This fall, Bob’s Burgers enters its 8th season. That’s
a lot of special recipes and body rolls! We got to talk
to Supervising Director Bernard Derriman, who’s
been with the show since the beginning, for some
inside information on how Bob’s gets its Bob’s on!
For the Looters at home who may not know, what
does a Supervising Director do?
HOW TO BUILD
BOB’S BURGERS WITH
BERNARD DERRIMAN
By: Tamara Brooks
Every episode of Bob’s Burgers has a director,
and we have 4 directors working on different
episodes all at the same time. Sometimes, a director
might even be working on two episodes at once,
at different stages in production. As the Supervising
Director, I oversee all these episodes - I work closely
with the directors, Loren Bouchard, and the writers
to ensure that each episode’s creative vision is
being met in Storyboards and beyond.
How did the visual style of the show come to be?
Loren had a very specific idea for the visual style
of the show from the outset. Our environments
take inspiration from a New England landscape,
a New Jersey-style waterfront, and San Francisco’s
Victorian architecture. No one knows Bob’s
apartment better than Loren – it’s based on his
home in San Francisco, where he developed the
show. Loren is very detail oriented – he likes
everything to be true to life and relatable. We look
at a lot of reference, whether we’re designing a
building or a toothpick. And for the characters,
Loren took inspiration from the Muppets, which is
why our characters have floppy arms and no teeth.