The Office was filmed with a single-camera setup in a cinéma vérité style simulating the look of an actual documentary, with no studio audience or laugh track, allowing its "deadpan" and "absurd" humor to fully come across.[43] The primary vehicle for the show is that a camera crew has decided to film Dunder Mifflin and its employees, seemingly around the clock.[43] The presence of the camera is acknowledged by the characters, especially Michael Scott, who enthusiastically participates in the filming.[44] The characters, especially Jim and Pam, also look towards the camera when Michael creates an awkward situation.[25] The main action of the show is supplemented with talking-head interviews or "confessionals", with the characters speaking one on one with the camera crew about the day's events.[25]

In order to get the feel of an actual documentary, the producers hired cinematographer Randall Einhorn, who is known for directing episodes of Survivor, which allowed the show to have the feel of "rough and jumpy" like an actual documentary.[44] According to producer Michael Schur, the producers to the series would follow the documentary format strictly.[45] The producers would have long discussions over whether a scene could work under the documentary format.[45] For example, in the fourth season episode "Did I Stutter?," a scene featured Michael going through a long process to go to the bathroom and not pass by Stanley. The producers debated whether that was possible and Einhorn walked through the whole scene in order to see if a camera man could get to all the places in time to shoot the whole scene.[45] Despite the strict nature in the early years of the series, later seasons seem to have loosened the rules on the format, with the camera crew often going into places that actual documentary crews would not, which also changed the writing and comedy-style of the series.[46] This inconsistency has received criticism from critics and fans.[46][47]