The Office Set Visit 2009: Day 1

(To see all my 2009 set visit reports, go to the INDEX.)

SUMMARY

• Date: Monday, April 13, 2009
• Scenes filmed: cold open, final scene
• Locations: The Office studio, hospital
• Call times: crew 7am, shooting 7:15am

Notes

• That’s right; the very first scene and the very last scene of ‘Company Picnic’ were shot on the FIRST day of filming!
• I got to meet Angela’s baby, Isabel! She was on set briefly. Angela jokes that Isabel loves the attention she gets on set. She has big beautiful eyes and an adorable smile. Just like last year, Angela showed me yet another Angela Martin blouse with a ridiculous number of buttons to button. Seriously, she handed me the blouse and said, “Try to unbutton the top button. it’s impossible.” And I couldn’t!
• I gave Ed Helms a printout of something that Tallyhead Kenna asked me to give him. B.J. Novak was in earshot and said, “You know, people are always coming up to me and wanting me to give things to Ed.” I mentioned that quite a few fans were taken with Ed and Rainn’s ‘Country Roads’ duet, especially the harmonizing. I said I didn’t know Rainn could sing, and Ed joked, “He can’t,” looking over to Rainn to see if he overheard.
• At this point, I didn’t know who I would be playing as an extra, so Creed Bratton decided I needed a backstory: I would appear as his long lost daughter from China, Ching Yee. While Mandarin actually is my first language, I think Creed probably speaks it better than me now.
• What was the most difficult part of John’s “chicken pot pie” talking head? It wasn’t the lines, but the winding of the clock! I have a clock just like that, and the little nubby thing on the back of it doesn’t give you a lot of control when you’re trying to rewind it. John kept overshooting or undershooting the correct time. The final take, of course, shows his monologue perfectly synchronized with winding the clock forward to 4:50pm. :)
• How my gig as an extra came to be: ever since posting Amy’s report on being an extra for the Season 4 episode, ‘Branch Wars,’ I’ve wanted to be an extra on The Office! And since I knew the Season 5 finale would also be the 100th episode and something extra special, I decided it would be that episode for which I would make my crazy request. So in early March, I contacted the show producers and asked if I could not only visit the set for that episode, but actually be in it. (Crazy, right?) Two weeks later, I received the green light — and I was told that I would be an extra at a company picnic! So for the next four or so weeks after that, I was going crazy with the anticipation of it all. I’ve never been an extra on anything, so I didn’t know what to expect. It turned out to exceed my wildest expectations. :)

Photos begin on the next page.

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51 comments

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1. 
   51. omgjimhalpert!  Thu. Aug. 19, 2010 | 4:09pm

   Wowserz! How in the world did you get the chance to go on set? and what do I have to do to be able to get on it for even just an hour!? haha

2. 
   50. Schled  Thu. Aug. 6, 2009 | 12:00am

   That photo of Jim and Pam on Pam’s desk is too gorgeous … No chance NBC will release that in hi-res for all of us JAM fans?

3. 
   49. Jay  Fri. Jul. 24, 2009 | 1:13pm

   I loved how on Pam’s and Jim’s desks, they each had adorable pictures of themselves together! :) I so wish I had that one of Jim from “Job Fair” where he is in his golf outfit!

4. 
   48. Tracy  Wed. May. 27, 2009 | 4:48am

   Brown Converse laceless FTW!

5. 
   47. Charlotte  Mon. May. 18, 2009 | 10:53pm

   I can’t believe all that is just day one!

6. 
   46. Koos  Mon. May. 18, 2009 | 8:50pm

   Tanster thank you so much for all of the details you are sharing! We are loving every tidbit!

7. 
   45. FlonkertonChamp  Mon. May. 18, 2009 | 8:29pm

   and that backstory creed came up with is amazing!

8. 
   44. FlonkertonChamp  Mon. May. 18, 2009 | 8:23pm

   it makes sense that both the first & last scenes were shot on the same day, since they’re both indoors. movie & tv shoots like to get the “set” stuff out of the way.

9. 
   43. kelseroo  Mon. May. 18, 2009 | 8:01pm

   Wow- I am living vicariously through you Tanster! What an amazing experience!

10. 
    42. Dreester  Mon. May. 18, 2009 | 7:54pm

    Tanster you are one lucky lady! =) thanks so much for giving us a glimpse of the set!

    you’re awesome!

    =)

11. 
    41. nv  Mon. May. 18, 2009 | 6:09pm

    These set visit updates are really softening the blow of an Office-less summer!
    And I lol’ed at you thinking that Brian was trying to snag a crotch shot. tanster, Brian and Kevin are not the same person :)

    [from tanster: lol!]

12. 
    40. Karen  Mon. May. 18, 2009 | 6:02pm

    Tanster – Thanks for bringing us into your Office experience. It sounds like a dream job to me.

    Do you happen to know if the picture of John with the baby on his desk is a “real” picture, like of his real nephew or niece?

    [from tanster: no, sorry, i don't know. :( ]

13. 
    39. Receptionitis15  Mon. May. 18, 2009 | 5:23pm

    This must have been the last time they were filming on the regular set for the season. I wonder if it was like being there on the last day of school. Thanks for the stories from the set, Tanster. They were so generous allowing you to be there on that day as well as the ones where you were an extra!

14. 
    38. Dirk  Mon. May. 18, 2009 | 5:09pm

    Did Disaster Kits Ltd move out of the Scranton Business Park? They weren’t listed on the directory. Maybe Cool Guy Paul left the Five Families :(

15. 
    37. Jimmy  Mon. May. 18, 2009 | 4:28pm

    LOL. Rainn is #2. It’s so perfect.

16. 
    36. pamelajnewell  Mon. May. 18, 2009 | 4:04pm

    This experience must have been so amazing! I am so jealous. Thanks for sharing all of your experiences, though!

17. 
    35. Sara  Mon. May. 18, 2009 | 3:44pm

    I went to grade and high school with an Erin Hannon. So weird.

18. 
    34. absolutelyido  Mon. May. 18, 2009 | 3:24pm

    All I can say is that I’m incredibly jealous, but also gracious that you’re sharing all this stuff.
    Thanks =]

19. 
    33. Jenna  Mon. May. 18, 2009 | 3:07pm

    This is awesome stuff right here!
    Thank you for taking the time to write all this up for us Office-obsessors. I know this had been said, but all your details make it seem like we were actually there.

    You have deserved every single bit of that week!
    Can’t wait to hear more :)

20. 
    32. DJ Jazzy Flax  Mon. May. 18, 2009 | 2:59pm

    This is too awesome for words; thanks for sharing!

    Can I just say I love how Jenna & Ed hold their own umbrellas? Because P Diddy (or whatever name he goes by now) & Mariah Carey hire people to just hold drinks or umbrellas for them…just sayin’.

    Anyway, I love how Creed just comes up with a backstory for your character LOL. I remember reading the Q&A you did w/Mike Schur, & in it you mentioned if you were to ever appear on the show you’d play Mose’s sweetheart; I guess ex-Buffalo employee isn’t too shabby right? ;)

    Can’t wait to see the rest of your visit!

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