EUREKA UNSCRIPTED

A Day in the Life - Neil Grayston, Actor

  

Hello there, I've been asked to provide an account of a typical day on Eureka from an actor's perspective. So here we go. I should add that I don't speak for, or represent, all actors, or even a fraction of them.

I wake up, usually pretty early, to the sounds of trumpets and my harem of cooing women praising my manliness. (I live in a castle). I roll out of bed, which is made of money and self-satisfaction, and curse the help for their incompetence (seriously, have my ivory plate of edible gold shavings at least two inches from my mouth when I open it, jeez).

Okay, not really, the day actually starts the night before in my crumbling abode, a neat but oldish little condo in a suburb of Vancouver. I look over my lines for the next day's work, paying special attention to the sciency tech talk stuff, because that's what I'll most likely injure my tongue with and hold up production the following day when I'm actually working.

Hit my bed with a nervous attempt at sleep, because I'm still actually excited to get to work, and frightened that I'll sleep through my alarm clock, even though I take measures to switch it up and set it to different radio stations every couple months that'll annoy me awake. It's currently set directly in between a French Canadian talk radio station and  a smooth jazz/easy listening station. The chatter wakes me up and the easy listening infuriates me. My recipe for getting up and not hitting the sleep button. Don't need to hear that dissonance a second time.

I shuffle through my morning duties of showering, petting my super pretty and awesome cat, who's kind of like a dog, and lurch about until I'm awake enough to not drive in a dangerous manner to work.

Get to work, grab breakfast from our awesome caterers. Most days I get scrambled eggs and crispy bacon with salsa for my eggs (I sometimes pronounce the first A in salsa like one pronounces the A in Albert, to my mystification).

My breakfast is usually eaten in sporadic bursts while the following things happen:

a) Shave-time. I don't shave at home because my hair seems grow very quickly and want to migrate from the top of my head to other parts. My face especially. Except the mustache region...it still takes me a billion years to grow a proper one. Sometimes I have to shave twice a day. The current record is three times.

b) Wardrobe. Yeah, not too hard. I put on clothes that aren't the ones I'm already wearing. No bigs.

c) Highlight my lines in my sides. (Sides are the little tiny cute versions of the script that comprise of all the the scenes we're doing on the day.)

d) Hair and Makeup. Fun fact: I'm kinda a baldini... esque. It takes some time to fill in my hair-holes. Movie magic!

Then it's time for blocking (sometimes breakfast is done, sometimes not). That's where we first do the scene and figure out where we'll be, what we do, and where all the lights and stuff will be.  Minor adjustments might be made to the scene depending on the blocking or how the pacing seems to work out once all of the actors say the lines the way we say 'em.

Depending on the shot, it can take anywhere from two minutes to an hour for setup. Fancy things like visual effects shots, stunts, and explosions tend to take longer than your average two person chat scene. Go figure.

Okee-dokie. So now we shoot. If you haven't guessed already, that's the stuff that eventually you see on your TV/computer monitor. In between takes we run lines, banter back and forth, or religiously check our cell phones. E-mail/Twitter/Facebook.

It's hard to describe shooting a scene in any detailed way. We get along swimmingly as a cast, we have fun, and we like working together to make the best stuff we can make. I hope that is passed on to you guys watching us in TV land.

After the scene is done, sometimes I'll have a break while they film scenes I'm not in. So it's back to my trailer to listen to music, prep my next scene, and probably eat some sandwiches. I really like sandwiches. If it's an especially long break I like to figure out ways to annoy people. Currently I enjoy imitating Colin typing out e-mails on his Blackberry. Don't know why I choose to annoy Colin... as if being in every scene wasn't difficult enough. I guess I'm kind of a jerk. Sorry Colin! I also enjoy fake barfing into my hands and discovering new uses for my phantom vomit. Slicking back my hair, using it as facial hair, etc. Yeah, I'm still a seven year old.

My mind usually wanders at this point. How do those people who wear shorts in winter do it? How do they not get cold? Was there ever a bipedal mutant fish in the Ninja Turtles universe? I know there was a manta ray. If there was a fish, did it have a fishbowl full of water on its head when it walked around on land? How often does it need to refresh the water before the oxygen is depleted and the pH levels go all wonky? This is the dark cavern my tweets usually emerge from.

Probably eat some more sandwiches. Or, if it's lunch time, eat whatever delicious food they've whipped up for us today. Preferably with lots of gravy. Affect a terrible British accent. Pretend to stave off madness, although secretly I know it's taken over long ago.

Alright, so I get a knock on my door, time to film again!  I already described that part, so if you really want, you can move up a little bit and re-read that.

Lather, rinse, repeat. I don't mean that in the tedious way, I quite enjoy showers and the act of showering in general.

Yeah, so that's pretty much an actor's day on set. Fun work mixed with battles with insanity. I freaking love my job.

A Day In The Life - John Herrera, Script Coordinator

The next installment in the our sorta monthly feature "A Day in the Life" features John Herrera, our script coordinator-- and new dad!  John's day begins early but kicks into high gear in the afternoon, which is where we start...

4:13PM: I awake with a start to find that the blaring alarm clock I couldn’t snooze in my dream is actually the dulcet voice of our Writers’ PA, Meghan, trying to rouse me.  Jaime is on his way down the hall with the production draft of our next episode.  Crap.  I perk up quickly and answer every one of Jaime’s questions about the revision with a confident “Sure… of course…no problem!”  Jaime heads out as I wonder how long I’ve been asleep.

4:15PM-6:15PM: I run a computer typo check followed by a careful read of the script. (The computer is a lot dumber than it looks.  It misses even more typos than I do.) If Meghan or Margaret, our Writers’ assistant isn’t too busy I may ask them to check typos too because 1. I’m anal. And 2. They’re smarter than I am.  Satisfied with formatting and having worked out any possible logic issues with Jaime (credit to our writers who make very few mistakes – typo or otherwise), I proceed with the production side of the coordinator process. 

First: scene numbers. This may sound like a small thing, but every production department will use these numbers to track the script. If I mislabel or improperly delete a number there could be an angry phone call from Vancouver.  And while an “angry call from Vancouver” feels like a love letter compared to, say, an “angry call from Burbank” it’s still something to be avoided.  Last, I create the first prep documents of the episode: the Cast List and Set List that will help each department plan and budget. 

6:45PM: Having double and triple-checked everything, I distribute the document to all departments, taking care not to bump RETURN early and accidentally send everyone -- from Colin Ferguson to Syfy Executive VP Mark Stern -- an email without a script attached.  (Yes, I have done this before.)  Once all is sent, I send Jaime his script file back for more revisions, take a breath and wait a few minutes to see if anyone has issues with anything in the script.  With luck, all is well in Vancouver, everyone is happily reading, and I can relax until the next revision. Ahhhhhh.

6:46PM: Before I can finish that exhale, CoEP Todd Sharp requests a list of all episodes that include a certain character.  As this may affect whether we get the amazing guest cast Todd’s working on, I turn that around right away.

6:51PM: As I hit SEND on that email, Bruce gives me the Network draft of another episode and the process starts all over again: reading, counting, distributing, worrying.

8:01PM: After reworking our script status report, a document that tracks our progress in writing scripts, the phone rings.  It’s Tina, my wife, wondering when I’ll be home.  Good news!  It won’t be a late night.  I’ll be home for “bath time.”

8:45PM: Before you go getting any ideas, (this is a family show, after all) “bath time” involves my 10 month-old cutie pie, Sofia, who greets me with a pureed, peach-stained grin from ear to ear each time I walk in the door before my delectable wife gives me a kiss and I realize what an exceptionally awesome life I live.  Sofi and I play for a few minutes before she gets in the bath.

9:10PM: Bath time, story and kiss goodnight complete, I check work emails. I’m in luck.  Production received the draft and they’ve already generated a prep schedule.   The Network has our other draft and will schedule notes with us tomorrow.  It’s time to eat, exhale and relax and…

12:06AM: ZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzz….

12:08AM: Baby’s crying.  Time to be a good husband and acknowledge I can actually hear the baby crying instead of pretending only car alarms can awake men from their slumber. 

12:09AM: Checking emails again. Worrying about that typo I realize I forgot to fix on page 43.

12:12AM: ZZZZZZzzzzzz…

3:23AM: Baby’s crying again.  This time I pretend I can’t hear her.  Don’t tell Tina.

5:04AM: I run like I’ve never run before on the gym treadmill, buff athletes, man and woman alike marvel at my form and stamina as they walk by.  I feel confident, powerful, handsome—BEEEEEEP!

6:05AM: My alarm goes off for real.  Turns out I was dreaming that last part.

7:00-9:30AM: I meet with Nina, my writing partner to work-before-work.  Hat tip to the Eureka-folk and their story break techniques I’ve handily adopted.  Then time to jump onto the 101 Freeway (or as I prefer to call it, “The Most Interesting Highway I’ve Ever Met”) toward the Eureka writers’ office.

10:00AM: I settle in to what must be the best view to be had by any script coordinator in the business (sunsets in the west, the Capitol Records Building, the scenic Gower Gulch strip mall), eat some breakfast and find a Clearance Memo in my inbox about the script we just submitted.  Looks like that Fargo nude scene needs a lot less nudity. (You might be surprised how often we get nailed for nudity… quite the randy bunch we are.)

11:00AM-3:15PM: A new revision on the episode now shooting, a writers draft is ready, the editors need final script files from the premiere… business as usual.

3:16PM: I collapse in a heap on my desk.  Writers come and go thinking I’m just consumed by a very intense typo pass. 

3:17PM: That scary alarm again… no, wait, it’s just Meghan nudging me awake… blue revisions are on their way. Geez, how long have I been asleep this time?

A Day In The Life - Katie Lovejoy, Producers' Assistant

The next installment in the our sorta monthly feature "A Day in the Life" features our lovely assistant, Katie Lovejoy. And yes, that is her real name.

A Day in the Life by Katie Lovejoy

6:00 am:  The worst ringtone I have on my blackberry screams at my sleeping face, and I roll over and glare at the time.  I proceed to think seriously about going for a half-hour jog, but decide instead that, because it’s so early in the week, I need to get my rest.  I guiltily reset my alarm.  6:30 am:  I drag myself out of bed (I’m not a morning person) and plod towards the bathroom, beating myself up for not going on that jog.

7:30 am:  After making a steaming cup of green tea and snagging a banana, I squeeze into my car, wondering why I ever thought it would be a good idea to own a coupe.

8:00 am:  I arrive at Ralphs, where I commence the weekly office grocery shopping.  There’s nothing that says TV Writers’ Room like loading your cart up with enough sodas to quench the thirst of a small army and enough chocolate to fuel a rocket.  But don’t worry.  I buy fruits and vegetables to supplement our sugar.

8:30 am:  I proceed to checkout while twenty other morning shoppers grumble about how long I’m taking at the counter.  I attempt a joke to ease the tension, but neither the elderly man trying to buy a carton of milk nor the sick college kid holding a bottle of NyQuil are particularly amused.

9:15 am:  Ed (our Writers’ Assistant) and I go over the schedule for the day as we walk to Starbucks – Producers’ meeting at lunch, a casting session across the lot, a set design call with Vancouver, and a notes call from the Studio and Network (schedule subject to alteration).

9:30 am:  I hunker down at my desk as the phones start ringing.   Todd, who is en route to Vancouver to oversee episode 401's prep, calls and asks what’s on his schedule for the day.  Jaime, who is working on a script polish from home, phones in to see if I can conference him to Bruce, who is currently reading the latest draft of a different episode at Starbucks.  One of the main responsibilities that comes with this job is being the center of all internal communication, so knowing who is where and what is happening at all times is absolutely crucial.  It's the only time being a know-it-all is actually a valuable commodity.

9:45 am:  John (our Script Coordinator) gives me the latest episode draft that was distributed to the Studio and Network the night before, and I copy and collate scripts.  Well, okay.  I have our interns copy and collate the scripts.  But I oversee.

9:50 am:  Paper jam.  I engage in an epic battle with the Xerox Machine. 

10:00 am:  The writers start in the room and all is quiet on the Western Front.  I update the calendar and write my to-do list for the day – FedEx DVDs to Vancouver, get an episode outline to our post supervisor, order office supplies (especially the index cards and sharpies that are the life force of the writers’ room), get Sunset Gower facilities to figure out why it’s, twenty degrees in our offices, etc.  The most important thing I learned after working this job for a while? Resistance is futile: you will NEVER outrun your to-do list. 

10:30 am: Update calendars with confirmed meetings, including the master calendar on the white board in my office.  Naturally these meetings will get canceled, rescheduled, canceled, and rescheduled again – so needless to say, the calendars and I hang out a lot.

11:00 am:  Approach writers about where they’d like to order lunch today and circulate the coinciding lunch menu.  After everyone has indicated their order, I have one of our lovely interns fax that baby over to the restaurant. 

11:20 am:  The Production Office in Vancouver calls about scheduling conference calls later that afternoon.  (Like I said, schedule subject to alteration.)

12:00 pm:  Lunch arrives and the interns and I organize the meals.  I contemplate how much the delivery guy must hate me for making him stand there and wait for us to go through every single box and make sure each order is correct before letting him leave the premises.

12:30 pm:  Our weekly internal Producers’ Meeting starts as Bruce goes around the room, asking each writer how their episode is coming.  Then, we go through, one-by-one, and report on our various areas of responsibility.  I take notes during this shindig, because if the producers say they want to set a meeting or schedule a call, I’m the one who makes it happen.

1:00 pm:  We take a short break.  The interns and I talk shop while we tidy up the kitchen, and then I clear my head.  Sometimes I talk a walk to get a change of scenery and some fresh air.  Other times, I’ll play a round of Left4Dead with Ed and John.  Nothing says relaxation like killing some zombies.

1:30 pm:  I reach out to the assistants at the Studio and Network to schedule some meetings and conference calls.

2:00 pm:  Conference call with Vancouver regarding set design.  My duties on such a call include dialing in to the telephone conference center, making sure the other parties are on the line, and then grabbing the producers to jump on the call.  (My biggest fear in the world?  Forgetting to MUTE my phone while I monitor the conference.) 

3:00 pm: FedEx DVDs to Canada.  I still struggle to fill out that International Waybill.

3:30 pm:  I leave the FedEx in the drop box on the lot and pick up mail from the Sunset Gower mailroom.  I use this as an excuse to climb the five flights of stairs back up to the office, which I’m hoping will help get rid of that guilt I’m still feeling over not jogging in the morning.

4:00 pm:  Accounting sends me the weekly Corporate Purchasing Card (P-Card) report and I organize all the receipts from the previous week.  Every time I order anything for the office, I need a complete itemized receipt.  I tape this receipt to a clean sheet of white paper and, each week, organize these receipts in chronological order to accompany the P-Card report.  This standard protocol is designed to make sure all purchases are actually for the use of the show… and not so that I can finally buy that awesome Mario Brothers chessboard on Thinkgeek.com.

4:35 pm:  Visit my favorite website.  Staples.com. 

5:00 pm:  As I bug the assistants at the Studio about various and sundry projects, I remind myself of the P.A. adage “Call early, call often.”  And then I decide that this is simply a nice way of saying, “Be annoying.”

5:30 pm:  I check in with John to see if he needs help with anything as he reads over the latest episode outline before sending it to the Studio and Network.  If he says no, I use this time as an opportunity to read the outline myself.  There’s nothing more exciting or informative than reading each draft of the outlines and scripts for each episode.  It’s amazing how much things change.

6:00 pm:  The interns finish cleaning up the kitchen and make sure drive-ons are ready for any guests visiting the office the next day.  This is usually the time that I prep a nightly email that I send to the entire staff with the following day’s schedule.

7:00 pm:  The room breaks and Ed, John, and I reconvene.  We discuss what’s on the docket for the next day and how things went for each of us in our various areas of responsibility.  Because we spend so much time together, it’s important that the three of us not only get along and like each other, but support each other as much as we can.  As Ed likes to say…  he sees us more than his own wife.

8:00 pm:  I arrive at home and eat some dinner.   As I dig into my own writing for the rest of the evening, I’m reminded that, while sometimes exhausting, this job is a unique and incredible position.  I’m not only learning by example, but I get to work in the exciting and creative environment that is the writers’ inner sanctum.  And there’s no better place to be than that.

A Day In The Life - Ed Fowler, Writers' Assistant

Ever wonder what it's like to work on the coolest show on television?  Us, too!  But HOMEBOYS IN OUTERSPACE isn't on anymore, so I guess you're stuck with us. 

Here's our inaugural installment of our new monthly feature "A Day in the Life" in which a member of the cast/crew of Eureka takes you through the paces on what it's like to work on our little (read: awesome) show.  

 

A Day in the Life by Ed Fowler

6:30am: It’s time to rise and shine campers because it’s cold out there! Well, okay, it’s not exactly cold, but you’d be surprised how cold 53 degrees Fahrenheit can feel in Southern California. It’s time to blindly grab a t-shirt out of the closet, stumble over at least one of my cats on the way to brush my teeth and get ready for the day. My wife is already up and giving me a hard time for getting up late. I grunt something similar to, “And yet I love you…” as we pass.

7:00am: Grab a Diet Mountain Dew and a Clif protein bar on the way out of the door while ruing the fact that I haven’t bought stock in either.

7:05am: I go back to my wife, give her a kiss goodbye and we both exchange “Drive carefully.” as if either of us thought of driving dangerously.

7:30am: The drive always starts off crazy, but with the iPhone on shuffle, I’m in my two ton rock box also known as a Ford ZX-2…okay it’s just a sporty Ford Escort. I arrive at the office in one piece to get my game face on and ready for the day.

8:15am: Katie (our Showrunners’ Assistant) and I run down the schedule for the day, casting and product placement mtgs, a pitch at 4pm with the network and our weekly Producers’ Meeting.

8:15 – 9:45am: Research, research, research. I catch up on the newest discoveries in the science world while also learning about the latest cutting edge tech. To keep the show on the green/environmentally friendly tip we use email to store research links and PDFs of articles for potential use in future episodes.

9:50am: Coffee run to Starbucks.

10am: We start up in the room. Mostly beginning with brief discussions on recently watched movies and TV shows, what we do and don’t like. Next up is trying to break the record for the most “That’s what she said.” jokes before 11am (current status at 9 solid, 3 gimmes and 1 stretching it) and then kick into talking what we love the most…EUREKA! My position and responsibility in the room is to take the notes from the day and distill them into a consumable form. It’s a fantastic “fly on the wall” position to learn the process of breaking episodes – each episode taking on it’s own life that is thrilling to observe.

10:45am: We suddenly shift gears from talking specific episodes to the arc of an individual character over not just ten episodes, but over the full twenty. Gears shift again when Co-Executive Producer Amy Berg pitches a killer episode idea that we’re all totally jazzed about.  It’s definitely going to be an episode, the next step becomes finding the right time in the season where it marries well with the current status of our characters. Trust me though, this one will be a highlight of the season. Often times the sudden shifts in subjects can make the end of the day a little longer for the Writers’ Assistant than usual when organizing the notes, but more on that later.

11:03am: Executive Producer Bruce Miller delivers a solve for a problem we’ve been trying to work through. The clouds part, angels sing and the room rejoices. Amen.

12:30pm: Co-Producer, Paula Yoo, declares it time for us to take lunch…because we always take lunch at 12:30. The staff disperses for lunch, sometimes as a full group, while other times cliques go off to find jocks to intellectually pummel on the playground during recess (This is Eureka after all.)

1:15pm: Coffee run to Starbucks.

1:30pm: The train starts back up and we dig deeper into discussing the Teaser out for the episode. It has to be big, fun, visual and launch us into the A Story for the episode in ways you (hopefully) won’t immediately be able to deduce.

1:52pm: Executive Producer, Jaime Paglia, comes in to run a couple jokes past the group for a polish he’s doing on one of our latest masterpieces. It’s hilarious and will push the S & P folks’ buttons nicely.

3:05: Coffee run to Starbucks. You’d be surprised the stories you can come up with while on a coffee run, but sometimes just the act of shaking up the location of a discussion can spark ideas that take the concept to the next level.  Often the act of simple, casual conversation about what people did the night before can inspire a great joke or even B Story for an episode.  It’s for these reasons that the room is a sacred place, a place we can all open up about various aspects of our lives because ultimately the citizens of Eureka, no matter their quirky nature, are as real as you and I because that’s who they’re made up of.

4pm:  Pitch with the network goes off without a hitch. They’re as excited about the episode as we are and giving us the support  we need to make it happen.

5pm: Our Script Coordinator, John Herrera, passes out an episode outline for the staff to read and give notes on to get it in the best shape before going off to the network. His job is meticulously hardcore, John’s the king of extreme script coordinating.  It’s a finely tuned skill he has in the art of patience. I have a great deal of respect for what he does.

7pm: The room breaks for the day, with each writer pondering the wonders of the world. I begin my process of cleaning up the notes as Katie, John and I go over the schedule for the next day.  It’s important for the support staff of the show to all be on the same page and while we support the writers on staff we must also support each other.  Hollywood gets this rep (sometimes worthy) of being about cutthroat competition and how you’ve got to be willing to sell out the guy next to you to get ahead. Well, let me tell you my friends this is the furthest thing from the truth. While you may encounter some who fall into this category, you will encounter more writers who simply want to work with people they like and respect. Being a douchebag may get someone a step ahead, but over the course of a career (and that’s what we all strive for) it just isn’t worth it.

8pm: I arrive home. Talk about the day with my wife over dinner and episodes of Family Guy or The IT Crowd.

9pm: I continue going through and clearing up the notes from the day. It’s a process that feels initially less than creative, but when you get into the meat of the job, it’s a careful task to make the content clear and concise while still making them readable for the staff.  If it’s too long it becomes overwhelming and chaotic to dig into. In my experience it’s not so much a document that should be a word for word dictation of the day, but rather a clear and concise documentation of the ideas of the day. It makes the job much more about listening and processing than the physical act of typing. Listening is one of the biggest and most important aspects of this position, but it’s also a nice reminder of how important of a skill it is to have as a writer.

10:30pm:  I dig into some of my own writing with a smile on face, happy with a great day of work and feeling like a helluva lucky dude in every aspect.  Boo. Yah. Indeed.