Clubhouse Conversations — The Paper

In this episode, cinematographers DJ Stipson, NZCS and Chloe Weaver are joined by interviewer Patti Lee, ASC to discuss their work on The Paper — a mockumentary-style spinoff of The Office from co-creators Greg Daniels and Michael Koman.

Set 20 years after The Office, The Paper follows the staff of the Toledo Truth Teller, a Midwestern newspaper in decline. Within the series' fictional universe, the paper's employees are captured in their workplace environs by the same documentary crew that shadowed the workers at Dunder Mifflin in their Scranton, Pennsylvania offices.

Conversation Highlights

Stipson and Weaver's conversation with Lee explores a range of strategies, as well as the creative and practical challenges they encountered, including:

• Updating the visual language of The Office with the aid of a fully walkable, glass-wrapped newsroom set, lit for 360-degree, 10-minute lighting resets
• Crafting period sequences on Super 16 and building matching digital LUTs for later episodes
• How the comedic instincts of the operators on the production helped the crew achieve their desired feel for cross-coverage
• How the filmmakers' lens choices helped emulate aspects of The Office's signature look
• Navigating the creative and logistical challenges of large ensemble scenes; reflective environments; and the season's cinematic finale, set entirely in a hotel

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Chloe Weaver is a cinematographer whose credits include The Bear, Chef’s Table and Paul T. Goldman.

DJ Stipson, NZCS is a cinematographer whose credits include What We Do in the Shadows — for which he received an Emmy Award nomination — Time Bandits and Dispatches from Elsewhere.

Patti Lee, ASC is a cinematographer whose credits include The Bernie Mac Show, Bob Hearts Abishola, Call Me Kat and Superior Donuts. For her work on Superior Donuts, she received an Emmy nomination in 2018, making her the first woman in history to earn a nod in the category of Outstanding Cinematography for a Multi-Camera Series.

You’ll find all episodes in our ASC Clubhouse Conversations discussion series here.

Unit stills by John P. Fleenor and Aaron Epstein. Images courtesy of Peacock.