I'm sure tons of TWOPers have sent in a tape. For those who applied and didn't make it (people applying right now probably don't want to discuss their applications) what was your tape like? Did you make it to the regional selection sessions?

I'm going to apply. Still working out my concept.

I'm applying next year when I turn 21. Here's my tape idea: looking straight into the camera with Manson lamps, and saying,

"This is my promise to you. I view the game as purely a game. Because of that, I see no reason to be at all honorable or honest while I'm playing it. When I play chess, I play to win. This is no different. I will do as much backstabbing as I need to to make it to the final two, and I will have no remorse about it. Of course, while I'm with the other players I'm not going to tell them any of this. In fact, I'm going to pretend to be one of those morons who's just there to have a good time and make friends. The time when I plan to reveal my true colors is if I make it to the final tribal council. And if that happens, I can't wait to see the looks on their faces. I think all this would make great television. But that's not my decision, it's yours. Do what you want with it."

Of course, someone's probably going to steal it now, but I say all power to them if they think they can live up to it the way I can.

Hey, Eegah, that's my game strategy! Except that I applied for the online game. I'm old and flabby enough that the real game would probably kill me. That, and I wouldn't be able to take the TWoP snark. Not after the way I talked about Kathy.

Oops, just saw that Judith is on this board and now knows my strategy. I'm gonna have to hack her with my cyber-machete now.

I want to apply, and in my vid I'll show the bazillion jobs/hobbies I've done, and use that for my adaptability darwinian angle.

Whoever it would be, 'twould be so delicious to have a TWoPer on there! I think I would be embarrassed at how I actually am, though, rather than how I think I am.

I seriously considered it, and thought how I couldn't wait to show my family and everyone else that I could do it. I'm a pretty strong swimmer, but am very small and petite, so that was all going to play into my strategy.

Then logic took over, and I remembered that without caffeine in the morning, every morning, I am a bigger bitch than Jerri, more annoying than Alicia, and more self-important than Kathy.

Oooh! I want to see you on Survivor, tvgoddess. That sounds just about right for a contestant. =) Logic is overrated anyway.

I am applying. I just need a good idea for my tape. I would love to just talk about what I will bring to the show. Every tape I have seen of past survivors has been something wild or wierd though, so I am not to sure that a person just talking will get their attention. We have until June 22 to get our tapes in though. :)

doriangary, I think that your idea is fine! I recall reading an interview with the Survivor casting director (or a p.a., or someone else related to the process...memory fails me now!) where they said that the important thing is that they get a sense of who you are as a person.

I think that you need to have a well-scripted spiel that conveys the essence of who you are and what you'll bring to the show, and that you're able to deliver that message in a confident manner. The folks considering your tape look at thousands of videos each casting period- I'm sure that they have seen every gimmick under the sun and are a bit immune to them by now. They're looking for great characters- if it's not part of your nature to wrestle alligators or run around naked, then that's not your character. Find an interesting spot to shoot your video (the living room couch is pretty boring, so not there), maybe do a nice edit or two- go with what works for you.

You can look at some of the audition videos from Pearl Islands on the CBS website... A cursory glance shows us that Lil just stood around and talked (albeit in her Boy Scout uniform), Sandra talked to the camera in her kitchen, Nicole sat in a chair and talked, Michelle sat on the floor and talked (although she did interact with her dog and fiddle around with a flyswatter)... certainly there is a precedent for talking to the camera. Anyway, good luck!

Well, I can't apply - Irish, you see - but if I did I think I'd simply try the "talk to the camera." In Michelle's CBS chat, she said she applied for another Survivor, and in her other video she had herself doing like a million things like bungee jumping, and she didn't make it to the second round. Showing yourself doing lots of extreme sports and stuff just seems a bit too attention-grabby to me, in a way that I'm sure the screeners have already seen a thousand times and grown tired of.

Anyway, I'm totally applying for any Survivor I can, even though its unlikely there'll ever be any. In talking to the camera, I honestly think the best thing I could do is just speak honestly about myself and why I want to be on Survivor, how I'd plan on playing the game, and so forth. I think I'd just try to show the real me and hope that's what they're looking for, although I'll admit that sounds kind of like the advice they give you on CBS.com when they really mean "If you don't pledge to be willing to have sex on camera, and swear that you are a complete fame whore, don't bother."

Thank you for the advice goodbunny.


Chikochamp:
I hope that is not the case, because the only thing I want out of the game is to win survivor and have a fun adventure. The money is secondary and fame is not even in the equation. On the application they ask you your secondary and primary reasons for wanting to be on survivor. Maybe I should put "be a famewhore" and "have sex on camera" on my apps? :P

I guess try to be the person they might be looking for (so sell yourself as 'the bitch' or 'the hot one' etc) only if it fits your personality. I saw Elisabeths (only the bit from the reunion show) and she was just driving in the car, so obviously simple ideas and settings do actaully work. Set up a creative obsticle course in your garden and while doing it, talk about yourself and what you like.

They would probably look for someone who is a famewhore, just so they will be able to exploit them during and after the show. They wouldnt want someone who is not interested in some sort of fame, right?

But I would really not know, as I am not able to enter.

Do you know the location for the survivor you are applying? (in some audtion tapes, they seem to know where they are going. Alicia used boomerangs and kangaroos) If you do know, maybe use that in the tape.

As far as I know the only season they've known in advance where they were going was Season 2.

Lizzie, I am a guy, but I think it would be pretty funny if I was "the bitch"

They also knew in Africa beforehand where they would be going.

The application for season 10 says location "Top Secret" and if remember right has an iquana on the logo.

I just hope its not another island. I am already jaded towards season 9, because its gonna be the third straight season on an island.

Mr. Ausgezeichnet has thought seriously about doing Survivor for years now, and I think he's about at the breaking point. He would be fantastic -- he is one of these natural jock types, he is super smart (smart enough to know to keep quiet about it, Shii Ann!), and he reads people really well. I have to say though, it would break my heart to see/hear even one bad comment about Mr. Aus. I would be on here, saying how great he is and "you just don't know him," whining like I hate to hear other people doing. It would be hard to see him as a character on the show and even harder to hear other people treating him as such! Our financial/professional situation has been a little tenuous this year so he couldn't try for it, but I think he is serious about season 11. Especially since ASS got him so incensed with the incompetence! In any case, when he decides to do it (there's really no if, just when) I will let everyone know. Just please be gentle if he gets on the show. I love him so.

What we're thinking about for his audition video is what many have suggested, just mostly talking to the camera and showing everyday personality traits. Mr. Aus is an Olympic level skier, a martial arts expert, and a former Formula 1 racecar driver, but I don't see him putting in video of himself doing any of those things. It must just look gratuitous to the screeners at this point, especially since quite a few people now have sent in videos that don't really reflect who they are and got caught on camera as being quite different. I think that since the time devoted to each tape must be very short, they just watch to get an impression and let the vibe wash over them, then decide from that. I don't think windsurfing or cliff diving is going to catch their eye. From what I have seen, people who are truly !!!!EXTREME!!!!! don't spend a lot of time videoing. It's just a part of their lives, not some spectacle to impress others.

To sum up (too late), just be yourself! And don't take a rejection personally...they are casting for a prime-time TV show, not for a life-changing adventure. I think they just choose a few must-haves to start with, and then pick the rest to interact with those "stars." I don't think they necessarily choose the 16 best tapes, just 16 that they think will be interesting together.

That said, good luck to everyone who's trying for it!!!

ausgezeichnet if your Mr Aus got on the show, you'd have to make sure you tell us - it would be great to have a TWoP'er, or even one of their relatives, as a contestant. I promise we'd be very nice! And I'm sure if you had a word with Miss Alli, she'd be too in her recaps! Heh.

One interesting thing I read a few months back - the casting people actually go out and find some of them. Jonny Fairplay was "discovered" like this (curse the bloody woman who spotted him!) as was another couple of Pearl Islanders.

But it is IMO, a life changing adventure, one with many ups and downs, to the point that they need to have the Survivors counselled by a psychologist immediately after they are booted. That would be rejection that would hurt.

One other thing, I think the Casting people made some huge errors in who they chose for ASS. I think the whole idea of them not being strangers wasn't the problem, but more that they just chose many of the wrong people, IMO.

I'm applying, and if I get on, I'm wearing a TWOP shirt. And if I can have another shirt, I'm wearing the TN "saucy" shirt.

Just a suggestion, but I'd reccommend this piece of Glarkware for a Survivor wannabe. Perfect for the "emergency signal" challenge.

I hear ya. That's why I would be afraid to apply. I would love to do it, but I know I can't stay away from the boards and I would hate to find out that you all like me even less than you like Rupert ;).

But I would love for someone from TWoP to get on there -- imagine it, constant shout outs! Good luck to all of you who are applying right now! I would love to see any of you on the show!

I did apply for Survivor Africa although when I did my video the location hadn't been announced. It was also a "Top Secret Location" and I think the logo had that same Iguana on it. I tried to be creative and did a music video parody. I sang (or rather tried to, I'm no... uhh...Clay Aiken) why I thought I'd make a good Survivor. I thought for sure I'd at least get a call back. I didn't.

Since then I've lost the drive to go but I think just about every member of my family has thought about it. My Dad and brother would ROCK and my sister would be really good too. At least she would be if she wasn't afraid to get on a freakin' airplane.

haha, that's why Mr.D's so against applying for TAR. And he doesn't even read any boards, it's just the coments of family and friends he's afraid of.

Well, I sent mine in today. I didn't really spend a lot of time on the application, just sort of went with first thoughts for the answers. The video was pretty good, I think. You can't really try to guess what they want to see. You just sort of have to be yourself and see where that goes. That's my philosophy, anyway.

Just curious how many have heard back for the first interview in one of the 16 locations. ie What are the odds of getting the call?

This is from the Survivor application site:



How does that split up? And how many apply? I dunno. But it's doubtful that invites have been sent out yet since the deadline is still a couple weeks away.

In the past, they have received approximately 50,000 applications during an application period. (Whether that will hold true for Survivor 10, I don't know.) I believe that they break down the 800 semi-finalists into groups of 50 for each city. They then cull that group into the 50 finalists that go to L.A. to be sequestered in a hotel for two weeks. So, you have a roughly 1 in 62 chance of getting a call for a semi-finalist interview (although the odds would ultimately depend on how many applications were directed to your city- I have a feeling that the odds would be worse for L.A. than they would be for Detroit), and a 1 in 1000 chance of becoming a finalist.

Haven't heard any rumblings about calls going out yet. I wouldn't expect things to start happening until after the application period ends in two weeks.

I don't think they'd necessarily break it up evenly per city. At least for TAR, in the past, they've cancelled cities that didn't have enough people they wanted to see, and just made those people go to the next closest city.

Thanks for the replies. Here's another. Since you have said that before there were rumblings about people getting calls... What does the time frame usually look like? The deadline is June 22, so if you were called would you know by early July or what?

Oh, and here's a question for fun, of those who have made videos and applied, how many people have you showed? And does anyone have their past video online for people to look at?

I showed my video to my gf and a couple of coworkers. They all agreed it was really good.

The weird thing is being sequestered for 2 weeks for the finals. Who the hell can do that? I know I agreed to it in the application but in the extremely unlikely event that it became in issue that might be a problem. I'm sure I could get unpaid time off from work to do the show but 2 weeks just to go audition? Crazy.

cinemagotham...
In your video, do you just talk or do you have a gimmick (you don't need to tell what the gimmick was, I'm just curious)? Are you anticipating a call to your local semifinal place? I think my video is good, but I can't stand waiting to find out if I will be called or not. It's too bad they don't have the time to call you either way... :)

It was a little gimicky, but nothing like having someone dress like a kangaroo and nailing them with a boomerang ;)
It was basically meant to be funny, irreverant, and then at the end I sort of said "seriously, here's why I want to be on..." It was meant to give an impression of what I'd potentially be like if I were on (impossible to predict, of course, but that was the idea.)

(I'm adding this as a new post because it's weeks later and on a totally different subject.)

I just saw this article: Audition that can outwit, outplay, outlast: 300 Bay Area residents vie to be 'Survivor'

What's the deal? It's an open casting call but there were no judges present. It doesn't say if this was an officially sanctioned event or if someone just said, show up here and fill out your application while you wait in line. Then we'll help you make your tape and you can send it in." Pretty clever if it was a publicity event for a radio station or something. But it's weird. I don't get it.

And the deadline has now passed, right?

cinemagotham

I've seen these open casting calls before. They pretty much give people a chance to make a tape without owning a camcorder. I don't think that they gain anything extra, because their tapes go to the same place everyone elses do.

And the deadline has passed... Has anyone heard back yet?

Good luck to all who applied.

Filled out my application in May. Shot 45 minutes of video over the first two weeks in June. Finished editing video 2 am Monday morning and Fedexed the application later that day. Showed my coworkers the video and they liked. What do you think? 6MB .wmv format.
Video Link

I downloaded your video but if I were you I'd definitely take that down. You know how the producers like to guard the identity of the players before the show. Making your tape public seems like a surefire way to get your application circular-filed.

ETA: Nice job, Keith. Your kids look like they're really having fun there. Very cute. The Photochopping is excellent as well. Man, makes me want to post mine. I'll resist the urge. Can't help but feel like it's a bad idea.

keith,

That was cute. You had some good ideas. Personally I would have liked to have seen more of you than the immunity challenges, just to get an idea of who you were. But it was a good idea, and you did a good job editing it and putting it together.

Hey all, I'm new here but I applied too. I hope to get a call back, but seeing as I'm in LA it's doubtful. I had a pretty good audition tape though, It was pretty silly and showed 3 or 4 different parts of my personality. I think it's catchy enough at the beginning that they'll watch the entire 3 minutes ... but isn't it fun waiting. I can't wait to hear if anyone gets an interview!!

Hey Crazy Natives, wasn't it enough to be Peachy's assistant? Lol. No seriously, hope you do get a interview. It would be great to get a TWoP'er on there.

Good Luck to all the TwoP's who applied..I agree Aussiegirl it would be great to have someone we know on the show, and would give us the lowdown on what goes on.

CrazyNatives your killing us on the Peachy site you know. I don't think I'll be able to look at Peachy the same ever. lol

Hey guys, good luck to everyone who's applied! Wear a TwoP shirt if you get on! Keith, I saw your video. It was pretty neat, you came across as a nice guy, and showing your kids was a nice idea. If you get a call-back, though, I'd take cinemagotham's advice and take it off the net.

Yeah, good luck everyone!! When do you think we'll hear something?

bty, Keith, that was a fun video! Nice job!

CrazyNatives, if the timelines of past seasons are any indication, calls to semi-finalists may start next week.

Hey, question here. Does anyone know how tight these guys are on the "deadline"?? If videos got there on Wednesday morning or Thursday do you think they would still watch them, or just thow them out. I'm just wondering if that would make that process longer to find out anything ... Thanks!

Just curious....Has anyone heard any word yet from TPTB on if your tapes were accepted..I'm dyin to know if any TwoPers got in..Enquiring minds want ta KNow

Add me to the list of applicants, as well. Does anybody know how many have applied this time round? The working figure I have is 50,000 from seasons past.

Also, what do you all know about the level of secrecy that's expected of applicants? I've heard everything from "You can't tell anyone you had an interview" to "You can't tell your family you were cast." Anybody know the reality?

Hey Samina!!
That's cool that you applied too!! I'm glad there are other people out there that feel that ... that ... idono what you call it ... but it's the deep couriousity of where you stand in the mix of things and if you'll get that phone call soon. I wonder when they watched my video, or if it is still in the pile. I wonder if they got it on time. But ya know, you're chances go up simply turning in the video/application.
As for your question ... I don't know the exact answer, but I'd guess it is pretty secretive. You never hear breaking news about who will be on next season so I bet you're friends can't know where you stand past the first interview. There is a guy at my work that has dissapeared twice now for weeks at a time and no one ever knew where he was. Turns out it was an alternate both times and just couldn't tell anyone. As for the family, I'm sure they have to know because they send letters and video tapes to the company. If they get flown out there, I'm sure Survivor wants to do medical checks on them too. So I bet the family knows, but now one else. That's my guess.

Thanks, CrazyNative! Yeah, every day on my way home from work, when I set my cell phone up in the car for chatting during the long commute, I wonder if they'll call that day. Other than that, I don't think much about it, but I do continue to focus on fitness training... so I'm ready if I should be one of the lucky few! :-)

There was talk here a few weeks ago about how the finalists are sequestered for up to two weeks in their L.A. hotel room--someone said he knew he'd agreed to it when he applied--but I couldn't find any mention of that in my contract. Does anyone know if that's what they really do, or how that's supposed to work? There has to have been some leaking of info around that by now, I would think.

The finalists are indeed sequestered in a Los Angeles hotel for up to two weeks. I recall reading an article online (that I cannot find the link for now) that detailed the experience. Some random tidbits that I recall:

• Finalists interview with Jeff Probst, Mark Burnett, and Les Moonves (among other production staffers and psychologists and whatnot).
• Finalists are fetched for interviews at all hours of the day and night with little notice, presumably to see how they deal with the psychological stress of the situation.
• They have to call someone if they intend to take a shower, and are allotted one in-room movie a day.
• Finalists are accompanied by a production staffer who is designated as their "special friend", whose main purpose is to keep them from running into other finalists.
• They're allowed out of the hotel on at least one excursion, accompanied by their staffer.
• The finalists eat in the same dining room, but aren't supposed to interact in any way.

Wow. That's nuts.

Wonder if they've watched my tape yet...

I did a little research and came up with some articles that describe sequestering as a standard part of the Surivor casting process:

Link 1
Link 2
Link 3

I haven't heard anything yet ... I'm starting to loose hope here gang. Any updates?