Reality TV. Troy DeVolld

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СКАЧАТЬ season of another MTV series called The Osbournes, a show built around the day-to-day lives of music’s legendary “Prince of Darkness,” Ozzy Osbourne, and his family. There, I worked as the Dailies Coordinator¹ within a story department that included writers and producers hailing from sitcoms, Saturday Night Live, and even Sex In the City. I learned more about shaping story on that show than I ever thought possible, including how to gently tweak naturally occurring reality to achieve a funnier or more dramatic end result.

      Today, all this time and twenty-something projects later, I’m lucky enough to be able to look back on a resume packed with not only a number of successful, Emmy®-nominated programs, but many of the shows regarded as milestones in the genre. From The Surreal Life to Dancing With the Stars, I’ve been blessed by stints on some of the most iconic and enduring Reality shows on American television, learning plenty along the way.

      As long as we’re on the subject of good fortune, I’ve also managed to become one of the most consistently employed Story Producers / Supervising Story Producers / Supervising Producers in Reality TV.² The old Buick I crossed the country in has long since been traded away for something a little shinier and more dependable, and I’ve gone from crashing on a living room futon in the sketchier reaches of Culver City to a beautiful apartment in North Hollywood where, if I step out onto my balcony, I can spy the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences over on the next block.

      Best of all, though, I’m now frequently asked to share my experiences with traditional film and TV writers hoping to cross over, as well as media students all over the country who are looking to catch a break in Reality production. I’m a big believer in sharing what you know with the next generation coming up, as I know how much I’ve benefitted from the counsel of my elders in the business, many of whom have been at it for as much as a half-century or more.

      Which brings us to this book.

      A final, important point before we move on: I’m not writing this book to gratify my ego or to make a quick dollar.³ I’m putting fingertips to keyboard to ensure that anyone who wants to catch a break on the creative end of Reality Television will know how and where to start the journey in this nutty genre… and that they get that information from someone who actually does it for a living.

      Additionally, I promise not to pad the book out with lists of addresses and names that are outdated as soon as the book goes to press, or to waste your time telling self-aggrandizing stories about celebrities I’ve met or worked with.⁴ You deserve better than that for your hard-earned money and the time you’ll invest in reading this book, and there’s very little that a bunch of photos of me standing next to Dancing With the Stars host Tom Bergeron could teach you except which one of us looks better in a suit.⁵

      The concern here is that you get a practical, useful overview of the process designed to either get you into the business of Reality Television or heighten your appreciation for the work that goes into your favorite shows.

      In return, all I ask is that you let me know if the info’s been of any use to you or if you have questions or needs that future printings should address. As I mentioned in the “How To Use This Book” section a while back, you can reach me with comments or for advice through my blog, www.realitytvbook.com, or by email at [email protected]. Before you hit “send,” however, please understand that I neither read nor accept submissions of any kind, and as a precautionary measure I don’t read anything with an attachment. I prefer to limit my advice to beginning-to-mid-career issues, avoiding the topic of pitching shows, though if your needs are more involved and specific to a project you’re gearing up to sell, I’d be happy to consult with you at a reasonable fee depending on how deep in production or postproduction I am at any given time.⁶

      Oh, and one more thing. In my struggle to keep things real, you’ll find that just about every chapter of this book kicks off with a personal anecdote about my own experiences in Reality Television or those related to me by close friends in the business. It is in these “My Reality” moments that I hope you’ll get the best snapshots of what the day-to-day experience of working in Reality TV is really like. It’s hard work, but I sure do enjoy it.

      Onward!

      Note

      1. A title I have never heard used before or since in Reality TV, supporting the story department by generating reports on raw source material and assembling rough highlights reels.

      2. Don’t worry, I’ll be demystifying the multiple job titles later.

      3. As evidenced by the fact that I’ve added no teenage wizards or vampires to juice sales.

      4. Much of the time, I never even meet the stars of the shows I work on until long after my job is done. I’ll explain why later!

      5. Bergeron. Hands down.

      6. TV is where I make my living, so my first priority is whatever show I’m on at the time.

       Chapter Zero and Rule Number One:

      Story is Story, and Story is Written. Sort Of.

      A few years back I was at a friend’s home with a number of other creative types when someone happened to mention Reality Television. I was hastily volunteered as an expert on the genre, and for a few minutes the roomful of (mostly) other writers seemed interested in hearing just what the heck it was I did for a living. That is, until a certain successful screenwriter combatively pitched in his two cents:

      “Come on, though. You don’t really call it writing, do you?”

      “Actually, yes, I do.”

      “But you’re not creating literary material. You’re just… editing.”

      “Well, sure, compressing time is a big part of what I do, but I also write outlines, interview content, narration, host material....”

      “But it’s not really writing.”

      Try as I might, I couldn’t convince the guy that my job had a writing component of any kind. Sadly, his uninformed opinion (which he was prepared to defend until the cows came home) was sorely indicative of most people’s take on Reality TV.

      Now, I’m not about to try to convince you that every word and action in a Reality show is scripted. It’s just not. Ever. Even the most heavily “produced” shows have some naturally occurring elements.

      The recipe for every Reality show is different. Sometimes writing and content manipulation are applied as sparingly as one would sprinkle a strong spice, and other times they’re the main ingredients. Some shows follow a natural timeline and endeavor to play reality straight, in which case the story team’s focus is applied to the compression of time. Other programs shred content like a salad shooter, stitching together bits of dialogue and action, repurposing scenes left and right.¹

      There is no Reality show I’m aware of that’s comprised of a straight-up, uncut piece of source footage. Someone’s there, pulling strings behind the scenes to at least some extent, on every Reality show there’s ever been, compressing time and performing myriad other duties to make the end product more engaging and entertaining.

      Why do we hesitate, then, to acknowledge the work of storytellers in the Reality genre? If real life doesn’t happen СКАЧАТЬ