(Image: Discovery)
Naked and Afraid is a reality TV show that drops people into remote wilderness areas and tasks them with surviving for 21 days. They can take in no equipment at all--not even clothes.
So the stars are naked. This might be an obstacle for television broadcast. But the show blurs out all the private parts of contestants.
That's a lot of work and it is essential that no nudity slip by. It's a task for professionals. When you need the best people in the genital blurring industry, you call in the Blur Man Group. The New York Times reports:
That premise is certainly what draws viewers. But the people who make these shows possible are the five full-time visual effects maestros who painstakingly blur all the private parts.
And they admit, it’s a little odd.
“This is a totally weird work environment,” said Shaun O’Steen, the 45-year-old leader of the team, which calls itself the Blur Man Group. “I mean, what job can you say, ‘Oh, my God, look at that penis,’ and not have to worry about H.R.?”
The Blur Man Group is a collection of graphic designers who were having trouble finding work. They saw a niche--obscuring naked people--and filled it. The Times quotes Ilgin Esemenli, a member of the company:
“I’ve seen things that I’ve never seen before,” she said, looking a little pale.
She has learned to set limits, such as spending her lunchtime surfing the web. Lunch and the unvarnished human body do not mix, she said.
It typically takes about 50 hours of work to blur a single episode.
-via Super Punch
He was nicknamed "The Pecker Checker"
There's a very funny story about a feud between him and Walker over the belly button . . .
(I recommend this book. For one thing, it has a picture of Beetle Bailey's eyes)