A recent media and film studies graduate worked on the set of a DC Universe show.

By Hannah Scofield

DC Comic’s web series Doom Patrol released in February 2019. This 15-episode series on DC’s streaming service DC Universe has already received a 95% fan rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a flattering 8.2/10 stars on IMDb. Behind this team of outcast superheroes is another team — the location crew that includes BSC’s very own Katie Boyd ’18.

After Boyd graduated with her degree in media and film studies (MFS), she contacted her senior project supervisor and film instructor Robert Corna about job possibilities in the movie industry. Corna gave Boyd a phone number for Ian MacGregor, the assistant unit production manager of Doom Patrol.

MacGregor told Boyd that he’d let her know if anything came up, and he kept his word. He got back in touch with Boyd a few weeks later, telling her that Doom Patrol’s locations office needed help for three days. Three days soon turned into eight months.

“Location production assistants were pretty much in charge of making sure that the crew ran as efficiently as possible,” Boyd says about her position.

This job required ten-hour days in the office as a locations coordinator, keeping track of hours and filling out paperwork. Although Boyd spent most of her time in the office, she did have a few days on set. They brought out heaters when it was cold, AC units when it was hot, and made sure that the cast and crew didn’t go anywhere they weren’t allowed.

Even though the crew often fussed about the actors just like they sometimes fussed about each other, the cast and crew usually ate together on set. Boyd says that one time, “I almost bumped into Timothy Dalton‘s head, which would have been bad for me.”

The locations job fell in line with Boyd’s post-college plans. She says that she was a little different from many liberal arts students because when she came to college, she knew exactly what she wanted to do. She began her bachelor’s degree hoping to learn the logistics of film because things like cinematography and camera mechanics were not her cup of tea.

“If I ever got somewhere near a camera or data center, I would somehow delete it all. I would just hit something and be like, ‘all right, three months of work is gone’ and be fired immediately,” Boyd says, laughing.

Boyd’s interest in producing solidified in her senior capstone. For the project, Boyd produced a short film called Night Swimmer, directed by classmate Stephanie Lee. The two met weekly with Corna, that year’s senior advisor.

“I learned a lot from that class, especially since Corna got us to follow the standards of the industry,” Boyd says.

The MFS professors make their students adhere to the rigid standards of the professional world, requiring storyboards, call sheets, production reports, and other paperwork for every project produced. In addition to being familiar with skills and the lingo of the film industry from her classes, Boyd also says that her liberal arts education prepared her for situations that required problem-solving.

“In the film industry, if you could technically fix it, you’re expected to fix it,” Boyd says. “You’re just thrown in and hopefully someone in your department is nice and will teach you stuff.”

While Doom Patrol is off-season this summer, Boyd is still keeping busy. She is a locations assistant for a film currently titled “The Quest.” This time, she’ll be working a lot out of the office and will prep locations and tell people where and where not to go on set.

“I’m a little nervous. I’m a five-foot-five 23-year-old, and I’m going to have to tell 50-year-old men who have been working for 30 years, ‘No, you can’t do that,’” Boyd says. “But I think it will be fine because I’m good at both being nice and saying ‘no.’”

If Doom Patrol is renewed for a second season, she hopes to return. Boyd enjoyed streaming Doom Patrol as an audience member, but she confessed that she likes chick flicks, rom-coms, and movies that “make no difference whatsoever in the world.”

The film experience that she began at BSC led her to the path of her dream job, and she’s thrilled to have been a part of this production. For incoming freshmen, she highly recommends that they consider taking courses in the MFS department. She also suggests that current or recently graduated MFS students look into the PA Academy in Atlanta where production assistants (including Boyd) share their experiences with those looking into introductory film work.

The MFS department has been listed as one of the top film schools in Alabama. To learn more about this BSC department, visit their website.

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Hannah Scofield ’19 served as the intern in the BSC Communications Department. She graduated with a degree in English and media and film studies, and she will attend the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts in the fall. As a student, Hannah served as the editor of student magazine Bagheera, wrote for numerous other campus publications, and worked on film projects within BSC and through Sidewalk Film Festival.