Bump.

Oops, well, this is a nice thread. Sorry about that, I totally forgot to check.

Anyway - MacMadame's post from last August reminded me of how cutting from one team talking trash to the team being trashtalked was a feature in TAR4 I'm actually hoping for less of this this time around (and maybe with the Yield rule change, there's incentive for it). One of the things that drew me in to TAR3 had been some of the funny editing and music cues - I was reminded in the other thread about how Teri and Ian said they felt "great," and Bald Snark said they felt "AWFUL" after rowing the barrel of port in the boat, and how the juxtaposition (whee!) was funny. Then I went back and realized that when the Twins and the Bald Snark were actually shown rowing at about the same time, the twins had "100 Strings" type romantic soundtrack music, and the Snark Brothers had their "Wacky Music To Fall Out Of Boats By" again. Which ended up selling me on the fun and romance of the rowing option, and the driving option left me cold - except that the editors included a reminder that it's always good to re-read your clues.

One thing that always makes me laugh is the Fisheye Lens Up The Funny Animal's Nostrils shot, because of course we always have to be reminded that the task at hand includes horses, goats, camels, or other ruminants.

the thing about editing in general is that it really turns the contestants into characters--they aren't ordinary people anymore. All of it comes from the people playing the parts, but we only see a small part of it, a caricature if you will. I love the way it transforms people (the Guidos, for example, who are actually some of the nicest people who have done the show) into characters the audience perceives in a completely different way. That is one of the things I like to pay attention to with books/movies/tv shows...how writing/editing/production sets up the audience into a specific role, so I love looking at how the audience of TAR is positioned BY the editing itself. It's kind of cool, and tricky at the same way.

Of course, when the editors have so much footage of one kind of behavior to work with (see Flo) I have to think at least part of them is the character. Really, people who get kicked out early have a LOT more right to complain about being portrayed unfairly, since with the front runners we're generally responding more to patterns of behavior than specific instances.

Fantastic shots of several teams blowing right by one of the clue boxes in episode one. Well done, camera people!

I could never be on the crew for this show because the thud of me falling down laughing as the teams raced right by the flags would alert them to their mistake. Seriously, this is the best-shot, best-edited show on television.

So many great shots!

Editing quibble: Did anybody else notice that they seemed to reuse the footage of Karli (gray-tanktopped twin) saying, "Andale! Por favor, please!" to the cab driver: both as soon as they left the pitstop and then a commercial break and quite a few minutes later when they were almost back to the cluebox?

The Insider video with Kami/Karli saying "We have to be more intelligent tomorrow and focus on where to go and what the clues are!"

Caption: [THE NEXT DAY]

Kami/Karli (WALKING past the box on the pier): We should go straight!

The camera crew did a great job showing the clue boxes/TAR flags and the racers totally walking right past them.

Very funny. I was laughing extremely hard.

I don't know if the other TARs were done this well or not, I can't remember. But from what I can remember this was one of the best first episodes TAR has done.

My congrats.

lightofFebruary i noticed the same thing! They definitely used the twin's "Andale andale!" shot twice... it made me wonder if it was the editing, or if she really was yelling that every 37 seconds.

favorite shot of the night: Mirna saying how hot Phil was... quick-cut to a shot of a grinning Phil and cute tinkly sound effect. ha! (i also saw this posted in the episode thread but thought it deserved a quick mention here too).

What makes the shots even more remarkable is that the cameramen were able to get those shots without giving anything away to the teams they were covering!

I don't think we've ever had a replay of a previous scene in slow-mo with a spotlight effect. That could have been useful before.

There was some very suspicious time editing during Jim getting the stitches. I really suspect that they held the plane back.

Someone mentioned this in the episode thread, and I have to disagree. I fly into and out of LAX almost weekly, and as disturbing as this may be, it is truly, honestly, not that difficult to get through security at LAX as long as you aren't flying out first thing in the morning. There is rarely ever a long line at the checkpoint after about 9 a.m., and as long as you are sure to remove your shoes and all extranneous metal objects, you get through in a snap.

I used to think that this was true, but I've personally witnessed a lot of the Racer behavior out "in the real world" by the same folks. With maybe one exception, they are all genuinely nice folks, but my experience says that the traits you see on the screen translate exactly into their real world personality. I bet most of them would admit to the same.

On a different note, I'd still love to see more "real time" displays edited into the show. I guess they parse out team standings to keep the suspense, but I suspect that some viewers get turned off when it becomes confusing about the sequence of what they are seeing. This is especially true in the first episode, where they have to introduce 22 people, explain the rules, and then show the actual race (along with about 45 minutes of commercials).

The editors are perfect in every way.

...but, I've been hungering for some Joe Schmo-style subtitles as the leg progresses. "Team 1 - Dating, Team 2 - Internet Couple, Team 3 - Dumbasses" and the like.

I'm just smushing the shows together, and it would destroy some of TAR's integrity, but I'm giggling just thinking of it.

I don't think that the Guidos would tell you that anything "transformed" them into anything. I think they would tell you that the way they behaved during the show isn't the way they behave the rest of the time under different circumstances. I like the heck out of those guys, absolutely, but everything I know about them now is consistent with everything I saw them do on the show. There was nothing false about the portrayal, it was just based on their behavior in a particular set of circumstances.

LawDog:

LawDog, I know you're right. MissAlli, too. I didn't really word my comment very well. Obviously all the footage we see shows stuff that actually happened (and I haven't seen any rumors about re-shooting scenes a la Survivor). I just meant to say that as viewers, we have to recognize that we are watching characters on a TV show, rather than people in real-life, everyday situations. They probably act similarly in real life and on the show, but the editing does have an effect on the traits that are highlighted and made most central to the "character." I just think it's interesting, that's all.

And I have to say, props to the editors for the first show! Now I know why they needed the extra half hour--stitches, tunnel-vision, backtracking, yielding...what more could we ask for!

I think so, too. Her inflection was the same both times. And I liked the replay/spotlighting thing. I was dying for TiVO so I could go back to see what had happened, so I was glad they replayed it.

Brandon and Nicole talking about spiritual guidance playing over a shot of them staring up at heavenly light from the departure board, with choir music in the background, is imo one of the greatest things the editors have ever done.

The "Bitch" scene with Pizza Boys driving by and being seen through Mirna's window. Great editing. It couldn't have been staged any better. I laughed and laughed and am still laughing. What can I say, I am easily amused.

Pizza Putz Marshall saying "Should I just give up now?" while in the background his cameraman catches the white center in the piece of candy Chip just bit, and then there's a little slow-mo edit and possibly a bit of re-touching to make the white show up nice and clear.

Ah! Delicious.

Bman, I loved seeing "bitch" from both sides too! It was just soo perfect.

Great music in the last episode -- in addition to the heavenly choir mentioned by Eegah, the music when Lance and Marshall were trying to change their tire made me laugh out loud. It was so totally the perfect soundtrack for "um, what do I do with this wrenchy-looking thing?"

About a year ago, Keram posted:

Very interesting! I tend to think this is more a reflection on the type of person Ken is, rather than the type of person Flo is.

I've followed TAR from the beginning, but this is the first season I'm following it with the TWoP forums, so perhaps being here is affecting my perception. Does it seem like there's more Amazing Editing going on in TAR 5 than in the previous seasons? Well, not more editing, but editing with more of a purpose in mind? I'm wondering if they're showing so much of Mirna and Charla for a reason. I'm also wondering why there wasn't any footage of Nicole and Brandon cutting in front of Jim, Marsha, and two other teams, taking Jim and Marsha's taxi. (Whether or not there was a "bitch" comment while they were cutting line for the taxi.) Are the editors trying to show Nicole and Brandon in a good light? Are they saving the N&B evilness for later in the program? Or am I just imagining all this?

I think they are saving it. We got quite a bit in this leg so it's not like they are hiding it altogether. I assume they had enough footage of these two dishonoring agreements that they didn't feel the need to show that behavior in every episode.

What I'm wondering is why they keep all Bob's crabby moments for the Insider videos? We've seen two legs in a row where Bob was complaining about other racers or getting into it with other racers but nothing like that on the show. I'm not sure why they aren't showing it on the show if they are going to show it on the site.

I agree with you, MacMadame, that it's odd to get conflicting messages from the show itself and the website.

I'm sure we've all seen movie trailers that give away too much information; directors seem powerless to control the trailers. I wonder if, similarly, The Amazing Editors, having carefully crafted a story, gnash their teeth when they see what Publicity has put in Insider Video.

Did anyone else see this? Very early on in the last episode, during the eat/sleep/mingle, Phil rhetorically asks, "Will Chip and Kim and the twins, former allies, remain enemies?" On the word "enemies" we see a shot of Chip scratching his head with the middle finger extended. Verrry subtle, and it cracked me up. (Or perhaps I'm oversensitive because I used to teach middle school.)

One of my favorite cuts in this episode was when Brandon & Nicole were ascending in the gondola, and they spy other teams doing the [I forgot the word -- is it parasailing? hang gliding? sorry. I just got up]. Brandon & Nicole both say, "Oh my gosh" (because "Oh my God" would be obscene, presumably), and then, for a split second, Nicole chuckles into her candy bar (or whatever snack food that was) in this deliciously ditzy way. I loved it.

Because they make "good" TV?


Well, they did show B&N getting into a cab before J/M and the other teams. I'm kinda surprised they didn't show the bitch comment, though. I tend to give the editors the benefit of the doubt; they had a lot of footage to cover in that first episode.

In the caviar scenes, I think the cameramen and editors did a fab job in showing just how huge 1 kilo of food is. They zoomed in on the spoons (more like shovels) the racers were expected to use. Did anyone else notice the girls, trying to get those huge spoons into their mouths?

Oh yeah - massive love for the nuns shot followed by Brandon & Nicole, with glow and church music. 2 for 2 on the "God Squad" theme!

I think the camera people are (to use the word of the day) amazing. The day and night shots of St. Petersburg and visually stunning, the dancers in the '1 shot' challenge were beautiful and colourful, the ice the Pizza Brothers slipped on climbing on and off the Aurora were all really well done.

Couldn't agree more.

The camera shots this season have been "Amazing" for lack of a better word.

I applaud the production team. They never seem to get enough props.

Don't know if this is the right topic or not, but does anyone know how they handle customs and immigration on this show? I've only seen this year and part of last year, but it seems to me that customs is one area that couold possibly have a huge effect on the game if one team gets searched and others don't. Do we not see it because they are not allowed to shoot it? Is there some sort of holding area for all of the racers on one plane to wait for all of them to clear customs?

About customs. You will often hear Racers ask to sit as near the front in the plane as possible. Closer to front, faster off plane, earlier in the customs line. This edge is pretty important as someone near the back of a plane could end up a half hour or more behind the lead teams by the time they clear customs.

The camera crew have special papers they carry and fill out that slows the teams down but the slow down is usually about equal since everyone has to go through it.

The only time they showed a customs and immigration line that I remember was on TAR3 in Vietnam and that was because it was part of the storyline. Zach and Flo were in separate lines and The Flo was screeching her worse that Zach didn't cut into her faster one. It was her warm-up to total meltdown the following episode so was important to show which was unfortunate for my ears.

And I suppose it is up to the airport permits issued whether an airport allows them to film in the customs area or not. Just speculating.

And no. Teams are not held in a holding area and released dead even when everyone clears customs. That defeats the whole part of this being a race around the world with all that applies rather than a race around an athletic track say. The world is not an even playing field and world travel includes the buracratic red tape in each land, alas.

Thanz - Team Guido filled us in about customs and such a while back. Do a forum search for posts containing the word "carnet." This describes the process that the crews had to go through in order to get through customs.

Thanks for the responses all. I guess that it is just good editing (see? on topic!) that makes it seem sometimes that they are all leaving the airport at the same time. It seems to me that customs usually has various problems that can delay people. I'm glad that is part of the race!

Did anyone notice the rattlesnake noise dubbed in when Mirna was sniping about something? So funny...the editing this season is sooo good!

There are no words to describe the great shots of St. Petersburg. I mean look at the places they showed this episode you see the true amount of history to be found in Russia. I mean between the Statue of Peter the Great, and Catherine's Palace Shots, a person would be hard pressed to find better footage, even on shows dedicated to showing great scenery and monuments.

It's makes a person wonder on the editing if they have had to cut yields and FF's for time considerations in defference to the ongoing plots. After all, fighting, backbiting, and general thuggery is what pays the bills, while scenes from after Philimination are why they play they game and win Emmy's.

Once again, excellent camera work. The sots of the pyramids were incredible. The destinations so far have been quite breathtaking.

i'm not sure anyone mentioned this... when kami and karli read the road block, "...move rocks...", the very next scene, one of the twins fell down running down the hills. this gave the impression that the twins are bunch of rocks. great editing!!!

Love, love, love the editing. The "priest" shaking his head at C&C made me burst out laughing. Ditto the "I don't see any rocks!" shot with the yellow rock right at the bottom of the screen. Ditto the beautiful "clueless" segment.

I hope this one goes up as a "For Your Consideration" episode.

Ooo, good idea! Very nice locations, very culturally-appropriate tasks, and for the first time in a long time we had a very clue-like clue. A very well-designed leg indeed. And the editing rocks too.

I've watched TAR since Season 1, and I've never gotten over the fact that you can never see the other team's camera crews in background shots, especially at the beginning when the teams are falling over each other at times.

well, in the last episode, as someone (Charla?) is descending the ladder into the pyramid to get the satchels, you can see the camerman up against the wall. that's the first time I recall ever seeing a cameraman.

You can also see a camera crew when the bowling moms and Alison & Donny are dogwalking. (I think. It might be when the twins are dogwalking. It's definitely when someone is dogwalking.)

But the fact that this occurs so rarely really is very impressive.

Any time there will be more than a couple of teams near each other is usually the case for "Zone" cameras. The team camera crew has a specific point where they peel away from the team, and the zone cameras take over. They also have a pecking order when teams get near each other, one crew will for a time shoot more than one team and the other crew becomes secondary and stays out of the shot. They have it choreographed so it is all smooth. Occasionally if they do step into a shot, you can hear the guys get into it! They can get testy! All of it is edited out, unless they need the shot to move the plot forward.

Thanks, Team Guido! Staying out of each others' shots is all the more impressive, given your explanation.

Thanks for the explanation Guidos! "Choreographed" is right, just another reason why TAR is the best show out there! Love you guys!

Hee, that is why I was stoked to catch the reflection of the camera dude when the Moms were catching the cab to the airport in St. Petersburg this week. I even paused the picture get a better look. Whee! I still haven't gone back to see if the arm with the credit card in the Buenos Airean Airport is a soundman arm though.

It is very good. I've only caught the cameramen on the show a few times. The first instance that jumped out to me was in TAR1-6, in the scene described in the last paragraph of this page. The whole Drew-Bill confrontation was captured by a camera filming from across the street, following the progress of one team; as that team crossed the path of the other team, you see both the second team and its crew briefly in the shot.

The second instance I remember is in TAR4-2, during the Venetian Mask roadblock. Occasionally during that Roadblock, when the Racers cross each other's path, you can catch a glimpse of the cameramen chasing the Racers around.

In other cases, you can tell when the Editors try to blur out the cameramen. The most obvious (and hence silly) case of this was probably again in TAR4-2, during the gondola rides. It seems the editors tried to cover the cameramen in the gondolas with blue blobs. Miss Alli mentions the editing here. Another case I can think of is during the bull run in TAR4-7.

All in all, though, it's amazing we don't see them more often!

I remember that one, they blur the cameraman out. At first I thought it was someone possibly being naked, until someone here gave the more plausible theory of it being a cameraman.

Oh, the camerawork is getting *soooooo* sloppy in TAR 5 :)

In the run for Eva Peron's grave, you can see C/M's crew on the casket mover as L/K race for it from L/K's camera POV. I can't see how they'd not be able to avoid that.

And in the last episode, Careening Drunking Cameramen should know that while taking the action shot of the Amazing Clue Box is great and all, taking it late at night, with the sun behind you, is going to leave a very obvious obvious shadow.

Of course I jest. The camerawork in TAR has been nothing short of amazing even after you know they edit things. Survivor may seem a bit better (I don't think there's ever been an accidenal camera in shot through the number of seasons), but it's rather easy to keep the cameras out of sight when no one is moving too far from a single base. On the other hand, TAR does about as good as a job with a few faults, but this is being done on the fly as the Guidos have pointed out. Only once in a while do you realize that hey, there's people trying to film and compose scenes in real time and avoiding weird production stuff and that these people are doing a fantastic job of it. Getting the missed clue box scenes from TAR5, ep1, the nuns in ep4, C/M sneaking off in ep5 - the scenes came off as perfectly directed, but sure has heck they didn't ask the racers or other props to restage themselves to reshoot.

That is one reason why TAR is a reality show by itself because of the caliber of the on-the-run camera work.