Paul Newton on the Updated Kitchen Nightmares
In every bad situation, we can discover some positive aspects. For all of the tragedies of the pandemic, it gave us a new appreciation for many of the things we took for granted. It also prompted us to revisit many things that gave us comfort and happiness. When producers of the long running series Kitchen Nightmares decided to resurrect the show after a decade long hiatus, it was with the understanding that the tone of it must stay the same while the look needed a facelift. Technology had changed, along with viewing habits and bringing a fresh aesthetic to this program would be essential. Director Paul Newton, known for his work on such diverse programming as the BAFTA Awarded Love Island and Primetime Emmy Award–nominated Antiques Roadshow was brought aboard to guide the ship and place his personal stamp on this series for both loyal viewers and a new generation. He confesses, “I was excited to bring my own flair to the show, focusing on modernizing its look and feel. The original series was great but I knew we could push the boundaries with today’s tech. I wanted to give it a more cinematic look while keeping that gritty, real-life edge that fans loved. I knew I wanted to use the latest cameras and equipment to create something that felt both fresh and true to the spirit of the original BUT, this wasn’t just about making it look pretty—it was about enhancing every moment to draw viewers in even more deeply.”
A main goal in getting the most interesting and informative footage for a show such as this is being unobtrusive; which is easier said than done. It requires considering many unobvious elements. A director known for being as familiar with the tools of the different departments of his crew as with the members themselves, Newton made use of the Sony FX9 camera an essential component for his camera crew. Keeping the camera package small empowered the camera teams to be much less intrusive in the day-to-day operations of the restaurants, meaning he’d get more natural reality moments from Gordon, patrons, and staff in any restaurant. This was monumental in aiding and maintaining the authenticity of the show. Sony G-master series lenses and the DJI Ronin4D allowed for incredible steady cam shots but one of the biggest upgrades to the incredible cinematic look of the new Kitchen Nightmares was the leap forward remote cameras had made since the show went off the air. This combined with the manner Newton used them together resulted in an epic and grand visual tone of Kitchen Nightmares.
The director himself concedes that all of his preparation and technological choices still can’t make him prescient. Repeatedly, Ramsay requested Newton and his team to leave during varying moments in the filming of this current season. Newton describes, “There came a point a number of times within our season that the restaurant staff and managers required a reality check. In those moments Gordon didn’t care about making a TV show, his reputation was genuinely on the line with these makeovers, and he really wanted to make sure he was helping establish a successful business that would work long after our cameras had left town. He really wanted to hammer home to the staff that this wasn’t just a TV entertainment exercise and so he’d occasionally order my camera teams to leave the restaurant—not great for me and a genuine unscripted decision that I knew we had to comply with. However, I knew this would likely end up as television gold and I didn’t want to miss any story. I quickly instructed my camera team to comply but keep their cameras recording, and if possible place the camera on a table, chair, or anything that might give us a usable angle in the edit. This ultimately captured the raw and authentic moments that added depth to the show’s format. These spontaneous, genuine situations are what made Kitchen Nightmares so memorable for me as a director—embracing the unpredictability and real-life challenges of making a TV show while also revitalizing these establishments.”
From throngs of fans interrupting filming in public settings to a temporary shut-down as a result of the Canadian wildfires effecting safety in New York City, the most current season of Kitchen Nightmares brings copious amounts of drama, as well as displaying the determination to persevere. In spite of the challenging moments, Newton declares, “I’m incredibly proud in re-establishing this once-successful format and bringing it up to modern-day standards. For me, a relaunch for a new generation of audiences was critical, not just on television but also across the whole social media landscape. The way people consume content has changed drastically since the last episodes of Kitchen Nightmares were made, so I was always thinking about how our raw footage could potentially be utilized for teasers and social media clips.”
Writer : Calvin Hooney
