The rain was pouring down in buckets on this week’s episode of Survivor 48. Jeff Probst stood alone on a platform out in the middle of the ocean getting absolutely drenched. And that’s exactly the way he likes it. “Let’s play Survivor!” he bellowed to kick off a day 22 reward challenge. “Bring in the boats!”
And he wasn’t done. As soon as the clearly miserable contestants arrived, with teeth chattering and arms futilely attempting to warm bodies, Probst reminded them, “It’s not a season of Survivor without a good storm.”
It’s also not the first time the host has shown an affinity for working in adverse conditions — something other reality competition hosts do their best to avoid. But on the latest episode of his On Fire podcast, Probst explains all the adjustments that need to be made for filming in inclement weather.
Robert Voets/CBS
Jeff Probst on “Survivor 48′
“The headline is we are an adventure crew and we’re built for unpredictable and ever-changing conditions,” Probst says on the podcast. “That’s what these teams do. So that means we are ready to adapt quickly.”
Probst then walks listeners through some of the changes that must take place to capture all that footage in a downpour: “For that day, most of our cameras would’ve been on a massive barge. Then we’d have some in small boats that are sort of floating in the ocean, just getting different shots. So right away you’re dealing with movement and waves and now rain.”
But what about keeping those cameras dry and those shots clean? “You have your camera teams racing to throw on their rain covers,” Probst explains. “Your assistant camera is constantly checking and wiping the lens to try to keep it clear. And if you watch, there’s lots of shots where there’s rain on the lens. It was just coming down too hard. They could only do so much.”
And it’s not just about what you see, but what you hear — which also presents challenges. “You also have your audio teams doing the same thing. They’re making adjustments to ensure we get the audio,” Probst says. “It’s dumping rain, and on top of it, you have the sound of the rain. So I’m even trying to hear the players in real time just talking to me. So that communication part of it is something you don’t really see on the show, but it’s definitely another layer.”
The rainy conditions also obviously impact the contestants, which in turn impacts how the host calls the challenge. “I start to see the players shiver and I realize, ‘Oh, this could impact the length of the challenge because they are not going to have as much endurance today because they’re freezing and they’re already wiped out,'” Probst notes. “So now you start thinking, ‘Okay, how to tell this story that could end very quickly.'”
However, even with all those adjustments, Probst loves the rain — knowing just how epic the adverse conditions make the contest play on TV. “I want to be clear,” he states. “I know I speak for everybody on our team. We love these kinds of moments and conditions. We love them. Rain is difficult, but you just adapt.”
CBS
Joe Hunter, Shauhin Davari, Kyle Fraser, Eva Erickson, Kamilla Karthigesu, and Mitch Guerra on ‘Survivor 48’
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Plus, rain beats the alternative — and it’s easier to show on screen. “Heat is even worse than rain,” Probst says. “I would much rather have a wet season for the players than a very hot season because that can literally just bring players to their knees and they can no longer function.”
Tell that to Kamilla, who still hasn’t thawed out from the challenge. For more from Probst on this week’s episode of Survivor 48 episode, check out the latest installment of On Fire.
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