Executive producer Riima Daher flies over the show’s venue in western Tasmania.Credit: SBS
Chick agrees. “Mike also had a delicate connection to the country, and he had a deep sense of compassion and pathos,” she said. “So while there’s definitely a science versus nature contrast, to me there’s a lot more to science and nature than what you see on the screen.”
One difference the filmmakers appreciate is that Atkinson’s methodical approach extends to his filmmaking—which, given that the contestants did all of the camera work themselves (apart from some extensive location shoots), is a no-brainer. is a huge gift.
Michael Atkinson showcases his extraordinary tool-making skills on the show.Credit: ITV Studios
“He provided a lot of the beautiful shots in the series, beautiful time-lapses, skies, and some of the macro shots,” Daher said. “It’s just that he noticed the beauty of nature. He had a genuine love for the landscape he was in.”
The sheer number of shots is almost incalculable. Each entrant records at least five hours of footage per day on each of up to four cameras. For the last two, that totals about 1340 hours each.
Atkinson’s methodical approach meant he would often set up the camera before attempting something. Chick’s more instinctive approach means she follows the moment, sometimes failing to capture it on camera.
Nothing is more obvious than when she catches a wallaby with her bare hands in the middle of the night while using the bathroom. That was the most pivotal moment of the entire season, and it happened to be zero shots.
The Alone Australia cast from the reunion special.Credit: SBS
“You can imagine what it was like in the editing room when those shots came out,” Daher said. “There were about 15 people screaming ‘ahhh’.”
It was a game-changing moment in two ways, Chick said. “The first is that it’s a 20kg animal, so now I have meat and I have plenty of protein. Knowing I have enough food for three or four weeks is a huge boost to my morale.
“On the other hand, I just feel like my relationship with the country deepens because I ask for what I need and the country gives it to me,” she said. “I can’t explain it – voodoo jungle magic, call it what you will – but it happens all the time.”
The $250,000 prize could also be a game-changer, allowing Chick to realize her dream of buying the land on which she operates a wilderness resort. But it wasn’t paid off until after the finale aired, and she hasn’t counted the chickens yet.
“I had a run-in with a liar when I was younger and learned a very important lesson that money is only real in your hands — and even then, it’s not that real,” she said. “In the back of my mind, I didn’t even think about it. It was in this huge possibility before it landed.”
Still, she’s thinking about what to do with the show’s image, which draws more people Over 1 million viewers Its six episodes, most of which are on SBS On Demand, will have an impact on her profile and sense of mission.
“I’m a writer, it’s in my bones and in my blood, and there are definitely books on the horizon,” she said. “I’m also a singer-songwriter, I recorded my album in 2020, it’s ready now, I might drop it later this year.”
But most of all, she said, she wanted to use her popularity to encourage “the innate human ability to be at home in the wild.”
She said she wanted to “motivate people to take another step through their discomfort. Hopefully after seeing my journey, people would think ‘Maybe I can take off my shoes on the grass, maybe I’ll go camping, maybe the kids can play in the backyard. Build a little house.”
“To me, all these small steps are the missing pieces of our modern lives,” Chick said. “What I really hope is to continue to inspire people to get out there.”
