WEBVTT - Brian Wittle 0:00:05.360 --> 0:00:07.440 My name is Brian Whittle, and I was the boom 0:00:07.480 --> 0:00:11.480 operator and sometimes sound mixer and one time actor on 0:00:11.560 --> 0:00:22.400 the Office. Well, hello everybody, and thank you for joining 0:00:22.520 --> 0:00:27.400 us once again here at the Office Deep Dive. As always, 0:00:27.680 --> 0:00:31.600 I am your host, Brian Baumgartner, this week's guest. This 0:00:31.680 --> 0:00:35.560 is this is cool, okay one. He's the greatest alright. 0:00:35.600 --> 0:00:38.159 In fact, he is so great that the writers on 0:00:38.200 --> 0:00:41.920 the Office actually named a character after him. Do you 0:00:41.960 --> 0:00:45.239 remember the boom operator in season nine, that guy, the 0:00:45.240 --> 0:00:49.080 one who almost broke up Jim and Pam. Yep, that's 0:00:49.120 --> 0:00:53.360 our guy. Well, that's our guy's name. Today's guest is 0:00:53.440 --> 0:00:57.520 Brian Whittle. Now. To be fair, although the real Brian 0:00:58.000 --> 0:01:01.520 was also the boom operator for the Office, he did 0:01:01.560 --> 0:01:05.920 anything but cause any workplace drama. No, Brian is a gem, 0:01:06.280 --> 0:01:08.560 and he's known as one of the best in the business. 0:01:08.920 --> 0:01:12.600 He did an impossible thing for many. He mastered the 0:01:12.920 --> 0:01:18.039 art of mockumentary sound, dealing with the long takes on 0:01:18.120 --> 0:01:23.280 the office, dodging crazy camera angles, and he participated in 0:01:23.400 --> 0:01:28.840 the many sound on sound off debates on set. Now, 0:01:28.840 --> 0:01:31.800 boom operators are known for their ability to soak up 0:01:31.959 --> 0:01:37.279 all of the stories remember they're hearing everything you guys, 0:01:37.800 --> 0:01:41.280 Brian is not one to disappoint today he is here 0:01:41.319 --> 0:01:45.800 to talk about the art of leaning into imperfection, Steve 0:01:45.880 --> 0:01:51.880 Carrell's Silent Airport goodbye, and well, of course, his notorious 0:01:52.000 --> 0:01:56.120 namesake on the show, Bryan Whittle. This really is a 0:01:56.160 --> 0:02:00.000 special one. I won't keep you waiting as our residents 0:02:00.040 --> 0:02:03.080 sound guy. Brian has done enough of that over the years, 0:02:03.600 --> 0:02:08.520 so please give a warm welcome to the incredible Brian Whittle. 0:02:12.480 --> 0:02:17.160 Bubble and Squeak. I love it, Bubble and Squeak on 0:02:19.639 --> 0:02:23.800 Bubble and Squeaker cookie at every month left over from 0:02:23.840 --> 0:02:42.160 the nabb before. Hello, check, check check. How do I sound? 0:02:42.680 --> 0:02:47.280 Five four, three to one. You sound great and exactly 0:02:47.320 --> 0:02:53.200 the same as always, Brian. How are you good? Good? 0:02:53.240 --> 0:02:55.919 How are you doing? Brian? Oh my gosh, it's so 0:02:55.960 --> 0:02:58.880 good to see you. We spent a lot of time 0:02:58.919 --> 0:03:03.399 in Type quarters together. We really really did. How's everybody 0:03:03.440 --> 0:03:08.000 you're surviving? You're good? Healthy? Yeah, yeah, I'm doing really well. 0:03:08.600 --> 0:03:11.040 My kids they're right down the hall. They promised to 0:03:11.080 --> 0:03:17.880 be quiet. They understand the importance of sound. Yeah, definitely. 0:03:18.480 --> 0:03:21.680 So things are going well, things really well. I'm so 0:03:21.720 --> 0:03:25.000 happy to talk to you. There's well, I mean, there 0:03:25.040 --> 0:03:29.360 was eventually a very important character on the Office named 0:03:29.400 --> 0:03:32.079 after you. We'll talk about that. How did you get 0:03:32.120 --> 0:03:36.440 into sound? What was your journey for for getting into sound? 0:03:37.320 --> 0:03:41.040 My journey for getting into sound was basically, well, I 0:03:41.120 --> 0:03:43.200 moved here with the idea that I think that a 0:03:43.240 --> 0:03:45.760 lot of people think that they're gonna be Steven Spielberg. 0:03:46.480 --> 0:03:49.680 But I was a little too irresponsible to follow that path, 0:03:50.560 --> 0:03:54.320 so I, uh so I ended up doing sound, which 0:03:54.320 --> 0:03:58.480 was actually still really awesome. And basically I came here. 0:03:58.520 --> 0:04:00.320 I had a friend named Jeff Haley, who was now 0:04:00.400 --> 0:04:03.680 a very famous steady cam operator who was doing sound, 0:04:03.800 --> 0:04:05.920 the person that I actually grew up with back in Pennsylvania, 0:04:06.120 --> 0:04:08.280 and he was doing sound, so he helped me get 0:04:08.320 --> 0:04:12.240 into it. I got on this movie called Ed with 0:04:12.440 --> 0:04:16.840 Matt le Blanc from Friends and back in the mid nineties, 0:04:17.000 --> 0:04:19.680 and that movie was a non union movie that then 0:04:19.800 --> 0:04:22.279 struck and turned union, and so I got very lucky. 0:04:22.720 --> 0:04:25.400 I got in the union right away. Uh And then 0:04:25.440 --> 0:04:29.400 shortly after that I met Ben Patrick, who was Jeff's friend. 0:04:30.080 --> 0:04:32.240 He was just starting out to doing sound, but he 0:04:32.279 --> 0:04:35.839 was already a mixer and he uh, we did. We 0:04:35.880 --> 0:04:39.159 did a bunch of really low budget, really horrible, awful, 0:04:39.320 --> 0:04:42.719 hundred dollar a day, you know, crap movies for a 0:04:42.760 --> 0:04:45.200 couple of years. But I was already in the Union, 0:04:45.600 --> 0:04:48.800 and I just didn't know anybody. Uh in the age 0:04:49.320 --> 0:04:51.119 back then there was still a lot of non union 0:04:51.160 --> 0:04:54.680 movies you could do. Nowadays, that isn't the case anymore. 0:04:55.240 --> 0:04:57.880 But you know, I just made phone calls and met 0:04:57.920 --> 0:05:01.200 more people, and uh, eventually at a guy named Forest 0:05:01.240 --> 0:05:04.080 Williams who was doing a lot of spelling projects, and 0:05:04.120 --> 0:05:06.400 so I got on those and I basically did spelling 0:05:06.400 --> 0:05:10.560 shows Melrose Place nine O two and oh oh, not 0:05:10.720 --> 0:05:18.280 spelling bees. I didn't. Oh, just that guy, Yeah, yeah, 0:05:18.360 --> 0:05:21.280 just him, And I did a bunch of his shows 0:05:21.800 --> 0:05:24.400 until about until basically up until I got on The Office, 0:05:24.640 --> 0:05:26.840 you know. And then from then on, I was like, Okay, 0:05:26.880 --> 0:05:29.719 half hour comedy, it's the way to go. Did Ben 0:05:29.760 --> 0:05:32.920 Patrick bring you onto the Office? He did, he did, 0:05:33.120 --> 0:05:36.320 and uh not until the very beginning of the third season. 0:05:37.040 --> 0:05:40.520 He tried to during the second season. But during the 0:05:40.520 --> 0:05:42.919 second season, and you probably remember this, they didn't have 0:05:42.960 --> 0:05:45.960 a full order for the whole show. They would say 0:05:46.000 --> 0:05:49.039 like we're gonna do two episodes. Oh, we got three more, Oh, 0:05:49.080 --> 0:05:51.800 we got two more. And he kept kept calling me. 0:05:51.839 --> 0:05:53.960 He's like, come over, come over, come over, because they 0:05:54.040 --> 0:05:56.919 kept the boom operators kept quitting on the Office. This 0:05:57.080 --> 0:05:59.719 was so hard, you know, because you would do like 0:06:00.000 --> 0:06:03.479 already in fifty minute takes, that's that's a long time 0:06:03.640 --> 0:06:06.360 to put your arms up you or to be crammed 0:06:06.360 --> 0:06:08.760 in a corner, or to be you know, hiding under 0:06:08.800 --> 0:06:11.560 something or you know, contorting your body in these weird positions. 0:06:12.160 --> 0:06:13.720 But they just didn't have a fore order. But then 0:06:13.880 --> 0:06:16.280 when the third season came around, they had a foe order. 0:06:16.320 --> 0:06:19.360 They gave me a great offer, and The Office at 0:06:19.360 --> 0:06:22.320 the time was my favorite show. So to get a 0:06:22.360 --> 0:06:25.039 call to go work on your favorite show for a 0:06:25.120 --> 0:06:28.080 full season for a really good rate, I was like, hell, yeah, 0:06:28.200 --> 0:06:31.159 I'm all my way. So you were a fan of 0:06:31.200 --> 0:06:33.560 the show, watched the first I watched it before I 0:06:33.600 --> 0:06:36.160 worked on it. Yeah, So him calling you were like, 0:06:36.360 --> 0:06:38.599 let's go. So what was it like showing up there? 0:06:38.800 --> 0:06:41.120 Then for the first time on a show that you're 0:06:41.120 --> 0:06:43.360 a fan of it. It sounds like you have done 0:06:43.360 --> 0:06:47.640 mostly dramas stuff before. You don't want to call spelling drama. Yeah, 0:06:48.120 --> 0:06:53.120 so nighttime so guys, which we're pouring as hell. Yeah 0:06:53.240 --> 0:06:56.159 yeah yeah. That was my main bread and butter up 0:06:56.240 --> 0:06:59.440 until then, which was still fun, but this I knew 0:06:59.440 --> 0:07:01.159 it was gonna be ay more fun. And also it 0:07:01.240 --> 0:07:04.320 was with Ben, who was one of my closest friends, right, 0:07:04.480 --> 0:07:07.520 so yeah, I remember, right, I was very excited, and 0:07:07.680 --> 0:07:10.840 uh it was gay. Witch Hunt was the first episode 0:07:10.840 --> 0:07:14.600 of season three, which to this day is probably my 0:07:14.640 --> 0:07:18.360 favorite episode. And it was incredible, you know, because you 0:07:18.400 --> 0:07:19.920 get to see It's like when you watch a show 0:07:20.200 --> 0:07:21.400 and you're a fan of it and then you go 0:07:21.520 --> 0:07:23.640 visit the set and you see the set and you 0:07:23.680 --> 0:07:27.320 see that that line, you know, between your experience of 0:07:27.360 --> 0:07:29.840 just being a fan and now suddenly you're like, you know, 0:07:30.040 --> 0:07:32.800 behind the curtain and seeing how it all gets put together. 0:07:32.920 --> 0:07:36.000 So it was great and uh, I was ecstatic to 0:07:36.040 --> 0:07:38.640 be there. So you you were hired at the beginning 0:07:38.640 --> 0:07:43.360 of season three, did you note anything right away about 0:07:43.400 --> 0:07:46.520 the set and how your job might be a little 0:07:46.520 --> 0:07:50.520 more challenging on this show than something before. No, I mean, 0:07:50.520 --> 0:07:52.760 the only thing I thought would be more challenging is 0:07:52.840 --> 0:07:55.640 just the way it was shot. You know, two handheld 0:07:55.680 --> 0:07:59.200 cameras and just with constant resetting of each scene that 0:07:59.240 --> 0:08:02.400 we're doing. We run through it, reset, run through it, reset. 0:08:03.040 --> 0:08:06.240 And if you remember, we shot on tape, you know, 0:08:06.280 --> 0:08:08.400 we had these Sony nine hundreds where you actually put 0:08:08.400 --> 0:08:11.160 like a videotape inside the thing, and I believe they 0:08:11.200 --> 0:08:15.400 were fifty four minutes long. So that was probably the 0:08:15.440 --> 0:08:17.120 scariest thing to me. I was like, oh my god, 0:08:17.200 --> 0:08:20.800 we might roll for fifty four minutes. You know. It 0:08:20.920 --> 0:08:22.960 was like no longer on the sixth boom operator in 0:08:23.040 --> 0:08:26.520 two seasons. So I was like, hope, I can do 0:08:26.600 --> 0:08:29.680 this now, do you did you have to do anything 0:08:29.920 --> 0:08:33.800 like work out? Kind of? Yeah? I started like, do 0:08:33.840 --> 0:08:36.200 made me do it more with push ups and going 0:08:36.240 --> 0:08:38.280 to the gym, which I already did, but I just 0:08:38.480 --> 0:08:40.800 you know, kind of did it more. And I never 0:08:40.840 --> 0:08:42.760 thought of like my job as being something I had 0:08:42.760 --> 0:08:45.400 to keep in shape for it until I got to 0:08:45.440 --> 0:08:48.160 the office, you know. But the thing was, it was 0:08:48.280 --> 0:08:52.120 so much fun that you just didn't feel the pain 0:08:52.240 --> 0:08:58.120 until afterwards, you know. Right, So to tell people your 0:08:58.440 --> 0:09:02.079 job as the boom operator, talk people through what that 0:09:02.120 --> 0:09:06.400 would mean, Like we're in the conference room physically what 0:09:06.760 --> 0:09:10.199 described what what that would be like. The conference room 0:09:10.360 --> 0:09:14.120 is a unique situation which I'm sure everyone you've talked 0:09:14.160 --> 0:09:18.880 to so far has attested to. But basically Nick would 0:09:18.880 --> 0:09:21.400 be there too, Nick Carbone, who was the other boom 0:09:21.440 --> 0:09:24.560 operator and the person who put everybody's mics on, so 0:09:24.600 --> 0:09:27.320 he would generally get whoever is seated, you know, So 0:09:27.400 --> 0:09:29.880 we'd both be back on the right side wall and 0:09:29.920 --> 0:09:32.319 I would usually be and I'd be in the middle 0:09:32.400 --> 0:09:33.960 of the room along one of the windows, and I'd 0:09:33.960 --> 0:09:37.040 be reaching out for Steve usually or whoever was addressing 0:09:37.720 --> 0:09:40.480 the crowd, and I'd usually get him, and then whoever 0:09:40.520 --> 0:09:43.680 sat towards the front, which was usually Dwight, he sat 0:09:43.720 --> 0:09:46.600 over by the door kind of right, and whoever else 0:09:46.600 --> 0:09:48.160 would come in out of the door. So I would 0:09:48.160 --> 0:09:50.480 be reaching out and getting all those people, and then 0:09:50.600 --> 0:09:52.800 Nick would be back at the other other side. But 0:09:52.880 --> 0:09:55.760 I have to cram against the wall. Yeah, So he's 0:09:55.800 --> 0:09:59.320 showing me. So he's got both hands above his head. 0:09:59.600 --> 0:10:03.800 He is holding this mike, which is is not particularly heavy. 0:10:04.240 --> 0:10:06.920 It's made to try to be as light as possible. 0:10:07.720 --> 0:10:13.400 But most shows, you how about I don't know, forty 0:10:13.480 --> 0:10:17.840 five minutes of lighting set up and then you shoot 0:10:17.920 --> 0:10:21.400 for about ten minutes. And we always joked that our 0:10:21.440 --> 0:10:24.040 show was the reverse, right, They would set up for 0:10:24.080 --> 0:10:27.559 ten minutes, try not to make the lighting all that beautiful, 0:10:27.760 --> 0:10:30.800 and then we would shoot for forty five minutes. So you, 0:10:31.120 --> 0:10:34.079 over the course of the day are I don't know, 0:10:34.679 --> 0:10:39.679 twelve to fourteen times doing thirty five minute runs with 0:10:39.840 --> 0:10:43.720 both of your hands above your head. Yeah, it was 0:10:44.440 --> 0:10:47.880 really challenging, to say the least. Um, what a lot 0:10:47.920 --> 0:10:51.840 of people have talked about is how confined the space 0:10:52.000 --> 0:10:56.200 is much more confined than a normal show. Obviously, on 0:10:56.240 --> 0:10:58.319 a lot of shows, their walls that you can move 0:10:59.240 --> 0:11:03.400 from our initial pilot show, which was a room that 0:11:03.600 --> 0:11:06.680 could not be moved because it was actually production officers. 0:11:07.440 --> 0:11:10.240 It was a real room. When we moved to the 0:11:10.280 --> 0:11:14.480 sound stage, it was completely reconstructed exactly the same way, 0:11:14.679 --> 0:11:19.400 except I think Greg allowed like eighteen inches in the 0:11:19.440 --> 0:11:23.360 conference room. It was like eighteen inches for someone to 0:11:23.400 --> 0:11:27.480 stand off to the side camera or Yeah, but we 0:11:27.480 --> 0:11:31.680 were all in there in a very small space, especially 0:11:31.679 --> 0:11:35.960 when we had fourteen, sixteen cast members or whatever in 0:11:36.000 --> 0:11:40.920 the room. The two of you, two cameras, I mean, 0:11:41.559 --> 0:11:45.920 very very confined space. Especially in that room, or if 0:11:45.920 --> 0:11:48.480 we had, say a lot of people in Steve's office 0:11:48.760 --> 0:11:51.679 for example, you know that would be even more confined. 0:11:52.360 --> 0:11:54.920 Or back in like a corner of the annex, or 0:11:55.000 --> 0:11:59.240 in the break room where sometimes I would have to 0:11:59.440 --> 0:12:02.120 lay up on top of those vending machines that are 0:12:02.160 --> 0:12:04.720 in it. Oh that's right there, scenes where I would 0:12:04.800 --> 0:12:07.480 lay up there and boom from up there from just 0:12:07.559 --> 0:12:09.839 laying on my side on like a ferny pad or something. 0:12:09.960 --> 0:12:11.560 Or I would at least be tucked in the corner 0:12:11.720 --> 0:12:14.080 standing on an apple box with that and it's full 0:12:14.080 --> 0:12:16.960 extension and I can't have no weight behind me to 0:12:17.040 --> 0:12:19.800 leverage or anything. So it's really you know, it's like 0:12:19.840 --> 0:12:22.720 tipping you over. Yeah. The other thing that it's become 0:12:22.840 --> 0:12:26.600 kind of my go to joke on set, the camera 0:12:27.480 --> 0:12:32.200 takes forever to get set the lighting, and anytime there's 0:12:32.200 --> 0:12:36.720 a lighting adjustment or like a camera adjustment, it's totally okay, 0:12:37.040 --> 0:12:41.840 it's totally appropriate. Everybody stops respectfully and they do their work. 0:12:43.400 --> 0:12:47.040 When something happens with sound to the end of the world, 0:12:47.080 --> 0:12:55.679 it's like immediately everyone gets so angry. Yeah, right, Like 0:12:55.720 --> 0:12:58.000 if you, oh, look, we need to make an adjustment 0:12:58.160 --> 0:13:05.160 on Steve's top atrocity. Every Ones like, oh, yeah, I know. 0:13:05.840 --> 0:13:07.520 I don't know where that came from or why it 0:13:07.760 --> 0:13:11.319 is that way, but it is that way. It's universal 0:13:11.800 --> 0:13:15.400 every set. It's universal across all shows of all time. 0:13:16.520 --> 0:13:19.640 How does that make you feel? Is it aggravating? Oh yeah, 0:13:19.720 --> 0:13:21.520 it used to make me mad, you know, and used 0:13:21.559 --> 0:13:23.720 to make me, i don't know, hurt my feelings or whatever. 0:13:23.760 --> 0:13:26.040 And I'm like, hey, this is just as important as ever. 0:13:26.240 --> 0:13:28.560 We can't shoot unless we do this, so it's it's 0:13:28.600 --> 0:13:33.000 it's important. But nowadays it's just it's just funny, you know. 0:13:33.120 --> 0:13:34.760 And you know I've been doing this a long time, 0:13:34.760 --> 0:13:37.079 and so you just tell them, hey, look we gotta 0:13:37.120 --> 0:13:38.680 fix it. Do you want do you want the sound 0:13:38.800 --> 0:13:43.440 or not? You know? Well that, as you know, that 0:13:43.559 --> 0:13:47.440 has become my joke. Now it's set, which I just 0:13:47.559 --> 0:13:49.960 try to exaggerate it because it makes me laugh. I'll 0:13:49.960 --> 0:13:55.120 just go waiting on sound, waiting on sound. Everybody. Remember 0:13:55.120 --> 0:13:58.319 when we used to say, uh, you're getting carboned because 0:13:58.360 --> 0:14:03.240 of Nick, because you would have to come in and 0:14:03.280 --> 0:14:05.400 fix the people's mis and we'd be like, oh, we're 0:14:05.440 --> 0:14:10.360 getting car boned. Yes, we're getting carboned, and yeah, it 0:14:10.400 --> 0:14:12.840 always made him very nervous. He did not like that 0:14:12.920 --> 0:14:34.640 particular aspect of the job. I mean, in terms of 0:14:34.920 --> 0:14:37.400 the working environment. Being a fan of the show coming on, 0:14:37.480 --> 0:14:40.800 did you have any other impressions of I don't know, 0:14:40.880 --> 0:14:43.640 other people that you were working with, Greg or know 0:14:43.840 --> 0:14:47.080 the cast specifically. Oh yeah, Well, I mean there's a 0:14:47.080 --> 0:14:49.960 lot of things that were awesome about working on that show. 0:14:50.200 --> 0:14:52.320 And I mean it's hard to honestly talk about that 0:14:52.360 --> 0:14:55.960 show without getting emotional because it was such a incredible, 0:14:56.320 --> 0:15:00.720 just amazing experience. And I think one real big thing 0:15:00.800 --> 0:15:03.400 is that everybody who worked there was a fan of 0:15:03.400 --> 0:15:06.520 the show. Everybody who was there love to the show 0:15:06.680 --> 0:15:08.920 and cheered and rooted for the show and wanted it 0:15:08.960 --> 0:15:11.880 to be successful. And we all looked forward to Thursday, 0:15:12.320 --> 0:15:14.080 you know, at eight o'clock that's when it was on, right, 0:15:14.200 --> 0:15:17.000 eight o'clock back then when you watch TV when it 0:15:17.080 --> 0:15:19.640 was on, you know, everybody looked forward to it being on. 0:15:19.800 --> 0:15:24.520 And I can remember that website office tally right. Yeah, 0:15:24.560 --> 0:15:27.400 So on Thursday nights at like five o'clock, it's eight 0:15:27.440 --> 0:15:29.680 o'clock back east, but we were all on set and 0:15:29.720 --> 0:15:31.880 we would all start checking our phones and going on 0:15:31.880 --> 0:15:35.080 because all those computers in the bullpen were real and 0:15:35.160 --> 0:15:37.200 you could go online, go to office tally and start 0:15:37.240 --> 0:15:39.600 seeing the comments from all the fans from all over 0:15:39.640 --> 0:15:42.840 the country. That was exciting, you know, to be part 0:15:42.880 --> 0:15:46.920 of something that that many people loved and and cheered for, 0:15:47.800 --> 0:15:50.760 you know, so that I'd never experienced anything like that 0:15:50.960 --> 0:15:54.000 on a show before, you know, where everybody there loved it, 0:15:54.000 --> 0:15:56.640 because usually half the crew hates it and half the 0:15:56.640 --> 0:15:58.920 crew is like, I'm gonna be here, it sucks. How 0:15:58.920 --> 0:16:01.000 long are we going to be here? I never felt 0:16:01.000 --> 0:16:03.880 like that on the office ever, no matter how long 0:16:03.920 --> 0:16:06.240 the day was, no matter if even if we were 0:16:06.280 --> 0:16:08.479 Remember towards the end, we were working on like Saturdays, 0:16:08.520 --> 0:16:11.560 and I think we worked on a Sunday, and I 0:16:11.600 --> 0:16:15.120 didn't care. It was so much fun that it just, 0:16:15.440 --> 0:16:17.720 you know, I didn't It didn't bother me at all. Yeah, 0:16:17.760 --> 0:16:21.800 I think that is. I don't think you can overstate 0:16:21.960 --> 0:16:26.880 enough how special and also unique that was, because you know, 0:16:27.640 --> 0:16:30.080 I say the same thing and people always sort of 0:16:30.160 --> 0:16:32.840 laugh when I say I'm a fan of the show 0:16:32.920 --> 0:16:35.640 like it regardless of me or my role or any 0:16:35.680 --> 0:16:39.480 of that. I shoot plenty of stuff that I don't 0:16:39.480 --> 0:16:43.520 ever watch. And it's not because it's bad or because 0:16:43.560 --> 0:16:47.960 I don't support it, or it's just I always feels 0:16:48.040 --> 0:16:50.760 like weird to go back and watch because there's nothing 0:16:50.800 --> 0:16:54.120 I can do. The Office was different because just I 0:16:54.160 --> 0:16:57.040 was a fan of the show. It was like, you know, 0:16:57.120 --> 0:16:58.960 even though I was there from the beginning, I just 0:16:59.200 --> 0:17:03.240 I just love the show. And having the crew also 0:17:04.320 --> 0:17:08.840 believe so strongly in what we were doing, Um, I 0:17:08.840 --> 0:17:12.320 think made a huge difference. Yeah, no, totally, it does. 0:17:12.440 --> 0:17:15.280 It makes a huge difference. And I think a lot 0:17:15.320 --> 0:17:17.840 of that came from Greg, because you know, Greg really 0:17:17.920 --> 0:17:21.879 embraced the crew and really appreciated them and saw them 0:17:21.920 --> 0:17:24.879 as a humongous part. I mean he let people go 0:17:24.960 --> 0:17:27.399 to the table read. You know, I can remember going 0:17:27.440 --> 0:17:30.280 to the table reads and then be packed. And prior 0:17:30.320 --> 0:17:33.000 to that, the table read was like a secret meeting 0:17:33.040 --> 0:17:35.240 that no one was allowed to know about and and 0:17:35.400 --> 0:17:37.439 or talk about. It was like treated like it was 0:17:37.520 --> 0:17:42.280 this big secret. But on the Office everybody went. You know, 0:17:42.320 --> 0:17:43.840 if you could fit in the room, you could go. 0:17:44.000 --> 0:17:47.200 He would even let whoever is there you read this part, 0:17:47.240 --> 0:17:48.800 and you read this little part, you'd be that like 0:17:48.840 --> 0:17:51.320 the little day player parts that hadn't been assigned yet 0:17:51.320 --> 0:17:54.880 to anybody. And I understand why he wanted an audience 0:17:54.960 --> 0:17:58.159 for the have the script read an audience outside of 0:17:58.200 --> 0:18:01.040 just the writers that wrote it and the actors. You 0:18:01.080 --> 0:18:03.399 want to gauge like how many laughs you get, And 0:18:03.480 --> 0:18:07.119 that's really smart in terms of getting feedback for the 0:18:07.200 --> 0:18:10.800 initial script. It also makes the crew feel like a 0:18:10.840 --> 0:18:15.359 bigger part of the show's got to watch the evolution 0:18:15.400 --> 0:18:18.199 of an episode from the table read to watching it 0:18:18.240 --> 0:18:21.440 on TV. And I never had that experience before. Yeah, 0:18:21.560 --> 0:18:23.720 no one has brought that up, but I think that's 0:18:23.720 --> 0:18:28.120 a really good point. I think that there's a there's 0:18:28.160 --> 0:18:32.399 a preciousness that we did not have on that show. 0:18:32.560 --> 0:18:35.240 So what I mean by that is I think that 0:18:35.640 --> 0:18:39.440 show runners bosses are trying to protect writers and if 0:18:39.840 --> 0:18:43.440 if something doesn't quite work, they want to let them 0:18:43.440 --> 0:18:47.160 work that out almost in private or in as you know, 0:18:47.320 --> 0:18:50.359 as close to private as possible with people reading it. 0:18:51.040 --> 0:18:54.280 And in that aspect it becomes way more presentational in 0:18:54.280 --> 0:18:57.840 a way, even even the delivery of an episode becomes 0:18:57.920 --> 0:19:01.880 much more presentational as a moose to collaborative. And I 0:19:01.920 --> 0:19:04.800 feel like what you're saying is really true. No one's 0:19:04.800 --> 0:19:08.679 talked about that, but yeah, the table reads were totally open. 0:19:08.920 --> 0:19:11.600 It was completely open to it. As you said, there's 0:19:11.680 --> 0:19:14.919 many people who could actually just fit into Yeah, and 0:19:15.000 --> 0:19:16.959 at first or like thinking they're gonna kick me out 0:19:17.000 --> 0:19:18.159 of here? Am I allowed to be in here? And 0:19:18.280 --> 0:19:19.960 like because I would really love to watch this if 0:19:19.960 --> 0:19:23.800 I can, you know? So, yes, it helps. It helps 0:19:23.840 --> 0:19:26.840 the camaraderie on the on the set, I don't know, 0:19:26.880 --> 0:19:30.200 it just makes it makes the experience a lot more fulfilling. Yeah. 0:19:30.280 --> 0:19:33.560 The other thing that it does is it begins to 0:19:34.600 --> 0:19:39.360 get your creative energy or your thought sooner as well. Right, 0:19:39.480 --> 0:19:42.920 I mean, you know, sound was used quite a bit 0:19:43.160 --> 0:19:46.400 as a as a tangible object on our show because 0:19:47.080 --> 0:19:49.960 because of the way we shot it and this documentary 0:19:50.280 --> 0:19:55.200 slash mockumentary style. How did that affect your job that 0:19:55.320 --> 0:19:58.000 aspect of how the show was shot? Well, I mean 0:19:58.000 --> 0:20:02.640 we we wired everybody for the most part, mostly as backup. 0:20:02.800 --> 0:20:05.680 Or if let's say we were in the bullpen and 0:20:05.760 --> 0:20:08.639 we're going to zoom over to accounting, which is generally 0:20:08.680 --> 0:20:12.160 the farthest away corner, you know, I can't swing over 0:20:12.160 --> 0:20:16.920 there and and boom. Obviously basically Yeah. Honestly, it started 0:20:16.960 --> 0:20:19.760 the trend of having to wire every actor on set 0:20:19.800 --> 0:20:22.520 all the time, because every show that I've worked on 0:20:22.720 --> 0:20:25.639 since The Office, that's what they do. And prior to 0:20:25.680 --> 0:20:28.560 the Office, we basically never wired anyone unless it was 0:20:28.600 --> 0:20:31.280 a really wide shot or like a walk and talk 0:20:31.320 --> 0:20:33.119 down some narrow hallway, or you know, there was some 0:20:33.200 --> 0:20:37.240 physical reason why we couldn't boom it. But because of 0:20:37.280 --> 0:20:40.400 the Office, it became the norm. In fact, we had 0:20:40.440 --> 0:20:42.880 to buy a whole new recording system called a Diva 0:20:42.960 --> 0:20:45.359 sixteen that would have sixteen tracks on it so that 0:20:45.400 --> 0:20:47.360 we could put all the actors on their own tracks. 0:20:48.160 --> 0:20:50.439 It really it started this big thing. And then when 0:20:50.480 --> 0:20:53.320 they started up Parks and Wreck, the guys from there 0:20:53.480 --> 0:20:55.320 came over to see what we were doing so they 0:20:55.359 --> 0:20:59.000 could set it up on that show. Similar with Modern 0:20:59.080 --> 0:21:02.160 Family and like all the other shows that were kind 0:21:02.160 --> 0:21:05.399 of inspired by our show, you know, they needed to 0:21:05.400 --> 0:21:08.359 do this sound the same way. And so from then on, 0:21:08.400 --> 0:21:10.919 I can say every single show I've done, I have 0:21:11.040 --> 0:21:14.120 to have a multi track recorder with a NIX on 0:21:14.119 --> 0:21:17.160 one track and every individual actor on their own track. 0:21:17.560 --> 0:21:20.159 After that, and it was never like that prior to 0:21:20.200 --> 0:21:23.560 the Office, so that's one thing we did to accommodate 0:21:23.600 --> 0:21:27.360 the documentary thing that ended up being a trend. Right. 0:21:28.240 --> 0:21:30.600 It's so funny you bring that up. I think, as 0:21:30.640 --> 0:21:33.919 you say, it was a progression, and I think that 0:21:33.960 --> 0:21:37.359 there were sometimes I thought about this in years. There 0:21:37.359 --> 0:21:41.040 were sometimes when you thought, oh, they're not going over 0:21:41.080 --> 0:21:43.960 to accounting. They're not going to swing over to accounting 0:21:44.000 --> 0:21:48.680 on this thing, And sure enough the bomb garter would 0:21:48.760 --> 0:21:51.199 open his trap. Oh yeah. But I would keep my 0:21:51.240 --> 0:21:54.159 eye on you, see, I I would want you. I 0:21:54.200 --> 0:21:56.840 could tell after a while like Okay, I know what's 0:21:56.840 --> 0:21:58.600 going to happen here, Like because after a while I 0:21:58.600 --> 0:22:01.320 didn't even memory rise of the scenes anymore. Like I 0:22:01.359 --> 0:22:03.200 just would read them once in the morning and be like, okay, 0:22:03.240 --> 0:22:06.080 I got it. And I just watch people's faces, or 0:22:06.080 --> 0:22:08.960 i'd watch Matt, you know, interact with you. Or I 0:22:08.960 --> 0:22:12.200 could just tell from the dialogue like Okay, Kevin's definitely 0:22:12.200 --> 0:22:15.680 gonna react to this, you know. And so I would 0:22:15.680 --> 0:22:17.480 tell Ben in the mic, would be like, hey, Ben, 0:22:18.000 --> 0:22:20.760 Kevin's aba gonna do something after this, you know, or 0:22:20.840 --> 0:22:23.400 John is going to do something or whatever, and uh, 0:22:23.440 --> 0:22:24.960 you know, after a while we had it down and 0:22:25.000 --> 0:22:27.040 we could just kind of predict and it was fun. 0:22:27.720 --> 0:22:30.080 What was going to happen? Yeah? No, but I it 0:22:30.160 --> 0:22:33.760 reminded me of just sometimes maybe we would do, you know, 0:22:34.320 --> 0:22:37.200 a final rehearsal or do the first take, and then 0:22:37.720 --> 0:22:42.440 here here would Carbone would come in and we wiring 0:22:42.480 --> 0:22:45.800 me up when it was not not an expected moment. Yeah, 0:22:45.840 --> 0:22:47.199 I would tell I would like, get in there and 0:22:47.200 --> 0:22:53.000 wire and something's going to happen. Yeah. So one thing 0:22:53.040 --> 0:22:56.720 I wanted to talk to you about significant sound moments 0:22:57.040 --> 0:22:59.880 on the show and what I mean by that we affection, 0:23:00.080 --> 0:23:03.919 we call it sound or no sound, and a couple 0:23:03.960 --> 0:23:07.639 of moments that that stick out. One is the proposal. 0:23:07.880 --> 0:23:11.040 I remember Jim and Pam. Now were you a part 0:23:11.040 --> 0:23:12.960 of that discussion. I don't think it was a big 0:23:13.000 --> 0:23:15.440