Professional Profile:
Bob Foster, Transportation
Coordinator
Bob Foster never consid-
ered that his experience
driving big trucks and pulling
trailers while in the military,
in construction, and as a vol-
unteer fireman, coupled with
his knowledge of law and
the people skills gained as a
police officer, along with a love
of automobiles and a passion
for collecting antique cars,
would be ideal skills for
becoming a transportation
coordinator for feature films
and television.
He discovered the potential
for working in the film indus-
try when a friend asked him
to help move some trailers
for a production. Later, the
friend called on Foster to go to North Carolina and work on the film
Love Field. He was assigned to drive for actress Michelle Pfeiffer for
16 weeks. "She is just a down-home sweetheart; a very, very nice girl,"
he recalls. Upon completion of that assignment, he was offered another
driving job on a production shooting in Richmond. He worked his way
up to co-captain while driving on a production filming in Georgia,
returning to Virginia as a full
captain on the made-for-
television movie Miss Rose
White, all within his first year
working in the business.
Offers continued to "snow-
ball" with television work, and
on films such as My Cousin
Vinny and The Jackal, for which
he served as transportation
captain. Before long, Foster
was being hired as transporta-
tion coordinator. His work on
Girl, Interrupted, which shot in
What do you like
least about your job?
"The thing I like least
is having to deal with
budgets. I don't like it
when you come onto a pro-
duction and they say, `Here
is what you've got to work with,' and then they
tell you they need 10 trailers, but the budget has
just got room for five. That's the thing I like
least: working on a budget."--Bob Foster
What do you love most
about your job?
"I love the people. I have always been a
people person--I've never met a stranger. I
like working with people from all different
walks of life and different parts of the
country. I like talking with them and learn-
ing something from them. I love the cama-
raderie of being with people."--Bob Foster
VOICES OF
EXPERIENCE
"Be yourself and
treat other people like
you would want to be
treated."--Bob Foster
"When I go to work for a producer or a
unit production manager, my main objective
is I want them to hire me on the next project.
I want them to want me to come work for
them again."--Bob Foster
CAREER TIPS
User Comments Add a comment…