‘White Collar’ Filming FAQ

Thank you for this FAQ!

I do have a question though. I’m a bit confused by the shooting schedule of 5 to 8 days per episode. This might be true for TV shows in general, but after five seasons, don’t we have more precise information for White Collar specifically? IIRC, they usually have 3-4 days on location and 3 days in the studio, which would mean an average White Collar episode takes 6-7 days to shoot…

Can anyone confirm that?

i went to the on location set in brooklyn today and the crew told me that the actors aren’t going to take pictures with fans before and after filming and they started shooing away people that were waiting around the trailers. are they going to do this for the other days? i’m visiting nyc for the week and i need to meet them.

-georgia

With regard to the 5-8 days per episode, the general ‘rule’ is that each episode takes 7 days to film. Most commonly that is 4 days on location & 3 in studio. I’m pretty sure that they rarely, if ever, film for a different # of days for a single episode. FYI, using the 7 days per ep & no weekend filming schedule, they will be done very early in August.

Georgia –

Unfortunately, I don’t think any of us know the answer to your question at this point. I will say that last year it varied from day to day what happened on set. I was in NYC the first day of location filming & they had a super busy schedule. Several times Matt had to tell people that he just didn’t have time to stop for pictures, though he took a few at the very end of the day. I met a friend in the city later in the summer, and there were a number of fans hanging out for quite a while outside the building they were filming in & no one told anyone to leave & both Matt & Tim stopped on their way past to meet people/sign/take pictures.

They didn’t take any photos/signed autographs for fans today but I heard Tim tell a fan outside his trailer that he might be able to do some for tomorrow since today was the second time filming on location and crew were really uptight today.

tomorrow? is that the Manhattan location on 45th street? i’ll be there. i’m leaving on the 14th and i have the 30 rock tour to go to on wednesday. i need to see them before i go. i planned this trip months in advanced so i can see the whole cast. i’m here in nyc alone and i told the crew and they weren’t the nicest people. one woman got really hasty and told me i wasn’t getting photos today. if tim said that about tomorrow, then i’ll be waiting tomorrow. do they have the same crew everyday?

The production crew is usually nice but today was a very chaotic day. I was near the trailers waiting for Matt and Tim and when Tim stepped out, a fan asked him flat out for a selfie and he politely responded that he was very busy today and told him to come tomorrow. Today was the only day that they’re filming at the Brooklyn location. Tues and Weds is the same location around 45th and 46th street. I confirmed that with a man working today. I’m assuming today was very hectic because it is a one day filming at that location while tomorrow and Weds will be a 2 day shoot at the same location. Hope that helps.

will you be there tomorrow carla?

crew wasn’t nice to me. this redhead lady kept telling me to back away from the trailers. i hope she’s not there tomorrow.

Maybe. The redhead is Matt’s assistant. She was there today when there was a bunch of fans surrounding the trailers and told them to behave themselves. The crew is the same as last season. I visited the set since season 2 and I’m familiar with who’s new to the crew or who I seen previously. I have gotten multiple pictures with everyone from the cast and I noticed after all these years that the best way to get a picture is to wait near the trailers. I only got pictures a few times when the cast left the set. Last year, Tim and Matt took pictures with everyone when they were filming across the street from a park and they also ended up taking pictures by the trailers around 8pm. Just be patient. I heard that since this season is the last the cast will be more accepting in taking pictures even though they were always generous in taking pictures with fans.

ok i will try to be patient. i really need to meet them because it is my last chance. i’m getting there at 6am tomorrow.

Speaking from past experience, they usually they pictures mid afternoon sometimes at night after they’re done filming. Even if they say they’ll take photos after filming, Tim and Matt will usually stop to take pictures in between breaks near their trailers. 6am is early and that is when they’re setting up and the cast is arriving.

i know but i’m going to be there all day. i need to make sure that i will meet them.

The crew members are nice. You can not blame the crew members for being rude because they are just trying to do their job. Keeping the cast members safe and getting things done is their priority. When I went to visit the sets last year, they were helpful. You just really need to be patient and know what to say and in a respectful way. I remember seeing fans who went a lil bit crazy and hell, that is definitely not the manner anyone wants to be confronted with. I even met the co-producer when I was there and he was super kind! I wish I can meet the creator though. And according to Carla, the fact that the crew is the same as last season, and it was my first time visiting the sets last season, they are really really nice!!! Best of luck to you all who are going to visit the sets! I might try again sometime soon to meet Sharif and Marsha. 🙂

everyone online said that the crew is nice but today it didn’t seem that they were nice. i did everything the faq said. i was respectful, i was patient, i listened to what i was told. i did everything right. but they seemed annoyed at me and a couple of people waiting too. this one woman just bugged me. she kept telling to back away from the trailers even when i was at the end of block. when i nicely approached her and asked her if she was used to fans waiting from previous filmings, all she said was “that’s what i don’t like”.

i hope that today was just a bad day for them and tomorrow they’ll be nice. i think i have a better chance tomorrow since carla said that tim might be more willing to take photos. i know it’s not guaranteed but everyone says they’re really nice to fans. the main purpose of going to nyc was to meet most of the cast (mainly tim and matt). i hate to leave without meeting them because that will just be a waste.

I also visited the sets a couple of times last year and the crew is very nice 99.999999% of the time and I could not have been more grateful for their hospitality. I had success meeting Matt and I’ll be going later today for Tim and Willie. I too have heard that Tim told a fan that he will try to meet as much people that day as he can. Don’t know if he will but it gives me hope.

i understand but i was just saying today they weren’t nice to me and i am disappointed because i told a few of the crew that i came to nyc to specifically see them film and try to meet to the actors and they acted like they couldn’t care less. i thought they could help because i heard stories of fans from other countries who travel to nyc to meet them and crew were extremely thoughtful and helped them and were nice. i thought they would do the same but they didn’t. but it was a very busy day and i hardly saw them film because they did it inside. i’m praying that when i go on set to see them film that i will be able to meet matt and tim because it’s not only my goal but my dream. crew could be mean to me but i just want to meet matt and tim and i will be content after that.

Georgia —
Avoid the redhead. a) She is Matt and Tim’s personal PA and it is her job to keep fans away from them. (That does not mean that Matt and Tim don’t want speak with you or take pictures with you, but it is her job to prevent it.) b) She is a very mean person. I cannot emphasize this enough. You don’t know me, but believe me: I would NEVER say this lightly about someone on the internet. She is rude, disrespectful, and on an ego trip. I would go into more detail, but there is no really no point in rehashing how horrible she is. I know this from personal experience, and I know this from reading other fan encounters. I only just read the other day that on day 0 of filming (aka the day before the main cast started), that she was rude to a 14 year old fan who was on set watching with her father.

I have been to set many times and know many fans. The crew was much, much, much nicer in the past. Season 5 was a big change for them — for a number of reasons (mostly to do with Matt, I think). 1) Matt was inundated by fans of 50Shades (some of whom didn’t even know White Collar). 2) He was busy with The Normal Heart for part of the WC season, so his schedule was packed. And at the end of the season, when the days are long and stressful already, he was starting to lose weight for TNH. So he was thin, tired, stressed, mentally preoccupied, etc. Also note that the redheaded PA only started with season 5. The fact that they kept her on for season 6 means to me that this is what production and some of the cast want to happen. And that is very disappointing.

Matt, Tim, Willie, Marsha, Sharif, (and Tiff, when she’s around which isn’t as much) are all very very nice. If they have time to stop, they will stop. That may mean waiting ALL DAY for them (as you said you are willing to do), but if you remain calm, patient, respectful, and WAIT, you have a chance. But I cannot emphasize enough: even if they stop and are nice to you, they may be somewhat abrupt — polite but in a hurry. You will have 10 seconds with them at the most. And if Matt is tired and stressed and being rushed, he can even come across as a little bit cold.

Regarding what Michelle says above: She was lucky. Many of the crew are nice. Those crew members are not usually the PAs. In prior seasons, the PAs were very nice. If you meet the brunette, curly-haired PA, she is pretty nice. So, if you talk to the right ones, and the horrible red-headed PA doesn’t notice you, then you have a good chance. But, trust me, just because you are nice, calm, patient, and wait, does NOT mean that you will get pics and autographs. In the past, I would have told you that you were 99.9% probably getting your chance. For this season, until we hear otherwise about people having good luck, I don’t put people’s chances past 50/50. Episodes take 7 days to film, 4 of which are on location (sometimes only 3) — the information in the blog post above is not accurate. That is a total of 6 weeks to film. Sharif even tweeted #6in6 — meaning six episodes in six weeks. That gives fans a maximum of 24 days on location to meet them. With at least 3 or 4 of those days being completely closed sets (like yesterday, and surely for the final episode because of series-ender spoilers), I’d give fans a maximum of 20 days to meet the cast.

Good luck!!! I really, really hope you get to meet Matt and Tim.

Ugh, quick follow-up because I don’t know how to edit my comment: Episodes should take 7 days to film (4 on location, 3 on set). But because Sharif tweeted #sixinsix, I think they are doing a crazy schedule this season. 36 total days of filming (maybe they will use some weekend time?!). That means long days, and less stopping for fans, if they are truly doing 36 days of filming instead of 42.

Did anyone go to the set today? It looks as though they were filming inside, but I did see some pictures of Matt with fans. Does anyone know if they will be filming inside tomorrow as well?
Thanks.

thank you guys for your help. L- you are right about the redhead. someone told me tuesday that the redhead even yelled at a girl & her friend whose father worked for a company that offered service to the crew. the redhead is mean and i’m surprised she hasn’t been fired. i met matt and willie tuesday. i am still trying to meet the rest of the cast and get photos with them. i am going later today to try to find tim and see them film. about the crew- i talked to a young curly haired man and an asian wardrobe lady that were nice to me tuesday. but another lady (not sure pa) was mean & i didn’t see redhead that day.

also thank you Lisa, Michelle, Tara and Carla. Carla was right because i waited near the trailers for matt and willie and i met them there. i waited outside tim’s trailer for a very long time but he was filming. hopefully i get tim before i leave.

We are planning to come to NYC mid July and am hoping to get pictures with the cast. I don’t see the filming locations listed on the calendar here yet. If anyone has more advice and can tell us how to find the filming locations closer to the dates we would greatly appreciate it. We were also going to try to hang around outside of Silver Cup studios. Has anyone had any luck meeting them there? the only reason we are taking the trip is in hopes of seeing them. Thanks for any assistance you can provide!!

Does anyone have an idea of how much longer they’ll be filming this summer?