The Gould-en Rules
COURTESY OF KATRINA GOULD
Advice for creative types during testy times
Times are tough for students. The pandemic has abruptly interrupted job searches and students in the Arts and Sciences are especially impacted and worried whether creators such as those working in the media industry will still be needed.
Katrina Gould ‘10 is a Santa Clara alum with a B.A. in Communication and a Theater minor. She is currently a DGA (Directors Guild of America) 2nd Assistant Director. She works for whatever production company hires her, most recently, WBTV/Netflix for Lucifer before production was interrupted by the pandemic.
Some of Gould’s main duties involve setting up the backgrounds of scenes for television shows, particularly directing the extras—telling them where to be and what to do.
“I make sure the set is running and we’re ready to go—we have all the pieces we need to function,” she said. At the end of each day Gould fills out production paperwork, covering items like what was done that day and people’s in and out times.
Unfortunately, Gould is one of many below-the-line workers in the entertainment industry who have been impacted by COVID-19. The most recent show she worked on, “Lucifer,” only had one week left of shooting to complete the season before everything had to be shut down.
“That’s shocking because these things don't happen, we usually always find a way to shoot things and get it done,” she said. Below-the-line workers are in a unique and difficult situation where there are no jobs to look for and no one is being paid because all production has stopped.
Gould has been interested in the film and TV industry since her time at Santa Clara where she took all the film production and theory courses available before finally taking the film thesis her senior year. When asked about how she started her career, Gould initially wasn’t sure how to begin a career in TV production.
“My goal was and still is to be a producer,” she said, “but you don’t just get to start there!”
After graduating, Gould moved to LA where she eventually got a job as a production assistant on “Wipeout.” Having worked as a PA for two years, she grew bored and wanted to figure out what she really wanted to do in the industry.
“I started looking around the set, watching people, and I was like, ‘Alright, that guy over there—who was the assistant director/stage manager—I want that guy’s job!’” It was then that Gould remembered about the assistant director training program sponsored by the Directors Guild of America (DGA) that her senior thesis advisor, Mike Whalen, had once recommended to her. The program would give her the work experience as an assistant director, as well as the necessary days and requirements to be accepted to the DGA as a unionized worker. The program accepted Gould in 2012 and she finished her studies in 2015.She has been working as an assistant director ever since.
Gould believes there will be a new normal in the industry as a result of the virus. “Depending on your set you could have 20 people in a small bedroom shooting a scene. We have to work in really close quarters,” she said. “There's gonna have to be a conversation on how workers can be safe while being productive and there's gonna be a huge impact [on the industry] for sure.”
Some of the new regulations that Gould thinks will be set in place include taking temperatures and wearing masks while on set. She says that arguably the hardest thing to implement will be social distancing because the job requires people to be in such close proximity. For example, hair and makeup jobs require physical touch.
Gould also thinks the traditional schedule that the TV industry follows might be disrupted due to the pandemic. “It’s crazy because everyone is sitting at home watching TV and soon they’re gonna want more. I don’t think TV will ever die but the schedule we operate on might change due to the disruption,” Gould mused. Most network TV shows that air weekly (such as those on ABC, NBC, FOX) generally start shooting in July if airing in the fall, a major TV season. With production being interrupted because of the virus and no foreseeable end to this halt anytime soon, TV shows scheduled to air this fall will probably be pushed back.
Although the future of the media industry is uncertain at this time, Gould is hopeful and wants Santa Clara Broncos to share her hope. “I know things are weird right now, but the world is always going to need artists and stories. It has been a thing since the beginning of time and now there are even more ways of doing it so don’t give up. There’s always a job for everyone regardless of what you’re interested in so you can be part of making that happen and the world is always gonna want it and need it.”
The emphasis on careers in the STEM field has made people studying Arts and Sciences worried. This fear has been made worse by the lessening of positions in the creative sector during the pandemic. Nonetheless, we need to keep in mind that there will always be a place for creators in the world, and to always stay hopeful.