Brothers and Sisters: Bloggers and Sisters

Set Diary -- Friday August 31

Dear Set Diary…

Brrring! Then the fatal words on my laptop: “It looks like you are starting to write a letter...would you like to…”

I click the X as fast as I can, cursing my ancient hardware and its outdated version of Microsoft Word – the one with the annoying talking paper-clip that always shows up when you don’t want him.  Like when you’re sitting on the set of a network TV show.

Thankfully, it’s between shots, and hence lost amid the hustle and bustle caused when enormous, expensive pieces of equipment are adjusted.  I quickly mute my laptop.

“Aaaaand….rolling!”

I settle in my chair and quietly watch as veteran director Michael Schultz looks over the monitors, rubbing his chin. After a moment, he calls,

“Action!”

It’s day 7 of shooting for episode 204, “States of the Union,” written by Sherri Cooper and Liz Tigelaar.  The current scene features Emily VanCamp and Dave Annable making breakfast in the Walker kitchen, with Rebecca offering Justin a tense apology. It’s a critical moment for the episode, and you can feel the collective focus of everybody working to get it just right.

“…aaaaand cut!  Very good!  Let’s move on, everyone!”

Candy Lynn stands in for Sally Field as the crew tweaks the shot for Michael Schultz.

No time for pats on the back.  Someone throws a switch, and suddenly it’s afternoon, not morning, the magic of high power lighting. Sally Field’s stand-in, Candy, is brought in. Then, in seemingly no time at all, we’re ready to go again. 

As always, I can’t help but sit in awe of the unsung heroes of B&S: the tireless, ever-efficient production crew, always the first to arrive and the last to leave.

Just as production winds down on 204, it’s revving to life on 205, “Domestic Issues,” written by Pete Calloway and Cliff Olin.  At 2:30, the cast, writers, and producers convene in the 2nd floor conference room for the table read.

 
Our wonderful production staff keeps us well-fed for the table reads...even if this sushi is made from the flesh of writers whose shows were canceled by ABC.

The Walker boys – Matthew Rhys, Dave Annable, and Balthazar Getty – arrive first, sitting at the end of the table, happily munching on sushi and joking around with one another, brothers both on screen and off.  Emily VanCamp soon joins them, sipping a soda, along with Sally, fresh from shooting the aforementioned scene. 

Dave Annable, Balthazar Getty and Matthew Rhys like each other in real life, too.

The read starts off with a scene between Sarah and her kids, Paige and Cooper.  Since the child actors couldn’t make it, Sally fills in, squeaking Maxwell Perry Cotton’s lines in falsetto, with chuckles all around.

Another notable fill-in is Alison Schapker, one of the head writers, who reads for Kitty today.  She does an admirable job, despite having the ever-mischievous Ken Olin constantly trying to tickle her during her lines. 

In addition to providing great leadership in the Writers Office, the lovely and brilliant Alison Schapker runs a halfway house for writers interns.

During a later scene, Matthew Rhys stumbles over the pronunciation of the word “treatise” and falls back into his true Welsh accent.  All the while, I sit to the side, constantly reminding myself that I do, in fact, work here, and that life can truly be this sweet.

In the end, it’s all a bit bittersweet for me, because my time with these brilliantly talented individuals is coming to an end.  In two weeks, my days as an intern will be over, and I’ll be driving back east to Chicago to finish my senior year of college.  It’s been an incredible experience, and I would be remiss not to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone here at Stage Six for welcoming me into the B&S family with such genuine warmth.

It’s been the best summer of my life, and I owe it all to this magnificent show and the wonderful people behind it.  Thanks for reading, and keep on watching – it’s going to be great!

Ryan “Captain Intern” Crist

Set Diary -- Friday, August 24

Dear Set Diary

“And...action!” 

Okay, don’t look at the camera… don’t look at the camera.

“Beth, stop looking at the camera,” says Rob Nelson, annoyed.  Normally Rob is our video playback guy, but today he’s behind the camera. 

Crap!

Okay, concentrate… don’t look at the camera and don’t laugh.  I look across the table at the actress at whom I’m supposed to yell.  She seems so nice.  I haven’t the least desire to yell at her.  How do actors do this?  I start to laugh... 

“Cut!”

On a normal day at Brothers & Sisters, I work as the writers’ assistant alongside the wonderful and patient Ben Kruger.  My job consists of living in the room with the writers as they pitch amazing storylines for your favorite characters.  The Writers’ Room is where I feel at home and at ease. 

So, when Sparky, our associate producer, told me she wanted to use me in something for episode 204, you can imagine my shock.  Me?  Could she really want me in the show?  This could be it… my Big Break!  Forget my future as a writer – I’m going to live out my childhood dream and be a TV star like Shannon Doherty!

   

Sparky Hawes, video playback auteur.

Sparky quickly put in that they wouldn’t be shooting audio, so I wouldn’t have to worry about memorizing lines.  It was just a graphic for video playback.  “If the scene makes it to air, you’ll only be onscreen for about a second,” she said, before quickly adding, “In the background.  On a TV.”  Ok, so maybe I jumped the gun a little, but still…

I’m going to be on TV!

The day of shooting arrived quickly, and there was a lot to be done in a short amount of time.  I showed up ready for hair & makeup but was quickly informed that that wouldn’t be necessary.  Then I walked into the wardrobe room, which is filled with endless racks of clothing – a dream come true!  The wardrobe ladies sized me up like pros.  “What you’re wearing looks fine,” they both agreed.   Things weren’t going exactly how I had imagined.

Next I met my co-stars, Tania (Calista Flockhart’s assistant) and Gerrit (our post coordinator).  They, like me, are used to being behind the scenes.  “I was forced to do this by the editors,” Gerrit explained.  I played it cool and nodded my head in agreement.

The "cast": Beth, Gerrit and Tania relax with some delicious North Light Coffee.

And now, here we are:  on location in a park a few blocks away from the Disney studio.  Liz Tigelaar (one of the writers of Episode 204) begins setting up the scene for us, explaining our characters’ motivation, since there was no written dialogue.

Liz Tigelaar enjoying perhaps the greatest creative freedom of her career.

“So you guys were best friends,” Liz says.  Then, to Tania: “But now you hate her and her boyfriend, because they’ve been spreading awful rumors about you to the press.  Okay, now… go!” 

Tania and I look at each other blankly. 

“You guys, we’re rolling – start fighting,” says Sparky.  Tania looks at me.  “Why did you spread rumors about me?”  I thought about it.  I didn’t know why, and the writer in me apparently thought she had the day off.

 

This scene between Gerrit and Beth was cut for obvious reasons.

Seeing me struggle, Liz spouts off dialogue.  “Tell her she’s an awful friend.  She’s so pouty and always jealous…”—

“Beth, don’t look at the camera.”  This is Rob again.  Jeez, this is hard! 

Sparky has had it.  “Come on guys – really start fighting, move your arms around.”  I take a deep breath, and before I knew it I’m yelling at poor Tania.  And then the scene is over.   “Great job you guys!” exclaim Sparky and Liz.

I return to the Writers’ Room wearing a sense of accomplishment I was sure was visible to all.  A writer approaches me, impressed, and opens her mouth to ask how the shoot went.

“Beth?  Can you make sure to order more of those dry-erase markers in black?  And also print me out last week’s notes.  Oh, and could you please grab me a Diet Coke from the kitchen when you get a chance…” 

Okay, well, I guess I’m not going to be starring in my own series just yet…

Faithfully yours,
Beth Schwartz

Set Diary -- Friday, August 17

Before we get into another fabulous edition of Set Diary, I'd like to encourage you to vote for Brothers & Sisters at E! Online, where Kristin does her annual Tater Tops Awards.  Vote now!  We're nominated in a bunch of categories.

And without further ado.... a neat photo that will lead you into Set Diary....

Tommy Walker's house... undressed.

Dear Set Diary,

There are two heavy doors between Stage 6 and the outside world.  When I tug open the first door, the red light begins flashing, indicating that a shot is in progre ss.  So I wait in the chamber-like room, which is the size of a large refrigerator.  I feel like an astronaut waiting for the back hatch to close in order to safely open the door that will lead me into outer space.

This is Day 5 of episode 203 and it’s my first time on set.  I’m the assistant to Mark Perry, the new showrunner, and it’s important I make a good impression.  Or, better yet, for now – no impression at all. 

The bell rings, the red light stops flashing, and I heave open the door, the momentum practically shoving me onto the stage into…Nora’s yard.

I loved the show last season, so I consider myself a fan that fell into the rabbit hole and, on the other side, landed on the Walker’s back doorstep.  Literally.

This corner of the expansive stage is dark and quiet.  Voices waaaaay on the other side indicate that set is pretty far away.  I’ve taken no more than two steps when I hear – “Rolling!”  Oy.  I try to remain absolutely still.  The air is so quiet I can hear my leather belt stretching as I breathe.  Better not exhale, lest my expanding tummy ruin the take and cost the studio thousands of dollars.

Cut!  I’m free to move.

I nod to several crew members (none of whom I know) and then begin weaving my way through a labyrinth of light stands, potted trees and gel carts.  When I finally arrive at video village, literally every person I nodded to in Nora’s backyard is lounging comfortably in front of the monitors.  Where the hell have I been this whole time?

“Everybody ready?  Cameras rolling!” says the AD.

Because I’m seated at a safe distance, I bob my head around, competing for a view of the screens.  There’s a nice opening above the ear of Margery Kimbrough, the script supervisor, and under producer Michael Morris’s right arm. 

“Action!”

Tommy is having dinner with Julia and her parents, and he’s feeling like an outsider struggling to find his way into their conversation.  The left monitor shows a close-up of Balthazar, and the right monitor is a tight shot on Julia’s father.

   

Director Matt Shakman interrupts.  “Let’s keep rolling!  But start back at ‘She still could.’  Okay?  Action.”  The actors pick up where Matt instructed.  Watching the scene on the monitors is like viewing the show on your home TV, except that when you shout at the actors, they respond to whatever you say.

“Cut!  Great.  Let’s do it one more time.”

As they try the scene again, I can’t help but notice how everyone leans into the monitor with surgical concentration.  Every inch of the screen is being vetted.  On my left, props needs the pieces in the right places.  To my right, the hairdressers and makeup artists need the actors to look beautiful.  Seated in front of me, the director of photography needs the shot to tell the story in a visually appealing way.  Every single frame gets this level of scrutiny because if the shot isn’t perfect, you might change the channel.

After an hour-and-a-half of watching the best do their best, I realize Dan is still covering the writers’ offices – alone.  Reluctantly, I slip away…but this time I take the short way – cutting through the Walkers’ living room, past the desk in Nora’s office and back out the kitchen door. 

Back into the chamber… back into reality.

Til next week,
Andrew Major

Set Diary -- Friday, August 10

Dear Set Diary,

“Her raven hair flew by as the room fell silent.”

This is how Gloria Muzio asks me to describe her.  As she says this, she’s adjusting a scene in the Walker living room featuring Sally Field, Dave Annable, Rachel Griffiths, Ron Rifkin and Balthazar Getty. 

Gloria, erstwhile beauty of the NY theatre scene, is directing episode 202, entitled “An American Family.”   In this installment of the Walker family saga, Nora buys a local gourmet food market, Tommy and Holly sleep together, McCallister is convicted of election fraud and Saul converts to Islam.  A lot for true fans of the show to take in, but we think you can handle it.

Today is Day 8, the second to last shoot day, and we joke – well, I’m not joking, actually – that when she’s finished we’ll have to go for a martini.  “That’ll have to be Monday night,” she says.  “I start ‘Saving Grace’ on Tuesday.”

As Gloria runs back to the set to talk to Sally, I look around.  We’re in video village, and we’ve got the usual army of brilliant, talented and quirky folks percolating away in their chairs.  Don’t misunderstand – making a scene work under deadline requires incredible focus on everyone’s part.  But these are 13-hour days.  When you have downtime, you do best to let your mind regroup. 

So Rachel Griffiths sits nearby flipping hastily through Garden Magazine.  Molly Newman, who cowrote this episode (as well as six during season 1), fiddles absently with a mechanical pencil. 

Left of the director’s chair, Margery Kimbrough, our script supervisor, makes indecipherable markings on her script.  Michael Morris, producer and Englishman, listens to his iPhone and fills in the Times crossword.  Sensing me on his periphery, he turns around, visually processes the pad and pen in my hand, and asks, rather dryly, “You doing a blog?”  Off my nod, he turns back around, shaking his head.  “Bloody hell.”

Now Gloria blows back in, her extraordinary Sicilian passion infusing the air with volcanic possibility…and she strikes up a conversation with a female crewmember she’s worked with.  “You don’t remember me,” she says, “but we shot one day of CSI together.  Remember that snake?  That swallowed the girl?”  The woman nods.

It occurs to me in this moment that what I love about set, in part, is what I love about Los Angeles – namely, the peaceful and even symbiotic coexistence of the mundane and the outlandish – but before I can linger in this moment, Gloria yells “Action!” and I’m suddenly watching our marvelous actors do a take. 

In the scene, Nora is doing her best to keep Justin away from strenuous activity, and he’s getting pretty fed up.  After Gloria calls “Cut,” she and Michael have a brief discussion about a look that Dave is giving Sally. 

“See, it was a little severe there,” he says.  “We don’t want to go there yet.”  This is one of the fascinating things about set – the loving scrutiny of emotional detail.  In fact, the expression on Dave’s face could make or break your investment in this story.  Gloria agrees and heads off to tell Dave to tone down the severe. 

With her sweeping exit, an icy calm descends on video village… and I head off to craft services, leaving behind a casual discussion of how much one ought to bid for a tennis match v John McEnroe. 

Faithfully, lovingly,
Dan