Big Brother 06 comes to an end.
It's been a week now, and Big Brother 2006 is done. When I drove home after my final shift on the final day I couldn't help think what a crazy time it all was. The long hours, the cold nights, the tedium, the laughs, the friends, the amazing learning experience that it was.
I started on the show back in March, logging the interviews with the housemates before they entered the house. For a couple of weeks I was virtually the only person there, except for the team who were refurbishing the house. Bit by bit the number of crew grew and I gradually got to meet the people who would be in my department - the Story Assistants. Those first few weeks seem so long ago now.
For a long time I did night shifts and I couldn't wait to do day shifts, to have some semblence of a normal life, but I soon discovered that the day shifts were utterly monotous. The housemates got up at the same time every day, ate breakfast at the same time, had the same conversations etc. When I got back to doing nightshifts I was very happy, as night time was the time when things began to happen. The conversations became more interesting, there were nominations and evictions, there were Friday Night Games and so on. The 4:30pm to 2:30am shift was my favourite.
Whatever was going on behind the scenes, it was the Control Room where things were the most intense. At first everyone was in high spirits and happy to change shifts to accomodate others. But as the weeks and months dragged on tempers began to fray. Nothing really serious but some people did get punchy.
I remember once logging a daily show from the evening before and looking up at a piece of paper on the wall that said it was day 27.... only another 73 days to go. I groaned at the thought of how long the show was. Sometimes it all seemed so overwhelming, but somehow the days slipped by and one by one (sometimes two at a time) the housemates were evicted.
Sometimes, late at night, I would take on the roll of Control Room Producer and basically be responsible for the entire show during those quiet hours. There was only one night where things got a little exciting. Krystal was unwell one night and ended up sleeping in the bathroom. We in the Control Room were sure she would come to the Diary Room and ask for some medication. Being the Producer on hand it would have been up to me to be Big Brother and talk to her. I sent one of the Runners into the Diary Room to check what medication was there in case Krystal did ask for some. Alas, she never did. She eventually went back to bed and things remained quiet.
Because I had to drive from Brisbane to the Gold Coast (Dreamworld) everyday, sometimes in heavy traffic, I always left early in case the traffic was really bad. The result was that I was often early for work. Rather than just hanging around I would take a detour off the freeway and explore some of the areas that ordinarily I would race past at 110kph. One day I found a church and the old Pacific Highway, now a quiet back-road. I used to enjoy these little side trips and would very much like to go back and really look around the area.
One of my favourite things was the drive home at 2:30 in the morning. Needless to say there was very little traffic and so the ride home was quick. Getting out early was always a bonus and we used to hope that the housemates would have an early night. Once they were in bed so early that I left at 11:35pm - instead of 2:30am!
The reality of reality television is that it is hard work, with long hours and tight schedules. Working behind the scenes is not glamourous by any means. Having said that, I enjoyed the experience, very much. I met some incredibly talented people; I met some of the housemates which was kind of surreal, considering I knew so much about them yet they didn't know me. I learnt when to speak up and when to keep quiet. I'm very good at saying the wrong thing at the wrong time and getting myself into trouble, but on the show I think I learnt to hold my tongue - at least sometimes.
Whether I am asked back for next year's show remains to be seen. But I am glad that I took this job. I was the first in my team to start work on the show, and I had the honour to create the last log of the show (recording what the housemates say and do). When Jamie walked out of the house that was it, I logged the event and then signed off. It felt great to finish my work there, but at the same time I knew it would be goodbye to everyone. (We had the wrap party the following day at Surfers Paradise though).
We have since learned that about a million people a night were watching the show, and despite the usual politcians saying that the show should be shut down, we know that the audience enjoyed it all.
I started on the show back in March, logging the interviews with the housemates before they entered the house. For a couple of weeks I was virtually the only person there, except for the team who were refurbishing the house. Bit by bit the number of crew grew and I gradually got to meet the people who would be in my department - the Story Assistants. Those first few weeks seem so long ago now.
For a long time I did night shifts and I couldn't wait to do day shifts, to have some semblence of a normal life, but I soon discovered that the day shifts were utterly monotous. The housemates got up at the same time every day, ate breakfast at the same time, had the same conversations etc. When I got back to doing nightshifts I was very happy, as night time was the time when things began to happen. The conversations became more interesting, there were nominations and evictions, there were Friday Night Games and so on. The 4:30pm to 2:30am shift was my favourite.
Whatever was going on behind the scenes, it was the Control Room where things were the most intense. At first everyone was in high spirits and happy to change shifts to accomodate others. But as the weeks and months dragged on tempers began to fray. Nothing really serious but some people did get punchy.
I remember once logging a daily show from the evening before and looking up at a piece of paper on the wall that said it was day 27.... only another 73 days to go. I groaned at the thought of how long the show was. Sometimes it all seemed so overwhelming, but somehow the days slipped by and one by one (sometimes two at a time) the housemates were evicted.
Sometimes, late at night, I would take on the roll of Control Room Producer and basically be responsible for the entire show during those quiet hours. There was only one night where things got a little exciting. Krystal was unwell one night and ended up sleeping in the bathroom. We in the Control Room were sure she would come to the Diary Room and ask for some medication. Being the Producer on hand it would have been up to me to be Big Brother and talk to her. I sent one of the Runners into the Diary Room to check what medication was there in case Krystal did ask for some. Alas, she never did. She eventually went back to bed and things remained quiet.
Because I had to drive from Brisbane to the Gold Coast (Dreamworld) everyday, sometimes in heavy traffic, I always left early in case the traffic was really bad. The result was that I was often early for work. Rather than just hanging around I would take a detour off the freeway and explore some of the areas that ordinarily I would race past at 110kph. One day I found a church and the old Pacific Highway, now a quiet back-road. I used to enjoy these little side trips and would very much like to go back and really look around the area.
One of my favourite things was the drive home at 2:30 in the morning. Needless to say there was very little traffic and so the ride home was quick. Getting out early was always a bonus and we used to hope that the housemates would have an early night. Once they were in bed so early that I left at 11:35pm - instead of 2:30am!
The reality of reality television is that it is hard work, with long hours and tight schedules. Working behind the scenes is not glamourous by any means. Having said that, I enjoyed the experience, very much. I met some incredibly talented people; I met some of the housemates which was kind of surreal, considering I knew so much about them yet they didn't know me. I learnt when to speak up and when to keep quiet. I'm very good at saying the wrong thing at the wrong time and getting myself into trouble, but on the show I think I learnt to hold my tongue - at least sometimes.
Whether I am asked back for next year's show remains to be seen. But I am glad that I took this job. I was the first in my team to start work on the show, and I had the honour to create the last log of the show (recording what the housemates say and do). When Jamie walked out of the house that was it, I logged the event and then signed off. It felt great to finish my work there, but at the same time I knew it would be goodbye to everyone. (We had the wrap party the following day at Surfers Paradise though).
We have since learned that about a million people a night were watching the show, and despite the usual politcians saying that the show should be shut down, we know that the audience enjoyed it all.
posted by Rob at 11:51 pm
1 Comments:
Not sure, fame and glory I hope.
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