We felt like she had perfect control throughout the day. Even relax. Just 60 seconds before the broadcast, it was time to hear him confess to some excitement: “Moman is nervous! »
Posted at 5:00 am
Véronique Cloutier is seen in close-up as she waits for the countdown to the second season of Zénith to begin. She suddenly seems worried and – surprisingly – fallible. His look changed. Her face shows signs of nervousness, which she will confirm to us after the show. Alone in the middle of a crowded studio, she silently rehearses her opening lines. “Let’s go, Vero! » chimes a spectator.
Then the presenter makes a joke, which she repeats as her stress levels skyrocket: “I'm making a load of white wine!” »
But once the recording begins, we know she doesn't want to be anywhere else, especially not in front of her washing machine overseeing a delicate cycle.
It's 8 p.m. and Véronique Cloutier is regaining her usual confidence… which she will maintain until the end credits and beyond. The presenter is upset after the show, appears excited and “full of gratitude,” an expression she has used regularly for some time. She admires the work of the team behind Zénith and admits she is moved.
I often had tears in my eyes during the numbers. There aren't many jobs that can demand something like that.
Veronique Cloutier
rigor and pleasure
Véronique Cloutier hasn't left the Grandé Studios since this morning. When we arrived around 10 a.m. she was already in technical rehearsals. Dressed in black jeans and a gray hoodie with the Zénith logo, she sees us and comes towards us for two reasons: to greet us… and above all to explain to us that she is wearing her hat backwards so that she can the technicians can adjust certain lighting effects and not because she is in her “rapper” phase.
PHOTO BENOIT ROUSSEAU, PROVIDED BY RADIO-CANADA
Véronique Cloutier collects Rafaëlle Roy's impressions after her performance at the Zénith.
The step is arduous and lasts until 12:30 p.m. In particular, it allows correction of multiple transitions and camera movements. The singers who perform in the evening do not take part. While they wait to arrive, they are replaced by communications students. On television, these extras are commonly called “crabs.”
Despite the difficulty of the exercise, Véronique Cloutier enjoys it. She invents choreographies with Mariève Proulx and Franck Julien (the choir members), she claps (Claude Bégin is said to have proposed to Lysandre Nadeau in Jamaica), she imitates Marie-Mai on Big Brother Celebrities (“I love Marie-Mai,” explains – her), she sends emails (her cell phone within reach, in her back pocket)… When a “crab” sings “You Oughta Know” by Alanis Morissette so the team can find their way in the karaoke segment, the host points like this so much enthusiasm that you could swear the recording was in full swing. The same enthusiasm during Johnny Farago's Trois Petits coups.
“I want us to take the time to do things well, but we have to keep the spirit of the show,” she explains in an interview.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Véronique Cloutier, interviewed during a break in rehearsals
For me it is important that we work in a good mood, that we are grateful, benevolent and united. We are lucky to do what we do.
Veronique Cloutier
“A war machine”
Véronique Cloutier works without a teleprompter, except when introducing the artists at the beginning of the broadcast, when they appear behind the rotating columns as we hear the introductory music. Everything has to be perfectly synchronized. One sentence too many and everything goes wrong, as we discovered during our visit. The presenter also wears a headset, but the instructions are clear: it should only be used in the event of a technical glitch, such as a pointing bug.
“It's a war machine,” says Sophie Morasse, Radio-Canada's new interim general manager of television.
Véronique Cloutier ensures a relaxed atmosphere in front of and behind the camera throughout the day. Whether she's laughing out loud at the CCM (hair, costume, makeup) with Marcus Villeneuve, her official hairdresser, cheering on the candidates between two rehearsal blocks or recording news to feed social networks, her energy circulates behind the scenes, confirming the content Producer and co-designer of the show, Dominic Anctil, who has worked with the presenter for around ten years.
“Everyone is trying to develop the machine further. People are generous. It starts in Vero. She is a soldier. She always brings her team forward. It seeps away. A ripple effect is created. »
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Véronique Cloutier in the care of Marcus Villeneuve, her hairdresser
Just a moderator
Normally, Véronique Cloutier would slip away in the afternoon to host her radio show on Rouge FM, in a specially equipped room less than a hundred meters away, “graciously made available by Grandé and the France Beaudoin team”, where the latter records the universe live every Saturday. She would resurface around 6 p.m., just in time to complete the preparations. But this week the presenter took some time out from Fantastic to focus on Zénith.
On this cold winter day, does she feel like she's taking one last breath before embarking on a freedive that she won't emerge from until spring? Not at all, she replies.
I just animate. You would have to ask other departments. They are the ones who hang a drum kit from the ceiling, who make the costumes, who design the performances. They are the ones who need to take a deep breath.
Veronique Cloutier
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Véronique Cloutier, in conversation with our journalist
Tiki debriefing
It is now 9:45 p.m. The recording ended almost an hour ago. The show went well. After a nine-month break, we can speak of flawless performance for the first time.
Véronique Cloutier is surrounded by the Zénith team in the cafeteria area of the Grandé Studios for a celebratory debriefing over a drink served by Élyse Marquis at the tiki-style bar. KOTV's president and host's wife, Louis Morissette, joined the group. The actual assessment will take place tomorrow.
Still full of adrenaline, Véro plans to continue their conversations, let the dust settle, and then return home to fall asleep around 1 a.m.
“When I was 22 and hosting The Fury, it was more like 4am,” she explains.
At 49, Moman needs sleep to stay in top shape.