This is from Alexis Jones Blog.
One of the craziest aspects of this show is that we have NO CLUE how things get edited and each week it is just as much a surprise for our friends and families as it is for us. In fact, one of the questions I get the most is what is it like to have cameras on the whole time. I have to admit that the first two days or so, it's very weird. I mean come on, it's awkward when you're in a restaurant and you notice the person at the booth next to you is listening to your conversation, much less having a camera man, a boom operator (the guy who holds the long pole with the fuzzy microphone on the end) and a producer hovering around you as you talk. The first day I was terrified and it felt very invasive. I kept glancing at the camera like it was an unwelcomed guest. What's surprising is that by day three, they become invisible and you forget about them altogether. It's a interesting concept because in an anthropology class I took at USC, they were talking about all these documentaries and how for the first few days people are very uncomfortable around cameras, but soon, they become virtually invisible. I guess it's like getting braces. I remember when I first got them they were horrible, but a week later, I couldn't feel them any more and they just felt apart of my mouth. (That's a silly analogy, but the cameras are like braces) You get used to them very quickly and they become like flies on the walls; especially because the camera guys/boom specialists are not allowed to talk to us… so they literally are just silent the whole time, kind of just buzzing around.What makes reality TV so scary is probably based on that comfort zone because people forget they are on TV and that's where the "reality" comes into play. Also at night, it was kind of erie because they would have the "night cams" on and it would just be a hazy red glow and you knew there was a camera on somewhere in the distance but never could make out exactly where.In fact, I think it was the second night when I sat up in the dark and the end of the boom hit me in the face and it scared me to death because I couldn't see anything. I heard a, "sorry bout that." It didn't hurt at all, but I think it was the only time I ever heard a sound from the camera crews. haha. I have to give credit to the camera guys because when you see us out there in the rain, miserable and wet… so are they. Quite the troopers. Other funny camera stories…We were walking down a path talking strategy and one of the camera guys just ate it on a rock and fell down and of course we all busted out laughing (including the camera guy). He wasn't hurt, but it's funny when you forget all about them and then something like that happens and it brings them back to life. Another time I was walking and realized I had left someone on the beach so turned around and started to run back, only with my cat like reflexes, I surprised the camera guy and literally rammed my face right into his camera. I felt like such an idiot. Thank God for editing or I would look like such a klutz. Then again, I'm definitely a girl who can laugh at herself, so I often keep myself entertained.




