by Thinus Ferreira
Constructed during Covid in a remote part of the Eastern Cape, the immersive tribal council area of Survivor South Africa: Immunity Island has a beautiful "driftwood kraal"-look this season: A set building effort that took a whole month to create using 8 tons of Wild Coast-collected driftwood.
With a brown and amber, driftwood-infused look, the tribal council area where host Nico Panagio interrogates the castaways before someone's torch gets snuffed, incorporates a mystical African atmosphere that draws viewers in to the tense interpersonal drama playing out between the castaways.
Built on a hill overlooking the valleys surrounding the Survivor SA: Immunity Island location, the tribal council area is once again a remarkable example of just what beautiful set design local South African TV production is capable of creating.
"When we started with the design of the tribal council space for Survivor SA: Immunity Island, I wanted to go a bit more organic and less structured than the previous two seasons which was very 'temple-like' - both in the Philippines and in Samoa," explains Leroux Botha, the creative director and series director of Survivor SA that is currently in its 8th season on Thursday nights on M-Net (DStv 101).
"We wanted to go for a tribal council that
felt more like a tribal village that was abandoned," says the Survivor SA mastermind at the Afrokaans production company that has been carefully steering the local adaptation of the reality competition franchise to ratings and review success over the past few years and managed to craft another spellbinding season even during corona.
"After we were
confirmed to film in South Africa, we decided to bring in some local
elements, yet sticking to the tribal village feel. We opted for the driftwood
kraal and used non-descript hut structures to serve as camera
hides."
Viewers will also notice several specially-created skulls embedded into the tribal council area - and of course, at least one hidden immunity idol necklace.
"Skulls play a big part
in the set, but the driftwood made the background for the tribal council area more dramatic," says LeRoux Botha.
"The use of the red colouring on the thatched huts, as well
as on the firepit, and the use of the yellow and blue on some of the
smaller pieces, brought pops of colour to this set. We also added a burnt-out
wooden stump that is protruding from the deck section of the set."
Meanwhile, Nico Panagio's backdrop at tribal council also features the "driftwood kraal"-look with a fire bowl behind
him. The voting hut features calabashes that were hung from the ceiling, creating a very dramatic effect.
So what did it take to put and bring all of this together creation and construction-wise? The tribal council area's deck was actually constructed off-site during South Africa's Covid-19 hard lockdown period from late March
2020 to make the most out of this uncertain time.
"The deck was built in
sections and then moved to the location in late September 2020 when
construction started in the Wild Coast," says LeRoux Botha.
A massive 8 tons of driftwood
was collected from the beaches near Sun International's Wild Coast Sun Hotel and Casino Resort and was then taken to the
Tribal Council location where it was integrated into the Tribal Council
set.
Local thatch artisans were used to help create the unique thatch roofs of
the huts and the Survivor SA art and construction team took 30 days to complete the set.
Some other Survivor SA: Immunity Island factoids: 324 367 nails and screws were used in total for all of the various builds of the challenges and tribal council, Leroux says, with 45 tons of wood in total used to build the various challenges and the tribal council area.
Most of the materials were sourced from local suppliers in the Eastern Cape.
