In 2026, the third season of Race Around the World will take place.
Given the second season was 27 years ago, and I was a part of it, and won the program, only for it to keel over and die, encouraging friend and season one alum John Safran to dub me ‘the man who killed the show’, I’m pleased.
See John! I didn’t kill the show. I only wounded it. And now it’s back, with entries due on 22nd December.
I said last week that I’d offer some tips and suggestions to people making their applications. I think in our year, the ABC received 2500 applications, and given shooting and editing video is infinitely easier in 2025 than it was in 1997, it’s going to be a difficult thing to leap out of the milieu to produce something that sizzles. In our year, we had to make the top 40 to get an interview. It’ll probably be something similar this time. Sixteen were then picked for an AFTRS documentary film school boot camp, and then eight for the Race itself.
It was an epic selection process, and I committed to it like I was applying for job of my life.
Which I was.
Remember they’re casting
Back then, we knew they’d be casting. Indeed the best application monologue I saw was John Safran’s who, with hands behind back and wearing what looked like oversized swimming goggles, leant into the camera and deconstructed the ABC’s selection process:
You’re going to choose eight people. You’ll choose four boys and four girls. You’re going to choose one Asian, you’re going to choose one Aboriginal, you’re going to choose two white Anglo-Saxon Protestants, or else you’ll get letters to ‘BackChat’ telling you the ABC’s multiculturalism gone mad. You’re going to choose a girl from rural Australia who’s sensitive, despite the fact her parents probably have guns buried in their backyard for the upcoming race Armageddon. And finally, you’re going to choose one skinny, pale, whiny person. And that’s where I fit into the picture.
I can’t find that video online now, which is a shame because it’s incredible. As it turned out, embarrassingly perhaps, 90s Race Around the World was a much whiter affair than Safran predicted and the ABC copped criticism for it, even then. I’m sure there will be more diversity within next year’s bunch, as there is in media generally, and especially ABC media.
The applications this year are being sorted by an actual casting agency, so never forget they’re casting, and ask yourself the question — which spot is for me? I remember thinking in 1997 that the rarish combination I had going on was that I’d been on an AFL list, and was working as a lawyer. I decided that my best chance was to pitch myself as a sort of thinking person’s jock, and to lead with my strengths which were writing and humour.
The ‘here I am’ piece to camera
Our application process demanded two video pieces.
One was a four minute edited story that mimicked what you might make if you were selected for the show. I’ll chat through this in a later post.
The other was a video introducing yourself, explaining who you are and what you do and why you’d be a good candidate for Race Around the World. What TV people call a piece to camera (PTC)
Mine (above) doesn’t hit the highs of John’s, and when I watch it now I cringe a little at my tense arms and rote learned script, but it did do some important jobs for me. It demonstrated:
I had ideas and had put time and effort into the ideas.
I would try to be funny
I was self deprecating and probably willing to make a fool of myself on national television (the last story about Sam at Merricks Beach on New Years Eve, too embarrassing to repeat here!)
An ability to think visually (the ascending backdrop of footy ovals - finishing with the MCG) and that I went to the trouble of organsing a shoot at the MCG (see time and effort point #1)
Biographical details including footy career, attempting to be a writer, travel history, living overseas, employment as a lawyer — a general sense that I was an oversized doofus with a strong work ethic who was a bit of a footy-head but who knew who Toni Morrison was.
In other words, I was helping them with their casting, and attempting to show that I’d be capable and creative — that I’d be good! I remember writing the script quite painstakingly, and memorising it.
For this year’s applicants, the piece to camera task is as follows:
‘Your moment to shine’
It really is crucial that you nail this. The stories or produced pieces you submit are important too, but this is the personality moment, and they’re casting a reality show. They want to find personalities!
This PTC has to do so many jobs, that you’ll at least want a bullet point outline of things to say. Again, keep in mind that you’re trying to leap out of a pool of 5000 to be in the top forty! Don’t just turn your phone on and ramble about how much you enjoyed your backpacking trip around South America. That’s not going to catapult you far enough. So many people are going to say something like, ‘hello, um, I’m Tony and I um would love to do Race Around the World, because I love travel and meeting people … and um …’
Um, they’ve already moved to the next video.
The line I like best in my PTC is the first line. A requirement in our season was that Racers had to be between twenty and thirty years of age (they seem to have dropped the upper age limit for 2026) and by pure date serendipity, I had a decent first joke:
‘Hi I’m Tony Wilson and I work as a commercial solicitor in a Melbourne law firm, and I actually turn 25 today, so if you’re looking for somebody between twenty and thirty, you’re not going to find somebody more between twenty and thirty than me.’
It is important to nail those first fifteen seconds. If they do get 5000 applications, I’m guessing selectors won’t watch 5000 two minute videos the whole way through. Nail your first line! Have an idea, a joke, or an attention grabbling activity that accompanies the words.
If you’re a dancer, maybe you’re dancing? If you’re a marine biologist, maybe you deliver the first twenty seconds underwater as burbled water bubbles with subtitles. If you’re a kindergarten teacher, maybe the kids plead your case in nursery rhyme song. What they want to see is imagination and effort.
It’s there in the PTC task description: ‘get creative .. whether it’s through storytelling, humour or a unique setting’.
A note on AI
I went to enormous trouble to get access to the MCG for my piece. Nowadays, you can literally be anywhere with a green screen, and do things like cast yourself as a Simpsons character or have the cast of the Godfather debate your merits as a Racer.
I would be wary using any AI. I’m an old bastard and so might be getting this wrong, but in my world of creative arts there is scepticism and anger about AI. A lot of us feel exploited and vulnerable when it comes to LLMs. You wouldn’t want to spend weeks producing an AI application, only for the casting eyes to say, ‘nup, we don’t want AI.’ Having said that, anything done well enough can work. Maybe you use AI to show how much you won’t use AI? Personally I wouldn’t risk it. Finding a brilliant setting and idea in real life is likely to win more points than a quirky zoom background, because Race was the ultimate real life sort of show. The romance of the road loses something if what we’re seeing isn’t true.
To script or ad lib
I knew my script word-for-word. Nowadays, after many years of practise delivering PTCs, I’d try to be looser than I was in 1997, in order to be less stiff and more natural. But the problem with looseness, is that it usually adds time, and it can become flabby and unfunny and you waste time on stuff that’s not really serving your cause. You can also lose the perfect shape of a joke, as written.
It ends up being a balance. If you’re a strong ad libber, go from bullet points. It will be more natural. If you’re more of a writer, learn the script and deliver it as conversationally as you can. Remember to smile, unless not smiling is your thing! Have fun! One thing that is difficult to nail is autocue. If you’re nervous, you might be tempted to have your script on the screen in front of you, or on your phone (there are autocue apps now) but this can look really weird and static. If eyes are roaming, you won’t come across as the free spirited adventurer they want you to be. You’ll give off newsreader vibes.
I’d treat the suggested 1-2 minute timeframe as a strict guideline. They don’t word it as a deal breaker, but you don’t want to give an easy reason to be discarded. Certainly, a three minute video is too long.1
One advantage a 2026 applicant has is that we’re all used to jump cuts now, and there are so many editing tools. You probably won’t have to memorise long slabs of text, like I did back in 1997. There is no issue jump cutting between sections and stories, settings and backdrops. You can aim for so much more movement and energy than I managed as a media novice in a trad media age. Mind you, a boring idea or story won’t be saved by zip pans and fancy fonts. Think about what you want to say. Imagination and effort!
It’s easier to be the best version of your authentic self, than to force a persona.2
Technical tips
My co-director for two feature documentaries, Cam Fink, runs online seminars called ‘Be Less Shit on Camera’. He knows so much about pieces to camera, including technical stuff involving phones, cameras and mics. Over to you, Cam Fink !
- Your energy matters more than anything else. Your comfort is the audience’s comfort. Get comfortable recording anywhere, anytime, with anyone. Try the Banana Hat challenge. (see below)
- You’ve got a “presenter” voice, and a conversation voice. ALWAYS use your conversation voice. You’re not reading the news.3
- Avoid writing scripts. People don’t speak how they write. Instead, practice and refine your message out loud, on camera.
- Phone cameras today are incredible, but the selfie camera isn’t as good as the dual or triple cameras on the back.
- Learn to shoot selfie videos with the 0.5 lens. The wide angle is more interesting, you’re less crammed in the shot, and you won’t be tempted to look at yourself.
- Camera movement makes most shots more interesting. Image stabilisation in phone cameras is basically sorcery now, so you don’t need special equipment. Slow and steady handheld movement does the job.
- Learn how to lock and adjust exposure, white balance, and focus. You’ll want that for your arty shots.
- Get a good off-camera lav mic. Stick it to the inside of your shirt with athletic strapping tape, and wear it all day. You might only have one chance at a shot.
Thanks Cam! Fantastic words of advice.
Here is the Banana Hat challenge!
That’s it for PTC. I’ll be back next week with some advice on the written application, and the video/story tasks.
Drop me a comment or a ❤ like (or even a paid upgrade!) if this has been helpful. Good luck with your applications!
Best wishes
Tony
My other Substack Speakola newsletter is about great speeches. The latest edition was about Whitlam and ‘Well may we say …’ . The Speakola podcast is rebooting next week with me interviewing Steve Kilbey from The Church about his 2010 Aria Hall of Fame speech.
Mine is over three minutes, but our guidelines were different. From memory, 2-3 minutes introduction, plus one minute story from your life.
Having said that, John Safran found a persona that worked. Even in his application video, he’s more brazen and confrontational than he is in real life. He made a persona work and built a career on it.
I agree with Cam that conversational and easygoing beats newsreader, but remember it is a performance! Armchair laconic with soft voice and drawn out pauses won’t work either (usually!)
