Ponytails, Pretzels and Plaid Shorts

The Place: The set of a television commercial for a personal computer, being filmed by Coppos Films of Los Angeles.

Atmosphere: Dark, hushed, respectful. Ad executives, crew members and production personnel grazed on “craft service” foods of pecan pie with whipped cream, chocolate-covered espresso beans, fruit salad, pretzels and dried figs while setting up the next shot.

Serving Up Style: The lone craft-service worker, a very young woman with a Southern drawl, wore an oversize, logoed T-shirt, baggy plaid short-shorts, an unkempt ponytail and the ever-ubiquitous white anklets with white tennis shoes.

Customer Themes: For the wardrobe and hair/makeup stylists, flower-print dresses and pants in neutrals, white espadrilles and arched eyebrows; for the crew and production personnel, baggy T-shirts, baggy shorts, white socks with sneakers; for the male advertising clients, crisp white button-up shirts, sharp black pants, heavy-soled black shoes, or pin-striped shirts over beige shorts, with no socks and Gucci loafers; for the sole female advertising producer, tasteful dark blazer paired with dark leggings, flats and a string of pearls.

Hair Apparent: For the female advertising producer, chin-length bob with bangs; for advertising males, either the sleek, behind-the-ears look or wild, wiry curls; for stylists, sleek ponytails tamed with barrettes; for male crew members, ponytails under baseball caps, longish shag dos, goatees and beards.

Accessories: For the crew, beat-up leather gloves, tools, walkie-talkies, fanny packs, beepers, stopwatches; for the stylists, small, tasteful jewelry; for advertising creative types, story boards, personal computers.

Cardinal Rule: If thou art taking a break, thou shalt pluck a food item from the craft-service table, then walk around, eating, with a faraway expression in thy eyes.

Overheard: “I’m excited about going to the next location,” one crew member says. “We’ll see how excited you are by 110-degree heat,” a co-worker answers with a sigh.

Parting Statement: “I’m going to go home and get under a shower and stand there for an hour,” said the heavily made up actress starring in the commercial.