I’m at the halfway point of my internship with MTV and it has been an incredible experience so far. I’m working in the production management department at MTV and work specifically on the shows Jersey Shore, Teen Mom, and Sixteen and Pregnant. I’ve had the opportunity to review budgets, create production expense reports for the fourth season of Jersey Shore, make thousands of copies, and have even gotten the opportunity to go on set a couple of times. On set I did the work of a production assistant for a couple of twelve hour shoots but it was a great experience to handle real equipment and see professional DP’s light a set in no time. I spent my days helping hold the boom when necessary, making runs for the production manager and executive producer, and making sure that the proper release forms were filled out for everyone involved in the shoot. One thing that I definitely had to adapt to was how fast paced this business really is. Everyone is constantly running around trying to make deadlines and communicating with people throughout the entire building. I’ve also had the opportunity to sit in on some Business and Legal Affairs meetings and it’s incredible all of the tiny details that producers need to worry about before camera can even begin to roll. Lawyers review every single aspect of a show to make sure that the network will not be liable for anything that is said or happens during the show. It has been an amazing experience so far and will definitely have more to blog about in the upcoming weeks.
Welcome to Notes from the 4th Wall, a blog about what’s happening at the front lines of the entertainment industry.
In theatrical terms, the 4th Wall is the imaginary “wall” at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play.
While the audience’s attention is directed straight ahead, the rest of us examine the world beyond the stage. In our terms, the 4th Wall is a critical vantage point to make sense of the media industry from perspective of those breaking into it. It is meant as an honest forum to deal with and make sense of the raw observations, insights, questions, myths, tactics and problems arising at entry level points of the industry.
Notes from the 4th Wall will feed upon your entry level experiences so get ready to share them!