Got a job in 'craft services' along with being an 'extra'. I'll be serving coffee and beverages.

Question

What will be expected of me and how can I be a great 'server'?

T D: I'm going to see the lady who offered me the job in two days. She said I'd be serving coffee and making sure it was hot and snacks were replenished. May I ask what to expect from other 'craft service' people? Thank you!

Answer 1

If the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, the way to a film crew’s heart is through 20-35 stomachs (or more)!

Craft service has increasingly become a very highly competitive crew position. True, it used to be all about the coffee and donuts, cookies and snacks, but the people I know who do craft service regularly have seriously raised the stakes. Nutrition plays a much bigger part in the lives of crew members than ever before – being conscious of this can really set you apart from other craft service people! Being pleasant and attentive with a killer attitude goes such a long way. But the degree of your food preparation is really the deal-maker (OR the deal-breaker) for a craft service professional.

Before you buy any food or supplies, make sure you get a Call Sheet from the Production Manager or the Production Coordinator and count the total number of people expected on set the next day (Cast + crew + anyone else whose name is on that sheet, then add a few heads to your count, there are always a few extra people) the biggest part of your job is to help maintain a continuous source of food & drink between meals for that number of people.

Ask what your budget is – don’t overspend it. KEEP YOUR RECEIPTS, you’ll need the originals in order to get reimbursed. You can’t bill for your appliances, your service items (bowls, platters, etc.) and accoutrements, but all food and drink items are (or should be) in the production budget.

Here is standard fare at the last few craft service tables I have seen on recent sets for commercial productions in Los Angeles:

• 2 Large coffee makers – 1 exclusively for coffee, 1 exclusively for hot water to make tea; label them if your containers are opaque. (If you want to go the extra mile, use distilled water only for both.) NEVER run out of either, all day long. You can add a 3rd coffee maker for decaf, if you wish, but crew people, by and large, really aren’t interested in decaf.
• A LARGE assortment of Teabags (caffeinated and decaffeinated, herbal and regular)
• Powdered creamer + tiny liquid creamer containers (flavored or non-flavored, it’s up to you)
• Packets of Emergen-C and/or Airborne (crew people tend to run on short sleep are constantly trying to boost their immune system, fight off colds, etc.)
• 50+ disposable hot beverage cups/day [more for larger crews]
• 50+ disposable cold beverage cups/day [more for larger crews]
• A box of assorted plastic utensils & napkins


It REALLY pays to have your own Large ice chest and your own supply of ice. Stock it with:
• Water bottles (get a few cases, try to keep at least one case on ice at all times)
• Diet soda cans (you can get regular sodas, but the Diet will always go faster than anything else)
• ½ gallon cartons of a few different kinds of juice (O.J + a berry blend, e.g.)

Snacks (think Breakfast & Lunch, and rotate the items on your table during the day – keep it neat, keep it clean):
• Fresh fruits & vegetables (the better the assortment, the more memorable you are to those who hire “Crafties” regularly – fresh strawberries, cut pineapple, berries score points for originality; antioxidants matter!)
• Snack bars (granola, whole wheat fruit bars, etc.)
• Spreads (cream cheese, hummus, brie, cheese slices)
• Bagels (for the cream cheese) & pita bread (for the hummus)
• Snack crackers (goldfish, wheat crackers, pretzels, etc.)
• Baked potato chips (low-fat is always better)
• Cookies (store-bought is fine, maybe Oreos and chocolate chips) especially in the afternoon
• Chewing gum (large packs - a few different kinds)
• Nutritional supplements (a bottle of chewable Vitamin C, multi-vitamins, etc.)

If you have a specialty hors d’oeuvre (finger food) that you like to prepare, try this for a special touch. (Again, this tip is to make you a memorable craft service person and it marks you as an initiated professional who adds to the value of what can be a long day of mind-bending work on the set.)

Sometime midway between lunch call and the evening meal (if there is one), prepare a tray of your special dish (crab cakes, for instance, or fresh guacamole and chips, even grapes & cubed cheese 'skewers' on toothpicks) and make the rounds as close to the set as possible. Between takes or between camera set-ups (but obviously NEVER when a shot is rolling) let your offering be seen and smelled by anyone not being a workhorse at that moment (translation: stay out of the way) and the piranhas will come to you and engulf your offering nibble by nibble.

Owning and transporting all your own equipment comes with the territory for a professional craft service person. Mark all your own equipment with your own name, tastefully, in ink. The most indispensable items are:
• Lightweight folding table(s) – minimum size 2’ x 4’
• Tasteful table cloth(s) [your presentation is a mark of your artistic aptitude, your style, your thoughtfulness]
• Servings bowls and platters
• Your own serving utensils (knives, serving spoons, etc.)
• Decorative baskets & basket cloths (for presenting fruits, dry goods, etc.)
• Extension cords (at least 1 heavy duty 50’ cord + a power strip or 2 to keep your coffee makers running)
• Coffee makers
• Ice chest(s)

Fresh-cut flowers in a vase on your table speaks volumes of your attentiveness and tastefulness.

If you intend to do this regularly, be creative in your choices for your craft service table. Variety rules. Creativity rules. Taste and nutrition rule. People are sick of empty calories, and nobody on set can afford a mid-afternoon crash. The caterers who serve full meals carry the lion’s share of this responsibility, but as a the craft service person, you can really help fill in the gaps.

Last thought: If you’re working multiple days with the same crew and you learn to supply the director and/or producer(s) with some of their favorite choices on subsequent shoot days, your stock can rise as high as you wish.

I hope this information is useful for you – it’s based on a decades-spanning observation of this subject. Craft service has come a long way, baby!
-- Songsmyth

Answer 2

Boy, this'll jump-start your acting career. How I envy you.

An actor acts.

A server serves. Flawlessly. Serve from the left, and pick up from the right. Never drip. Strive to be perfect. Dedication is what makes a server a server. Pour that coffee with a sense of righteousness and pride.

Try to avoid pouring scalding-hot coffee on the hand (or lap) of a Producer.

Contrary to innumerable "meet cute" movies, this maneuver will not get you a Mentor. It will, rather, get you escorted off the lot, in tears, and banned forever (at least until there is a new Producer. A day or so. Two at the outmost.)

Pour with pride. Serve from the left. Expand your expectations.

Answer 3

Be polite even when faced with rudeness, keep the coffee fresh, keep a small notebook to write down orders if you get caught when taking a drink to someone on or near set, you may get swarmed with multiple requests from people unable to make the walk over to the craft tent.

Pay attention to instructions from the proprietor, stay friendly and helpful for the entire duration, you'll be fine.

Answer 4

craft services is generally just a big table with snacks. Candy bars, donuts, sodas, etc. Munchies

I supposed you'll be making the perked coffee or putting it into thermal pitchers.

basically you just keep it stocked and make sure there is fresh coffee.

Answer 5

lorus gave great advice, my concern would be your wardrobe. Just be careful not to spill or get anything on it! Maybe you could ask wardrobe for something to use between takes in case of spillage since you have a double duty to perform. You just have to watch out for continuity that you remember to take it off (whether it be an apron, a large button up shirt, etc.)

good luck!
Marianne

Answer 6

As an ex-waitress I just try to get whatever anyone wanted and even if I screwed it up as long as I had a smile on my face they seemed happy enough. Just stay positive and enthusiastic and I'm sure you'll do fine. Good luck!

Answer 7

Why didn't you asked the person who offerred you the job?