Ask An Assistant: Gabrielle Estey (Production Coordinator, Logistics - Access Hollywood & E! News)

Gabrielle Estey,

Coordinator, Logistics - Access Hollywood & E! News

Interview conducted by Michelle Greene, Senior Publicist at The MRKT

Hi Gabrielle! Thanks for joining us. What does a typical day as a Production Coordinator at Access Hollywood and E! News look like?  

There is no such a thing as a typical day in this role! Everyday is always completely different, depending on what our productions have going on. A large part of my role is to staff our field crews who handle the filming of all our offsite segments—everything from red carpet events and walk of fame shoots to a cooking segment in Gordon Ramsey’s kitchen!

 As mentioned, you're responsible for staffing production crews for Access Hollywood, Access Weekend, and Access Live. What is the most difficult and most rewarding part of being in charge of that many moving pieces?

The most challenging part of being responsible for production crewing is the pace at which things change! You could have the perfect schedule mapped out, but then talent on shoot 1 ran 45 minutes behind, Crew 3 got stuck in traffic on their way to a premiere, etc. Shoots get added and canceled up to the minute, so it can be overwhelming when a day's worth of work can go down the drain in seconds. You’re the one to problem solve and pick up all the pieces to get as many of those planned shoots to happen in whatever way you can.

It can also be difficult because you're usually disappointing someone. Crew doesn’t like their call time, producers are frustrated there aren't enough cameras... A lot of those things outside your control you get the heat for, so you definitely have to stick to what you know is best for the production needs as a whole instead of shoot-by-shoot. 

The most rewarding part of this job is all the moving pieces; it’s working with the creative team to make sure you understand their creative vision, but then also being able to translate that into the logistics of what they will actually need in order for that creative vision to come to life. It’s a very right-brain and left-brain role which, to me, is exciting. Everyday is like a new puzzle to solve when you have so many shoots and a limited number of equipment and actual crew members to get all those jobs done all over town and beyond!

What are qualities that someone needs to possess in order to be successful in production? 

Flexibility is number one—everyday things will go wrong or someone will make a mistake. It's doing what you can to help problem-solve, instead of wasting time getting stressed or frustrated by that.

And how do you work through frustration and manage to stay calm under pressure, especially when something goes wrong on set? 

I think it’s all about perspective. I always ask myself, "Is this going to matter in five minutes, five days, five months?" Half of the time, whatever the issue is will be forgotten by the next day, but how you react to it will be remembered for a lot longer. I always stay positive and keep a level head. If I’m the one that made the mistake, I own up to it—and I already have a solution to the problem. 

For someone who is just starting in their entertainment career, what advice would you give for finding work on set and being involved in a production? 

It really is about your network. A lot of people think you build a network by getting drinks, but working on set and showing people your work ethic is much more valuable. Most of the crew we hire was hired because someone worked with someone in the past and can vouch for them. So get on set—whatever set it is—and get to work!Also—cold reaching out to people on LinkedIn can feel weird, but I’ve met a lot of very cool people that way, and I've learned a lot about the business.

Backing up a bit, how did you get your start in entertainment?  Was networking how you got your start?

I graduated from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, so I always knew I wanted to work in entertainment. But after graduation, I worked a lot of jobs trying to break into this industry; Casting Assistant, Production Assistant, Social Media Coordinator—you name it! Finally, I was fortunate enough to end up in NBC’s Page Program [a rotational early career program in entertainment], which is where I feel my career really started.

How did NBC's Page Program help you understand what you wanted or didn’t want to do in your career? What was your biggest takeaway from it? 

The Page Program absolutely helped me find what I wanted to do! When I was in college, I really thought I wanted to be an Executive at a studio or network. As a Page, I realized that was NOT what I wanted to do at all. It allowed me to see all the different roles within the studio and network and also the creative side, which is where I really flourished. In college, around so many creatives, I felt like the odd one out a lot of the time—having this logistics piece in me. But my background in logistics has definitely come in handy working in a production office.