TR
Did anybody see this after The X Factor? I really enjoyed it!
For those that didn't see it, it involves members of the public being set a series of very simple challenges, such as 'count the number of squares on the floor in 15 seconds' or ' throw a ball into a hoop'. However, it's all done inside a daunting glass cube, and the challenges are much harder than they appear.
When it started I thought it was going to be dreadful trashy ITV at its worst, but a few things made it stand out;
Firstly, they got straight into it. When you've sat watching an hour of over-produced, over-edited, montage heavy X Factor, it's so refreshing to see a show that didn't have a 'whoosh' sound effect every cut, didn't apply a filter or effect to every shot, didn't delve into people's sob stories and why they should win £10,000. It was simple, and to the point. "Hi, I'm Bill, a taxi driver from Essex" and the games began.
Secondly, the creative use of camera shots. I've never seen slow motion used to such great effect in a show of this nature. There were no 'slow motion replays', instead the slow motion was dropped straight into the action. It made incredibly gripping viewing, and the slow motion was gloriously shot. You're watching to see somebody catch a ball, they throw it, they reach to catch it, and then the slow motion kicks in and it makes the whole thing incredibly tense.
Likewise, the Matrix-style shots were absolutely fantastic. It's great to see this technology cheap enough to use in an ITV gameshow, and the result is totally worth it. The CGI was done quite nicely too, although it was very trashy to have the prize money total dangling from the ceiling in big CGI letters.
It's clear a lot of thought has gone into this show, and it was thoroughly enjoyable. You get to know the contestants so well based on the way they approach the games and react to them. There's no need for sob stories like on The Colour Of Money, and the contestants' fate really does lie in their own hands rather than a bit of lucky guessing.
"The body" (a faceless woman who completes the challenges to demonstrate) was also a great touch.
The only thing I didn't like was the Darth Vader style voice over (which came across a bit contrived) and the style of the set which cheapened the show a little bit. Making it a bit more industrial looking, like 'The Crystal Dome' on the Crystal Maze, would have made it more tense than a bare studio with twinkling lights. Also, having a more physical setting, such as a prize total screen or something, would have made for a better set than simply overlaying twinkly graphics in the edit suite.
An expensive, but nice touch, would have been to have some sort of 'reveal' on the challenges, so that the cube is opaque and the walls can be switched to transparent - as they did on Big Brother with the LCD glass - although that would be an expensive gimmick.
For those that didn't see it, it involves members of the public being set a series of very simple challenges, such as 'count the number of squares on the floor in 15 seconds' or ' throw a ball into a hoop'. However, it's all done inside a daunting glass cube, and the challenges are much harder than they appear.
When it started I thought it was going to be dreadful trashy ITV at its worst, but a few things made it stand out;
Firstly, they got straight into it. When you've sat watching an hour of over-produced, over-edited, montage heavy X Factor, it's so refreshing to see a show that didn't have a 'whoosh' sound effect every cut, didn't apply a filter or effect to every shot, didn't delve into people's sob stories and why they should win £10,000. It was simple, and to the point. "Hi, I'm Bill, a taxi driver from Essex" and the games began.
Secondly, the creative use of camera shots. I've never seen slow motion used to such great effect in a show of this nature. There were no 'slow motion replays', instead the slow motion was dropped straight into the action. It made incredibly gripping viewing, and the slow motion was gloriously shot. You're watching to see somebody catch a ball, they throw it, they reach to catch it, and then the slow motion kicks in and it makes the whole thing incredibly tense.
Likewise, the Matrix-style shots were absolutely fantastic. It's great to see this technology cheap enough to use in an ITV gameshow, and the result is totally worth it. The CGI was done quite nicely too, although it was very trashy to have the prize money total dangling from the ceiling in big CGI letters.
It's clear a lot of thought has gone into this show, and it was thoroughly enjoyable. You get to know the contestants so well based on the way they approach the games and react to them. There's no need for sob stories like on The Colour Of Money, and the contestants' fate really does lie in their own hands rather than a bit of lucky guessing.
"The body" (a faceless woman who completes the challenges to demonstrate) was also a great touch.
The only thing I didn't like was the Darth Vader style voice over (which came across a bit contrived) and the style of the set which cheapened the show a little bit. Making it a bit more industrial looking, like 'The Crystal Dome' on the Crystal Maze, would have made it more tense than a bare studio with twinkling lights. Also, having a more physical setting, such as a prize total screen or something, would have made for a better set than simply overlaying twinkly graphics in the edit suite.
An expensive, but nice touch, would have been to have some sort of 'reveal' on the challenges, so that the cube is opaque and the walls can be switched to transparent - as they did on Big Brother with the LCD glass - although that would be an expensive gimmick.
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