Summer 2017
BY BECCA NADLER
According to associate director Anna Moulaison-Moore, there's an unusual learning curve involved with working on reality competition
shows like Project Runway and MasterChef. "You have to really learn each profession in order to build a proper schedule," she says, "so you have to become, inadvertently, a fashion expert [or] a food expert."
Moulaison-Moore's food expertise comes in handy on a show like MasterChef, which requires her to work with a culinary producer to structure the shooting day around whatever challenges each episode's featured dishes present. "You have to build your day so that the food will look its best," she explains.
In addition, the fast pace of reality television doesn't usually allow time for blocking or rehearsals, so Moulaison-Moore is willing to do whatever is necessary to get the shot on the first take. "One time we had a cooking show where the chef decided to present his food on a naked woman—naked sushi," she recalls. "Of course, they start filming and he hadn't put the sushi in all the right parts, so I had to go out with the help of the director in the booth and move the sushi to cover the parts that were showing on camera. That was a funny moment."