, what you have been on, who will vouch for you, and the dates you are free.
It is read on a phone, in prep, by somebody staffing a show against a start date. Length is not effort here. Being easy to say yes to is.
Guide to a production assistant cover letter
This guide and the corresponding production assistant cover letter example will cover:
- How to structure the message, paragraph by paragraph
- Why your department and your availability belong in the first two lines
- What counts as evidence when your credits are short
- How to name a referral without overstating the relationship
- What to send when you have no credits at all
How to write a production assistant cover letter
| Paragraph | Its job | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | The show, your department, and who referred you | 2 sentences |
| Credits | Two or three productions with format, scale and your actual role | 3 to 4 sentences |
| Practical | Availability dates, location, driving, travel, certifications | 2 to 3 sentences |
| Close | Resume attached, phone number, thank you | 1 to 2 sentences |
Put the referral in the first sentence or not at all
Crew hiring runs on referral. A coordinator staffing a show fills most positions from people the department heads already know, and the rest from names passed along by someone they trust.
If a 2nd AD, a key PA or a coordinator told you to write, say so immediately and name the role as well as the person: "Marguerite Oyelaran, who keyed the second season of Hollow Creek, suggested I send this over." That sentence is the whole reason the message gets read to the end.
If nobody referred you, do not manufacture a connection. Lead with the department and the day count instead, and be specific enough that the message reads as someone who has worked.
A production assistant cover letter example you can adapt
Dear Ms. Okonjo-Hale,
I am writing about set PA work on Fairhaven Road. Marguerite Oyelaran, who keyed the second season of Hollow Creek, suggested I get in touch with you directly.
I have been on set in the Atlanta market for five years, most recently keying a team of four PAs across main and splinter units on Hollow Creek season two, 42 shoot days for Silverpine Television. Before that I ran lockups and background holding on season one, and I spent a spring in the production office on an independent feature handling distribution, petty cash and crew travel for a 62 person unit. I have logged 118 days in the last twelve months, and I am tracking toward second assistant director qualification.
I am local to Atlanta, I have my own vehicle and I am comfortable driving a 15 passenger van. I hold OSHA 30 and a current Red Cross first aid and CPR certificate, and my passport is valid if the show goes out of state. I am clear from 6 October and can start on any notice you need.
My resume is attached with the full credits list. Marguerite and Dominic Achterberg, the coordinator on The Long Field, are both happy to speak to my work. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely, Tobias Ferreira-Lund
Openings that work
| Instead of | Use |
|---|---|
| I am passionate about film and have always loved storytelling | I am writing about set PA work on Fairhaven Road |
| I am writing to express my interest in any available positions | Marguerite Oyelaran, who keyed season two of Hollow Creek, suggested I get in touch |
| I am a hard worker and a fast learner | I keyed a team of four PAs across main and splinter units for 42 shoot days |
| I am available immediately for any opportunity | I am clear from 6 October, local to Atlanta, own vehicle, will travel |
The right column names a show, a role and a date. Every one of those is a fact the reader needs in order to act, and none of them is a claim about your character.
What counts as evidence when your credits are short
| Kind of evidence | What it looks like in a sentence |
|---|---|
| Scale | Handled background holding for calls of up to 180 across two units |
| Repeat hire | Brought back for season two in a more senior role |
| Department depth | Six weeks in the production office as well as set, so I can cover either |
| Days | 118 days in the last twelve months across three productions |
| Paperwork | Built daily production reports and reconciled 140 crew timecards a week |
| Practical | 15 passenger van, own vehicle, OSHA 30, first aid, passport current |
Repeat hire is the strongest of those. Being asked back answers the only question a coordinator is really asking.
Availability is half the letter
Give exact dates you are clear, not the word immediately. Say whether you are local to the market or asking to be hired as a local somewhere else, because that changes the budget. State the vehicle, the license and the van. Name two people by role who will vouch for you, after asking them. Keep it inside one screen on a phone.
Do not attach a cover letter as a separate PDF unless the posting asks for one; put it in the email body with the resume attached. Do not send a reel or link to your own short film when applying for crew work. Do not claim a title you did not hold, since the person who did hold it is one call away. Do not write to a personal mobile number you found somewhere; use the production email or the posting.
The days are the credential, so say the number
Below the line crew are credentialed by accumulated days rather than by qualifications. In the Los Angeles area, Contract Services administers the Industry Experience Roster covering more than 125 job classifications represented by IATSE and the Basic Crafts unions, and many classifications require 30 days of qualifying work experience within a 365 day period for placement (Contract Services work experience FAQ, revised 4 March 2026).
The assistant director route is counted the same way: the Directors Guild of America Assistant Directors Training Program runs two full years and requires a minimum of 350 production days in that period, after which graduates are eligible to join the DGA as a 2nd Assistant Director (DGA Assistant Directors Training Program FAQ, accessed September 2026).
For context on where those days lead, producers and directors had a median annual wage of $90,360 as of May 2025, with 20 percent self-employed and 19 percent working in motion picture and video industries at a median of $105,300 (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, May 2025). A coordinator reading your day count is reading progress toward that, so put the number in the letter.
Length, format and sending it
Four short paragraphs, 180 to 300 words, in the body of an email. Subject line: your name, the department you want, and the show. "Tobias Ferreira-Lund, Set PA, Fairhaven Road" is the correct subject line and it is also how your email will be found again in three weeks.
Attach the resume as a PDF named for yourself and your department. Do not zip anything, and do not send a link that requires an account to open.
Use the same credits and the same day count as your resume. Our production assistant resume example is written with the numbers used here.
Key takeaways
- Name the show and your department in the first sentence.
- Put the referral in immediately, with the person's role, or leave it out entirely.
- Give two or three credits with format, production company and shoot day counts.
- Say your day count, because it is the credential this industry actually reads.
- Put availability dates, market, vehicle and travel in their own paragraph.
- Offer two people by role who have agreed to vouch for you.
- Keep it in the email body, one screen on a phone, resume attached as PDF.
Write your production assistant cover letter in 10 minutes.
Production assistant cover letter questions, answered
Should a production assistant cover letter be an attachment or an email?
The email body, almost always. Crew hiring happens over email and text during prep, and an attachment that has to be opened to be read is an obstacle. Attach the resume; write the letter in the message.
How do I write to a production I have no connection to?
Find the production office email or the posting, address the coordinator or the 2nd AD by name if it is public, and lead with your department and day count rather than a referral you do not have. Then be precise about availability. Coordinators hire strangers constantly; they need the stranger to be easy to book.
What do I send with no credits at all?
Write what you have done in production terms: student films with shoot day counts, live event or theater run crew, camera assisting, and driving work. Then the practical paragraph, which for a first timer is your strongest: local, own vehicle, van, OSHA 10, first aid, clear from a specific date. A 2nd AD hiring a first time PA is buying reliability, not experience.
Can I mention that I want to direct one day?
Not in this letter. Everyone on a set wants something, and saying it here reads as somebody who will be on their phone at lunch instead of watching their lockup. Talk about the department you are applying to and be good at it; the rest follows from being rehired.
How soon can I follow up?
Ten days, once, in two lines, with your availability updated. Prep is the busiest period a coordinator has, and a short message restating your dates is useful. A second follow up is not, and it is remembered.