Ever wanted to know the behind-the-scenes operations in making Survivor challenges? An anonymous Dream Team member revealed some info.
There’s nothing that brings casuals and hardcore Survivor fans together than a well-produced and well-thought-out challenge. Sometimes it’s a simple test of willpower and endurance, as evidenced by Christian and Alex’s schedule-affecting hangman challenge. Other time’s it’s a look at a huge spooky skull and the puzzling maze within.
Long before John Kirhoffer, longtime Survivor challenge producer, gives a final O.K., there are weeks of plannings and days of preparation, and the core of making the challenges run effectively for fairness and television angles is the Dream Team of production assistants. Each time you see a person running a challenge to explain the rules, that’s someone on the Dream Team.
If you ever wanted to know more about these mysterious, faceless men and women, you’re in luck; one anonymously provided an AMA to the Survivor Reddit, describing some of the major processes for filming the challenges. You would be surprised in not only how much effort goes into each challenge before it’s shot, but how much the Dream Team does after the contestants compete.
As described, there are multiple stages of filming a challenge. First, select Dream Teamers do dry runs of the challenge to block out the action for the cameras. Second, the Dream Teamers essentially run a dress rehearsal with most of the production, with producers running through the footage afterward to make decisions. Third, the castaways run the challenge themselves.
It’s not over after the competition is over. After the castaways run the challenge, some Dream Teamers dressed as the castaways compete in part of the challenge as filmed in the helicopters. Close-ups actions needed for story reasons happen with the help of the Dream Team later, and those game explanation shots happen last. The whole process of just one challenge reportedly happens on three days across weeks.
There are a ton of neat details shared in that Survivor Dream Teamer AMA (before someone important asked them to stop), including the convoluted process of getting on the team, how much they get paid (roughly) and more. However, they were asked to stop even though their NDA expired, which I feel is a fair compromise given the situation.
If anything, this Survivor AMA gives context to the kind of content they will refilm on the show and, even though all the players go through their motions, they will fake the footage for things such as overhead helicopter shots. That’s not to say that the show is fake (we’re 20 years out of 19 making it to air on that being a lazy, baseless accusation), but it is interesting to peek behind the curtain.