http://www.starnow.co.uk/Casting-Calls/Reality-TV/tv_family_mediation_series_need_sep.htm
A new reality TV show is advertising for aplicants this is what it says:
TV family mediation series need separated couples with kids
New Living TV series that aims to help couples who have split up but have kids together
Are you a father who finds it hard to communicate with your children now you’re no longer living under the same roof? Would you like help to rebuild your relationship with them? Or are you a mother finding it hard to juggle work and raising your children and need your ex to take more responsibility?
Maybe you’d like help working through a difficult relationship with your ex and would like help from our mediators and legal experts? Do you see your children as often as you’d like? Or does your ex have a new partner and you’re worried about where you fit into your child’s life now?
Living TV is making a new programme that aims to help parents like you work things out for the sake of your children. Our team of experts who specialise in this area could help you reach an amicable arrangement and find a real resolution to improving your child’s happiness.
Location: London, United Kingdom
Payment details: no pay
Any gender, aged 18 to 50 from the United Kingdom
Casting:
Producers of programmes play on the needs and desires of people in society and use their situations for entertainment!- This is shown through the rhetorical questions, inclusive and emotive language.
Similar to big brother- plays on peoples desire to be rich and famous
Could come dine with me play on pride and competition- to be the best cook on the show?
Why is this relevant?
If producers select "desperate","vunerable" or "proud" contestants for their show it will create emotional drama, dramatic conflicts and lots of competition- and this is what audiences want- making the show popular!
Tuesday 26 October 2010
Why is the reality genre so popular?
http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews195612.html
These are peoples reviews of Come Dine With Me. This will give some feedback on what makes a reality programme successful...
NEWREVIEWQUEEN's review (8th Mar 2010, 5 stars)
Come dine with me is true entertainment for the real life food critic. The show focuses on creating a three course meal to satisfy guests which are all unknown to the host of the night but the twists and turns along the way are classic comedy moments. The narrator is a genius of whit. All round great show.
Taylott's review ()
Come Dine With Me is brilliant. Great Sunday evening viewing! Basically, you have a handful of people; get them to cook for each other during the course of a week, and each contestant gets to score each contestant at the end of each meal! The winner gets £1000!
Obviously the contestants aren't experienced chefs; they're just like you and me, which makes it great. Some can cook, others really can't... but it's the gossiping and scheming that makes this programme. The narrator is absolutely brilliant. Sometimes I watch it just to hear his quick sarcastic quips.
I suppose to a certain extent it's real life telly. You get to see other people's homes, the way they cook, and ultimately how they interact with complete strangers. Some get on, but some do not. Good light hearted entertainment.
What makes Come Dine With Me successful?
Comedy moments- created by twists and turns (narrative shifs)
Narrator- entertaining comical- says what we really thing (reflects british society- we don't say how we feel- contrast in openess of narrator and reserved ideologies of a dinner party)
Scheeduling- Sunday night (family audience- widens audiences)
Winning prize £1000- triggers competition and entertainment for audiences.
Competitors- ordinary people
Gossip and schemening- structure of the show- contestants have the chance to privatly say how they feel- creates gossip and scheming
The element of voyerism-contestants and audience get to pry into other people's lives (again reflecting british society- wanting to know about others lives- celebrity culture)
These are peoples reviews of Come Dine With Me. This will give some feedback on what makes a reality programme successful...
NEWREVIEWQUEEN's review (8th Mar 2010, 5 stars)
Come dine with me is true entertainment for the real life food critic. The show focuses on creating a three course meal to satisfy guests which are all unknown to the host of the night but the twists and turns along the way are classic comedy moments. The narrator is a genius of whit. All round great show.
Taylott's review ()
Come Dine With Me is brilliant. Great Sunday evening viewing! Basically, you have a handful of people; get them to cook for each other during the course of a week, and each contestant gets to score each contestant at the end of each meal! The winner gets £1000!
Obviously the contestants aren't experienced chefs; they're just like you and me, which makes it great. Some can cook, others really can't... but it's the gossiping and scheming that makes this programme. The narrator is absolutely brilliant. Sometimes I watch it just to hear his quick sarcastic quips.
I suppose to a certain extent it's real life telly. You get to see other people's homes, the way they cook, and ultimately how they interact with complete strangers. Some get on, but some do not. Good light hearted entertainment.
What makes Come Dine With Me successful?
Comedy moments- created by twists and turns (narrative shifs)
Narrator- entertaining comical- says what we really thing (reflects british society- we don't say how we feel- contrast in openess of narrator and reserved ideologies of a dinner party)
Scheeduling- Sunday night (family audience- widens audiences)
Winning prize £1000- triggers competition and entertainment for audiences.
Competitors- ordinary people
Gossip and schemening- structure of the show- contestants have the chance to privatly say how they feel- creates gossip and scheming
The element of voyerism-contestants and audience get to pry into other people's lives (again reflecting british society- wanting to know about others lives- celebrity culture)
Reality TV: the Big Brother phenomenon (article)
http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=314&issue=114
Important quotes from the article:
"The kinds of programmes known as ‘reality TV’ form a very mixed bag. They include what are essentially game shows, such as Big Brother, ‘docusoaps’ such as Airport and ‘true crime’ shows such as Crimewatch UK."
There is a wide range of documentaries and therefore makes the genre accessible to a wide audience.
"The popularity of such programmes is located in the shifting economics of broadcasting, which involves increasing competition and a move from the search for a mass audience to a niche audience. Television began as a technology that could only sustain a small number of channels. The imperative was to try to attract the largest possible number of people to a channel, and programme types such as the soap opera, the situation comedy and the variety show were developed precisely to generate this ‘mass’ audience."
This is explaining that the more channels that were created, the more competition there was for the mass audience and niche channels targeting niche audiences. This meant that terrestial channels such as BBC and ITV had to create progammes that targeted both niche and mass audiences- the reality genre- which made it very popular.
They used many techniques to gain wider audiences:
"find new programme types that could still gather a mass audience but which were much less expensive than the traditional formats";
"making new programmes that are quite like old programmes that were a hit or by reusing a format that has succeeded in another broadcasting market";
"commercialise programmes more fully, for example by pushing associated merchandise such as books and DVDs, and using the same material across different platforms";
"develop programme types that appealed to particularly desirable audience segments"
"It was this combination of factors that led to the rise of the wide variety of reality TV shows. Such shows are relatively cheap, and some are very cheap indeed. There is no need to pay writers or actors, no endless rehearsals, no need for elaborate sets, no need for rights clearance for music, and so on. Using ‘ordinary’ people, and later minor and declining celebrities, is a cheap way to make television:
Reality programming provides a cheap alternative to drama. Typically, an hour-long drama can cost approximately $1.5m (£875,000) per hour, whereas reality programmes can cost as little as $200,000 (£114,000) per hour."
It could be argued that the reason the genre was popular was because:
New fresh idea
Appealed to a wide audience
There was a variety accessible due to its production was cheap and easy
"The flood of ‘documentary’ films about passing a driving test, working in the air transport industry, looking after animals, and the flood of makeover programmes about houses, clothes and body shape, all fit this economic dynamic exactly."
The doumentary element made it seem very real to audiences allowing them to identify with characters and situations. The subjects would very much appeal to people in society reflection social issues and morals.
Big Brother-internationally known, created in Neatherland- The company sold the idea making money. The show however is very expensive e.g. staff, cameras, celeb fees...
Why is this genre regarded as real?
Fly on the wall documentaries- vouyeristc
Characters are not famous or actors- everyday people
No scripts or rehersals- "live" action
Mediation
First process is selecting:
"The process of manipulation begins long before the shooting starts. The selection of contestants is the first hurdle"
"‘Ordinary’ contestants get a fee to cover expenses—for these contestants, a major motive often seems to be a desire to become a celebrity and to work in television. Certainly some people, Jade Goody for example, have seen their lives transformed by success."
It could be argued the producers select the "fame hungry" as they will act abnormal or stand out deliberatly or try to be overtly entertaining for audience purpose - which arguably is unrealistic in life.
"In fact, the people we get to see are the product of an elaborate process of selection in which the producers choose a group that they hope will produce good television"
The original producer of the show said: "There are three crucial factors in the production of Big Brother: casting, casting and casting"
"The process of selection for the 2007 show, which closed in February, was rather simpler, which may reflect reduced public interest" Is there a possible link between the more effort put into the mediation process the more popular the show is?
"The contrived nature of the environment, with many of the determinants (eg work) and distractions (eg television) that characterise our everyday lives removed, acts strongly to prioritise personal interactions based upon taste and interest. This probability is intensified through the interventions of the disembodied Big Brother himself and the tasks set for the participants" Isolation and the removal of distractions intensify the show and create more drama!
"In order to achieve dramatic narratives, the producers ruthlessly edit the raw footage" key word being "narratives"- produces are trying to impose ideologies in there text but present them as real. Editing is another process of creating narrative.
"Just as much as anything else on television, Big Brother is constructed to attract and hold an audience which will, in a commercial context, be sold to the highest bidder. It uses ‘real’ people in certain kinds of ‘real’ situations, but it chooses and manipulates them in order to produce narrative, drama and conflict. "
Important quotes from the article:
"The kinds of programmes known as ‘reality TV’ form a very mixed bag. They include what are essentially game shows, such as Big Brother, ‘docusoaps’ such as Airport and ‘true crime’ shows such as Crimewatch UK."
There is a wide range of documentaries and therefore makes the genre accessible to a wide audience.
"The popularity of such programmes is located in the shifting economics of broadcasting, which involves increasing competition and a move from the search for a mass audience to a niche audience. Television began as a technology that could only sustain a small number of channels. The imperative was to try to attract the largest possible number of people to a channel, and programme types such as the soap opera, the situation comedy and the variety show were developed precisely to generate this ‘mass’ audience."
This is explaining that the more channels that were created, the more competition there was for the mass audience and niche channels targeting niche audiences. This meant that terrestial channels such as BBC and ITV had to create progammes that targeted both niche and mass audiences- the reality genre- which made it very popular.
They used many techniques to gain wider audiences:
"find new programme types that could still gather a mass audience but which were much less expensive than the traditional formats";
"making new programmes that are quite like old programmes that were a hit or by reusing a format that has succeeded in another broadcasting market";
"commercialise programmes more fully, for example by pushing associated merchandise such as books and DVDs, and using the same material across different platforms";
"develop programme types that appealed to particularly desirable audience segments"
"It was this combination of factors that led to the rise of the wide variety of reality TV shows. Such shows are relatively cheap, and some are very cheap indeed. There is no need to pay writers or actors, no endless rehearsals, no need for elaborate sets, no need for rights clearance for music, and so on. Using ‘ordinary’ people, and later minor and declining celebrities, is a cheap way to make television:
Reality programming provides a cheap alternative to drama. Typically, an hour-long drama can cost approximately $1.5m (£875,000) per hour, whereas reality programmes can cost as little as $200,000 (£114,000) per hour."
It could be argued that the reason the genre was popular was because:
New fresh idea
Appealed to a wide audience
There was a variety accessible due to its production was cheap and easy
"The flood of ‘documentary’ films about passing a driving test, working in the air transport industry, looking after animals, and the flood of makeover programmes about houses, clothes and body shape, all fit this economic dynamic exactly."
The doumentary element made it seem very real to audiences allowing them to identify with characters and situations. The subjects would very much appeal to people in society reflection social issues and morals.
Big Brother-internationally known, created in Neatherland- The company sold the idea making money. The show however is very expensive e.g. staff, cameras, celeb fees...
Why is this genre regarded as real?
Fly on the wall documentaries- vouyeristc
Characters are not famous or actors- everyday people
No scripts or rehersals- "live" action
Mediation
First process is selecting:
"The process of manipulation begins long before the shooting starts. The selection of contestants is the first hurdle"
"‘Ordinary’ contestants get a fee to cover expenses—for these contestants, a major motive often seems to be a desire to become a celebrity and to work in television. Certainly some people, Jade Goody for example, have seen their lives transformed by success."
It could be argued the producers select the "fame hungry" as they will act abnormal or stand out deliberatly or try to be overtly entertaining for audience purpose - which arguably is unrealistic in life.
"In fact, the people we get to see are the product of an elaborate process of selection in which the producers choose a group that they hope will produce good television"
The original producer of the show said: "There are three crucial factors in the production of Big Brother: casting, casting and casting"
"The process of selection for the 2007 show, which closed in February, was rather simpler, which may reflect reduced public interest" Is there a possible link between the more effort put into the mediation process the more popular the show is?
"The contrived nature of the environment, with many of the determinants (eg work) and distractions (eg television) that characterise our everyday lives removed, acts strongly to prioritise personal interactions based upon taste and interest. This probability is intensified through the interventions of the disembodied Big Brother himself and the tasks set for the participants" Isolation and the removal of distractions intensify the show and create more drama!
"In order to achieve dramatic narratives, the producers ruthlessly edit the raw footage" key word being "narratives"- produces are trying to impose ideologies in there text but present them as real. Editing is another process of creating narrative.
"Just as much as anything else on television, Big Brother is constructed to attract and hold an audience which will, in a commercial context, be sold to the highest bidder. It uses ‘real’ people in certain kinds of ‘real’ situations, but it chooses and manipulates them in order to produce narrative, drama and conflict. "
Saturday 9 October 2010
MIGRAIN/SHEP
From G's to Gents
Media Language- Iconographies- Lots of gold jewellery, smoking and expensive cars- stereotypical objects associated with gangsters.
Institution- Producer- Jamie Foxx- known for producing films for black audiences, aired on MTV- audiences
Genre- Reality programme- uses conevntions e.g. characters having a 1 to 1 with the camera
Representation- Misrepresents black males to be or "wannabe" "gangsters". The Host is an alternative representation of black males signified by costume (smart ect)
Audience-
Ideologies- Progressive ideologies- to change people -"remove" or challenge black male stereotypes that already exist in society
Narrative- many episodes contain Proppian heroes and villains. – Mediated for audiences to take sides. There is always a disequilibrium (fights, people losing the competition) and new equilibrium (character develops, one character is lost)
Dating in the dark
Media Language- Night vision- Voyeuristic- puts the audience in power of the date
Institution- Broadcasted by Living- female housewife audiences
Genre- Reality programme - uses conevntions e.g. characters having a 1 to 1 with the camera
Representation- Representations are dominant- females are communal e.g. toasting with glasses of champagne
Audience-
Ideologies- Looks and appearance seems to dominate our society, this show questions if both sexes can look beyond looks or not.
Narrative- Unconventional narrative:
Equilibrium- Single ladies and single guys doing their own thing
Disruption- they have dates in the dark
Realisation- they might like the person
New equilibrium- they stay with the person or leave them
Big Brother
Media Language- Iconographies- Lots of gold jewellery, smoking and expensive cars- stereotypical objects associated with gangsters.
Institution- Producer- Jamie Foxx- known for producing films for black audiences, aired on MTV- audiences
Genre- Reality programme- uses conevntions e.g. characters having a 1 to 1 with the camera
Representation- Misrepresents black males to be or "wannabe" "gangsters". The Host is an alternative representation of black males signified by costume (smart ect)
Audience-
Ideologies- Progressive ideologies- to change people -"remove" or challenge black male stereotypes that already exist in society
Narrative- many episodes contain Proppian heroes and villains. – Mediated for audiences to take sides. There is always a disequilibrium (fights, people losing the competition) and new equilibrium (character develops, one character is lost)
Dating in the dark
Media Language- Night vision- Voyeuristic- puts the audience in power of the date
Institution- Broadcasted by Living- female housewife audiences
Genre- Reality programme - uses conevntions e.g. characters having a 1 to 1 with the camera
Representation- Representations are dominant- females are communal e.g. toasting with glasses of champagne
Audience-
Ideologies- Looks and appearance seems to dominate our society, this show questions if both sexes can look beyond looks or not.
Narrative- Unconventional narrative:
Equilibrium- Single ladies and single guys doing their own thing
Disruption- they have dates in the dark
Realisation- they might like the person
New equilibrium- they stay with the person or leave them
Big Brother
Media Theories
What media theories can be applied to these texts?
Propp's 7 Spheres of Action - What character roles are created through mediation?
Todorov's Equilibrium Theory - Is there a clear typical narrative structure?
Hypodermic Needle Theory - Do audiences believe everything they see?
Uses and Gratifications - Escapism, identification ect
Propp's 7 Spheres of Action - What character roles are created through mediation?
Todorov's Equilibrium Theory - Is there a clear typical narrative structure?
Hypodermic Needle Theory - Do audiences believe everything they see?
Uses and Gratifications - Escapism, identification ect
Contemporary Media Landscape
Why does reality TV fit into the contemporary media landscape?
Big Brother seen as the starter of the Reality TV era in 1999
Reality TV has dominated in the last decade
Both Dating in the Dark and G's to Gents tackle contemporary issues and aim to "better" people- These shows have progressive ideologies to also better society
Big Brother seen as the starter of the Reality TV era in 1999
Reality TV has dominated in the last decade
Both Dating in the Dark and G's to Gents tackle contemporary issues and aim to "better" people- These shows have progressive ideologies to also better society
Issues and Debates
From G's to Gents
Black males and Gangsters stereotypically have little respect for women, this tackles this stereotypes by teaching the contestants how to respect them.
Dating in the Dark
Looks and appearance seems to dominate our society, this show questions if both sexes can look beyond looks or not.
Big Brother
It began as an experiment of how people socialise and can work together, but now it's about who can be the biggest character in the house, and how many magazine deals you can get when you leave- Main focus is desire for fame.
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