# Assistant Production Coordinator

Source: https://storiara.com/roles/assistant-production-coordinator
Last updated: 2026-09-14
Author: Spencer Kaufman, Storiara

> An assistant production coordinator (APOC) is the production coordinator's second in the production office. The APOC handles much of the office's daily output: printing and distributing script revisions, tracking start paperwork and certificates of insurance, ordering supplies and expendables, managing walkie and equipment sign-outs, and dispatching office PAs on runs. They take over the office when the coordinator is out.

The coordinator sets up the office's systems. The APOC keeps them running at volume. On a feature with 120 crew and a script still being rewritten during the shoot, that means hundreds of pages printed and logged every week, a dozen office PA runs a day, and a constant stream of small requests from every department. A good APOC is also the backup coordinator: when the coordinator is on a scout or out sick, the APOC runs the office.

## The daily output

Most of an APOC's day is repeatable work that has to be done right every time.

Script and schedule revisions are the biggest piece. When new pages come in, the APOC checks the header for the revision color and date, confirms the page numbers (Scene 42 split into 42 and 42A means a new A page), prints on the right color paper, and logs who received them. The math adds up fast. Say the writer sends 7 revised pages, and the show needs 30 printed sets for the office, set, and cast who want paper. That's 210 sheets of pink paper, plus a PDF to the email distribution. The APOC also keeps a master script with every revision inserted so there's always a clean current copy.

Paperwork tracking is the second piece. The APOC often owns the start paperwork tracker and the [certificate of insurance](https://storiara.com/glossary/certificate-of-insurance) log. A COI log for one week might look like this:

| Vendor / location | Requested | Received | Holder language checked | Expires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stage 4 lease | 9/30 | 10/2 | Yes | 3/31 next year |
| Warehouse, 1400 Industrial Way | 10/6 | Pending | | |
| Condor lift rental | 10/7 | 10/7 | Needs additional insured wording | 11/30 |

If the stage won't open without a COI, the APOC is the person who knows at 7 AM that it arrived at 6:48.

## Supplies, walkies, and equipment sign-outs

The APOC usually handles office supply and expendables ordering, the kitchen, and the walkie order and sign-out. Walkies go out to departments with a sign-out sheet listing serial numbers, and at wrap every one has to come back or be charged as loss and damage. The rental house bills missing radios at replacement cost, and on a show with 60 radios the sign-out sheet is the only way to know which department to ask. The [walkie channels](https://storiara.com/glossary/walkie-channels) page lists the standard channel assignments the ADs will use.

## Running the office PAs

Office PAs usually take direction from the APOC. Each morning the APOC builds the run list: pickups, drop-offs, deliveries to set, bank runs for accounting, and mail. Grouping runs by geography keeps a PA from making three separate trips across town. A sample run sheet:

1. 9:00 AM: Pick up hard drives from the post house, drop at set with the DIT
2. 10:30 AM: Bank deposit for accounting
3. 11:00 AM: Pick up a prop from a vendor two blocks from the bank
4. 1:00 PM: Revised pages to set for the script supervisor and ADs
5. 3:30 PM: Return rental items to the grip house

## A typical day

On a series in production, an APOC might arrive at 7:00 AM ahead of the coordinator, check the overnight email for travel or revision changes, get runs out by 9:00, spend the late morning on paperwork and orders, handle a revision drop in the afternoon, and stay until the call sheet has gone out and the office is closed. Heavy rewrite weeks make those days longer.

## Unions and pay

IATSE Local 161 represents assistant production coordinators on the East Coast. Its 2025-28 wage scales set the APOC minimum on theatrical motion pictures shooting in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, or within 30 miles of Independence Hall at $242.92 a day or $1,200.00 a week effective March 8, 2026, rising to $251.42 and $1,242.00 on March 7, 2027. Every category on the schedule lists the same weekly APOC minimum, while daily minimums vary slightly by category.

In Los Angeles, IATSE Local 871 represents assistant production coordinators. Its published joining requirement is 30 paid union days or 100 paid non-union days with pay stubs. On non-union productions APOCs are paid a negotiated day or weekly rate.

## How to get the job

Most APOCs were [office PAs](https://storiara.com/roles/office-production-assistant) or [production secretaries](https://storiara.com/roles/production-secretary) who showed they could handle the paperwork without supervision. Coordinators hire APOCs they trust. The fastest way into the job is being the office PA the coordinator remembers when their next show starts. From APOC, the next step is [production coordinator](https://storiara.com/roles/production-coordinator).

## Tools

The APOC works in the shared drive, email distribution lists, the crew list, the call sheet, and whatever script PDF tools the office uses for watermarking and page inserts. Keeping one current contact list for the whole show saves the APOC more time than any other habit, and Storiara's cast and crew module keeps phone numbers and emails for that purpose.

## Frequently asked questions

### What does an APOC do?

The APOC runs the day-to-day output of the production office under the coordinator: script revisions, crew paperwork, supply orders, walkies, shipping, office PA runs, and a lot of phone and email. On smaller shows the APOC also covers travel and the production secretary's work.

### How much does an APOC make?

Local 161's 2025-28 wage scales set the APOC minimum on a theatrical film shooting in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut at $242.92 a day or $1,200.00 a week from March 8, 2026. Every category on that wage schedule lists the same $1,200.00 weekly APOC minimum for that period.

### Is APOC a union job?

It can be. IATSE Local 161 on the East Coast and Local 871 in Los Angeles both represent assistant production coordinators. Local 871 lists 30 paid union days or 100 paid non-union days to join.

### How long does it take to go from APOC to production coordinator?

There's no fixed timeline. Many APOCs move up after a few shows, often when a coordinator they've worked with recommends them for a smaller show or a second unit.

## Sources

- [2025-28 Wage Rates for Local 161, Script Supervisors and Production Office Coordinators (AMPTP)](https://amptp.org/wp-content/themes/amptp/assets/pdf/IATSE/New%20York%20Agreements/Local%20161/Wage%20Scales%20%E2%80%93%202025-28%20Local%20161%20Agreement.pdf)
- [IATSE Local 871: How to Join](https://www.ialocal871.org/Join-the-Union/How-To-Join)
- [IATSE Local 871: About Us (represented crafts)](https://www.ialocal871.org/about-us)