Second Assistant Directors

Here is how this works in practice. Our team supplies second ADs who manage cast and background logistics on Moroccan shoots, keeping the floor supplied with the right people at the right time. We brief second ADs on the practical demands: preparing call sheets, setting up cast through hair, makeup and costume, managing the movement and scene matching of large extras units, and handling the forms that crowd days create.

Here is what that looks like on the ground. On the ground, Second ADs we place work directly under the first AD, run the background, liaise with the casting and talent coordinators, and keep the production office and the set in sync. The Ouarzazate region's deep extras pool — Berber background performers, riders and animal handlers — makes strong second-AD planning key on historical epics. Most work fluently in Arabic, French and English. This is needed for directing crews and crowds drawn from across Morocco.

Here is the short of it. Second ADs are central to how Moroccan shoots handle scale. The country's crews are among the most skilled anywhere at setting up large background units — a depth built over decades of hosting epics from 'Kingdom of Heaven' to 'Gladiator' and 'Game of Thrones' from the Ouarzazate base. The ISMAC in Rabat trains film pros. Domestic cinema sustains steady demand for skilled floor crews.

Here is how the picture comes together. On the ground, all production runs within the CCM framework: foreign shoots obtain CCM authorisation and partner with a CCM-licensed local production-services firm, with permits flowing through provincial authorities. The second ADs we place set up with that firm on the contracts, releases and authorisations that govern cast and crowd work on Moroccan shoots.