Hal's first debate scene is based on Blitz's first debate, where, for a full eight minutes, he could only make the sound "agh", and the scene in which Hal throws a cello through a window was inspired by Blitz's own destruction of a flute. While Blitz grew up in Ridgewood, New Jersey, he chose to set the narrative in Plainsboro, New Jersey—a place he has never visited—because it was closer to Trenton, rather than New York City. He found it humorous that the characters referred to Trenton as the "Big City" and that Plainsboro seemed to orbit around a dead city, Trenton, in comparison to New York. Blitz hired Belgian Jo Willems as the cinematographer, having collaborated previously on commercials. Blitz admired Willems' "European sensibility about shooting" and wanted to use his aesthetic to "tell a story that was equal parts deadpan and suggestive of the 'real' world". In creating a "look" for the film, he said that he relied upon "almost opposite impulses"—to tell the story intimately but also carry the comedy. Through the film, he used lighting and art direction that felt real, while framing the shots to come across as deadpan. Production designer Rick Butler chose bland, simple furniture and commonplace houses and cars to give the film a sense of timelessness and familiarity. The color palette in both production and costume design was drab and ordinary to give a deadpan undertone. Blitz was most inspired by the cinematography and production design of Hal Ashby's films: "I watched his films again and again ... He has a masterful blending of absurd comedy and naturalism." The night before filming began, Blitz took Thompson, Piazza and Yoo to dinner, insisting that they stay in character. Thompson, as Hal, was unable to tell the waitress what he wanted to order; Piazza, as Earl, obsessive-compulsively asked the waitress for a fresh straw each time she passed; and Yoo, as Heston, could not decide what to order and had the waitress explain the menu repeatedly. The purpose of the evening, according to Blitz, was for the actors to "be comfortable around each other inhabiting their roles without self-consciousness", as each of their roles required them to act in potentially embarrassing ways. Principal photography began in Baltimore, Maryland on the week beginning July 18, 2005, the project receiving a tax rebate as part of Baltimore's Employer Wage Rebate Program for filmmakers.