Extensive supporting crew
From BearWiki
Confirmed: The supporting crew is extensive.
The standard narrative of Man vs Wild is that Bear goes out with a cameraman or two, and they simply follow him without interacting. The actual crew of the show is extensive[1], and this leads to an artificial situation:
- Bear Grylls (Actor)
- Mark Westcott (Director, Producer)
- Scott Tankard (Director, Producer)
- Luke Lovell (Assistant Producer)
- Juliet Wide (Assistant Producer)
- Mary Donahue (Executive Producer (The Discovery Channel))
- Robert MacIver (Executive Producer)
- Tim Tarrant Willis (Producer)
- Kelly Lueschow (Associate Producer (The Discovery Channel))
- Jane Hamlin (Production Manager)
- Pam Jacobson (Production Manager (The Discovery Channel))
- Sybilla Wilson (Production Manager)
- Emily Lascelles (Production Coordinator)
- Brian Dean (Production Coordinator (Discovery Channel))
- Nick Justin (1st Assistant Director)
- Danny Cane (1st Assistant Director)
- Ben Holder (Editor)
- Mike Denny (Editor)
- Garry Hughes (Music)
- Adam Palmer (Dubbing Mixer)
- Paul Ritz (Sound Recordist)
- Peter Lee (Sound Recordist)
- James Cawte (Colorist)
- Simon Bland (Colorist)
- Simon Reay (Director of Photography)
- Philip R West (Consultant)
- Kris Thoemke (Consultant)
- Andrew Nightingale (Other)
- Michael Jarvis (Other)
Graham Strong, mentioned here[2], is not listed.
A host of transportation equipment is utilized by the show, generally including a helicopter, a boat (if applicable), and so on.
[edit] Analysis
Oppose: Most of those people have probably never set foot on a shoot. Editors, music technicians, producers, and so on should not be considered. The crew for a particular episode can also change, thus inflating the size of the cast/crew.
- Support: That doesn't change the fact there are a sizable number of people traveling. Each episode has at least two cameramen, a sound man, a director (they don't keep a director on staff to do nothing, let alone four directors) and a local expert who coaches Bear on the region, minimum.
Support: Even if they don't directly interact with him, which is questionable, having them around alleviates two of the biggest challenges in survival: the loneliness/isolation, and the risk.
Support: And with that small army of production people and all the gear required for the production of this show, they can't venture too far from highways, lodging, and other amenities of civilization. The only thing "wild" about this show are the lies.
Support: Michael Jarvis listed by man vs wild as "OTHER" is listed as a "Location Manager" on all other credits to his name.Bear actually learns everything he has to just before the episode, besides, Bear doesn't sleep in the outdoors, he usually sleeps in a hotel or is flown out by helicopter. (confirmed by crew members)
