The Office: My Day on the Set (Part I)

[Click here to read PART II]

I’m not sure where to begin. I know that Tuesday, February 27, 2007 will go down as one of the best days ever! By now most of you know that I was lucky enough to spend all day Tuesday on the set of my favorite TV show, The Office. It was just a fantastic day, and I’m so thankful to everyone that made it possible. So first let me start of by thanking Jennie from OfficeTally.com who worked hard to make this happen. Then to the cast, crew, producers and everyone associated with The Office who were kind enough to open the doors of Dunder Mifflin and let us in on the magic behind it all. A typical work day for you all was a real special day for Jennie and I, so thank you.

To sit down at this computer and try to capture the day is a difficult task. But knowing that it’s a day few will experience I’ll do my best to share it with you. Since I know some of you have lives and don’t have hours to spend reading this, I thought I would break it down into two sections. Today is my diary of the day. What we did, where we went, who we saw. In Part 2, I will get into all the fun moments we had with the cast. Get settled in because this is incredibly long (that’s what she said) and incredibly self indulgent as this is my one time to capture the day as it unfolded.

When Jennie and I first arrived on set, we were a little shell shocked that we were actually there. I mean, we saw the Dunder Mifflin sign but it still seemed so bizarre that we were actually headed on to the set. I was trying to take it all in while also trying not to crash the rental car into the gate. We were instructed where to park and noticed the trailers right next to us. Yeah, that’s when it started to become real.

Upon arriving, we were greeted by Kent Zbornak, a co-executive producer on the show (and a hell of a nice guy). We exchanged a few quick hellos and we were off to start our day. Our first destination was the writing offices. But you know what we had to walk through to get there? The PLoD. Oh the Parking Lot of Doom. The scene of too many sad moments, and a place where JAM fans hope no other conversations ever take place. I was cringing just walking through it. But all was quickly forgotten as we walked by all the characters cars lined up just as you see it on TV. Michael’s Sebring next to Pam’s Fancy New Car, Karen’s SUV, Meredith’s infamous van, and of course Dwight’s Trans Am.

We went through those famous Dunder Mifflin glass doors…by the elevator of sideways glances…past the offices of Vance Refrigeration and up to the writers’ area. It’s during this time when we were first let in on one of the hidden secrets of The Office. Are you ready? Did you know that the scenes where people are looking out of Michael’s office window and down into the parking lot isn’t really Michael’s office? Nope, it’s writer Jennifer Cellota’s office. When the scene calls for Michael to look out his window and into the PLoD, Jennifer gets booted from her office, a quick little makeover happens and ta da…it’s Michael’s office. Would you ever have guessed? Not me.

Next up we got to see the foundation of the brilliance of The Office…the writers’ room. A large conference table sits in the middle of a big room surrounded by the dry erase board where many an Office moment first came to life. Everywhere you turn there are index cards which are used to break stories, plan arcs, and pinpoint scenes. Kent told us that the show is methodically planned and it’s like a giant puzzle that comes together by the time the show airs on Thursday nights. There were some really funny scenes outlined around the room. Not that I would dare tell you what they were, because (a) I would probably die a strange and mysterious death and (b) they may never see the light of day. But really it’s the death thing that I’m more worried about.

From the writers room we headed over to the warehouse. This was the one set that seemed much smaller than it does on TV. The warehouse actually serves as a warehouse for the show, with an areas for storage, construction and prop development. Darryl, Roy, Lonny and the crew were sadly not on set that day. I did notice that the safety board said that it’s been 385 days since a safety violation, which can only mean that Michael Scott hasn’t been spending much time down there.

From the darkness of the warehouse (some call it the whorehouse, but you can’t call it that), we got a glimpse of the old Stamford set which also doubles for the NYC corporate offices of Dunder Mifflin when the script calls for it (we saw DM-NYC last season when Jim went for his interview with corporate, remember?). On that day the small set was being used for the cast to record international promos. Yes, The Office is going global. That confused me a bit since so many other countries have their own version of The Office already, but hey…if it means more people get to see the show, then it’s all good by me.

After leaving Stage 2, we headed over to Stage 3, the main building where The Office is filmed. Yes, we were getting closer to Dunder Mifflin. Jennie and I were escorted into one of the two small rooms that sat directly on the opposite side of the door of DM. You know that little door in between Oscar and Meredith? Well walk right through there and that’s where we were hanging all day. In the room were a few small monitors where we could watch what was being filmed in the next room. So yes, what seemed like just minutes after our arrival, we were getting a glimpse at an episode of The Office that you all will see in a few weeks. Jealous? Yeah, you should be…ha ha.

Hanging in the room with us were J&J, two of the ladies from NBC that work hard to keep The Office going on the PR front. But the room really belonged to Veda, the script supervisor. It’s Veda’s job to listen to and watch each scene with incredible scrutiny to ensure that there is consistency from scene to scene. After every take, Veda rushes out of the room and on to the set to share what she’s observed and then rushes back before they start the next take. It seems like a pretty intense job but it’s one we have all come to appreciate as The Office has an amazing ability to keep its consistency not only from episode to episode but over the course of the seasons as well.

Outside of the our little room was a small hallway. This is Tom’s hallway. Others may pass through it, but Tom the PA owns it. I’m not sure exactly what Tom was doing all day, but he was doing something every minute of it. Among Tom’s jobs was to keep tabs on all the actors as soon as they left set. If someone ran to their trailer, Tom had to inform others. He also seemed to keep on top of what was happening on set. I wasn’t sure who he was talking to on his headset, but he was sure to let us know when the cameras were “still rolling” and when each scene was “resetting”. It also seemed to be one of Tom’s tasks to keep track of what scenes were shot and what they had left to make their day. I don’t think he was allowed to leave that hallway all day. A nice guy, we thank Tom for letting us hang in your hallway.

Back inside the room, in between watching them film, we talked with Kent about how the studio was set up the first season and how it was meticulously recreated in the place where it lives now. During our conversation he mentioned that he sometimes sees the episode about 40 times before it airs, and yet he still watches it on during the broadcast airing on Thursday night. And here I was calling myself a fan?!

We continued to listen and watch as they were filming and we tried out best to keep quiet but it was so damn funny that it wasn’t an easy thing to do. Having been on the set of Veronica Mars, I had a sense of how long it took to get the perfect shot that would end up in the show. But watching it unfold on The Office seemed like such a different experience. It’s hard to imagine that a show that comes off so effortlessly and natural takes so much time to put together. Kent explained that each scene is shot many times. The first few takes are really about the script and getting used to the scene. After the actors have gone through it a few times, they are usually free to improvise a bit and see what comes together naturally. From my perspective, no two takes were the same. The actors kept trying out different ways to deliver the lines and different facial expressions. How they choose what particular scene actually makes it into the final show, I will never know. To my untrained, yet Office-obsessed eye, they all seemed to be so perfect.

As we watched them film, a familiar face entered the room. The fangirl inside me got super excited as I recognized writer Michael Schur right away. I mean, even without the beard it’s hard not to know Cousin Mose. Michael was super nice and talked to us a while about Cousin Mose (will he return…who knows?!). He seemed a bit stunned when I gave him props for his recent one episode stint on The O.C.. Fun fact, well two actually…Mike’s wife JJ Philbin (daughter of Regis and Joy) wrote the episode he was featured in, and the role that Michael played, an environmental activist looking to recruit Summer Roberts, was originally slated for Al Gore. When Al’s schedule didn’t allow him to participate, Michael stepped in. Versatile I tell ya. Michael was also the very first Boston connection I made that day. I mean really…everyone seemed to have a connection to good ‘ol Massachusetts. It was a reoccurring theme throughout the day that also served as a nice ice breaker for me. Another reoccurring theme? How about the writers admitting that they used to obsessively check OfficeTally.com after an episode they had written to see how we all voted. Jennie explained that Office Tally had to remove the voting feature as it was wreaking havoc on her site. The writers seemed a bit torn as to whether or not they wanted it back. The secretly like to know what we all think, but on the other hand they know it’s a small sampling from the most dedicated Office fans and it might not be representative of the whole. But knowing they were going there and reading the comments and the votes? How cool is that? More than a few writers and cast members talked about visiting Office Tally and Give Me My Remote – soooo bizarre!

As we were talking to Michael, the fabulous Mindy Kaling stopped in for a quick minute. She’s just as adorable as I thought she would be. I didn’t have the chance to tell her that I wanted to be her very best friend in the whole wide world, but in hindsight that’s probably a good thing.

As Michael Schur exited, two more writers joined us. I recognized Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky right away, but of course I was blanking as to which one was which. I was trying to visualize my MySpace pages in my head but I couldn’t be sure. Gene and Lee were on set supervising the filming as they were the writers of this particular episode. For those of you who don’t know Gene and Lee, not only are they writers of some great episodes (um, “The Secret”!!), but they’ve also been on screen playing the two guys from Vance Refrigeration. You know…the ones who ended up leaving the marijuana behind in “Drug Testing”. We ended up spending a fair amount of time throughout the day with Lee and Gene who are really nice guys. They are shared some great insight filming and the writing process on The Office. Every episode of The Office has some level of collaboration, but writers are assigned certain shows. The big episodes, like the season premiere and finales are much more of a collaborative process with all the writers involved. On the whole is seems like the writers are involved in many aspects of the show. Lee explained that the writers of a particular episode will watch the filming from the monitors as it’s happening. They follow along and make sure that the actors are getting it right. If they have notes they will share them with the director (which happened a few times yesterday). He went on to explain that there a few passes at editing the show. The writer, director, and editors all take a pass before they are all ulitimately shared with Greg Daniels who I believe makes the final call.

We were just chatting with Gene and Lee when SPOILER ALERT Ed Helms came in. YES!! Andy is back!! I’ve been a huge fan of Ed’s for quite some time now and was personally so excited when it was announced that he has been escalated to a series regular. Ed was in full on Andy costume. We were so excited to see another cast member. Little did we know that it would become the norm for the day.

Again, I’ll be sharing the details of what it was like to meet the cast tomorrow, so don’t think I’m just glossing over it. But while we were hanging in the room, various cast members had a quick break and took the time to stop in and say Hi. Mindy (whom we talked a little blog talk with), then Ed, then oh you know, Rainn Wilson just stops in. I was watching the monitors and saw someone standing behind me and it’s Steve Carell (who I can’t wait to tell you all about, because I was so impressed). One by one we met most of the cast. Jenna, Angela and Kate – whom we’ve had the most personal interaction with through email – all gave us such warm welcome hugs. I felt so welcomed. Leslie, Oscar Phyllis and Creed all stopped in to say Hi. Melora gave us a quick “hi” as she was being whisked to the set. We weren’t there an hour and we had met all of the cast with the exception of Rashida, Brian, BJ, Paul and John. Amazing right?!

So Jennie and I were standing out in Tom’s hallway, chatting with Gene and Lee and who comes in but Greg Daniels. Dude…Greg Daniels!! It was his office, of course he was there. We were introduced and we just started chatting about the show, and some other things that we will tell you about as some other time (oh I’m so mean). Before you know it, we were lounging on the couches in Greg Daniel’s office – a place which became our home for the rest of the day. Greg took us behind the set and showed us where all the hair, makeup and wardrobe people sit in between takes. They are just off set, ready to go if they are needed.

Around noon, the lunch bell rang and the cast was off. As they were leaving we got to meet most of the remaining cast members. BJ, Brian, John and Rashida. As they started off to lunch, Jennie and I entered the world of Dunder Mifflin. As I posted yesterday, I was beyond devastated when I realized that I had left the battery to my phone charging in my hotel room. I was SO worried about my battery running out that I plugged in the battery one last time early on Tuesday morning and didn’t realize I left without it. Ugh, so bummed. Jennie had her camera, so it turned out ok, but still, I wanted my own camera – you know? I’ve posted some shots of the set below, but make sure you check out Office Tally for even more pics of our day.

What can I tell you about the set? Well, for one I thought it felt just right as Dunder Mifflin. My expectations was that it was going to seem smaller and more like a soundstage. It’s not. It’s just as you see it on TV. Jennie and I had fun taking all the requisite pics. Us at Pam’s desk. In Michael’s office holding first the World’s Best Boss mug and then a Dundie (yes, I held a Dundie…I SOOO wanted to take it – the ultimate office accessory). We got pics of Angela’s music baby posters, us by the Dunder Mifflin mission statement, with Dwight’s bobblehead (yes the original one). Basically we got all the shots one would take if they were to hang out at Dunder Mifflin. But then we snuck in a few more fun ones too. I couldn’t resist taking a pic of GMMR up on the screen of Jim Halpert’s desk…just think, I don’t have to use the photoshopped one I always do. I had a pencil in my hand ready to leave my name and number on Jim’s desk blotter but then though better of it. Yeah, really glad now I didn’t go with my first instinct. We had fun I tell ya!

After some playing on the set, we headed over to lunch. We put our trays down at the end of the table, but then decided to go sit with the cool kids. Angela waved us over and we ate lunch with her, Oscar and Kate. Kate and I chatted it up for a bit…she couldn’t be nicer.

After lunch, and this was REALLY cool, we headed back to the set where Angela and Jennie jumped into the Office Tally chat room to hang for a bit with the folks that were in there. A very strange but fun moment to see that happening. After a few minutes of chatting, Angela took us over to her trailer (click here to see Angela’s trailer in her People.com interview). It was really tiny, but she is an itty bitty thing so it was just perfect for her. It’s adorably decorated and had so many little pics that I just wanted to grab. There was a FANTASTIC photo of the cast – one that wasn’t used for publicity or anything. It was so cool (as was Angela). Angela was being so gracious about showing us around that we ultimately made her late for hair and makeup. We jumped in quickly to see everyone being dolled up. As the cast was getting ready for the next scene, Jennie and I went back to set.

The Dunder Mifflinites might hang out in the office all day, but when they are at lunch, the crew comes in and takes over. This is their time to check email, websites, etc. We got to meet a really great group of people who work on the show. And it was so nice to hear what a joy it is for them to work their everyday. Most were saying that it was by far the best set they ever worked on. It’s good all around people…all around.

I was getting some background info on the set from a man whom I learned during our conversation was Randall Einhorn. He’s the master of getting all those great shots that give The Office its visual distinction. I even got my turn to play documentarian. Randall hooked me up with the camera (which is super heavy by the way) and I got to “film” the Scranton Branch. I focused the camera in on Ed Helms who was sitting at Andy’s desk and tried to direct him. Yeah, I’m not much of a director or camera man but it was a cool experience. The minute I looked through the lens I could see the show – it was a very cool moment for me.

After some time hanging with the crew and chatting with Kent Zbornak, the cast started filtering back in. We had fun playing around with and getting some pics with Jenna, Rainn and John until it was time for rehearsal and our cue to head off set and back to Greg’s office to watch it all unfold.

And really, that’s where we spent most of the remainder of the day…watching them film while sitting on the couch in Greg Daniel’s office. I have to keep saying it because I hardly believe it myself. The episode they are shooting is hysterical. I mean really, really amazing. Jennie and I were cracking up at every single take. Rainn has some scenes that are spit your water out funny. At one point Jennie, Steve Carell and I were watching Rainn and John film a scene that was so hysterical they had a hard time getting through it. They somehow managed, but I kept thinking ‘what a way to spend your day’ surrounded by all this laughter. Not to say they don’t work hard, because they do, but everyone seems so joyful that’s it got be on of the best day jobs you can have.

My one utterly flustered moment came a bit later in the day (ah, you all thought it would be meeting JKras, but nope). I was talking to Gene when none other than Harold Ramis walked into the room. Harold Ramis!! Seriously, I felt my heart beat just a bit faster. I think he’s the best. I stood up and shook his hand and I think I told him my name…why, I’m not sure. And I’m not sure if I got my name right either. Oh well. As had been previously reported, Harold did in fact direct another episode of The Office, and he was on set to work on editing the ep he shot. As you may recall, Mr. Ramis directed the very funny “A Benihana Christmas” episode. Like the whole day wasn’t cool enough, and then we meet Harold Ramis. I must have done something right in this life.

As the day wore on the cast would come into Greg’s office and chit chat while on little breaks. I don’t mean to downplay how fantastic it all was, but at some point during the day…and I’m not sure when…but seeing the cast walk by or stop in to chat just became normal (well as normal as it can be). It really hit me later in the day at a seemingly random time – BJ Novak walked in and just sat on the couch and was changing his shoes, and I couldn’t help but say/think – when did it become ok that BJ Novak strolls into a room and I am completely unaffected? Oh look there’s Jenna Fischer chatting on her cell phone, and John Krasinski walking past me in the hallway. I really don’t mean to come off aloof, but the point I’m trying to make is that every single person there made us feel so comfortable that we actually did become comfortable. I hope you know what I mean, because it was a real great moment when I realized that.

We were there all day. We arrived around 9am and didn’t leave until after the cast did. Throughout the day, the cast and crew would come into the room and asked if we were bored, or if we were having fun. We most certainly weren’t bored and we were having the time of our lives. As I told someone on set – their normal work day is like a dream come true for me. I simply ran out of adjectives to describe the day. ‘Wonderful’, ‘Amazing’, and ‘Fantastic’ seemed as cliched as ‘Surreal’, but that’s what it was…all of those things and more. Throughout the day, something would happen and Jennie and I would just look at each other with these stunned looks on our faces. Like “is this really happening to us”? It was the little things…Greg Daniels taking us to grab some snacks. BJ Novak wanting to know what people in the OT chat room thought of Ryan and Kelly. Chatting with Steve Carell about the Oscars. Getting to see something new on set that most of the cast members had yet to see (oh I am such a tease). John Krasinski asking if I wanted to make out in the warehouse (oh wait, sorry – fantasy world crossover). It was all…yes, I will say it again…surreal.

By the time the last scene was shot Jennie and I were exhausted. It was such a full day and we were so present that I think we were just physically and mentally overwhelmed. Our day on the set of The Office was coming to a close. We said our final goodbyes and walked out the doors into the cast parking lot. The whole day was amazing and far exceeded my expectations. I know how lucky I am to have had this experience, and for that I’m truly grateful.

Thanks again to anyone and everyone that had anything to do with making our day so great. Let’s do it again it Season 4.

Click here for PART II of my day on the set. Oh you think I’m done? Come one now. We haven’t even talked about what it was like to meet the cast, and you know this story wouldn’t be complete without me sharing the details of “the moment”.

Here are some pics from me playing on the set of The Office.

Head over to Office Tally for more pics of Dunder Mifflin

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