On the set of ‘NCIS: New Orleans’

East Texan learns the ropes of TV production while interning on action packed hit show

MARIAM AYAD, IN Magazine

Courtesy Photos by SYDNEY VIARD

Sydney Viard doesn’t have to wait to find out what will happen on her favorite TV crime series. In fact, she knows each plot twist and even who the killer is before the show airs.

And no, she’s not psychic.

Sydney is an intern on the camera crew of “NCIS: New Orleans,” the hit television show filmed in New Orleans starring Scott Bakula as the head of a unit that solves murders.

“I can’t believe I’m being paid to be here (on the set),” said Sydney, who lives in Tyler. “This is like the best job ever. I want to do this forever.”

A film arts major at the University of New Orleans, Sydney found out from the college about the opportunity to serve on the crew. The internship ran from January to April and will resume in July.

Even though the job requires only 20 hours of service per week, Sydney typically spends about 40 hours a week on the set.

“They (crew members) work about 65 hours a week and I was little sad that I couldn’t be there for all those (hours),” Sydney said. “But that’s okay. They would invite me (on set) if there was something cool (taking place), like an explosion.”

Sydney remembers when she first interviewed for the internship. It was her first glimpse of what the show actually looks like during filming.

“It was insane. It was scary. I had been on (the television show) set before because they do tours, but this is the first time I went on it when they were actually working,” she said. “That was really cool. Everyone had a job to do and everyone was going wherever.”

The busy and hurried scene is where she met the show’s director of photography, Gordon Lonsdale, who is also known for his work on “Bones” and Disney Channel’s “High School Musical.”

“He came away for like 10 seconds and asked us literally three questions. It was exciting, it was very stressful,” Sydney said. “But once I got to know him … he’s a family guy and he’s really nice. I say ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’ to him every day.”

LEARNING ON THE JOB

After joining the crew, Sydney felt comfortable asking Lonsdale questions about her own video projects and for tips about becoming a better cinematographer.

“It’s like a family. We can chat and I can ask him questions. Whereas the camera work is a lot more about technical things, I got to ask (Lonsdale)a lot of creative questions, which was very cool.”

The entire crew was like a family and was willing to help Sydney learn the ropes.

“I’ve been told by almost everybody I know that this show is so unique in that everybody is so helpful and friendly and wants to make the environment a happy one.”

Working on the set allows Sydney to expand her skills with the camera equipment used on the show. The equipment is so high end that most universities can’t afford it for student use.

“One of the best parts is actually getting to touch the equipment and actually getting to learn how to use it. That (is something) I never would’ve gotten to do at school,” she said.

The internship is helping her to feel confident about her career choice. She had changed majors three times before settling on film arts.

“I finally feel like I know what I want to do and the internship helped a lot with that,” she said. “I’ve been dancing around it for years.”

Although Sydney loves her time on the “NCIS” crew, she hopes to end up working in film instead of television.

“I would love to be a cinematographer,” Sydney said. “The dream would be if I could get jobs on movies, and then I get my paycheck and use part of that to make my own films, and enter them into film festivals. That would be really cool.”