As I stepped off of the smooth, grey floors of the warehouse and onto the plush, eagle-crested rug of the Oval Office, Art Director Halina Gebarowicz quickly explained to us that, unlike the real rug in the Oval Office, the one we stood upon was made in China, where it isn’t illegal to make a copy of the official rug. 

This replicated Oval Office exists on the set of “House of Cards,” a new series that will air on Netflix in 2013. It’s a political thriller currently being filmed on location in Washington, D.C., as well as on set in Joppa.

Visiting the set was incredibly impressive and allowed journalism and TV production students to take the classroom experience and see it on the big scale. 

Arriving in minibuses, journalism and TV production students stepped into the unassuming, if giant, warehouse in Joppa, only twenty minutes from Bel Air.  This warehouse holds the main sets used in filming the show.  In our two-hour tour, we saw remarkably similar versions of a young journalist’s apartment, several levels of a congressman’s house, the west wing of the White House–which included the Oval Office–and several other sets. 

While being able to step from a realistic living room to an exact replica of a White House office in only a few feet was mind-boggling, the field trip was made even more interesting and relevant to the students with lessons about lighting and camera work from producer Karyn McCarthy, mother of senior Natalie Lindeman. McCarthy worked on movies in Chicago, where she met TV Production teacher Bob Schick on set 20 years ago.  She’s moved her way up in the movie business from an office secretary in 1988 to a producer of “House of Cards.”  She’s moved from Chicago to Los Angeles and now to Maryland, and will stay here with Lindeman through this semester at least.

McCarthy and Schick’s combined knowledge of equipment and the inner workings of movie sets made the day multi-dimensional and highly educational. Students learned the value of softer lighting to make scenes look more realistic and what color lighting looked better for day and night. Some even gawked openly at the absolute enormity of the lights and stands. 

As someone interested in film and multimedia in general, I was captivated.  The “sizzle” reel, which is much of what they’ve shot edited together into a trailer-esque video, had me immediately hooked on the show.  Starring Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright, the political drama is going to be put online on an undetermined date in 2013, and I will definitely be tuning in.  Being able to see a scene in the show and know that I walked through the same room will give me a connection I never could have experienced otherwise.

Martha Schick is Multimedia Chief for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.