Reality TV. Troy DeVolld

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СКАЧАТЬ friends, is a mystery so easily solved there’s no need to call in Scooby Doo and The Mystery Gang to investigate. Reality shows have writers and producers (albeit with unusual job titles) who all endeavor to shape story and bring you the most realistic end product they can… a passable imitation of life.²

      But how does it all come together? Here’s a simple exercise that’ll help you to understand the basics:

THE HOME IMPROVEMENTS HOW EXERCISE

      In high school, you may have peeked inside a frog or two in biology class. Ages ago, frogs became a standard tool for basic anatomical study due to the fact that their physiology makes them easier to dissect than most other types of animals. More pointedly, our little green friends have the misfortune of being comprised of easily identifiable guts.

      In the world of Reality Television, basic cable home improvement shows are my first choice as “lab frogs” because most of them share a similar construction and aren’t generally too complicated. They easily demonstrate concepts like compression of time, use of host voice over and interview content to enhance stakes³ and that sort of thing.

      Try this little exercise at home: Select any do-it-yourself home improvement Reality program and prepare to study two or three episodes. Make it easy on yourself and try a 30-minute program first.

      Grab a stopwatch and a notepad, settle in and start viewing. Count the number of acts and jot down when certain events occur within the overall structure of the show.

      During your review, keep an eye peeled for these specific moments:

      • “Tonight On” tease (a glimpse ahead at the show you’re about to see)

      • Opening Title Sequence

      • Introduction of the Host and Designer/Contractor

      • Introduction of the Location, Homeowner and Project

      • Consultation

      • Commencement of Work

      • Introduction of First Hurdle to the Project⁴

      • Overcoming of the First Hurdle

      • Introduction of Second (Larger) Hurdle to the Project⁵

      • Overcoming of the Second Hurdle

      • Completion of Project

      • Review of Project

      Amazing how the action across all those episodes falls into pretty much the same formatted pattern over the same number of acts every time, isn’t it? How fortuitous that every week something naturally goes horribly awry with a budget or deadline not once but twice, the second time always worse than the first! Well, gang, if every fix or remodel was that problematic, pretty soon no one on Earth would let those shows’ contractors and hosts anywhere near their gutted, run-down fixer-uppers. I know I wouldn’t.

      In all fairness, a few things are bound to go a little haywire anytime you’re doing a project with unskilled labor. But as to whether or not an entire project could be jeopardized by someone’s wife leaving a hammer outside in the rain, well, our friends in the story department⁶ are just the ones to blame for putting more than a little spin on that action.

      How much spin?

      Just look at how much interview and voice over drives the story along. Most of the heavy lifting in home improvement shows is done with those devices — voice over and interview. Sure, a little gab throughout helps you to interpret actions that might be confusing without a little explanation, but moreover, it’s that interview content and host copy that tells you how you should feel about what you’re looking at.

      For example… you’ve got a shot of a guy looking at a section of rotted flooring. Think about how much differently you’d react to hearing the host or narrator deliver each of these lines in conjunction with the image:

      • “Ted sees this as a challenge. He’ll have to replace the entire floor, and he can’t wait to dig in with his new tools.”

      • “Termite damage means the cost of the project could triple. It’s the beginning of the end for Ted’s dream project.”

      • “The good news is, the termite damage is confined to a small area. Ted’s lucked out this time.”

      Wait a minute… you mean you could be looking at something that happened naturally, but was narratively tailored to suit the broader storyline?

      Eeyup.

      Like I said… story is story, and story is written. Sort of.

So Why Don’t I See Writers Credited On Reality Shows?

      Good question.⁷

      Some networks and producers like to pretend that their shows aren’t manipulated or scripted, not even a smidge, because they think it’ll spoil the illusion. Others obscure the process as part of an ongoing effort to stave off unionization of their corner of the industry, a battle that’s raged on for years.

      One of the reasons it’s hard to figure out who does what in Reality TV is the fact that nonunion Reality shops don’t have universal guidelines in place to adhere to in defining writing and producing titles. The credit roll at the end of a show means nothing to the untrained observer who might be hunting for a “writer” credit, and what the heck do all those other weird titles mean?

      Before graduating to the title of Supervising Producer, I always preferred to take variations on the “Story Producer” credit to the alternate “Story Editor” credit, even though they’re exactly the same gig nine times out of ten. It’s true!⁸ On some programs, especially in the case of live shows with some produced-to-tape elements incorporated into the broadcast, story folks are even called “Segment Producers.”

      In the odd case where you do see the title of “Writer” fly through the credits, it most often represents the person who authors the host’s on-camera patter and off-camera voice over… and even then, writing that host copy doesn’t ensure the credit. I’ve written thousands of lines of voice over and host content for shows and have yet to be afforded a “writer” credit. Not that I’m complaining, mind you. It’s just that if a “written by” or “writer” credit is important to you on some spiritual or ego-gratifying level, you’d be better off concentrating your energies on sitcoms and dramas.

      According to a 2007 independent study conducted by Goodwin Simon Victoria Research at the request of the Writers Guild of America West, the average Story Producer in Reality Television earned $2,000 to $2,500 per week⁹ compared to the WGA minimum rates of $3,600 to $3,800 per week commanded by lower-end sitcom staff writers. Figure in the pension and health benefits afforded to WGA members by mandatory contributions from signatory production companies and the pay chasm widens even further.¹⁰ I don’t even want to discuss the residuals¹¹ that Reality folks never see, because then I’ll start crying and you’ll have paid for a very short book that didn’t tell you very much.¹²

      Still interested in a career in Reality Television? Good. I knew you wouldn’t scare off that easily.

What Does A Story Producer Do, Exactly?

      It’s СКАЧАТЬ