- If you haven't heard by now, we recently helped bring the Geordie Shore cast over to Byron Bay for season 17.
- Our social media manager spent quite a bit of time co-ordinating with the production staff & crew in organising their activities around the area.
- He's shared 7 things you probably didn't know about the show, and how it's made.
1. The locations they go to and the activities they do are planned MONTHS in advance.
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That "spontaneous" trip to Byron Bay that Chloe suggested? Organised in January before the cast even had their plane tickets to Australia. The legality of productions and filming on location means that these sorts of things cannot be spontaneous. There are permits that need to be issued and insurance policies that need to be signed, along with a whole host of other things.
2. The cast do A LOT of activities when filming. But most of them don't make it into the show.
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When the cast came to Byron Bay, they had an action packed schedule of activities lined up. Dolphin kayaking, sex-astrology, and tie dye workshop to name a few. But none of these made it into the final cut of any of the episodes. This is just a reality of making a TV show, our social media manager. There's only so much time allocated for each episode on TV, and producers purposefully schedule more activities than they need, so they have more choice about what footage they can use. So just know that the cast has been up to a whole lot more than what you see in the episodes, the producers just don't have time to show you it all.
3. If you party with Geordie Shore, be prepared to sign a lot of documents.
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The reality of going to a Geordie Shore party is that they need your permission to film you. And put you on TV. And perhaps show you in an unflattering light. All this means you signing paperwork. Lots of paperwork. Our social media manager was lucky enough to get invited to the Geordie Sore villa party from episode 6 (more on that later) and he says he had to sign no less than 10 separate documents. He also had to be filmed giving his express permission for the production to film him. Is it worth it to party with Geordie Shore? Absolutely.
4. The cast often have to wait around (sometimes for hours) while the film crew gets ready.
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Each scene of the show has to be rigged manually by the film crew. The house is fitted out with cameras before the cast even arrives, as are the vans the cast usually travel in. But everything else needs to be done on the day, before the cast arrive. This includes all the activities, and all the party nights. Before an activity happens, the cast usually have to pull over someone en route and wait for the film crew to give them the all clear for their arrival. The same goes for the party nights. Before the cast is even allowed to walk into the venue, the film crew has to be ready to film their big entrance.
5. There are a lot more production staff at the party nights than you think.
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Unlike what you see in the episodes, it's not just the cast and a camera man out each night. Hiding behind the cameramen are producers, security staff, catering staff, and sometimes, a representative from the venue being used that night. The producers and security are there for obvious reasons, but the venue rep serves to help the producers with anything they might need for the cast: more drinks, different music, more people in a certain area of the venue. That sort of thing. It's a very interesting part of the show. And watching the producers choreograph the night around the cast is what makes most nights such a success.
6. The cast aren't allowed access to their phones for most of the filming.
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This is for a few reasons. The first and foremost is secrecy. The producers don't want cast members giving away whats happening on the show before the episodes air. And the second, is the reason why most of us shouldn't have access to our phones either. They're distracting. The producers want the cast members interacting with each other, not mindlessly scrolling instagram or swiping through Tinder. Some exceptions to the 'no phone rule' are made though, such as when a cast member has to post a sponsored brand image on their Instagram. This is carefully policed by producers, so as to ensure nothing is revealed about the show while the cast member has the phone in their hands.
To checkout what the Geordie Shore got up to on the East Coast of Australia, head over to this page.
