ITHACA — Ithaca College senior Peter Berg is proving you don't need to
be a big shot producer to bring a reality show to television.
The
TV/radio major was inspired last fall to recreate of one of his
favorite CBS shows, “The Amazing Race,” for a run on Ithaca College's
student-run station ICTV. With tonight's two-hour premier of “The
Race,” Berg will see his inspiration become a reality. The scavenger
hunt-style competition will run each Monday through the two-hour finale
March 5.
Berg said soon after he floated the idea, he found a number of fellow
Ithaca College students interested in participating. Working within a
tight budget was a major obstacle, Berg said, adding that about $2,300
had to cover the cost of video tapes, gas, food and lodging. There were
some sponsors though that helped ease that cost.
“All the locations were donated to us,” Berg said. “We did pretty well for the budget.”In
October, six teams — each made up of two Ithaca College students — and
about seven camera crew members used the college's equipment and filmed
“The Race,” in various locations across the state, including Syracuse
and Rochester. At the end of each day of the race, the team that came
in last was eliminated.
Kate Levinson, a senior at Ithaca College and contestant of the show, said the whole experience was enjoyable.
“It
was incredible, but I didn't realize how big the challenge was until we
started going,” she said. “I was impressed by how it all fell together
and how well the planning went.”
The challenges ranged from
navigating through a cornfield maze to finding a martial arts school
where contestants karate chopped a board, he said.
On the final
day, only three of the six teams remained. The final contestants
climbed a tree house at Cayuga Nature Center to find their next clue
leading to a farmers' market.
“Earlier that day, they got apples
in the apple orchard,” Berg said. “They had to ask every one of them
(apple vendors) — How about them apples?”
On the show's finale, the winning team will be awarded a host of donated prizes including t-shirts and gift certificates.
“I
made hundreds and hundreds of phone calls to get everything lined up
for it,” Berg said, when asked about the filming experience. “I didn't
sleep much. I went for five days without sleeping ... but it did turn
out well and the production went seamlessly.”
“The Race,” will
air a 90-minute debut at 9:30 p.m. today on Time Warner Cable Channel
16. The remainder of the one-hour series will run at 10 p.m. Mondays
Feb. 19, Feb. 26 and 9-11 p.m. for the show's finale March 5.
For more information about the show or to view an episode preview, visit ICTV Web site at www.ictv.org.