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.
