MovieChat Forums > Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (2003) Discussion > Fake family welcome!

Fake family welcome!

posted 14 years ago by Mr_Raptor
15 replies | jump to latest

Sorry, i did not know what else to call this thread.

Ok, so.. Every episode starts with an intro to the family. Then Ty and the rest of the crew shouts out in the megaphone. Now, when the family comes running out, you can clearly see that they all got microphones on..

This is what i mean: (image)http://rapidshare.com/files/317676500/extremehome_mic2.jpg

What bugs me is that the family fakes it.. Not one.. Every family comes screaming out from the houses, jumping up and down, hugging Ty and the others.. So it is obvious that the family knows they are coming. Someone has to go to the house, wire everybody with microphones, and take a sound check. I guess they have to do this because of tech reasons.. They should have used a boom mic instead. Then it could have been a REAL surprise. And by the way.. How come, that the families are ALWAYS home..? Something fishy here..

These kind of microphones trasmittershttp://svensenfilms.com/tmp/mic_1.jpg

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[–] rideemc 14 years ago

I know what your talking about, but you have to remember this is a show. They do more than one take of EVERYTHING!!!! I actually got to see the reveal of a house for an upcoming episode, and they taped the crowd screaming so many times I thought I would be hoarse long before the family arrived. They filmed the some of the "move that bus" segment before we even arrived... which was at least 4 hours before the family. (We did still get to yell it though, we just missed the actual filming of the bus going down the street). Although they do fake the scene we see, I do believe they surprise the family. It was announced a week or so before that they were coming to do a house for a family within a 30-mile radius of my city. They stated that it was a choice of 5 different families. I assume the finalists are pre-warned that they should be home on that certain day. And when they knock on the door at 7am or 8am (whichever it was)the family is home, but they are surprised in a way. They know that they are a finalist, but don't know that they are chosen. Then they give them mics and actually film the footage.. at least that is my take, from the experience that I witnessed it seems to fit.

[–] erraticallysober 14 years ago

I volunteered for the tripp family in md and on the bus to the house they explained that the door knock is staged/ a reenactment. They really do surprise the family but the part we see on tv is the stagaed part because they have set up all their equipment

[–] Mr_Raptor 14 years ago

Ah, ok. Thanks guys. Makes more sense now...

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[–] TheAdamGregg 14 years ago

lot of these kind of TV show do this... its to sell a product to their audiences and make it seem more real. they do it around the world and i think it help and its a good idea in some way....

adam

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[–] genmo 14 years ago

They are always dressed too...at 8am? Yeah, I don't think you'd want to see a real surprise at 7 or 8 am!

[–] lilypad183 14 years ago

"They are always dressed too...at 8am? Yeah, I don't think you'd want to see a real surprise at 7 or 8 am!"

genmo,
yes, they're always dressed, make up on, hair done, winter jackets on and they all have new sneakers but they didn't know they were coming?

[–] tawidmerfoe 14 years ago

Think abou t it. How hard would it be to not notice a friggin BUS sitting in front of your house at 8am???

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[–] wannabertist 14 years ago

Hello people...read the thread. They are notified that they are a finalist and they are to be ready...

[–] phantomangel88 14 years ago

There was an episode taped in my town last year. From what I understand there are 3 or 4 families that know they are finalists but do not know if they will be picked. All the families have to be ready but they don't actually know until Ty knocks on the door.

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[–] c3rwinvega 14 years ago

What bothers me even more is how they fake the scenes where they talk to the family while they are on holiday during the build.

They appearently have a super-duper Wi-Fi link between the camera filming Ty and the laptop that the family have, that show pictures of Ty and how the renewal-process is going. It's a bit funny that the laptop show perfect LIVE full-screen quality picture and audio...
You know what I mean?

Don't know how they do it. Might be they just send them a .mpg file, or a DVD.
But I'll bet alot of money that they don't go through the hazzle of setting up a satellite-link between the build-site and the place where the family is during the build.

[–] glassrose385 14 years ago

I also believe that the communications between the crew and the families on a vacation are fake. The picture quality on the laptops is to high quality and I agree with the previous poster it could be a DVD or mpg file.

As for the fake family welcomes I'm not surprised by them. A number of reality shows and even game shows have done stuff like this for years. Several years ago MTV filmed the Battle of Sexes II reality show which featured cast members from the Real World and Road Rules in a town about an hour away from me. My aunt and uncle were dining at a restaurant and they said that a two camera men came into the restaurant and paid with a credit card and talked to the manager, hostess and a server for about a ten minutes and 20 mintues later some of the cast members from the Battle of the Sexes came in.

I do feel bad for the other families that spend their day waiting at home Extreme Home Makeover crew to show up and they don't. It must be crushing to them.

[–] trixie-k-88 14 years ago

Come on, it's not that big a deal. While the subject, people and homes are real, some things have to be staged for the show to work.

[–] Pianohero4 13 years ago

so the show wouldnt work if they taped that actual reactions when they are first told that they are getting new, rich people homes?

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[–] coach-steve 14 years ago

It's not as un-surprising as you might think. While it's true the family is prepped and awaiting their cue to run out and meet Ty, the actual meeting is indeed real. Think of it this way...

When any TV show or movie is being shot, there is a lot, and I do mean A LOT of work that has to be done before the actors take the stage. The production, lighting, sound, rigging and technical crews have enormous tasks to carry out prior to the director yelling "Action!" So, yes they're mic'd-up, made-up and pepped up prior to meeting Ty and his crew but their excitement and joy upon meeting him is real and genuine because it's the first time doing so.

As for the communication with the family and crew, well.... it doesn't take a trained eye to see that the images on the laptop is superimposed. It's all for production value.

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[–] rob-2423 10 years ago

There is no surprise for the family. Before the megaphoning, there is a process that runs several months to a year. Typically, it is around 6 months for a house to be finalized. They will narrow it down to a couple of houses in the area and will then the process really begins. They have to contact the housing commission and obtain permits to build, inspections, and obtain permission to both build and film from the city. The family does indeed know before hand, and for several weeks out. I worked on the Watson home, and they were interviewed weeks before on the local news talking about how thrilled they were to have been chosen.