A Producer Of Alone Shares How They Make The Epic Survival Series
If you want to see the most gorgeous but deadly natural environments around the world, and some of the best equipped people to try and live in them, you have to be watching Alone on History Channel. They’ve dropped survival specialists in remote locations all over the World. Participants are dropped in with ten tools of their choice, and are responsible for both surviving out in the wilderness and documenting those experiences themselves.
We got to speak with Executive Producer Ryan Pender, who has been with the show since day one, about how Alone has evolved, what makes the show and its community special, and learn some fun behind-the-scenes facts about how the series comes together every season. Alone season 10 is premiering on History Channel on Thursday, June 8th
Producers Wanted a No-Frills Survival Experience
“What we wanted to do was remove the producer element from their experiences” Pender said as he explained how Alone took form, though as a trained camera operator he admitted it was “scary” passing the responsibility of filming the bulk of the show’s stories onto the participants. Some of the footage comes back rocky to start, but as the weeks go on they get over the learning curve.
The contestants are given lightweight camera equipment that won’t be too difficult to set up in the difficult terrain, as well as GoPros which can let them film things hands-free. Pender also observed, “In the new world of social media, even if it’s not your thing, you understand the basics of storytelling and what makes a good story.”
What Are They Supposed to Film? Everything
Along with teaching them the tech, Pender and the rest of the Alone crew gives the cast basic storytelling guidelines: “You need to have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Tell your story the best way you can. Don’t suffer needlessly. And if it’s not on camera, it didn’t happen, so just shoot everything.”
This also extends to opening up about frustration and ways that you may be struggling in these harsh environments. “We ask them flat-out: Can you show your failures? Can you be honest with what you’re feeling? Can you vocalize to camera what’s going through your head and your emotions?” Pender told us. Things can go wrong quickly out in these locations, with season 10 participants scattered over several islands in the massive Reindeer Lake in Northern Saskatchewan, Canada.
Cast Orientation is a Friendly Atmosphere
Even though the survivalists keep some strategies close to the chest, the participants still open up after two weeks at base camp. “They’re all sharing stories and tips and tricks, and they have a thirst for knowledge of being out there too,” Pender said. You just can’t be complacent with your skills, you kind of have to be the type of person that’s always willing to learn more.”
Even though there is a hefty prize pool of $500,000 on the line, Alone still stands out as unique among other reality competitions. “It’s not really a competition with each other––it’s really you against yourself in the wilderness,” Pender noted. “Worrying about other folks doesn’t help you in any way, more often than not it kind of takes you out.”
Participants Are Very Much Alone
Aside from medical checkups to make sure the participants are still healthy enough to continue, they are truly isolated out there, and have to stay within a limited area so there’s no chance of running into one another. “Our crew’s response time, once mobilized, is anywhere from half-an-hour to an hour, somewhere in there, to get to each participant,” according to Pender.
The crew aren’t exactly in luxury accommodations, either, and sometimes have to build their own hubs in these remote areas. Pender told us, “They’re battling a lot of things that the participants are, except they have four walls, but sometimes those walls are our own cabins not insulated for winter.” So if the cast members are running into bears, you’d better believe the crew are also having to avoid them in their living situation.
The Crew Lived in Fifteen Yurts in Mongolia
When shooting season 5 of Alone, the crew went to Mongolia and built a small compound of yurts for production. “It was one existing [building], kind of a shack, where we could eat and stay warm. And the rest of it was fifteen yurts––more or less––with an outhouse for the crew,” as Pender remembers.
While they always have crew members on standby ready to respond to emergency calls from the cast, there are still traditional camera units who capture b-roll footage of the gorgeous landscapes and wildlife to splice in with the participants’ stories.
Productive Projects Will Keep You Sane
There are a lot of long days out there, but you can’t just sit around all day and get up occasionally to gather berries. Pender told us, “I think if you go out there thinking you know everything, and you’re just going to conserve calories and do the very basics, mentally and physically you’re kind of doomed.”
I think the folks that are doing these projects to make their lives better out there and solving a problem––and not just sitting there––those are the folks that really, really do well,” Pender added. Whether it’s making tools like weaving a net for fish, or improving their shelters with things like a raised floor or insulated fireplace, it’s incredible to see what contestants can make out there. They can also use any items they salvage around the area, so one person’s junk could help you last another week in an Arctic Winter.
The Right Tool Could Make or Break Your Experience
You never know what will happen out there, so you have to consider as many variables as possible when choosing 10 items to bring out there with you. Participants with hunting experience usually bring a bow, but others rely on trapping and fishing to get by and choose other tools. You’ll also need essentials for warmth like your sleeping bag and fire starter. Keep an eye on the History YouTube channel if you want to see videos of exactly what each contestant picked.
Those choices can come up to address unexpected injuries, as Ryan noted. “When you watch Carleigh [Fairchild] in Season 5 get the fish hook caught in her tendon, and [she’s] like ‘had I just picked a leatherman, I could have gotten it out,’ but you don’t have that tool, it wasn’t an option.” Participants have gotten injured in a variety of ways, lost huge food reserves to scavengers, and some have even lost their shelter in a flash due to one stray spark from the campfire lighting it ablaze.
Even If You Don’t Win, It’s A Transformative Experience
The prize-money is absolutely life changing for whoever lasts the longest out there, but it seems like many of the contestants still walk away with a better perspective on their lives at home and why they love the outdoors so much in the first place.
“You realize maybe you shouldn’t have been working so singly focused when you could have been spending time with your kids, your mother, or your father,“ Pender observed. “I think these folks are learning that in a truncated timespan and relaying what they’re understanding and learning to the viewers at home, and I think it resonates.”
Pender Would Start with Shelter (But He’s Not The Staff Survival Expert)
“I can say something and I guarantee our lead survival producer would say it’s wrong,” Pender joked when asked how he would handle being left out in the wilderness “For me, I would go immediately for shelter, and then source water and then get the fire going.” Contestants have to carefully decide what projects to prioritize in those first days when their energy levels are highest.
“If you can just find some pine bundles or leaves, just get that under you, it’s going to make your night a whole lot better. If you’re not getting good sleep, you won’t last long, your body needs to rebuild every chance it can,” Pender said.
What Do They Look For in An ‘Alone’ Contestant?
“I always look for folks that live this,” Pender started out. “Not just the folks that are able to do it on the weekends, like backpackers and stuff like that may not have the skills that these folks really do.” It’s easy to think it just looks like a simple camping trip from your couch, but these people have years of training and knowledge under their belts.
If you’re a survival expert, can think several steps ahead, have backup plans upon backup plans for survival scenarios, and want to test your mettle out there, you can apply for the show.
The Challenges of Filming At Reindeer Lake
Reindeer Lake was one of their most “massive and sparse” locations yet, with weather proving to be a challenge as the crew had to navigate huge spans of water. “The winds beat the crap out of our boats, massive whitecaps,” Pender recalled. “Everyone this year was basically on an island, since we weren’t near the mainland.”
The crew certainly knows how to pick a tough region, having been all over Canada as well as the Patagonia region in South America and the previously-mentioned Mongolia season. The areas start out tough, but get even rougher as the days turn into weeks and the snow from winter starts to come in. Trusted food sources may dry up, and it becomes a battle just to stay standing and warm.
Season 10 Is Starting At A Great Pace
Just in the premiere alone, we have participants making huge strides in just the first days by making rafts to put on the lake, finding and following big game trails and making great starter shelters with just a tarp and a bit of rope in some cases. “People each season keep evolving more, bigger and better, and learning from the seasons past,” Pender said.
10 seasons in, people applying for the show are also fans of the show. One participant, Lee DeWilde, shouts out season 8 cast member Clay Hayes in the premiere while making a fishing rod in a similar style to his. If you know what does and doesn’t work from past seasons, it could definitely help you if you have the chops to make it out there in the first place.
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