There is no denying that The Discovery Channel’s hit show Survivorman has struck a chord with viewers. The show is popular with outdoors enthusiasts and couch potatoes alike, as we all tune in each week to see what kind of trouble host Les Stroud can get himself into this time.
Digital Video Magazine has posted an excellent look from behind the scenes at the show. The article does a great job of explaining Survivorman and how Les got started, including pitching the show for the first time, but since the focus of DV is on Digital Video much of the article looks at Les as a filmmaker as well. They discuss his equipment, techniques he uses to get his shots, and some of the technical issues he has to deal with, both while shooting, and in post-production.
I personally found the article quite fascinating to read, because there have been times while I’ve been watching the show that I wondered what he had to go through to get a proper shot. We all love watching Les go about his work, and he’s so good at it, that we often forget that he’s also filming the show, even while performing in it. This article gives us a nice glimpse at an aspect that is at times is transparent to us as viewers, but so important in pulling off a believable experience. The article is highly recommended to fans of Survivorman but also anyone who is interested in filming out in the backcountry. Lots of great information in there.
Thanks to Jon over at The Rest of Everest for sharing this article. He swears we’re going to get a new episode tonight too. I’m going to go hit “refresh” on my browser now until it actually appears online. 😉
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Les has to be the hardest working man in television. After going a few days without food, he’ll still climb the mountain twice just to make sure he gets some good shots.
I love that he doesn’t portray himself as some superhuman survival expert. Sometimes he screws up and that makes it in to the episode too.
Les Stroud, we salute you!
I totally agree Alex. I think about that sometimes when I’m watching the show. He’ll set up a camera to get a shot of himself walking off into the distance, and I’ll think “Damn, he has to come back and get that!” LOL!
I was watching the show last night, and thought about some of the production things that he mentions in this article while watching. It gives you even more respect for the guy when you think about him shooting all that stuff too.
And, I’ve even seen him say he’s had enough a time or two, and he says he has to go the support camp. Pretty amazing show.
A really great show!
You might think life is that hard for all of us Canadians, but that’s not really true… 🙂
Les has done a fine job on both sides of the camera.
DSD