[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for Survivor Season 47 Episode 11, “Flip the Win Switch.”]
Survivor launched a brand new journey problem in Season 47 Episode 11 that featured a barge, anchors, and entire lot of rope. The brand new weighted timer was an thrilling change to a problem that might usually function an ordinary sand timer. Within the On Fireplace podcast (embedded under), Jeff Probst says the Survivor crew felt that sand timers had develop into too boring and so they needed to problem themselves to create one thing new, giving an in depth breakdown of this new journey’s creation within the course of.
Rachel made it clear to her opponents that she needed to go on this journey within the episode, which aired on Wednesday, November 27 on CBS. Fortunate for her, she drew the rock that might ship her on that solo mission. She was pushed out through boat to a big barge in the midst of the water that had a small desk with a puzzle on prime of it. Within the puzzle had been 5 rows of balls of various colours. Rachel needed to group every row by coloration earlier than time ran out with a purpose to declare her benefit prize. If she didn’t end the puzzle in time, it will be hurtled into the ocean with the desk, pulled underwater by the final of three anchors.
Three steel anchors had been connected by lengthy ropes. The time it took for the ropes to unspool and subsequently drop the anchors turned the brand new timer. Probst revealed in On Fireplace that the particular person liable for this new concept additionally urged that Probst stab the rice bag in Season 45, a second that went viral amongst Survivor followers.
The thought for the weighted timer “began the place a number of concepts begin: with a query,” Probst advised cohosts Charlie Davis and Jay Wolff. “And the query got here from Matt. He’s within the enhancing bays, and he’s like ‘Sand timers work. They’re efficient, however they’re not dramatic. There’s no urgency. You’re simply ready for the sand.’ Generally that’s actually efficient, however that was a query he posed to Staff F.L.I.N.T. [an acronym for field, logistics, idols, notes, and twists, Team F.L.I.N.T. prepares the camp areas before the film crews and players arrive to the beaches]. How might we make a sand timer extra dramatic? Nicely, Keoni Smith [shown in the TikTok video below], a part of Staff F.L.I.N.T., had the preliminary concept. Keoni was additionally the man who had the concept for the knife into the bag of rice that I get credit score for.”
@cbssurvivor Meet Andrea, Keoni, and Jimmy, members of Staff F.L.I.N.T, an acronym for Subject of Logistics Idols Notes and Twists! They’re liable for getting every part arrange for actuality crews.✅ #Survivor #idols #twists #flint #crew ♬ authentic sound – Survivor
“He’s the one who first mentioned, what in case you had a barge in the midst of the ocean and there was a puzzle tied to a rope and the rope was tied to a boulder?” Probst continued. “And the easy premise is, earlier than the participant begins on the puzzle, they acquired to throw the boulder over the aspect after which the rope begins to unwind. And that unwinding rope is now your ticking clock. When the boulder lastly sinks deep sufficient, it’s going to tug the rope, it’s connected to the puzzle. The puzzle will fly off the barge into the ocean. Nice concept. However the important thing to a good suggestion is you could have the ability to execute it. In any other case it’s only a bunch of phrases on a cocktail serviette.”
The host notes that they’re continuously arising with new concepts to make Survivor thrilling and recent, however the concepts are “primarily nugatory” till they determine how you can execute them in an entertaining and sensible means.
Probst shares the method behind determining if this weighted timer would really work: “Right here’s how we usually method these sand timers. It’s a must to determine how lengthy does the timer have to final? We’ve got a primary concept on a problem like this, the minimal period of time we would like it to final with a purpose to have sufficient footage to really edit it … We determined three minutes is about as quick as we would like it to go. So now that the common minimal period of time it’s going to take the common particular person to unravel this puzzle that we don’t have but goes to be three minutes. In order that’s our time. The subsequent query turns into once we run this and we edit it, what’s going to be the extra attention-grabbing story? Is it going to be the puzzle, which it typically is? Or on this case, may it’s the ticking clock that’s most attention-grabbing?”
He continued: “Staff F.L.I.N.T. correctly realized the extra attention-grabbing story within the edit bays will probably be centered across the panic … that you simply’re going to really feel with that rope unraveling. So meaning now the timer is your story focus level. That’s essentially the most attention-grabbing factor. So meaning you desire a puzzle that doesn’t should be that attention-grabbing. It ought to be straightforward to know, very straightforward to trace since you don’t need to should attempt to perceive a sophisticated puzzle whereas feeling the panic of the rope.
“Enter Anthony Britten from the problem division. He has this concept for the coloured ball puzzle, which was an ideal concept as a result of it’s actually easy and you can also make it simpler or harder based mostly on the way you organize the balls firstly. So Staff F.L.I.N.T. examined a number of variations and located the candy spot, had lots of people play it. Dream Teamers, do it totally different. Anyone from accounting may strive it. He will get it. OK, I acquired it in three minutes, roughly three minutes. So now we’ve got the puzzle and we’ve got the period of time we’d like that timer to final. Now we herald [the Marine team, who consult on water challenges].”
Actually testing the waters turned a very powerful a part of growing this journey. Skilled scuba divers had been tasked with discovering “a spot within the ocean that takes three minutes for a extremely heavy weight to achieve the underside,” Probst defined. “The issue is that’s going to be a really deep a part of the ocean. And something we threw in, we’d by no means have the ability to get again. And we simply don’t try this. We work very onerous to go away places higher than we discovered them, so we’re not leaving any anchors on the ocean flooring.” The crew continued to troubleshoot from there.
“That informs Staff Flint, OK, it’s going to require a couple of smaller weights and every weight will probably be liable for a bit of rope,” Probst added. “So Marine suggests, let’s use these previous railroad tires that we use as moorings. They’re heavy and so they have a extremely cool look and we get them domestically in Fiji. They’re leftover from when Fiji used to ship sugarcane from the fields for export. However the important thing to all of this working was Henni Rall, who was the pinnacle of Marine having one easy concept. We’ll create a hinge that after one railroad tire pulls its part of rope taut, a pin will launch from the hinge sending the following railroad tire into the ocean.”
Probst brags that Rachel’s problem was filmed in a single shot and there might be no do-overs, stating how Survivor stands out from the remainder of actuality competitors exhibits. “Simply take into consideration all of the unscripted exhibits you watch that may do a problem like this. Go forward, let ’em run by means of your head,” he mentioned. “As they’re working by means of your head, strive to think about even one that would probably A) give you this concept, B) determine how you can execute it, after which C) Do it. Truly pull it off in a single shot actual time. No do-overs. You’re not gonna discover one other present. I do know that. This crew is unimaginable.”
He provides that different particulars about how they created this new problem are going to be stored secret. “There are a pair extra components that it took to really make this work … I’m not going to share them as a result of the concepts are so tiny however so good that I take into account them now a part of our mental property. I imply it after I say I received’t share them with different exhibits. Commerce secrets and techniques. I’ve pals that produce exhibits and typically they’ll ask me questions and I’m like, nope, not going to inform you how we get our audio. That’s our little secret.”
What did you consider this new solo problem? Tell us within the feedback part. And take heed to the total On Fireplace podcast episode at no cost under.
Survivor, Wednesdays, 8/7c, CBS