Jeff Probst had better watch his back. The host of CBS’s Survivor fronts a multi-million dollar enterprise, but college freshman Josh Pereira has filmed his own version of the hit reality show on the cheap.
Pereira, a mass communications student at Louisiana State University, directed and produced two seasons of YouTube series Survivor: Bush; the first is currently on the site, while the second will debut in November. Season 1 has racked up more than 1,200 hits.
“The effect is the same. The ideas are just as big, and the drama is just as real as the actual show. It’s just on a smaller budget,” Pereira told college publication The Daily Reveille
“The challenge is to outwit, outplay and outlast the other contestants.”
Filmed last June at Oak Alley Farm in Bush, La., Survivor Bush: Hidden Oaks will feature 16 contestants split into two tribes stranded in the wilderness with few provisions for five days.
Each competitor took part in challenges, such as a rugby-like game and balancing tests while answering trivia questions. They voted others off the show one by one, five times a day, and the last contestant standing won $250. The runner-up pocketed $70.
The current season of the CBS show, Survivor: Samoa, debuted Sept. 17. In this, the 19th season, 20 competitors were stranded in the titular islands to vie for a $1 million cash prize.
Survivor Bush: Hidden Oaks squeezed the drama out of a $5,000 to $10,000 budget, covering the cost of cameras, film, food and props, but the cast and crew helped reduce the expenses to $400, Pereira said.
Pereira’s friend donated the property for a week, and each contestant donated food and film. To produce the show, Pereira said he used four basic handheld cameras, a wireless microphone, the editing program Premiere Pro CS4 and a laptop.
“People’s conceptions of reality TV are askew, thanks to VH1 and other shows,” Pereira said. “But this is real. The cast was constantly paranoid, hungry and tired. The only people they had to take it out on were each other.”
I wonder who unleashed evil in Hidden Oaks, like Russell H. is on Survivor: Samoa?
melissa@tvguide.ca
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