Generally speaking, everyone is on the set by 7:45 a.m., including crew.
Cast arrives anywhere from one hour to two hours earlier, depending on whether
or not the actor needs to go into prosthetics. (We try to schedule actors in
prosthetics later in the day if possible, to give them more time, but it isn't
always workable.) The camera operator is there from 7:45 until we wrap for
the day. But there are always down times during the day, times when the
operator isn't needed on set. Same for other crew members. Some days when
we're light on aliens, none of the folks from Optic Nerve need to be there at
all. When we've got a full Council and League of Nonaligned Worlds, and
they're going all day, then they're there non-stop. It really varies a lot.
(And we shoot Monday through Friday, with weekends off, and some religious
holidays.)

As stated, we're pretty good about getting people out by 7:30 or earlier.
This past week we wrapped anywhere from 6-7 p.m. most days. (We found
ourselves in an odd situation for a few weeks last year when some of the
directors got into a kind of competition to see who could wrap the
earliest...and it began crawling toward 5:30, 5:00, 4:30...when was when we
pulled the plug on it.)

I'd say that the lion's share of the credit for how well the whole
operation runs has to go to our crew, which is amazing. I've worked on a lot
of shows over the last ten years, and I've never seen one as fast, as skilled,
and as able to adapt to circumstances. Every single one of our guest stars
and visiting directors has commented on them. The heart of the crew on-set is
John Flinn, our Director of Cinematography, who keeps the whole thing running
smoothly. You don't have to lean on them to hurry; they *move*, and they're
proud of their efficiency, and they're good at what they do. We try to
maintain a good, creative, open attitude on-set.

Because I'm usually frantic with meetings, or writing, or on the phone,
or in the editing bays, I only actually get the chance to walk the stage maybe
3 times a day *at most*; sometimes just once, sometimes not at all, which is
ironic given that my door is literally 25 feet from stage C. When I do go on-
set, where many producers make a big deal out of it on other shows, I try to
keep a low profile...I slip in as quietly as I can, watch for a bit, then slip
back to my office, trying not to get in anybody's way or be a distraction.
(And the *EXECUTIVE PRODUCER* walking onto a set can be quite a distraction.)
Sometimes I'll walk out there when I know we're not shooting, just doing
lighting setups, just to watch them work, and the skill with which they
approach the task.

One of the ways we try to keep things smooth (and the reason why I *can*
only be on set a few times a day) is that the script is worked and tweaked to
the point where by the time it hits the stage, it's DONE. It requires no
further tweaking, except for the occasional, rare line change for performance.
If pages are flying in while you're shooting, and nobody knows what's coming
next...you're in trouble. So by the time we start shooting, my part is more
or less over. Script's written, I've met with the director to make sure the
tone and approach is in sync between us, we've had zillions of meetings...at
that point, you leave the people who know what they're doing on-set alone to
do what they do best.

jms