Grant Recipient: Daniel Obzejta ‘12
Major: Film Studies
Organization: Boardwalk Empire, HBO
Location: New York, NY
As an intern on the HBO series Boardwalk Empire, I have had the
unique opportunity to work with the different departments at each
stage of production so as to gain a better understanding of how a
successful television show is run smoothly and efficiently. Every few days I cycled through a new department to shadow someone who explained to me not only their specific job, but also the general aim of their department and how it fits into the larger production pipeline. In all of these cases, the people who I worked with treated this as a learning opportunity for me and served as teachers/advisers rather than a chance to assign me menial tasks. In the production office, I was able to help the show run behind the scenes and see how call sheets are made up for each day of shooting, how actors timesheets are filed and registered, and how script changes are made and distributed.
I went on location scouts with the department heads, sat in on
director’s meetings, watched dailies, and read script drafts. In the post-production office I spent time with editors, sound editors, and special effects supervisors, learning their system for editing, mixing sound, and preparing the visual effects needed for each episode. After I cycled through most of the show’s departments, I began work as an additional production assistant on set, working intimately with the cast and the crew to help the show run as smoothly and efficiently as I can. Although I have a few more weeks left in my internship, this
has without a doubt been the most rewarding, illuminating, and helpful experience of my budding professional career, and I am extremely grateful for the opportunity this grant has given me.
