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Masked Singer 2020: How they pulled off that ‘bananas’ grand finale

The Masked Singer finale was filmed in two countries, two states and a hotel room — but it was flawless. Here’s how they did it.

Andrew BucklowAndrew Bucklow
@ACBucklow
2 min read
September 15, 2020 - 8:23AM
Bushranger wins The Masked Singer for 2020

How on earth did they do it?

That’s what viewers were asking during last night’s Masked Singer grand finale.

The Channel 10 program was thrown into chaos after a COVID-19 outbreak on set that threatened to derail the entire show.

But against all the odds, the cast and crew managed to film an epic finale that relied on “tech wizardry”, and it was flawless.

Osher Gunsberg was in Sydney and Frillneck was in Melbourne.
Osher Gunsberg was in Sydney and Frillneck was in Melbourne.

DIFFERENT LOCATIONS

The grand finale was taped last week with judges Dannii Minogue and Dave Hughes as well as the remaining three masked singers in Melbourne, Jackie O and Osher Gunsberg in Sydney and Urzila Carlson in hotel quarantine in Auckland.

“We are ambitiously filming the finale via green screen with people in two different countries, two different states and three different locations and they’re keying us in as if we’re all together in studio,” Jackie explained on KIIS FM last week.

Osher Gunsberg had a massive green screen behind him in the Sydney studio.
Osher Gunsberg had a massive green screen behind him in the Sydney studio.

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“Urzila is quarantining in this hotel (in New Zealand) by herself so therefore she cannot have anyone enter her room to help her out with equipment. All she’s been given is some sort of GoPro to put on the top of her computer, she’s got a green sheet behind her and she has to do her own hair and makeup.”

Filming the finale took more than 10 hours and there was a slight hiccup when Carlson received a noise complaint from hotel security.

Network 10 executive producer and head of entertainment Stephen Tate told Mediaweek the finale “was a technical feat and it got the best out of our crews that I have ever seen”.

THE REACTION

The Masked Singer made no secret of the fact the judges were all in different locations with Gunsberg referencing it at the top of the show.

But if he hadn’t pointed it out, you’d be forgiven for thinking all the judges were together given how seamlessly the show pulled it off.

Gunsberg, standing in front of a massive green screen in Sydney, looked like he was really standing next to the singers on stage despite the fact they were actually in Melbourne.

“This is bananas,” Gunsberg wrote on Twitter when the finale aired last night. “Our tech team won the gold medal of the ‘difficult broadcast’ contest for 2020.”

He continued: “Our production / tech team literally pulled magic out of a hat to make it work. We really pushed every boundary to make it happen. Tech wizardry.”

Viewers were stunned by how seamless the finale was despite the technical challenges.

Well done to Network 10, Warner Bros and all the cast and crew on The Masked Singer.

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/reality-tv/masked-singer-2020-how-they-pulled-off-that-bananas-grand-finale/news-story/6d7333528d101ddfb3bb5e24de7b2c1a