The second season of "Extreme Challenge" has been broadcast for more than half of the time. Not only has the average audience rating remained above 2, but the number of online topic discussions has also continued to rise. As of now, the main topic of the relevant Weibo has been read more than 8.20 billion times, and nearly 10 million people have participated in the discussion. Judging from all aspects of the data, the influence of this phenomenal variety show is still increasing.
The program is recognized by the audience, which is a happy thing for the program team no matter what, but everything has two sides, and the high popularity also brings about an increase in the difficulty of shooting. As a show that loves to "brush the streets", the biggest feature of "Extreme Challenge" is to throw six popular guests into the busy city and let them fend for themselves to complete the task. And during the shooting process, it will not prevent the interaction between the guests and passers-by fans. After the two seasons of the program were recorded, although the number of fans who rushed to the scene to watch the shooting was increasing, the interaction between the guests and the common people was also more and more lively. This can’t help but admire and sigh at the execution and security capabilities of the program team.
It is understood that there are currently four executive production director groups in "Extreme Challenge". Wang Jingwen, Mo Sheng, Hu Yanan, and Wu He are four executive production directors, each leading a team of about 10 people, taking turns scheduling, and when encountering relatively large shooting tasks, the two groups act at the same time.
Recently, the reporter interviewed the deputy director of the comprehensive affairs department of the Oriental Satellite TV Center, Li Yifan, the head of security for "Extreme Challenge", and the four executive production directors of "Extreme Challenge", and in-depth deciphered the details of the behind-the-scenes execution of the program. It turns out that behind the "Extreme Men Gang" is a "Guardian Alliance" that "hides" and maintains the normal operation of the entire program.
Exquisite details, at least 20 days of preparation for each shooting location
The guests can act with their own will to the maximum extent and make actions that the program team did not expect. This setting is the biggest feature of "Extreme Challenge". And the surprising effect it brings is obvious to all. In this regard, the executive production and director team of "Extreme Challenge" said, "’As long as the rules are not prohibited, they are allowed’ is one of the earliest rules set by the director team. The intention is to give the guests a wider space to play. It is boring to see the ending. What is really fun is the unexpected effect."
But for this "play space" that can bring surprises, the program team must also expand the shooting range indefinitely, and make a lot of preparations for this. As the right-hand man of the general director, the work of the executive team becomes extremely important at this time. Before the official shooting of the program, the executive team must first judge the feasibility after receiving the script, and then communicate with the director how to execute it, "including how to design the entire moving route; communicate with the production teams of China and South Korea; and how the technical team stops the sound and lights; how many camera seats are required; which places in the venue pay and which places do not pay; how many doors are opened; how many people are needed to be on duty; as well as the security team, the production team; then advertising, and even the location of the sponsors to be placed on the ground. These are all things we have to consider." A series of complicated matters like crosstalk were uttered by the four directors of the executive production director team, which could almost make people confused, and this was only "probably remembered", and more matters "can’t be remembered for a while". In order to complete these delicate and complicated tasks, the executive team had to start preparing at least 20 days in advance before each recording.
Not only the guests, but the entire crew of about 200 people, as well as all matters related to the shooting, were also handled by the executive team. The four executive production director team leaders, Hu Yanan, Mo Sheng, Wang Jingwen, and Wu He, each led a 10-person executive production director team to take turns scheduling. If they encountered a relatively large shooting task, the two teams would act at the same time.
Make a variety of plans, and the director team will experience each task firsthand
The executive production director likened the process of turning a concept-only script into a live-action plan to a "frontier expansion," because all follow-up work is based on the preparation of the executive team. In the show, the "Extreme Men Gang" often divides into multiple troops to complete tasks, so the points that originally needed to be controlled were instantly multiplied. In order to ensure that the chain does not fall off, the plan must be done well. At this time, it is very important to use the way of empathy to "rehearse" first. "Each task point, including each street, will have a special director in charge, and we will see the situation of this street from morning to night every day, such as the situation of people walking around, the density of people, who will appear, and then take pictures and come back to think about what will happen to who will meet." Due to the understanding of the "Men Gang" recorded in the first season of the show, the executive team can even accurately predict what different "brothers" will do in each location. Of course, in addition to knowing the temperament of the guests, more often, the plan is done sufficiently to reduce the chance of confusion. " We’ll come up with 10 possible plans, and we’ll come across one out of 10, right? "the executive production director said.
The investigation of the environment can be predicted, but the task itself must be "actually fought" first. Each tour task done by the guests in the show is personally tested by the directors to ensure the effectiveness and safety of the whole process. For example, in the fourth issue, the "Extreme Men Gang" improvised to participate in a "Song City Eternal Love" performance in order to save money. This kind of uncertain task will be a plus, but if it is not done well, the whole process may be messed up. In the plan, the director team must consider and solve the problems in advance: which roles will be better for the guests to play? During the performance, there are machinery, water, and explosions on the stage. All kinds of things fall from the sky and fly out of the water. How can the safety of the guests be guaranteed? Then, just add the "Extreme Men Gang" like this, will the normal performance effect of others be destroyed?
Therefore, before the filming began, the director team had played the cameo roles of the brothers many times in advance. The executive production director said: "We found four male directors to act in person. Then we wrote down the problems we found and asked the head of the team to adjust. To allow the brothers to probably follow along without knowing what they were going to play, they had to have room to play, such as grabbing a scene or something." Of course, the "careful design" behind the director team is not limited to these. Everyone’s movements in the backstage are constantly tested, and the time of changing clothes from onstage to offstage is "accurate to the second" to ensure that the brothers can meet each other backstage and create the effect of complaining to each other.
During the cameo, Zhang Yixing and Huang Bo were still dancing as mermaids in the water curtain hanging in the air, playing "Thomas Roundabout", which looked thrilling and exciting. And the safety of this part was naturally within the consideration of the executive team, "It must be the maximum fun within the safety range." In the process of execution, safety must come first.
In the latest episode of the Guangzhou program, there was a segment that asked Wang Xun to challenge bungee jumping and grab the key. Although Wang Xun finally jumped down with only a few minutes of footage, the executive team not only jumped twice in advance to ensure safety, but also designed a "cable descent" backup plan to prevent rain. For this, a director soaked in the water for three and a half hours.
Security requires more brain power, and three principles ensure the safe recording
In an excellent team, a clear division of labor is the basis for ensuring the smooth operation of all links. In "Extreme Challenge", the executive team is the "Sharp Knife Company" that "expands the territory" and is responsible for "siege and fortress". After the location and recording plan are determined, the task of "guardian" is handed over to the security team during the real recording process.
It was already a well-known fact that the security of outdoor shows was difficult to do, and exposing the guests to the public’s line of sight would inevitably cause the crowd to watch, so the general program would often take measures to clear the scene, or simply go to a place far away from the busy city to record. On the contrary, "Extreme Challenge" liked to record in city landmarks, and also let the guests take the initiative to communicate with passers-by and fans at every turn. This was simply a "extreme challenge" for the security personnel.
In order to allow the program to be recorded smoothly, the security team of "Extreme Challenge" can be said to have gathered the elites of the logistics support department. Li Yifan, the head of security, introduced, "This time because the disk is relatively large, the key teachers in charge of security work have all participated in this project."
To be able to make such a large-scale outdoor project a success, Li Yifan summed up three "extreme experiences": "First, communicate with the program team, you must intervene early and communicate fully with other groups; second, you must obtain their understanding from the local public security in advance, and you must obtain authorization in advance. Third, when interacting with fans, you must let them know that this is a working condition, and everyone has three rules."
In the actual operation, it is also necessary to strictly control the recording time, and at the same time keep the recording itinerary and recording location confidential. "We will not stay in a single location for too long, and most of the recording is advancing and marching, so we will leave without waiting for the crowd to gather." At the same time, without affecting the recording of the program, the security personnel will follow the guests far away, and once they find the crowd gathering, they will immediately take the guests away, so the transfer work is quick and effective. In addition, when the task has to be recorded at a fixed location for a long time, the program team will approve with the public security in advance to carry out traffic and crowd control work. In addition to using the experience accumulated from the first season of the show, the security team will also maximize the opinions of the local public security or security company, and a lot of desk work will be completed a week in advance. "Every time we will have a detailed route plan, basically before the artist is about to arrive, we have basically controlled this point. Which places may have hidden dangers, which places may have special circumstances, will be carefully considered in the early planning and dealt with on the spot in advance." Li Yifan said. In addition, the program team also carried out high insurance for each guest, "This is inevitable, and it is a work that must be carried out when all programs are recorded. We have carried out the protection work very well. For example, in the first episode of the second season, the van Huang Bo was in at the beginning, the interested audience will notice that there is a very thick rope tied to the back of the car to ensure that the car will not really fall into the water. "
The security team seemed to only need physical strength, but what the audience couldn’t see was more psychological and tactical. For example, how to master the degree of interaction between fans, passers-by and artists? During the entire recording process of the show, Li Yifan’s security team needed to constantly communicate with the onlookers, emphasizing that the artists were in a working state, and as fans, their normal work should not be affected by their personal interests and hobbies. "Communicate well with them, let them know what can be done and what is prohibited, and everyone can understand each other."
Therefore, in summary, as a plot-style and social variety show, "Extreme Challenge" has the requirement to be recorded in a social environment. Although the security pressure is great, the program team has its own way to deal with it.