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IFTN Speaks to ‘First Dates Ireland’ Executive Producer & Head of Televsion at COCO Linda Cullen
19 Jan 2017 : Laura Brennan
‘First Dates Ireland’ Team celebrate winning an IFTA Award for Best Reality & Constructed Factual series in 2016
The IFTA award winning dating show ‘First Dates Ireland’ returns to RTÉ2 at 9.30pm on Thursday, January 19th. Following the success of last year’s series, it is set to be bigger and better with 12 episodes due to air this time round.

IFTN spoke with Executive Producer of ‘First Dates Ireland’ Linda Cullen, COCO Television about the scale of production and planning detail that went into making the second instalment of the Irish romantic series.

IFTN: So, Linda being a bigger series than last years, can you tell me a bit about the pre-production element that went into ‘First Dates Ireland’ this time round?

Linda: “Basically it’s double the amount this year, so essentially we doubled everything there are more casting producers, with 12 programmes in this series we needed double the dates from last year as well as background daters.

“We had a big pre-production team which included four full time casting producers working here in the office in COCO for a few months prior to filming in The Gibson Hotel at the end of August. You have to meet many people and understand the stories behind them and make sure to match them up well. It’s a production in itself before we even begin the production.

 “It was a challenge also because the first series went so well, we had to make sure for the second series we didn’t lose focus to ensure that the second series is just as strong and I think it is. There’s definitely great strength in these Irish episodes.”  

IFTN: Was there an increase in singleton applications for the second series?

Linda: “We did have an increase in applications for the second show. We got a lot for the first too but more for this one. At times we did reach out looking for a specific call out for example older males are a difficult category to get and we always get more women applying then men.”

IFTN: Are there any changes in the way you filmed the second series?

Linda: “One of the big things we did for this series which was different from last year was the filming within the dining room. Last year we concentrated on one primary date at a time. So, you would sit with a producer watching that one at a time on screen, but for this year’s we did more in the fashion of how they film it in the UK and other countries.

We had two tables set up with primary dates happening at the same time, and we’d have to have two separate producers on each. So we doubled up, I would be looking at two dates at once but we had others concentrated on just one. So that was different, to run two tables together can be quite complex. You have to re-adjust various camera angles and then consider getting one couple in and other daters coming and going to other tables around that plus we’d be increasing the amount of streams we have going as well so lots going on.

“This time round you’ll also see a few people meeting in the bathroom too because having more couples on tables in the restaurant, means we have more daters running into each other in the bathroom from different dates and talking about them which is great.

“We have a fixed rig in the bathroom, so we can see and we can listen to any of the conversations that are happening in there so we know if it’s an interesting one to include or not.”

IFTN: Having to film more dates as part of the production at the same time must have been challenging?

Linda: “It was definitely challenging but fascinating to work on we were learning all the time which is one of the great things about ‘First Dates’ as a production model for somebody like myself who has been working in television for a long time. I found this one of the most fascinating productions to work on as I was learning so much on it  as you aren’t doing the same thing as the first one.”

IFTN: You have a social media producer for the series how important is that element for the show?

Linda: “I think social media is an important element of the series. Franky Harte is our social media producer and I think the engagement across that platform is something viewers enjoy. You always have so much craic watching what’s happening on social media when the shows on air reading peoples responses and interactions.

“Also especially in terms of us reaching out to daters it’s a social media generation so it’s hugely important to us. It’s a huge part of us both preparing for the series and the series itself in terms of enjoyment as social media response gets so active at the time of transmission.”   

On the technical side of filming for 'First Dates Ireland' IFTN spoke with Adam Scarff, unit manager for NEP broadcasting services who worked on the new series, he had this to say: “We used a mixture of Panasonic HE40 and HE60 cameras, which are all fixed hot heads. The maintenance staff in the hotel were incredible, we actually couldn’t have done the show without their help. Anywhere we needed to mount a camera or have a hole cut was no issue.

“For example, we needed three 8 inch holes cut through the wall of one of the conference rooms for our air-con exhausts and this was done with out issue. Spencer, the Maintenance Manager, even put up a cable tray for us to run along into the restaurant; he was outstanding.

“I’m positive, from being on site, that this season will be even better that season 1. I know how much hard work the team at COCO put into the pre-production, this will all be visible in the final product.”

For a little insight in to what we can expect to see from the second series in episode one, we will meet country music fan Rachel and find out if she’ll leave carpenter Conor with an achy-breaky heart? And will Latin lothario Antonio unleashes his best moves on medical scientist Sinead.

What is sure is that this series will definitely have more cameras, more hopeful singletons and even more access to those intimate, funny, often excruciating blind date moments that make for the best entertainment on screen. We also see the return of Maître D’ extraordinaire Mateo Saina and his trusty colleagues: barman Ethan Miles and waitress Alice Marr.

Viewers can look forward to more fun and frolics from the First Dates restaurant including cousins double dating, more bathroom chats and the expected few daters that didn’t recognise each other from previous encounters.

‘First Dates Ireland’ returns Thursday, January 19th on RTÉ 2 at 9.30pm.

 

Credits:

Filming Location: The Gibson Hotel, Dublin

Production Company: COCO Television

Executive Producer: Linda Cullen

Series Producer: Hilary O’Donovan

Casting Producers: Sharon Newman, Ger Philpot, Kate Hayes and Robert Lanigan

Social Media Producer: Franky Harte

Fixed Rig with Director Tom Parr

Crew & Equipment: NEP (formerly Observe)

Post Production: Screen Scene





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