Fremantle Media's Anupama Mandloi gives an insight on Nat Geo's Mission Covershot

On 25 March 2013, Fremantle Media launched a unique show titled Mission Covershot for Nat Geo. The series is all about the journey of eight amateur photographers who battle it out to get the best shot in the terrain of Sri Lanka. Of course, there’s a panel of judges which include ace Indian director Nagesh Kukunoor and award winning American photographer Ami Vitale. Beautiful and gracious Shibani Dandekar’s seen as the host. The show has turned out to be a rage amongst the young and aspiring photographers hence; we contacted Head of Content, Fremantle Media, Anupama Mandloi to learn more on the project. The Content Head seemed pretty impressed with the ratings of the show as she told us, “The ratings have been encouraging. There is a fan page that’s been created by photographers on Facebook to discuss every episode.” So what went into the making of Mission Covershot? “The biggest challenge of this show was making ‘Still Photography’ work as a concept for television. The show could have easily become a ‘master class on photography’ but we wanted to make it engaging for viewers and visually exciting. The show was shot over a period of 20 days in Sri Lanka without a break and proved to be one of the most challenging schedules for all our shows combined. The treatment was that of a reality show with contestants striving to win the final prize of a cover shot on the National Geographic Traveller India magazine. The tasks were designed to create a challenge for the contestants to get the perfect photograph in the most trying circumstances. The judges were selected for their credibility and Shibani helped string the show together.” Why photography as a concept? “The concept was created at National Geographic and we helped flesh it out.” So, are they looking forward to the second season of this show? “We believe that a brand has been created and lends itself to seasons in different parts of the world with amateur and professional photographers. So let’s see what happens in the future.” The show airs every Monday at 10 pm on National Geographic Channel.