The Questions Thread: Where in the World are Carm and Santiago?

[MarkHB]

The Questions thread: a place to seek and share knowledge about the show.

 

 

I'm steadily a week behind watching the show, so I haven't been going into the episode threads; my apologies if this has already been answered.  Does anyone know what the skyscraper is that they show in the opening titles, just before intro'ing Jim and Misti?  It appears to be three towers with a rooftop garden bridging them.  TIA!

[Netfoot]

You asked before and I answered: I think it's the Marina Bay Sands Skypark, in Singapore.

[MarkHB]

Oh, sorry, thanks!

[Lingo]

That thing is like something out of Star Trek. I went to Singapore just this September and I just had to go to the top of that thing to have a look around.

[Rick Kitchen]

Do the camera and sound people have to check their equipment when they are accompanying a racing team on an airplane?  We always see the teams running off the plane and rushing out to look for transport, but we never see them standing around luggage claim waiting for the support people's checked equipment.

[selkie]

Given how expensive a pro camera rig is, I suspect there are arrangements to put camera gear into the first class coat closet if it doesn't fit into overhead bins rather than having it become uncoupled/lost from teams as checked baggage.

[auntlada]

They do at least sometimes have to go through extra stuff because of the equipment, I think. I remember Team Guido talking about it on TWoP. I can't remember what it's called, though. Not just customs, but a word that's in my brain somewhere hiding behind the lyrics to 867-5309.

[SnideAsides]

Carnet.

[green]

Yeah I always forget the term "carnet" so thanks, Snideasides, for refreshing my memory.  And yes the camera team does take longer than the Racers to clear customs.  The world's authorities don't change the rules for game shows. 

 

But no they don't show it cause it takes away from the "energy" (pace?) of the episode to see people sitting around waiting an extra half hour to and hour or more for their cameraman and soundman to come out of the back room where their equipment is usually gone over with a fine tooth comb and they have to have their paperwork (carnet) gone over. 

 

And the main part of it (carnet) is you have to declare every piece of equipment in detail plus it's value and declare you are taking it back out and that you aren't taking it in to sell (in which customs fees would cut in big time) so they have reverse paperwork to hand in when they leave to check against the departing equipment as well.

 

But getting seats on the aisle as far front as possible does though help get your crew to that room ahead of other teams' crews so the space/time between the departing teams from the airport is usually the space they have departing the aircraft.  So that is still an important part of the Race I'd say.

 

About the above.  Do Amazing Race A-V crews get special treatment?  Probably not in the first few years when they weren't as well-known and they could just be some fake "front tv show" used to smuggle in high tech equipment most likley.  But I assume there are some countries/airports where the producers have developed a working relationship with the authorities over the years and a local production assistant can alert the authroities to their schedule and be there to vouch for the crews so their scrutinity may be a bit less.  But that is just a guess and I have no proof of that and could be dead wrong.  There is no one in the world more into their little "power trips" then low level gov't bureacrats afterall.  And I'm also sure there are some countries/airports that don't give a fig about that period and take forever processing the crews too.

Edited November 16, 2015 by green

[auntlada]

Carnet.

 

That's it. Thanks.

[Bouquet]

It's not just equipment, any team could be unfairly delayed by a customs inspection, or just have their line progress more slowly. I wouldn't be surprised if teams on the same flight are held at the arrivals exit for simultaneous release.