Paper Clips and Yoghurt Lids - The Official Diary of Pam Beesly

March 1, 2004

8:35pm

WHAT. A. DAY!

The filming schedule was SOOOOOOOOO HECTICCCCCCCCC!!!!! :0 :0 :0 :0 :0

BUT WE DID ITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!

We were being filmed WHILE working at the usual time duration of 7 hours per day, but it felt WAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY longer 'cos of the cameras around! Not to mention stressful.

We thought that we could no longer do everything we liked to do, like pick our nose (not that I would EVER do that at an office anyway, but for SOME people like Dwight), muck around and chat while at the water fountain (I admit I am guilty of doing this with Jim) and swear without meaning to (mostly Michael). No more Dundies with plastic statuettes from Walmart or Office Olympics with medals made out of paper clips and yoghurt lids.

How wrong we were.

Never before had we expected to be ENCOURAGED by the film crew to do this. I guess expect the unexpected, diary.

Of course I know that we have to act NATURAL, as if this was another normal day at the office. But just in case, we had to do a table read with some cue cards - not as if we were actors reading lines (This is 100 percent not scripted, I promise you!) so we didn't get stage fright, rather, camera shy and freeze. It was basically mind exercises to get us in the right headspace.

At the table read, we met Greg Daniels' writing partner, Mike Schur, and the camera operators, Matt Sohn and Brian, who both gave us instructions about how cameras worked in documentaries. Dwight asked them if they could film a documentary about Schrute Farms in case our pilot didn't get picked up. They were surprised Dwight was the type of person who owned a farm. Matt accidentally joked that Dwight seemed like the person who wouldn't be stuffed growing plants. Luckily Dwight wasn't offended, correcting him that he farmed beets. LOL! :D This was kind of funny, it relaxed us a bit :) The crew are all really friendly and caring, no matter how dumb our questions are, which certainly eases the nerves a bit.

We were allowed to look at the camera when it came our way, but obviously we couldn't stare at it for ten minutes. We did not want to seem like a lazy slob using this documentary to pass the time, and continuous staring would be freaky for the viewer. It was okay to look, but if we kept doing our work instead of acknowledging its presence, even better. The documentary wasn't supposed to have perfect timing with every look, call or voice.

Greg recommended that we rewatch The Office for more tips and techniques that the workers at Wernham Hogg used while being filmed for inspiration, which is what I'm about to do with Roy after this!

Greg Daniels assured us that over time, we were sure to get used to it. I'm sure we would in the end. But, diary, it was our first day, so it was VEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY hard (that's what she said).

And this is only the beginning! As the first day and to give us time to adjust, all the documentary crew did today was film b-rolls of us working at our desks and calling clients on the phones. They filmed exterior shots of Dunder Mifflin and the warehouse, much to Roy's disbelief. They really wanted to film EVERYTHING.

It was truly the anxiety of being filmed and adrenaline that urged us to work. I probably peed five thousand times already today. I am starting to wonder if we can even adapt to this :( :(

After the crew left, Michael gathered us all in the conference room to privately discuss as a branch what our feelings were after being filmed. Most of us were still unsure, and admitted that we would need more time to think more about it.

For me, I believe that documentaries are supposed to be natural. I don't think this documentary shows our naturality at all. It's only the first day, and I shouldn't be making too many assumptions, diary, but I've noticed that Michael is too kind on camera. He doesn't make his usual puns and noises that he knows gets on our nerve. Maybe he wants to make things easier for us since we are already filled with the burden of being filmed...but it's too weird. He's the total opposite of David Brent, and we don't know how to react. I wonder if the viewer, should this adaptation not get picked up, notices if Michael is hiding a huge chunk of his personality. But this doesn't just go for him, diary, it goes for ALL of us. If we come off as too fakey, this adaptation might end up being cancelled :(

Praying with all my heart that I will be my best for the talking heads tomorrow :0 Yes, we are filming our talking heads, and I am CLUELESS on what to possibly talk about.