Doing Love Island we really lived the story with the characters, says a CME Content Academy student

You have experience from two major reality shows on TV Nova: Survivor and Love Island. Can you compare both experiences?  

I think the main difference lies in the composition of the team. Here, everyone is Czech or Slovak, which has a significant impact on the team dynamics. People are closer to each other. On Survivor, there were only a few Czechs, about two Slovaks, and the rest were Turks. They were often isolated, doing their own work, and we didn't have such intensive contact. On Love Island, there is a truly great team working in a family vibe. 

How did you reach that opportunity?  

I talked to Sam (Sam Jaško, a Love Island showrunner), who was in Istanbul at Survivor production. He offered to find me a good job on the Love Island production. He was building a team for that then. I said to him that Love Island is close to my heart. So now, I work as a Junior Director for dates and activities. I collaborate with the Senior Director, and we get along very much. We were a team of four or five people responsible for dates. We had such chemistry that it all went smoothly. At first, I’d felt they were testing me, but when they saw that I knew what the job was about, we became really good chums.  

Is it always the case that newcomers have to distinguish themselves among a team of professionals?  

I experienced that on Survivor as well. Often, an established team doesn't accept newcomers, but fortunately, I'm someone who is happy working in a team. At the beginning, though, I was reluctant because the team had a completely different vibe and sense of humor. At first, among a hundred people working on the show, I didn't know anyone. 

What was your typical day as a junior director like?  

I dealt with things like dates (segments in Love Island episodes where couples go to romantic dates outside the villa). Who would go for a date, where it would take place, and what style the contestants wanted. We looked for locations, discussed whether it would be a restaurant, what kind of activity it would be, took photos of locations, discussed where the cameras would be, and then handed it over to production. 

I also tried my hand at story editing and was responsible for the participants on set. I knew exactly what would happen: here they would have to improvise, here they would have to change clothes to have a different outfit, here they would talk about this or that. Then I provided the director with additional questions that contestants might not have been asked during interviews. I also worked with post-production: I sent them notes on what was important from the large amount of recorded material and tips on which camera angle to use in a particular situation. 

This year's Love Island is more playful in many ways: there are more contestants, and bombshells (new contestants whose task is to break up paired couples) have been added. Did you also help come up with games for the contestants?  

Before Love Island production started, I had been in Prague for about two months helping the producers, and they tasked me with coming up with ways for bombshells to enter individual episodes, how they would leave the show, or what activities they could do. I had to figure out how sponsored products would be presented in various games. People responsible for the show's social media profiles also drew inspiration from my ideas. 

Do you have a specific approach when creating games?  

I did research for two weeks and also got inspiration from wedding games. It helped a lot that I am a dancer and choreographer. When I create choreography, my signature approach is not to coming up with it from the stage perspective but from the audience's point of view. And when it comes to games, I think about what will look good and what would entertain me as a viewer. 

When someone is eliminated from Love Island, do those emotions transfer to the production team?  

As soon as something unexpected happens, the entire team freaks out. When someone chooses someone we didn't expect, the stress is incredible. Even though I saw that episode three times, whether it was during the control screening, I still watched it on Voyo. It was interesting to compare experiencing emotions on set and on watching it on SVOD.  

When you work on Love Island, how does your education at the CME Content Academy help you? It boosts my confidence. If I hadn't been at school and came from the street, so to speak, I probably wouldn't dare to express my opinion. Others might not take me as seriously. When I told my colleagues something, they considered me a relevant voice because they knew I was studying at the CME Content Academy. I often recall the lessons our lecturers gave us: for example, to look at the monitor during filming, not at the set. If I hadn't been studying, it would have taken me much longer to orient myself to filming. 

I remember that when someone introduced you at school last year, people often tended to emphasize your original profession as a dancer, which you took with humor, but maybe it bothered you a bit. Do you feel that you have broken out of that box over the past year? I was used to it, but I don't introduce myself that way anymore. People often find out in passing, and it doesn't occur to them that I do something else on the side. They ask me more about what I would like to be. When I tell them that I enjoy production and would like to become a showrunner, they say I'm on the right track." 

-Matěj Škop-