SBS survival series Alone Australia has returned to screens for a second season.
This time contestants have been tasked with trying to endure the icy climes of New Zealand’s South Island.
A producer on the hit series told TV Tonight that contestants are given a one week bootcamp before being left to fend for themselves.
The bootcamp includes three and a half days of camera training in both technical and storytelling skills, encouraging participants to talk to the camera about their actions, what they are doing, and how they are feeling.
‘For the most part, you’ve got 10 Amateurs essentially who are learning how to use a pro kit, how to function, how to troubleshoot, and then on top of that, how to do storytelling,’ producer Riima Daher said.
SBS survival series Alone Australia has returned to screens for a second season
Daher compared the storytelling aspect to the iconic Tom Hanks film Cast Away.
‘The camera is your Wilson. Talk to Wilson! Wilson is constantly asking you ‘What are you doing? Why are you doing it? What are you hoping to achieve?’ So keep talking to Wilson,’ she explains.
Most of these people are people who like their time alone because they don’t want to talk! So it’s asking them to stop doing what they want to do most, which is have the experience, to bring us in on it. But they do it,’ Daher added.
A producer on the hit series told TV Tonight that contestants are given a one week boot camp before being left to fend for themselves
The 10-part documentary series follows ten survivalists learning to live off a land full of danger.
Each contestant has to get by on their wits as they face the wilderness alone and without any modern technology.
Filming their adventure alone and without help from the production, each survivor has the right to ‘tap out’ from the competition.
The boot camp includes three and a half days of camera training in both technical and storytelling skills, encouraging participants to talk to the camera about their actions, what they are doing, and how they are feeling
The last one standing walks out of the mountains with the top prize of $250,000.
A new trailer shows the challenging conditions that each competitor faces in the punishing NZ bushland including fog, cold, and a rugged landscape.
The teaser also shows how the contestants suffer loneliness and are at constant risk of injury.
Producer Riima Daher compared the storytelling aspect to the iconic Tom Hanks film ‘Cast Away’
The first season of Alone Australia made headlines last year after it became the SBS network’s most watched original series ever.
Based on a U.S. format, the Aussie version, which was filmed in Tasmania, scored more than a million viewers for half of its 11 episodes.
The season finale saw Gina Chick crowned the series winner, after braving the elements to survive in the wilderness for 67 days
‘The camera is your Wilson. Talk to Wilson! Wilson is constantly asking you ‘What are you doing? Why are you doing it? What are you hoping to achieve?’ So keep talking to Wilson,’ she explains
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