The work of a Second Assistant Director in the film and television industry is mostly organisational and in the production office. He/she is the communication link between the set and production office, keeping the Production Manager informed of progress on set and relaying messages to and from the production office to set personnel as necessary.

The aspects of a second assistant director are:
Being involved with music, drama or dance performance.
Organising or supervising other people.
Work involving teamwork and co-operation.
Working evenings or weekends.
Explaining ideas and information to people.
Working under pressure.
Being away from home regularly.

The Second Assistant Director assists in breaking down the script in terms of the cast and making out the schedules necessary to get them on set as required for filming. This entails preparing, getting approval for and distributing the daily "call sheet" which is to ensure that all cast and crew are aware of advance schedules for the following days filming.

He/she gives the cast and crew their call times and liaises with the transport captain to arrange transport for them if necessary. He/she liaises with the wardrobe and make-up departments to schedule make-up/costume calls and is responsible for ensuring the cast are on time for calls and subsequently on set as needed. He/she gets copies of the script from the production office and distributes scripts and script updates (including any schedule changes) to the cast working on set. The job can involve supervising trainees on the production, giving them their work schedules, ensuring they are on time and dealing with any difficulties that may arise concerning trainees.

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