Big Brother’s “dry run”
What does a reporter make of the Big Brother house during a 24 hour stay as a dry run for the crew?
- Published by David Knox
- on
- Filed under News
Fairfax reporter Nathan Olivieri joined a group of Gold Coast actors for a dry run of Big Brother for the crew, ahead of the launch next Monday night.
He gives us an insight into what it feels like to be locked in the house for 24 hours.
Here are several excerpts:
Walking into this perfectly manicured existence, the most surprising achievement is how unintimidating the cameras are. Save for a few rotating sky cams, most of the cameras are masked by mirrored panels, occupying slivers of each wall.
Hard to believe, but it takes mere minutes to forget their very presence – even the body mikes melt into your subconscious.
Those many hours of benign peace hurtle back with venom when I tour the control room and behold the sheer scale of the operation.
The fruits of 50 cameras, seven infrareds and 70 microphones are laid bare across a mammoth collage of screens covering the darkened room wall-to-wall.
Every inch of the house plays out to a tiered room of countless individuals, some busy whispering instructions to the 250-strong crew, others deep in their headphones transcribing every line of dialogue uttered.
At the apex sits series director Mark Adamson, now in his eighth year, who talks me through the daily filtering process. Layers upon layers of producers assess every scene across the day, bestowing a rating of one to five stars.
The so-called “hot scenes” make their way up the chain, double and triple-checked, until they reach the daily show producers, who weave a narrative thread through the scenes and represent the temperature of the house. Voice-overs are penned and a show is born.
You can read more here.
Meanwhile first housemates have been revealed by Nine:
- 27 year old former Australian Defence Force private Matt from the Sunshine Coast.
- “Bush girl” Tahan from Darwin
- 41 year old mother of three Sharon
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10 Responses
Hey David, there’s now video footage of the house at news.com.au
news.com.au/entertainment/television/hours-inside-the-big-brother-house-the-bizarre-rules-you-wouldn8217t-expect/story-e6frfmyi-1226684930503
This looks to be the same article from the 23rd – bordermail.com.au/story/1657198/my-epic-fail-on-big-brother/?cs=3222
and this would appear to be the same text but with more pics – smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/life-inside-the-fishbowl-20130724-2qhzy.html
I’m sure that there would have been discussions about what Olivieri could/couldn’t reveal so perhaps it was the timing rather than the content?
Big brother 8 showed us some of the housemates before they went in from memory i think it was terri travis and Dixie
@SnideAsides – So far, Matt & Tahan have look-a-like siblings. Sharon may very well have too.
@David – yep, I reckon they gave away far too much info. I tweeted Alex Mavroidakis (the EP) when I spotted it. He asked for the link immediately, and I sent it to him.
I reckon siblings in the house would be a great Twist- and only one group of siblings survives!
Siblrng Rivalry should make for some very interesting drama!
Hmmm not sure why the original article is offline. Maybe they gave away too much info.
@jumpjakflash Could it just be a play on the show title? There’s nothing sibling-related in the article at all.
They seem to be doing things differently this year. In the past we never knew who was going into the house till they went in. It was always top secret. I thought it was probably a trick.
Getting excited! Sharon looks interesting too.
Chances are the federal election will occur while the housemates are inside. I assume being a hosemate qualifies you for an absentee vote?
David, I think you got to this just in time. They’ve just taken down the articles on smh & brisbane times.
However, this article & its heading is a dead giveaway on the twist!
heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/television/kruger-feeling-the-sibling-rivalry/story-fni0cc2a-1226684103053