Production Aspects of The Office

It’s been three weeks since I decided to re-watch The Office from the very beginning. So, appropriately, this week I sat down to watch the third episode of the first season of the show titled “Health Care.” In this episode, Jan assigns Michael the task of selecting a new healthcare plan for his employees. After Michael discovers that he has to cut benefits and find a less expensive plan, he decides to delegate the task to Dwight in an attempt to remain the “good guy” in the situation. Dwight, being the unsympathetic and far too practical man that he is, cuts almost all health benefits and chooses the worst possible health plan offered. The employees, understandably, become very upset which leads Michael to promise them a “surprise” by the end of the day in an attempt to cheer them up. With no idea what to surprise them with, Michael ends up hiding in his office all day, never delivering a surprise, and never fixing the terrible choice Dwight made about the healthcare plan.

The production of The Office, and this episode in particular, very much adds to the overall feel of the show. In some ways the production aspects of the show are relatively simply, but very effective. The show’s staging is nothing special, consisting of bland colors and cheap looking office desks; but it is this “non-special” look that contributes to the show feeling like a typical office workspace. The editing and sound within the show also add to this. Between each scene in this episode (and in most episodes of the show) you can hear the clicking of keyboards and the ringing of phones while visually it is edited to show the employees carrying out typical office related tasks, emphasizing their bored looking faces, and often cuts to a shot of the clock slowly ticking away. What these sounds and strategically edited visuals do is give us a sense of a slow, boring, bland day at the office (which many Americans know all too well).

The camerawork is also very crucial to the overall feel of the show. For the most part, the show is filmed in a “mocumentary” style, with shaky cameras that don’t always have the best angle and often have to “spy” on characters from behind plants or through the blinds on windows. Along with the shaky handheld cameras, there are also single person interviews, some over the shoulder shots (but normally only when two people are sitting across from each other at a desk), and some strategic zooming in and out when a character has said something of importance or comedic value. This camera work adds to the documentary feel of the show and also gives you the sensation of being there with them, working along side them throughout the workday.