And just like that, I’ve got one week under my belt here in Shanghai. It’s been a manic week of house and school hunting in addition to situate myself as to how to go about business as per usual here in China. Fortunately, The Amazing Race China Rush is in full swing, and the third episode will air this afternoon at 2 PM in Chinese on Dragon TV and then 8 PM in English on ICS. Here are some pics from the episode later!
A day at the beach is always fun, but it’s a lot more stressful when you need to hurry up your lines with the oncoming teams fast on your tail.
Getting the lines down in English doesn’t pose too much of a problem, but this stuff translated on the spot in Chinese is an entirely different beast. However, I love the challenge!
Wait…is this sorta a spoiler for what lies ahead for the team’s today?
…and also what lies inside this interesting looking crustacean critter!
Of course, everyone is waiting with anticipation to find out WHO will be the first team to arrive today so let’s get ready and enjoy the show! :-)
SHANGHAI, August 3, 2011 - “The Amazing Race: China Rush”, held its conference and screening ceremony. Mr. Chen Qiwei, Deputy Director of Information Office of Shanghai Municipal People’s Government and representatives from the Walt Disney Greater China, Dragon TV, and International Channel Shanghai (ICS) attended.
After the huge success of “The Amazing Race: China Rush”, this year ICS joins with Dragon TV to broaden its scope to produce “The Amazing Race: China Rush” (Season Two). The format is taken directly from Disney ABC’s Emmy Award-winning Amazing Race. Now the shooting of “The Amazing Race: China Rush” (Season Two) has finished and it will premiere on 7 August both on ICS and Dragon TV.
Aiming for a much more exciting and higher quality program, “The Amazing Race: China Rush” (Season Two) retains the strengths from last season while making qualitative change. This year, the race continued last season’s style — compact rhythms and stimulating games. In order to provide a premium quality visual effect, high-definition equipment was used during the whole production process.
Response to the first season was huge, but it is insignificant compared to this season. Now 11 teams of two have passed the tough audition, and they come from New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Ghana, the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Ukraine, and China.
Instead of having all foreign contestants like last season, this year 50% of them come from China: “Canadian Cousins” Cecilia and Mary from Nanjing are both considered part of the “post-90s” generation, giving them a unique perspective on China and the race; Hao Fei’er, a participant in the 2006 singing-reality competition “Super Girl”, forms the team “Rockers” with Sun Bin (Shanghai), willing to show the world another side of recording artists and performers.
Different from Chinese participants’ home advantage, foreign candidates not only need to conquer the trick spots created by the race itself, but also have to deal with language barriers, cultural differences, and unfamiliar surroundings. With the purpose of creating a relatively egalitarian situation for all teams, the cities involved in the journey are strictly confidential, some of them are comparatively remote, making them unfamiliar both for Chinese and foreign teams.
Certainly among all the foreign contestants, there are exceptions. Howie and Rhett (USA) have been living separately in China for over 30 years, and are fluent in Mandarin. Known by other teams as the “Wise Guys”, being strong championship contenders do not stop them from enjoying the fun of the race; Jan and Lily from Germany and the United States started dating and eventually living together during their time in Shanghai. Both work for large, international companies and are very driven, self-made people. Lily’s fiery personality and Jan’s competitiveness make them a formidable team. Eventually, who will be the last team to win the trip to Hoh Xil provided by Snow Beer? The mystery will be resolved in the 12th episode.
The Race hopes to attract a wider audience, so two separate versions will be produced, Chinese and English, for the first time. On 7 August, the Chinese version will be launched on Dragon TV at 14:10, and the English version with Chinese subtitles will premiere at 20:00 on ICS. During the airing period, an IPAD application on “The Amazing Race: China Rush”, jointly developed by Disney ABC and International Channel Shanghai ICS will be launched, making it easier for the audience to learn more about the race.
The filming of “The Amazing Race: China Rush” (Season Two) not only gets support from the Third Bureau of Information Office of the State Council, Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, relevant Information offices of local Municipalities, but also sponsorship from its business partners: Snow Beer provides the grand prize - a Hoh Xil tour valued at four hundred thousand RMB; New Balance provided all the sportswear; Hilton Hotels and Resorts is the designated hotel partner of the race, and Hamilton Watch provides the one and only official timer for The Race.
The host of the upcoming “The Amazing Race: China Rush” (Season Two) will still be the reknowned Chinese-American TV sensation Allan Wu, who has hosted all four seasons of “The Amazing Race Asia”.
While principle filming for the second season of The Amazing Race China Rush is over, the “fun” part is now on the move, which is Post Production. This is the portion of production where an army of editors must look over all the footage and decide the most entertaining and worthy segments to share with the audience. It’s an absolutely essential part of any program, and it’s ridiculously time-consuming. I just heard the editing team is reviewing over ONE HUNDRED HOURS of footage per episode so they definitely got their work cut out for them.
During the course of the race when we’re traveling everywhere to film…
…we definitely try to minimize the amount of “excess footage” so the post production has a lesser amount to review later. It’s definitely not always easy work…
…but we do what we can to put those smiles back on everyone’s faces.
Thanks again to our host cameraman Joe Matthews and his prehistoric 35mm for these candid shots. It’s good to know you got some great shots with it once you finally got the film developed!
Now, it’s time to look over my script for a launch event later this evening. More on having a “THWACK-in” good time to come soon!
We’re still in the thick of filming for The Amazing Race China Rush, and I finally got (sorta) a day off today so I just had to post a few pics up from our adventures thus far, especially since I’ve got a good internet connection here.
What I’ve realized is how easy it is to become detached from the rest of the world when I’m shooting these shows because it’s so busy with filming and traveling. Everyone in the production is running on fumes and we have the tendency to forget which day of the week it is.
On the other hand, that can be a good thing because we should be all wrapped up and done with the newest season before we know it…hopefully! I’ve been really fortunate to travel to places in China that I would most likely never venture towards on my own accord, and I can’t wait to share more pictures with you all once the show starts airing.
At this point, I’ve been hearing news that the premiere telecast will be in early July so that means there’s a lot of work to do between now and then. For the first time in any of The Amazing Race franchises, we’ll be working on TWO different language versions of the show for the English and Chinese audience so that means double the “fun” for me too! ;-P
And until we get to that point, I’ve gotta be ready for teams to open up their next clue so I can check them in so I’ll catch you later!
Well, we are now officially a few weeks into filming the current season of The Amazing Race China Rush, and it has certainly been quite an experience. Anytime you have the opportunity to see and explore new and exotic locations, then there lies an opportunity to really appreciate all that you didn’t know before.
For me, shooting each season of a race is always totally fresh, and I get into character with all my senses wide open. Although there is the standard “check in” procedure at each of the various pit stop locations…
…I usually don’t have an idea where I’ll be the next day until we set off that morning to start shooting. One day, I might be marveling at the stunning landscape being used as a backdrop for our pit stop. On another day, I might be on a farm feeding chickens so they’ll be cooperative enough to work on shot with me…
Of course, I’ve definitely been taking my fair share of pictures from the various destinations I have had the privilege of racing through, and I can’t wait to share more of them with you all. Until then, I’ll hope to see you back here again soon as we pack up once again and move our “traveling circus” to the next location!
The Amazing Race China Rush is still picking up speed as we race across China. I always wonder how each successive of the race will go, and the best part of it is that I just never really know. In fact, each season feels like the first time, and that “freshness” is hard to find or match in any other project I’ve done before. This is primarily due to the fact that we travel to new locations and we have a new batch of contestants ready to test their mettle against their competition on the exciting challenges.
People always ask me whether anything we shoot on the show is staged and “pre-cooked” for the audience, and I have always replied with an emphatic “No Way!” Since we shoot the race at warp speed, it would simply take too long to teach the teams how to act and react, especially when none of them are trained and experienced actors.
Time waits for no one…so they’ve only got “One Take” to make to the Pit Stop before the other teams! Actually, we all especially love this aspect of the production because it keep the pace fast and furious although the lack of rest can leave some of the crew wiped out and delirious!
And on that note, I’d better head off too to my next destination!
And just like that, the second season of The Amazing Race China Rush has begun! We are currently racing all across China so if you happen to see us, please come say “你好” (How are you) or “加油” (“Add gas” or Keep on Going) but let don’t anyone know, K?
It’s going to be a crazy hectic schedule for all of us, but I’ll try to post up more pics as we get further into the race!
And this year, we will be making history with even having Chinese contestants who’ll have the opportunity to race in their own country. I wonder whether they’ll have an advantage or not? Hmmm….
I am not sure if you heard yet, but the new season of The Amazing Race China Rush is right around the corner, and we are currently in the process of selecting new contestants. Unlike The Amazing Race Asia where teams must be residing in Asia or US The Amazing Race where you have to be American, The Amazing Race China Rush welcomes ALL applicants from around the world!
So if you think you’ve got what it takes and you’ve got a friend willing to come along for this unforgettable adventure, then you should definitely go to http://t.sina.com.cn/chinarush and http://www.chinarush.cn for more information!
Good luck and I’ll hope to see you at the start line soon!
Earlier today, I had to take some pictures of my motorcycle and me for a recent article in The New Paper. It’s a brand new spanking year and I know I’ve been slacking in the blog entry department so please excuse me for slacking off.
So it’s really already 2011, huh? New Year. New challenges. Have you made any New Year’s resolutions (again)? Get in better shape? Quit smoking and drink less? Spend more time with loved ones? How about just work towards seeking out new adventures and challenges?
I wouldn’t say I’m “Ace-ing” the first three potential goals for 2011, but I’m definitely working towards new experiences and challenges. The second season of The Amazing Race China Rush has already been “green lit,” and soon we will be off racing all over China once again. This time, however, we are going to open up the applications to NOT just everyone outside of China BUT also everyone in China. And from the looks of it, it’s going to definitely make this sophomore season even more interesting and “culturally appealing.” Personally, I can’t wait to get the “race on the road,” but that will have to wait until we get all the perpetually challenging pre-production planning nailed down.
And until then, I’m going to embark on an entirely new chapter this year…which is working with a company to introduce Singapore to the concept of carbon cleaning their car’s engine with plain water. Quite frankly, I was a little more than skeptical at first. But after I sent my car through the forty minute treatment, I immediately noticed an improvement with power and acceleration with each press of the gas pedal. Later when I was ready to refill my petrol tank, I realized that I passed the 500 kilometer on one tank of gas, which is something that has never happened. Not only did the engine carbon cleaning deliver more power AND increase fuel economy, the best part for me is the “Green Effect,” which is the reduction of carbon monoxide emissions by up to forty percent. With all these cars on the road huffing and puffing away, it’s nice to know that we can all do something to reduce the amount of carbon pollutants to the atmosphere.
This Saturday, we will be holding a launch event to showcase this technology to individuals related to the automobile industry in addition to prospective government bodies ready to take a bold step forward toward saving the environment. Sure, having one car significantly reduce its carbon emissions might not be anything worth writing about. But then again, I wonder how much we can benefit the earth and everyone if (and when) ALL automobiles will be required to have their engines carbon cleaned?
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