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Elizabeth.June

Elizabeth.June

Dec 19, 2011
326
11
North Carolina
Last weekend during my annual trip to USF, I was walking through the studios and a lady pulled my mother and I off to the side to answer a few questions about the shows we generally watch on TV. After the short survey, we were offered $45 dollars apiece to watch and critic the rough cut of a pilot for a new TV series. Because we could stand a little extra cash and we had some time to spare, we accepted. The show was okay, albeit a little cheesy, but the hour or so we spent was worth the money (we were paid cash on the spot).

Have you guys ever been offered this? I'm just curious to see if any of you guys have participated in these surveys :wave:
 
We did one years ago that had us go into some offices behind Finnegans, if I remember correctly, to taste test some stuff. I don't remember what it even was but I think the gave us like $15 worth of Universal Studios money. This going back like maybe 8 years or so and remember bits and pieces.
 
This is quite common in the Universal parks. It used to be even more common with the studios being so connected to production. It is still done every now and then and it is worth the experience. I used to try and hang out near the facade in NY in order to get a chance at it.

I did get to taste test some french vanilla and hot chocolate stuff in Hollywood once. They paid us ten Universal Dollars.
 
I remember when I was really young my mom and grandmother did a taste test for Chex mix...I don't remember much though except being really angry that we ended up spending like an hour to 2 hours in there when I hardly ever got to go to the parks except for something like my birthday.
 
It's cool to know that its not just TV shows they pay for… It was regular money we got paid though, not Universal Dollars (even though I spent most of it in Harry Potter later that day so it might as well have been :lol: )
 
I've done two for food tasting, one was like Cheetos and the other was some type of Mexican cracker. Each taste test had like 4 or 5 samples as well. I remember getting cash on the first one and Universal bucks on the second, and it was only like 5 bucks too.
 
Our group had the chance to participate in a few of these over the last few years. First, my best friend and I were asked to do some taste testing on the upper floor of Lombard's. We sampled pre-made pie desserts that would typically be served at a place like Burger King. If I remember, we were rewarded with either $15 or $20 a piece in Universal Money. The following year, we were invited to do the same thing you mentioned for a TV show at the Delancey Street Preview Center. We were shown a pilot for some reality show and then given a survey. All four of the people in my group did it, and we were given the same $45 in cash that you mentioned. We actually went back looking for it the next year and did it again (apparently there was a rule that you can only do it once a year, if I remember correctly). Personally, I thought it was great to have those options available, especially considering how much money you can go through in a theme park.
 
Just like the test screenings commonplace in Hollywood for feature films, NBCUniversal conducts a bunch of in-park sessions where guests are asked to watch and critique a pilot for any of their networks. Most recent examples I've heard of being shown at UOR include The Office's spinoff for Dwight's character where he visits his oddball family on a farm, the pilot for Chicago Fire which has already aired, and a pilot for an ambitious scripted series for the Syfy channel called Defiance due to air next Spring. These sessions and resulting opinions shape the final edits of the pilot that is chosen to air.
 
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Haven't done one of these in years but, I've done 3 or 4 and my parents have done a few too. My friend actually did one last week for I believe the pilot, and got cash, which he spent on drinks at Finn's. The ones I have done have been for food, and each time I've gotten about $10 Universal. That wasn't so bad when me and my sister both got it and didn't have to split the money.
 
BJCool said:
Just like the test screenings commonplace in Hollywood for feature films, NBCUniversal conducts a bunch of in-park sessions where guests are asked to watch and critique a pilot for any of their networks. Most recent examples I've heard of being shown at UOR include The Office's spinoff for Dwight's character where he visits his oddball family on a farm, the pilot for Chicago Fire which has already aired, and a pilot for an ambitious scripted series for the Syfy channel called Defiance due to air next Spring. These sessions and resulting opinions shape the final edits of the pilot that is chosen to air.
Click to expand...

The one my mom and I saw was Defiance :smiley:
 
My friend and I showed up at about 2PM on the 20th for HHN that night. They told us it would take 2 hours and we would get $40. We had just done Rip Ride Rockit and didn't know what we wanted to do next, and after he read off the shows it would probably be similar to (including Walking Dead, Falling Skies and Arrow) we signed up. Ended up being DEFIANCE for SyFy. Film was 87 minutes long with a lengthy survey after. Both us really enjoyed the show and wrote that it was surprising to find out the show would be on SyFy as it actually looked like a quality show and not the crap I normally see on their. I probably never would have given the show a shot seeing it would be on SyFy, but the pilot was damn good for that type of show. We got paid $40 each, cash.
 
BJCool said:
Just like the test screenings commonplace in Hollywood for feature films, NBCUniversal conducts a bunch of in-park sessions where guests are asked to watch and critique a pilot for any of their networks. Most recent examples I've heard of being shown at UOR include The Office's spinoff for Dwight's character where he visits his oddball family on a farm, the pilot for Chicago Fire which has already aired, and a pilot for an ambitious scripted series for the Syfy channel called Defiance due to air next Spring. These sessions and resulting opinions shape the final edits of the pilot that is chosen to air.
Click to expand...

They just scrapped plans to move ahead with that Office spinoff too so I guess it must be pretty bad. I would take cash to sit and watch it though, simply out of curiosity.
 
derekburgan said:
My friend and I showed up at about 2PM on the 20th for HHN that night. They told us it would take 2 hours and we would get $40. We had just done Rip Ride Rockit and didn't know what we wanted to do next, and after he read off the shows it would probably be similar to (including Walking Dead, Falling Skies and Arrow) we signed up. Ended up being DEFIANCE for SyFy. Film was 87 minutes long with a lengthy survey after. Both us really enjoyed the show and wrote that it was surprising to find out the show would be on SyFy as it actually looked like a quality show and not the crap I normally see on their. I probably never would have given the show a shot seeing it would be on SyFy, but the pilot was damn good for that type of show. We got paid $40 each, cash.
Click to expand...

That was about the time I went too. It sounds like you had a longer survey, but you were paid $5 less than me...
 
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