NAB Show celebrated 50 seasons of CBS’s “Survivor” with the presentation of the NAB Spirit of Broadcasting Award during Monday’s Opening Session.
NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt was joined by “Survivor” host Jeff Probst, who beamed into the session via video from the show’s location in Fiji, and fan-
favorite competitor Cirie Fields to discuss the show’s journey.
Probst learned about “Survivor” while listening to the radio as he drove around Los Angeles. He heard Mark Burnett, the original producer, talking about how he was going to put 16 people on an island and force them to live together while voting each other out.
“I’m not exaggerating when I say, from that moment forward, I wanted to be a part of ‘Survivor,’” Probst recalled.
“And I went after it with everything I could. I tried everything to get their attention. And when I finally got the job, I was so excited. The crazy part is, my enthusiasm is the same today. I love being a part of making ‘Survivor.’”
Probst took over as showrunner in 2010, bringing innovation into the production workflow. He wanted to make the show even more cinematic than it had been under Burnett.
“We have elevated the cinematic experience through our cameras and our microphones, with the intention to fully immerse the audience as much as we can with the disconnect of a screen,” he said.
“We want to say, ‘This is what it’s like to wake up after a storm and look at your fingers, and then you hear a whisper over that person’s shoulder.’ … Between a camera and a microphone, we’re taking you inside their world.”
Fields said the show’s immersive nature is something she particularly enjoys as a viewer.
“When I watch it back now, I can feel that immersion,” she told the audience. “My children can almost feel what I’m feeling when they see me dirty. They can actually see the sand and the grime on me, knowing that I slept just right there in the middle of the camp.”
Cinematic in Live
Cinematic visuals are also finding their way into live production. For Jesse Collins, CEO of Jesse Collins Entertainment and renowned producer of the Grammys, Oscars, BET Awards and Super Bowl halftime show, technology is helping push the boundaries of what’s possible on-screen.
“We are able to use cinematic lenses now. They are enabling us to change the way that we shoot performances,” Collins said in a conversation with entertainment journalist Carolyn Giardina during the Opening Session.
“Technology is everywhere, and when it’s used properly, it helps make the content better.”
Collins cited Lauryn Hill’s performance at this year’s Grammys as an example of how technology has enabled him to bring an amazing visual and audio experience to the screen.
“Ten or 15 years ago, I don’t know if we could have gotten that many live instruments in a live show, but we were able to get it done through advances in audio technology,” he said. In fact, Hill’s performance had more audio inputs than any performance in Grammy’s history.
Collins also shared his thoughts on artificial intelligence and its potential impact on live production. He said the technology is being used to help create visions of what producers want to accomplish. But he doesn’t think it will replace what viewers see on-screen.
“At the end of the day, an artist is going to be an artist. Beyoncé is Beyoncé. People want to see Beyoncé. And, especially in live television, that’s what people want. So I haven’t seen it really creep into the final broadcast.”
Asked if he has a wish list for how technology could help achieve something that’s not currently possible, Collins gave the audience food for thought. During the Super Bowl halftime show, the broadcast is transferred from the broadcast game truck to one that handles just the musical performance. “There’s a terrifying moment leading into that, which is called the point of no return, that last minute when they’ve given us the broadcast and there’s no turning back,” he said. “Sometimes not all the cameras are connected, and then they’re working through it and working through it and working through it. Fortunately, it’s always worked out.
“If someone could create something where at the beginning of the event, everybody’s dialed in, I don’t know if that’s a massive truck with an entertainment side and a live broadcast sports side,” he said. “It would take a lot of that anxiety away in the transition and it would give us more time for entertainment.”
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