I saw my first episode of Brazil Next Top Model. Yes, the Top Model fever made it to South America. At first sight, BrNTM had really great aesthetics… so I just had to give it a peek. First, the colors are very ‘hot’ right now, with blacks, magenta and cyan… so it was hard not to be attracted to the brand.
Brazilian super-uber model Gisele Bundchen was to host, but declined – instead BrNTM’s got Fernanda Motta, who gives the show a whole lot different look than it would’ve gotten if Bundchen had accepted. Fernanda’s got dark thicker eyebrows, darker hair – she kinda reminds me of Amanda Peet. Anyone else think so? Check out her pic in the BrNTM’s site (here). She’s got a lower voice, than high-pitched Tyra Banks, who… let’s face it, has given ANTM a woo-ha-ha vibe to the show… so in the end, BrNTM seems a more serious version of America’s…………. Next…. Top…… Model. lol’
Technically, I don’t like BrNTM’s editing… seems a bit choppy at times, and sometimes it lengthens shots and *snores* – yeah, that’s basically it. While I was watching the episode, I couldn’t wait for the scene to end and get it over with. This first photoshoot was a bit boring too, and I guess I must’ve missed this bit in the subtitles, but some of the shots were f-ugly.
Judges have no personality. I’m sorry. I didn’t care much about what they were actually saying because they said the same thing over and over – I’d much rather watch Mrs. Jay talking to Tyra and Nigel… okay, Twiggy falls in the “same thing over and over” category. However, they did seem to be ‘harsher’ in their comments than the American version… kinda like how Janice Dickinson would say something, only LESS FUNNY and LESS ENTERTAINING. They would be better off showing us a report card with a checklist to see if they make it or not.
Contestants… I dunno if it’s because it’s my first time watching, but they or most of them seemed similar to me. I think there are like 2 that I can actually remember how they look. Livia, and Erycka – other than them, I can’t remember their faces or won’t tell them apart. There were like two others that had pretty faces, one of them reminded me of a friend… needs hmm, more variety?
On the subtitling part, this is on Sony – I feel like I missed a lot from the show from the subtitles. I’ve no idea why, but it is what it is. Better subs? Or maybe I’m just not used to hearing much Portuguese, but I’ve seen films in Portuguese and I know there are better subtitles than the ones you’ve been showing me, so don’t go there blaming my ability to read subs, because I know I’m good at it.
Overall, I’ve still to make my mind about this. I will probably give it another shot, but it needs to be less slow, less boring, and please keep the Brazilian Soap Opera vibe to a minimum (yeah, saw the commercial for next week’s episode). And of course, BrNTM in the end could be more talented and more serious, but THAT DOESN’T MAKE GOOD TV VIEWING.
Here is the shortlist:
- Better editing.
- Cut boring shots short.
- Add spice (a.k.a. personality) to the judges, or…
- Change jury to a simple checklist… check!
- More physical variety to the contestants.
- Better subtitles.
