WEBVTT - Veda Semarne 0:00:05.440 --> 0:00:08.479 My name is Veda Samarne, and I was the script 0:00:08.520 --> 0:00:17.639 supervisor on The Office. Welcome, welcome, one and all to 0:00:18.200 --> 0:00:21.439 the Office deep Dive. It is nice to be back 0:00:21.480 --> 0:00:25.880 with you all on this fine Tuesday or whatever day 0:00:25.960 --> 0:00:29.800 you happen to be listening. I am your host, Brian Baumgartner. 0:00:30.520 --> 0:00:35.240 Today we're wrapping up our little mini deep dive on 0:00:35.600 --> 0:00:39.440 the women of the Office with a woman who was 0:00:39.520 --> 0:00:43.720 truly the glue of our show. She kept everything together, 0:00:44.320 --> 0:00:48.839 our script supervisor, Veda somarn. This is someone I respect 0:00:48.920 --> 0:00:52.400 and admire so much. Okay, she was with us on 0:00:52.520 --> 0:00:56.560 set every single day making sure that we did our 0:00:56.720 --> 0:01:00.040 jobs and set our lines and that the director, the 0:01:00.200 --> 0:01:03.560 editor and the writers all got what they needed to 0:01:03.680 --> 0:01:07.399 make a great show as well. And so how was 0:01:07.440 --> 0:01:11.360 she repaid? Well, she was repaid by the cast with 0:01:11.680 --> 0:01:17.280 groans with eye rolls, because when we were having fun 0:01:17.760 --> 0:01:21.880 shooting on set, when Veda came in, Oh, well it's 0:01:21.959 --> 0:01:26.559 because we did something wrong. Oh that's how we repaid her. 0:01:27.720 --> 0:01:30.959 But I really do I love her and Veda and 0:01:31.000 --> 0:01:36.080 I we had a special connection because Kevin's car on 0:01:36.160 --> 0:01:40.920 the show was actually Vedas car in real life. Yeah, 0:01:41.080 --> 0:01:45.880 remember Kevin's fuzzy steering wheel cover. Now that that's all 0:01:45.959 --> 0:01:50.000 Veda think of this, the simple task of keeping the 0:01:50.200 --> 0:01:55.120 entire cast on track, helping everyone with lines, marking every take, 0:01:55.200 --> 0:01:59.280 supporting the director, editors, actors, props, wardrobe all at the 0:01:59.320 --> 0:02:02.800 same time. She even made sure all of the clocks 0:02:02.800 --> 0:02:07.480 and watches were set to the same time. Yeah, yeah, 0:02:07.520 --> 0:02:10.160 that was all her too. Now, when we spoke all 0:02:10.200 --> 0:02:14.960 the way back in February, she was working on Steve 0:02:15.040 --> 0:02:19.520 Correll and Greg Daniels show Space Force with lots of 0:02:19.960 --> 0:02:23.440 other office cast and crew, so she was getting to 0:02:23.480 --> 0:02:28.320 hang out with that crew almost every day in that moment. 0:02:28.680 --> 0:02:33.720 Lucky her, and well, lucky you, because now you get 0:02:33.760 --> 0:02:40.760 to listen to my conversation with the incomparable Vada Samarn 0:02:44.840 --> 0:02:52.400 Bubble and Squeak. I love it, Bubble and squeakan Bubble 0:02:52.440 --> 0:02:57.359 and Squeaker Cookie every month left over from the night before. 0:03:07.360 --> 0:03:12.919 Oh my god, how are you so good to see you? 0:03:13.919 --> 0:03:20.040 Oh my gosh, I know it's been so long. Oh 0:03:20.160 --> 0:03:22.800 right there, right, yeah, right by that Mike, He'll come. Okay, 0:03:22.840 --> 0:03:25.080 it's always so fun to see people from the office. 0:03:25.120 --> 0:03:28.680 It's well, you were just working with a bunch of them. Yeah, 0:03:28.960 --> 0:03:32.360 that was a really cool experience to be back with, 0:03:32.520 --> 0:03:39.000 you know, Steve bunch of us, Dave Rogers. Yeah, it 0:03:39.160 --> 0:03:44.960 was very cool. Yeah is that that? Wait? Who is it? Well? 0:03:46.600 --> 0:03:50.960 Ka um, do you still have the RAB four? No? 0:03:51.400 --> 0:03:55.040 Oh gosh, okay. So you know, I remember a good 0:03:55.080 --> 0:03:57.560 story about that, you know, because the prop department always 0:03:57.560 --> 0:04:00.240 had to change my license plate right right to make 0:04:00.280 --> 0:04:03.520 in Pennsylvania. And I once drove home with the Pennsylvania plates, 0:04:03.600 --> 0:04:06.960 I remember, and I got home, I thought, oh my god, 0:04:07.320 --> 0:04:10.200 that's not good, is it? You know? And then and 0:04:10.240 --> 0:04:11.760 then of course I didn't know how to get them off, 0:04:11.800 --> 0:04:13.720 so I had to drive back the next morning with 0:04:13.800 --> 0:04:18.120 them on. But it doesn't reflect well on the prop department, 0:04:20.520 --> 0:04:22.320 you know, they had. But also I remember there were 0:04:22.360 --> 0:04:25.160 all these stickers all over it that were like Pennsylvania 0:04:25.600 --> 0:04:29.400 stickers that I had. I just left on because Kevin 0:04:29.480 --> 0:04:32.360 was always there, so my car was always right there. 0:04:32.480 --> 0:04:35.440 And it's that's that's another continuity thing that I thought of, 0:04:35.520 --> 0:04:38.599 you know, like the car continuity. There were so many 0:04:38.680 --> 0:04:43.480 weird kinds of continuity, right all right, So first, how 0:04:43.600 --> 0:04:46.720 did you get hooked in? Was it through Ken Kappas. 0:04:48.160 --> 0:04:50.120 I had done a movie with him. I did a 0:04:50.160 --> 0:04:53.719 movie that he wrote called Sexual Life, So I knew 0:04:53.800 --> 0:04:55.840 him from that, and he knew I was smart and 0:04:55.839 --> 0:04:59.160 that you know, I could figure stuff out, and you 0:04:59.160 --> 0:05:01.400 know that this show was going to require someone who 0:05:01.400 --> 0:05:05.640 could figure yourself out? Right, And you came in Diversity 0:05:05.720 --> 0:05:09.200 day right, Yes, that's the second episode. Yes, yes, yes, 0:05:09.440 --> 0:05:12.120 they didn't do the pilot. I never met the person 0:05:12.160 --> 0:05:15.120 who did the pilot, but no, I did every other 0:05:15.160 --> 0:05:19.120 episode after that though. I just stuck with it. I mean, 0:05:19.120 --> 0:05:21.599 why wouldn't. I mean, it's the best show to work 0:05:21.640 --> 0:05:25.159 on the way the show was shot. Was that more 0:05:25.200 --> 0:05:28.160 difficult for you? In other words, like there are no marks, 0:05:28.960 --> 0:05:34.839 so much improving that would affect you a lot too. Yes, 0:05:34.960 --> 0:05:38.080 it made my job completely different. I had to reinvent it. 0:05:38.240 --> 0:05:41.760 I think everyone did, you know, in their own job, 0:05:42.279 --> 0:05:44.760 their own department, and their own capacity. They had to 0:05:44.800 --> 0:05:48.719 reinvent what they normally do. You have to throw it 0:05:48.720 --> 0:05:51.560 out the window and start all over again. Because this 0:05:51.640 --> 0:05:56.280 was really different. At the beginning, no one was allowed 0:05:56.279 --> 0:05:59.760 on set. None of the crew members remember that. Because 0:05:59.800 --> 0:06:02.640 the idea was that it was going to feel like 0:06:02.680 --> 0:06:06.200 a real office and you guys were going to get 0:06:06.839 --> 0:06:10.239 acquainted with the space and feel like you were home 0:06:10.279 --> 0:06:12.440 when you were there, so that you would feel free 0:06:12.480 --> 0:06:15.680 to do whatever. So the way that affected me was 0:06:16.000 --> 0:06:19.240 humongous because first of all, I had to be in 0:06:19.279 --> 0:06:23.240 the green room with the writer the entire I think 0:06:23.240 --> 0:06:26.160 it was two or three seasons we did. So I 0:06:26.240 --> 0:06:29.440 was outside the main office. I was outside the door, 0:06:29.600 --> 0:06:33.000 and so between takes we both have to run in, 0:06:33.080 --> 0:06:38.200 I mean literally run in to give our notes. And 0:06:39.680 --> 0:06:43.080 the no slating meant that I had to reinvent the 0:06:43.080 --> 0:06:45.359 way I did my notes because I had to be 0:06:45.440 --> 0:06:48.120 able to signal to the editors where all the good 0:06:48.240 --> 0:06:51.320 parts were. So I had to use time code instead 0:06:51.360 --> 0:06:55.000 of slates to separate out each part of it. So 0:06:55.040 --> 0:06:57.640 I had to create a new way of doing the notes. 0:06:58.240 --> 0:07:00.080 This was at the beginning. Later on I got a 0:07:00.080 --> 0:07:04.120 little bit more traditional, a little bit more, but at 0:07:04.160 --> 0:07:08.040 the beginning it was totally new. Um, you would just 0:07:08.360 --> 0:07:12.239 slate the scene and the camera would just keep rolling, 0:07:12.680 --> 0:07:14.560 and a lot of what was on the camera was 0:07:14.640 --> 0:07:18.480 just the cameras sitting on the ground and feet walking by. 0:07:18.480 --> 0:07:21.480 So they had to use my notes literally to find 0:07:21.640 --> 0:07:25.280 the takes. And to find the coverage. Like I'd say, here, 0:07:25.320 --> 0:07:28.200 the camera's going wide now, so we're going to get 0:07:28.240 --> 0:07:31.840 a three shot of the accounting department. And then now 0:07:32.160 --> 0:07:34.080 and this take we got a close up of Kevin, 0:07:34.080 --> 0:07:35.920 and this take we got a close up evangel and 0:07:35.920 --> 0:07:37.680 this take we got a close up of Oscar. You know, 0:07:37.720 --> 0:07:41.960 it's like every take was a different piece of coverage 0:07:42.600 --> 0:07:45.000 or you know, a continuity there was. There was so 0:07:45.080 --> 0:07:48.160 much continuity. But luckily everyone was on top of it, 0:07:48.200 --> 0:07:50.800 so it wasn't just me, but I was definitely needed. 0:07:50.840 --> 0:07:54.880 I needed to track so much because you know, the 0:07:54.960 --> 0:07:58.520 episodes would take the place in the course of a day, 0:07:59.200 --> 0:08:02.520 so it all had to make sense right right right, 0:08:02.560 --> 0:08:04.920 like what was on even what was on people's desks 0:08:05.080 --> 0:08:09.400 or because things would changed through the course of the day. Yeah, 0:08:09.400 --> 0:08:13.160 and if we were going backwards or write Office Olympics, 0:08:13.200 --> 0:08:15.640 you know, like which games had been played? You know, 0:08:15.680 --> 0:08:17.800 you had to know at every moment we tried to 0:08:17.800 --> 0:08:21.040 shoot in order. Usually we had to know which games 0:08:21.040 --> 0:08:23.440 have been played to know what each part of the 0:08:23.480 --> 0:08:25.960 office looked like. There was a lot too, you know, 0:08:26.000 --> 0:08:29.800 I had to have like special charts for everything, like 0:08:29.840 --> 0:08:34.800 what else well for example, the clock was always in 0:08:34.840 --> 0:08:38.840 the shot and it didn't run we'd said it. But 0:08:39.520 --> 0:08:42.320 when I prepped for each episode, I had to assign 0:08:42.320 --> 0:08:46.079 a time to each scene so that the set decorator 0:08:46.120 --> 0:08:49.400 could just take that list and set the clock, and 0:08:49.440 --> 0:08:52.720 they had. We realized after the first couple of shows 0:08:52.760 --> 0:08:54.640 that we had to set it for every scene, no 0:08:54.640 --> 0:08:56.839 matter what, because you never knew what the camera was 0:08:56.880 --> 0:09:00.839 going to capture. I remember in the the Hot Girl 0:09:00.880 --> 0:09:03.160 episode when they were buying purses, you know, I had 0:09:03.160 --> 0:09:04.800 to keep track. That's another one. I had to keep 0:09:04.840 --> 0:09:08.640 track of what purse was on what desk at what time, 0:09:08.760 --> 0:09:14.679 like who bought what. And I remember very distinctly this 0:09:14.760 --> 0:09:16.679 was the moment I realized that we had to be 0:09:16.800 --> 0:09:20.760 so careful about continuity. We had to make sure the 0:09:20.800 --> 0:09:26.719 whole office was correct for every scene because we were 0:09:26.720 --> 0:09:31.280 shooting a close up of Dwight, and I remember Randall 0:09:31.400 --> 0:09:33.559 just suddenly went around to the other side of Dwight 0:09:33.720 --> 0:09:36.120 so you could see Katie in the background Amy Adams, 0:09:36.360 --> 0:09:39.560 you know, and you could suddenly see that he had 0:09:39.880 --> 0:09:44.000 the purse that he bought later on his desk, and 0:09:44.040 --> 0:09:45.840 so of course I had to run in No, that's 0:09:45.880 --> 0:09:49.640 not there yet. But that's when I realized, no, we 0:09:49.679 --> 0:09:51.880 can't leave anything out. You know, everything has to be 0:09:51.960 --> 0:09:55.400 correct for every moment because I don't know where the 0:09:55.559 --> 0:09:59.520 what the cameras are gonna see. Yes, I remember you 0:09:59.640 --> 0:10:04.320 with the clock and with the watches on people's risk, 0:10:04.720 --> 0:10:08.480 and I said later and I have used this sense 0:10:08.880 --> 0:10:13.040 that the greatest decision that I ever unwittingly made was 0:10:13.480 --> 0:10:17.880 that Kevin did not, Thank God, because having to adjust 0:10:17.920 --> 0:10:22.000 that watch every scene and the clock. You're right, well, 0:10:22.520 --> 0:10:26.000 the watches. I got a little more easy going about 0:10:26.000 --> 0:10:28.920 the watches. I decided only if someone was going to 0:10:28.960 --> 0:10:35.040 be camera, because that, yeah, there was enough for us 0:10:35.040 --> 0:10:39.600 to worry about. There was so much, Right, who does 0:10:39.640 --> 0:10:45.200 the script supervisor serve? Well, the script supervisor is a 0:10:45.280 --> 0:10:49.240 department of one, so you're your own boss. Yes, it's 0:10:49.280 --> 0:10:53.360 really hard to manage. I remember that if there was 0:10:53.400 --> 0:10:56.640 a Kelly line about how she was, she was a 0:10:56.679 --> 0:10:59.720 department of one and her department was so hard to manage. 0:11:01.360 --> 0:11:06.079 Let's have that applied to script supervisors. Right. But in 0:11:06.200 --> 0:11:09.400 terms of I guess, I don't know. It's so interesting 0:11:09.440 --> 0:11:12.800 to me, like in terms of you know, you're talking 0:11:12.840 --> 0:11:16.240 about needing to do stuff for the editors. You've got 0:11:16.320 --> 0:11:19.640 writers chirping at you, telling you you know that they 0:11:19.679 --> 0:11:22.600 want lines set a certain way. You serve them all. 0:11:22.640 --> 0:11:25.560 I mean, you production. You keep track of a lot 0:11:25.600 --> 0:11:28.199 of information about the scripts, and you know how much 0:11:28.280 --> 0:11:31.480 is shot, how much remains. You keep track of all 0:11:31.520 --> 0:11:34.760 the scenes and you know if anything's missing you tell 0:11:34.800 --> 0:11:38.319 them right away, or you keep track of scenes and 0:11:38.360 --> 0:11:43.520 what um the director or the writers want to include 0:11:43.520 --> 0:11:47.560 in the cut. For the editor and for the For 0:11:47.600 --> 0:11:50.000 the actors, you're helping them with lines. Sometimes they don't 0:11:50.160 --> 0:11:53.280 treat it as help, but you basically are helping them 0:11:53.320 --> 0:11:57.440 remember their lines. And you work for the writers in 0:11:57.480 --> 0:12:00.400 the sense that you're trying to make sure this script 0:12:00.440 --> 0:12:03.880 is properly shot, and then all the lines are as written, 0:12:04.559 --> 0:12:08.040 especially on the office because I mean, let's face it, 0:12:08.040 --> 0:12:11.400 it was like Shakespeare. The lines were beautiful. Yeah, they 0:12:11.440 --> 0:12:15.240 had to be said exactly as written at least once 0:12:15.360 --> 0:12:18.319 or twice, just because they were so beautifully written. It 0:12:18.440 --> 0:12:20.720 just had to be that way. So I was a 0:12:20.760 --> 0:12:24.200 real I was a real stickler for the burbage, you 0:12:24.240 --> 0:12:28.840 know the people. Yeah, people would cower when I came 0:12:28.920 --> 0:12:31.080 towards them. If they had like a whole paragraph that 0:12:31.120 --> 0:12:33.000 they had to say. They would be so nervous that 0:12:33.080 --> 0:12:34.840 I was going to tell them they were doing it 0:12:34.880 --> 0:12:37.760 all wrong. But you know, for the most part, I 0:12:37.840 --> 0:12:40.840 just wanted the comedy to be for it to be 0:12:40.880 --> 0:12:43.600 as funny as it possibly could be. Right. I want 0:12:43.640 --> 0:12:46.240 to talk about that a little bit, that relationship between 0:12:46.280 --> 0:12:50.080 the actors and you on the show, Like did you 0:12:51.000 --> 0:12:54.880 did you feel comfortable with everybody like Rain for example, 0:12:55.320 --> 0:12:58.320 Like Rain would give you hell. I loved him, you know, 0:12:58.360 --> 0:13:02.200 I loved everybody. It was everybody had a different way. 0:13:02.440 --> 0:13:04.840 You know. I think a lot of actors just they 0:13:04.880 --> 0:13:08.200 wanted to be so perfect that they get frustrated and 0:13:08.200 --> 0:13:10.760 and sometimes they take it out on me a little bit, 0:13:10.800 --> 0:13:13.480 but I don't really take it personally, and I know 0:13:13.679 --> 0:13:17.080 there's a lot of pressure on them. You were very, 0:13:17.240 --> 0:13:22.280 very skilled at that, particularly when we were in the 0:13:22.320 --> 0:13:26.920 conference room, and I just recall at times, you know, 0:13:27.040 --> 0:13:32.640 being in between a take and there being a kind 0:13:32.640 --> 0:13:35.640 of pause that when you're inside the conference room, you 0:13:35.679 --> 0:13:37.760 weren't quite sure what was happening, Like it felt like 0:13:37.800 --> 0:13:40.920 nothing was happening, and then you would turn the corner 0:13:41.400 --> 0:13:44.720 and it would be like, oh, somebody's getting it now, 0:13:45.200 --> 0:13:50.040 somebody is getting it from Beta. Um. But I think 0:13:50.120 --> 0:13:56.480 it was all truly it felt like everybody was working 0:13:56.520 --> 0:14:00.360 to try to make it the best show that that was. 0:14:00.960 --> 0:14:03.800 That was so lovely and unusual about that show, Like 0:14:04.640 --> 0:14:07.440 I mean, for nine years, I was excited to go 0:14:07.480 --> 0:14:10.200 to work. I got up, I was happy that I 0:14:10.280 --> 0:14:12.640 was going to see the scenes I was going to 0:14:12.720 --> 0:14:14.720 see that day, and I was so excited to see 0:14:15.240 --> 0:14:18.120 everybody at work, you know, every day. So and I 0:14:18.160 --> 0:14:21.440 think everyone felt that way. We all loved it so much. 0:14:21.480 --> 0:14:23.800 We wanted it to be as good as possible. So 0:14:23.920 --> 0:14:28.240 sometimes it took, you know, a little bit of bullying, 0:14:28.440 --> 0:14:33.040 you know, to get some Sometimes people would argue with 0:14:33.080 --> 0:14:35.920 me about lines. Well, I would make them say, like 0:14:36.040 --> 0:14:39.720 every article, every little word, because I could feel the 0:14:39.800 --> 0:14:42.240 rhythm of the line, like I knew how the line 0:14:42.280 --> 0:14:45.080 was supposed to sound, It was in my head. So 0:14:45.480 --> 0:14:49.480 I just ignored when people thought I was crazy because 0:14:49.520 --> 0:14:54.160 I knew I was right. And it quite often the 0:14:54.280 --> 0:14:57.320 line would get a laugh after they added that tiny 0:14:57.400 --> 0:15:01.120 little word like a just like one little word could 0:15:01.120 --> 0:15:05.160 make all the difference on that show. I've never seen 0:15:05.200 --> 0:15:07.760 that at any other show. How much after you handed 0:15:07.800 --> 0:15:11.680 in your note, were you in dialogue with Dave Rogers 0:15:11.760 --> 0:15:15.240 or Claire or Dean or not really like once because 0:15:15.280 --> 0:15:18.360 you're shooting the next That absolutely was because they were 0:15:18.440 --> 0:15:21.200 right there. They were in the next building, which is 0:15:21.640 --> 0:15:25.280 such a luxury because that doesn't happen very often. So 0:15:25.440 --> 0:15:28.760 I could go over there at lunchtime or between scenes 0:15:28.800 --> 0:15:31.680 and say, you know, here's what's happening. A lot of 0:15:31.720 --> 0:15:33.760 times I would have to talk to them about the director, 0:15:33.760 --> 0:15:36.520 because we had a different director for each episode almost, 0:15:36.640 --> 0:15:41.080 you know, and so many newcomers who were experienced directors, 0:15:41.080 --> 0:15:43.680 but they had never worked on the show before, so 0:15:43.800 --> 0:15:47.400 sometimes I thought they weren't quite getting it right. So 0:15:47.480 --> 0:15:49.800 I'd go and talk to Dave, and what do you 0:15:49.840 --> 0:15:53.120 think about what we shot yesterday? Does it is this 0:15:53.320 --> 0:15:55.960 director getting it? Is there any way that I could 0:15:56.000 --> 0:15:59.000 kind of nudge them in one direction or another? And 0:15:59.080 --> 0:16:01.840 sometimes you'd say, you just get more reaction shots, get 0:16:01.880 --> 0:16:04.120 tons of reactions for this episode because I'm going to 0:16:04.200 --> 0:16:07.000 really need them, or or they'd say, you know, you're 0:16:07.000 --> 0:16:10.440 not the director is not getting enough angles. I need 0:16:10.520 --> 0:16:13.240 more angles to be able to pace the scene the 0:16:13.280 --> 0:16:16.360 way I need to pace it because that was a 0:16:16.440 --> 0:16:21.240 big thing for them, pacing for the comedy. I remember 0:16:21.320 --> 0:16:24.400 some instances, but I want to talk to you about 0:16:24.440 --> 0:16:30.239 how you were tracking not just continuity within an episode, 0:16:30.560 --> 0:16:37.400 but also continuity within relationships that spanned marks. Right, I was, 0:16:37.800 --> 0:16:41.760 and Um sometimes that was very difficult. Well, first of all, 0:16:42.440 --> 0:16:47.360 I didn't always know what or remember like what parts 0:16:47.360 --> 0:16:49.400 of the script had ended up in the final cut, 0:16:49.680 --> 0:16:52.320 because it was half of it basically would be in 0:16:52.360 --> 0:16:55.440 the final cut, so I didn't always remember what had 0:16:55.480 --> 0:17:02.480 actually aired. And then if something stated in season two 0:17:02.600 --> 0:17:08.680 and then in season five we revisited that idea, sometimes 0:17:08.680 --> 0:17:11.400 I wouldn't remember that we'd already said something about that. 0:17:11.680 --> 0:17:15.159 I'll give you an example, like um, who started at 0:17:15.200 --> 0:17:19.000 dunder Mifflin first, Pam or Jim. That was a big 0:17:19.000 --> 0:17:23.520 issue that the fans noticed because early on we said 0:17:23.560 --> 0:17:28.000 it was Pham, I believe, and then later on we 0:17:28.119 --> 0:17:29.920 said Jim had been there or the eye. I don't 0:17:29.920 --> 0:17:32.680 remember which round it was. But it was years, literally 0:17:32.800 --> 0:17:36.359 years later, that we addressed it again and contradicted ourselves. 0:17:37.440 --> 0:17:40.920 And that was you know, I would catch those things 0:17:41.000 --> 0:17:43.240 quite often, but I couldn't catch all of them. It 0:17:43.359 --> 0:17:48.360 was just too hard. There were two characters and yeah, 0:17:48.400 --> 0:17:51.680 and they all had their own stories with different relationships. 0:17:52.160 --> 0:17:54.399 There was some question about like how many kids did 0:17:54.520 --> 0:17:58.199 Meredith actually have? Was it one or two? Because she 0:17:58.320 --> 0:18:03.680 says when she's being described to Michael when he's trying 0:18:03.720 --> 0:18:07.480 to write a funny message on her birthday card season 0:18:07.680 --> 0:18:12.560 the second season, for the first season, thinking they say 0:18:12.600 --> 0:18:15.520 she has two kids, and then later she only had one. 0:18:17.040 --> 0:18:19.119 So then I think it was in a webisode that 0:18:19.200 --> 0:18:23.600 we addressed that issue and why she wouldn't talk about 0:18:23.600 --> 0:18:27.840 the other kid, right, right, right, And I think that 0:18:27.960 --> 0:18:32.440 was the other thing I remember Greg talking about, which was, yeah, 0:18:32.480 --> 0:18:35.240 the webisodes. Was that a part of the history of 0:18:35.280 --> 0:18:38.000 the show too, or was it just the episodes or 0:18:38.119 --> 0:18:42.000 was it everything we shot? Like, yeah, there's a lot 0:18:42.040 --> 0:18:45.240 to keep track of, ye, and the writers had to 0:18:45.240 --> 0:18:47.359 try to keep it all in their heads too, you know. 0:18:48.480 --> 0:18:52.920 So hopefully with everybody thinking about it, most of the 0:18:52.960 --> 0:18:55.560 problems got addressed. But I'm sure, you know, I'm sure 0:18:55.560 --> 0:18:59.160 there are things that the fans are still finding little nuggets. 0:18:59.560 --> 0:19:01.720 So so you would take the script and you would 0:19:01.760 --> 0:19:04.679 break it, So tell me, like the process of what 0:19:04.840 --> 0:19:07.160 how you would break down a script. Well, I would 0:19:07.200 --> 0:19:09.560 do that on the weekends. I would take the script 0:19:10.359 --> 0:19:14.600 and um for each scene, I would you know, note 0:19:14.640 --> 0:19:17.600 for myself the significant things that happened for each character 0:19:17.760 --> 0:19:21.359 and each scene, and then what time of day that was, 0:19:22.640 --> 0:19:25.520 so that I would be able to create like a 0:19:25.760 --> 0:19:31.760 story flow for myself. After the first season, I believe 0:19:32.000 --> 0:19:35.960 there was almost always a beast story as well, So 0:19:36.359 --> 0:19:38.679 I would separate out the A the B. Sometimes there 0:19:38.760 --> 0:19:42.520 was a C story, and I'd color code them so 0:19:42.560 --> 0:19:46.000 that I'd see each story separately and how it developed 0:19:46.000 --> 0:19:48.520 over the course of the day. So like you're tracking, 0:19:48.880 --> 0:19:52.639 say if Michael and Carol have something this episode, and 0:19:52.760 --> 0:19:57.919 Jim and Pam or you know, Darryl and Gim or something, right, 0:19:57.960 --> 0:20:01.280 you're tracking all like the middle of the day, they're 0:20:01.320 --> 0:20:03.800 not speaking to each other, you know, then I know that, 0:20:03.880 --> 0:20:06.840 you know, Okay, that's that's about four hours into the day. 0:20:06.920 --> 0:20:10.800 And then a couple of hours later something happens that 0:20:10.920 --> 0:20:14.359 makes them bond again, and yeah, that that. I was 0:20:14.440 --> 0:20:16.800 definitely tracking that kind of thing, and I would get 0:20:16.840 --> 0:20:19.520 a lot of questions about that from the actors. Yes, 0:20:19.760 --> 0:20:23.840 like when is this happening. We're shooting scenes out of order. Yeah, 0:20:23.960 --> 0:20:26.800 and I when did I get angry? Yes? Right? Am 0:20:26.800 --> 0:20:30.720 I building up to it now? Or has it already happened? Right? 0:20:31.440 --> 0:20:34.359 So you have this chart, and I'm fascinated about this. 0:20:34.440 --> 0:20:39.560 So are you Once actors get in wardrobe, if the 0:20:39.600 --> 0:20:42.200 wardrobe is changing, does that get added to your chart? 0:20:43.280 --> 0:20:47.400 I mean, every department keeps their own continuity, so I'm 0:20:47.480 --> 0:20:52.840 just really checking it. Right. The Yankee swap episode must 0:20:52.880 --> 0:20:56.480 be the most complicated and difficult. You know, when does 0:20:56.560 --> 0:21:00.119 Phillis have the mit? She gives it to Michael and 0:21:00.280 --> 0:21:03.359 when we're shooting scenes out of order? Who has it? 0:21:03.840 --> 0:21:06.240 What are they doing with it? Yeah? I definitely had 0:21:06.280 --> 0:21:10.400 to have a very clear chart of that. I remember 0:21:10.680 --> 0:21:13.000 Mike Sure and I were in the green room for 0:21:13.000 --> 0:21:15.240 that because that was when we still were not allowed 0:21:15.280 --> 0:21:19.280 on set. And I remember he we had so many 0:21:19.400 --> 0:21:22.480 charts on the walls, and one of the charts was 0:21:23.520 --> 0:21:25.640 his tally of how many times he had to run 0:21:25.720 --> 0:21:31.399 in each day. I still have that, Oh my gosh, 0:21:31.520 --> 0:21:35.199 you do. I kept that document? Oh my god, like 0:21:35.280 --> 0:21:38.040 how many times he had to run in that? It's 0:21:38.119 --> 0:21:59.840 really funny on an episode of my episode basis, you're 0:21:59.880 --> 0:22:03.320 a department of one so you serve yourself and you're 0:22:03.359 --> 0:22:07.120 served by yourself. But are you like, who are you 0:22:07.240 --> 0:22:10.480 working closest with on a week day? Is that the writers? 0:22:10.600 --> 0:22:13.240 Is that the director or is it usually the director? 0:22:14.240 --> 0:22:18.360 But I mean the director and the actors. But um, 0:22:18.600 --> 0:22:22.760 on the office, the writer was very involved, so that 0:22:22.760 --> 0:22:25.920 that was I also worked very closely with the writers. 0:22:25.920 --> 0:22:30.200 That isn't always the case on comedies. Usually the writer 0:22:31.520 --> 0:22:35.639 comes to set, but quite often they'll send a writer 0:22:36.320 --> 0:22:39.880 to supervise the writing for them. You know, there will 0:22:39.920 --> 0:22:43.040 be like a designated writer who's on set, but on 0:22:43.160 --> 0:22:46.119 the office it was usually the writer of the episode 0:22:46.240 --> 0:22:50.879 would be on set. Did you have any special secrets 0:22:52.000 --> 0:22:55.399 or ways that you dealt with any of the particular 0:22:55.480 --> 0:22:59.640 actors on set? I mean your relationship with each actor 0:22:59.760 --> 0:23:02.400 is to front. Well, there were different ways I would 0:23:02.440 --> 0:23:07.320 have to phrase things like would you try one where 0:23:07.359 --> 0:23:10.480 you say it this way? Or you know, with you, 0:23:10.560 --> 0:23:13.320 I would just say, you know, here's the line in 0:23:13.320 --> 0:23:16.919 the script. You know, there wasn't a lot of attitude there, 0:23:16.960 --> 0:23:20.520 so you would just you just say, okay, but I 0:23:20.560 --> 0:23:22.000 want to say this way. You know, we would just 0:23:22.119 --> 0:23:28.520 negotiating and it would be quick. There would be some negotiation, yes, okay, 0:23:28.840 --> 0:23:33.280 but sometimes I would have to word things carefully because 0:23:33.520 --> 0:23:38.080 and I remember once I told one of the actors, um, 0:23:38.160 --> 0:23:41.520 it's funnier this way, and I realized, no, I can't 0:23:41.520 --> 0:23:43.560 say it that way because he got so mad at me. 0:23:44.600 --> 0:23:47.439 Don't tell me what's funny. Yeah. I mean that's the 0:23:47.480 --> 0:23:52.399 thing is that I imagine on some shows there would 0:23:52.440 --> 0:23:58.280 be a level of defensiveness or like, I don't feel 0:23:58.280 --> 0:24:00.240 like we had that. I feel like every but he 0:24:00.320 --> 0:24:04.520 was trying very hard. Yeah. Yeah, everybody wanted it to 0:24:04.560 --> 0:24:07.880 be funny and want you know, I felt like there 0:24:07.880 --> 0:24:10.160 was an understanding. They knew that I was saying something 0:24:10.200 --> 0:24:13.320 because I thought it would improve their line or improve 0:24:13.680 --> 0:24:17.679 the scene. Yes, it wasn't. It wasn't ever personal for me, 0:24:17.760 --> 0:24:20.640 so I think I think for the most part, people 0:24:20.680 --> 0:24:23.320 were really nice to me. I think people it was 0:24:23.440 --> 0:24:27.600 more I just remember fondly. Actually, I don't know if 0:24:27.640 --> 0:24:31.560 you felt that way, but I remember just a very 0:24:31.600 --> 0:24:35.200 you know, almost like family like when again, like when 0:24:35.280 --> 0:24:38.760 you would turn the corner, it would be like, oh no, 0:24:39.160 --> 0:24:45.520 here's dah oh boy. Um No, it was fun. It 0:24:45.600 --> 0:24:50.080 was frustrating to me that I couldn't prompt lines because 0:24:50.240 --> 0:24:53.639 I just was usually too far away. My voice doesn't 0:24:53.680 --> 0:24:57.600 care very well, and people would end up just laughing 0:24:58.920 --> 0:25:01.760 when they asked for a line because they couldn't hear it. 0:25:01.600 --> 0:25:05.520 That's exactly right, so frustrating for me. I mean, I've 0:25:05.520 --> 0:25:08.359 always I liked prompting lines. I try to do it 0:25:08.400 --> 0:25:11.119 in a timely fashion. But I don't know if you remember. 0:25:11.160 --> 0:25:14.880 After a while we asked the stand ins Steven Socks 0:25:14.920 --> 0:25:18.080 and that's right, Ray Socks, to be on lines if 0:25:18.119 --> 0:25:20.800