reality shows (ultimate fighter.. real world..whatever)

P

perhaps

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has anyone ever worked on a show like this or anything somewhat similar? im wondering about the camera guys, and maybe one of you would know. what's the deal - are the people in any house or settitng allowed to talk to the camera men themselves? can the camera men ever respond to them? if a guest keeps trying to make small talk with a camera-guy..is he obligated to be quiet?

are the stars of the show even allowed to know the camera men's names to initiate any form of conversation? im really curious about that stuff.
 
I'm working with Ultimate Fighter/UFC right now. Not camera work though. Actually had to meet with them while I was at NAB in vegas, that's why i missed the dang dvx party!!! :(
 
I don't know but I'm a huge UFC fan since way back when Royce Gracie was taking down the big dogs. kai, what are you doing for the Ultimate Fighter show?
 
I do show design packages (opens, look/feel, elements, etc). Working with UFC on that.
 
A professional cameraman is a robot. There's a word for talkative cameramen... it's called "unemployed".

I'm sure if a particular situation dictated a response then they may ocassionally speak to each other... but if a cameraman warned a guy who was about to bust his ass and prevented the moment then I'm sure that would count as Strike One... if not Strike Three.

If somebody directs a comment to me personally I always have the same response... *smile*.
 
my girlfriend worked two seasons of survivor. she said for the most part the cast and cameramen didn't converse, but it did happen and there weren't any rules against it.
 
cygnet74 - does she have any behind the scenes pictures or stories you could share? id love a glimpse into how survivor is produced
 
I think it depends on the show. On Real World/Road Rules, etc. (the Bunim-Murray Productions shows), they have strict rules about fraternizing between cast and crew -- strictly off-limits. They even have a contractual clause relating to that.

When Aram and I shot our kids reality pilot, I instituted a rule about no talking between cast and crew (except as needed between the sound engineers when they had to mic everyone up) because I didn't want the crew to influence what was going on among the cast members.

As a journalist, I would say that you want to minimize conversation between the cast and the crew because ultimately you want the cast to forget about the camera -- to the extent that that's possible.

Since we were working with kids, we couldn't avoid some conversation because kids have a lot of questions. So, we asked them to direct all questions to the producer (me) to minimize their involvement with the shooters.

If a camera person starts getting friendly with any of the cast, it's going to have an impact on what they shoot -- they'll naturally gravitate to the cast member(s) they've gotten friendly with. To me, best to have a rule against contact.
 
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