The opening credits began to roll and the audience clapped, happy to see two new episodes of a show that hasn’t aired on television yet.

Last Thursday in Watson Theater at 7 p.m., students got a sneak peek at two episodes from the HBO series ‘Veep,’ starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The show, which premieres April 22 at 10 p.m., chronicles the misadventures of her and her staff as a newly inaugurated vice president.

A Q & A session followed the screening with alumni Chris Godsick, the show’s executive producer, and Jay Feather, the Director of Photography for the series. Students and faculty asked about life after Syracuse and working for a big network. The Daily Orange compiled some of those questions.

Question: Many students at S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications dream of doing what you do after school. What happened between when you left to coming back now?

Jay Feather: I left here and I went to New York, and I happened to be in the right time and right place. I was a political science major, but I wanted to work in film. And within the first two months I was able to get work. It was a hard path, but I met people and camera assistants at the places I was at. I was a loader on a low budget John Thomas film. I then started to work more with the camera. Eventually things start to happen. It’s tough but worth it.

Chris Godsick: I got a degree in television, film, and radio and marketing, and from there I went to LA. And they tell you that if you want to learn about the industry, work in a talent agency. So I did, I got a job working in the mailroom in William Morris Agency. From there I started working with British and Asian Talent. I left and went into the Internet business. Eventually I went back to managing and producing and then started working with Armando [Iannucci], who created The Thick Of It, to work on this.

Was the look of it similar to The Thick Of It? Was most of it ad-libbed or scripted? 

Godsick: Most of it is scripted. We spend more money on writers than most other shows do. Our writers are based out of the UK and were all nominated for In the Loop. There is always a writer on set and there is a schedule of rotating writers we can call at any time.

HBO is almost like the holy grail of television. Now that have you done a series, can you tell us what happens at HBO that allows this landslide of material to be produced?

Feather: When I’m over there, it seems like they’re all about getting creative people and allowing them to have freedom on a large scale on a television show. You know when you look at it; directors and actors are really wanting to be a part of HBO since it really nurtures this kind of talent.

Question: What advice do you have for students on how to spend their time at Syracuse?

Godsick: The one thing I took away from here was to do more of what you’re doing already. But you should also do things that interest you and different from your major. Enjoy yourself.

Feather: My advice is to really use the resources you have here. Use your alumni contacts. Use your internships. Use all of your connections as much as you can.

cmdunder@syr.edu

Published on April 7, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Claire: cmdunder@syr.edu | @ClaireDunderman