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The Day Hollywood Called
You’ve seen those movies where the unknown (but worthy) actor gets that once-in-a-lifetime call from Hollywood. The part suits the actor to a T. But can he get to Hollywood in two weeks? That’s what played out at Rice Lake Weighing Systems one Thursday afternoon before the Fourth of July weekend.
When Pat Ranfranz, director of marketing, took the call, he thought it was one of his longtime vendors. "You’re the prop master from The Office®?This was no practical joke. The real prop master for NBC’s hit TV series The Office was calling to inquire about using one of our indicators and scales for their fall premiere episode. Pat recognized a golden opportunity and moved quickly to discuss the idea with Mark Johnson Jr., director of customer service, and Steve Parkman, chief operating officer.
"From NBC? You’re joking, right?"
A television or movie prop master creates a realistic setting for the story line. In this case, the Dunder Mifflin team would be filmed in a warehouse where they are about to be weighed en masse. The prop master couldn’t call just any prop company and ask for any platform scale. After searching the yellow pages and Internet, he hit our site www.ricelake.com and found his star scale system: our RoughDeck® and 920i®.
Soon they were discussing many more ways Rice Lake’s expertise and service could assist. The prop master requested pictures of a warehouse scale application so they could recreate it for their set. Pat set the project in motion. The emails were flying. Dozens of people were called into the act. Julia Buergi, product manager; Tina Slayton, marketing specialist; Steve Parkman; Mark Jr., and a host of others rolled up their sleeves. It was showtime at Rice Lake.
Typical product placements in movies and on the small screen vary from paid placements like the famous Reese’s Pieces in the E.T.™ movie to unpaid placements like the Rice Lake RoughDeck® floor scale and 920i® programmable indicator on The Office®.
The writers of the script called for a scale to accommodate 12 people, the primary cast of The Office, with the flexibility to control the total amount displayed on the indicator. From the start, the Hollywood client wanted a real-life scenario. Julia assured them that the RoughDeck platform with the yellow bumper guards and matching indicator stand would suit their needs because it’s the same product sold to our customers. Working on a very tight deadline of two weeks, the order was entered and the custom build began, a common scenario at Rice Lake. That’s why 90 percent of our products are the result of a custom build for a client. The prop team requested the system to be freestanding so it could be moved into various locations on the set depending on the needs of the director, other props and the script. Brian Lotton, designer/engineer, started working on the custom drawings and special production work orders for the 48 in x 80 in platform, 5,000 lb capacity super-star RoughDeck with built-in shelf and bumper guards.
The real magic behind the curtain involved all the customizing on the 920i indicator/HMI controller. At this juncture, Gary Hackel, programmer, focused on the 920i requirements, selected for its star power and superior programmability needed to accommodate the story line.
Using iRite IDE® programming software, Gary configured the 920i to be easily adjusted within the user-defined mode. "The operator is able to configure the weight reading on the scale while the up and down keys allow the operator to switch between the modes of operation," Gary explained.
As an element of custom software development, we often ask customers to preview the indicator software. This test ensures the end-user that the interface meets their expectations while allowing for adaptability in the process. It’s a necessary step since customers’ needs often evolve as equipment is implemented to the desired application.
After viewing the initial demo and capabilities of the 920i, the prop team, with input from other stakeholders, requested some modifications. They wanted additional text to be added to the operation screen to provide flexibility and to accommodate a number of target weight situations. The modifications were executed the same day, and the indicator programming demo was re-recorded and sent to the prop team for its second viewing.
"No different from any other custom solution we build," said Mark, Jr., "Rice Lake excels in custom program development by keeping customer feedback and programming results flexible in order to achieve optimal results. Although software can be modified in the field, our goal is to build in enough structure to the program while still allowing flexibility so the system can be adapted to the application after installation."
After uploading the requested additions to the 920i®, Gary delivered the indicator to Rice Lake’s Testing Engineer Keith Kaiser to ensure the indicator was ready to be calibrated with the scale platform. As the deadline loomed, the scale and indicator were packed off to Hollywood.
As the cameras were placed and the lighting checked, Roger Kimber, western regional director, stepped through the target weight settings and weighing modes so the props team would be familiar with the programming established earlier through the video demo. While standing on the scale and adding more weight, the props team requested that the displayed weight be set up to simulate the needs of the script. Roger quickly created realistic set points in the user-defined mode which aided the props team during its training and filming and provided the Hollywood-style illusion of specific weight changes.
Soon the props team was ready to present the scale to the director of the premiere. It was important that everything on the scale, from bumper guards to indicator text, was authentic to a warehouse. Form and functionality for the RoughDeck® and 920i system were on the mark.
The stand-in rehearsal allowed Roger to assist with a few more set changes. "I had picked up two cables the night before thinking they may want to operate the scale out of the shot," he explained. Indeed, the props team requested the option to target the scale out of sight. Within 45 minutes, Roger was able to communicate the necessary changes to Gary in Rice Lake. The command changes were added to the custom programming, and the scale was now equipped with keyboard shortcut key commands to display the desired target. One last modification to the programming allowed the indicator to display a target weight and then decrease as one of the cast members de-scaled from the group weight. It worked great!
As the final credits rolled on NBC’s The Office® season five opening episode, Rice Lake’s legendary attention to customer service and flexibility in meeting customers’ custom requirements shined brightly. Rice Lake provided the same celebrity treatment it provides every customer.
Maybe we’ll receive an Emmy for our dramatic role on a hit television series.
RoughDeck and 920i are registered trademarks of Rice Lake Weighing Systems. The Office is a registered trademark of NBC. Neither NBC nor The Office sponsors or endorses Rice Lake products.
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