A Day in the Life at NBC

By Dean’s Intern Ellana Sloan at NBC4-Washington

On June 12th, I walked over to NBC and into the Advertising and Promotion department, simply expecting to do some follow-up work on Camp 4 Kids, an NBC charity event to raise money for kids with disabilities, but instead, I was invited to assist an off-location shoot in Alexandria. I went along with Kaiser, the creative services producer at NBC, to shoot a spot for LivHOME in Arlington, an at-home senior care company. After loading the car with light kits, reflectors, a 4K camera, a plethora of lens, and a clipboard and script, we headed on our way to Virginia. 

We drove to a lovely woman’s home, and we started conversing with the talent and finalizing the shooting agenda with David Posner, one of the head executives at LivHome. I instinctively became Kaiser’s right hand man, assisting will all of the scene set-up, sitting in as temporary talent, and helping with the white balance. During most of the scenes, I timed the dialogue and made notes on which takes were best or held the reflector to ensure the talent remained well lit. I was in true awe of the entire experience. While I have been heavily involved in cinematography during the school year, this had been the first (and most official) event of the summer.

Learning to cooperate in a professional setting, representing such an incredible company like NBC, was an opportunity I wouldn’t trade for the world. I loved being able to assist in any way, as well as converse with these incredible people. Every person you meet has such a unique story, and it was exciting to capture their emotions on camera. Tuesday ran about an hour and a half later than my typical interning day, yet I wasn’t the least bit concerned.