7 lesson reality tv convent

Review Starter –write down Summer Homework: Analysis 1 • Write an analysis of Dreams of a Life: 2011 drama-documentary: 40D. ( 1,000 words) 90 mins. How does this documentary conform to the codes and conventions of the drama documentary genre?

Starter –write down Summer Homework: analysis 2 ( 5 mins) • Write an analysis of short reality documentary extract from YouTube: ‘Educating Yorkshire - Mushy - The Journey’ Extract 28 mins for summer homework. ( 1,000 words) How does this documentary conform to the codes and conventions of the reality documentary genre? • conform= fit the rules, follow the rules of. • Why? Will form part of your research for the Advanced Portfolio. ( 5 analyses are required.)

• All must be able to state and identify some codes and conventions of the reality doc mode. Why?G324 Advanced Production Documentary Brief • Should write the start of an evaluation: how much these codes and conventions apply AO1 - Demonstrate to example provided. knowledge and understanding of media concepts, contexts and • Could write some of the critical debates, using terminology appropriately analysis this week. and with accurate and coherent written expression. • Ext activity: Reality TV slideshare. +‘The Media Students Book’ in library.

OUTCOMES

Reality TV Codes and conventions. Notes ( 10 mins) • people playing themselves • performed at least partly in living/work environments, rather than on set • without a script • placed within a narrative context • created primarily for the purpose of entertainment

Reality TV Codes and conventions The main codes and conventions of Reality TV are: •

Controlled environment, but unpredictable outcome

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Many situations work on deprivation – participants are deprived of basic things

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Contestants/guests are ordinary people and/or celebrities

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Non scripted material

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Live and edited footage

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Use of voice over narration by a presenter to link short segments and deliver an ongoing narrative

Reality TV Codes and conventions •

Controlled tasks

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Use of character types e.g the villain such as ‘Nasty Nick’ Bateman who plotted to get other contestants to vote against each other in the first series of Big Brother

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Selection of contestants to annoy each other and create the equivalent of dramatic conflict

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Emphasis on outgoing personalities who can be seen by the audience as ‘ordinary’

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Use of confessional to gain an insight into character

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A created realism that simulates the linear aspect of everyday life

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The situations are controlled to create ‘television entertainment’

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‘All seeing’ cameras in multi camera set ups

James Poniewozik (2006) identified three techniques used • Creators of reality shows have several techniques to turn their raw footage into interesting and compelling storylines. Their goal is to create stories than can be told clearly and are entertaining for viewers. James Poniewozik (2006) identified three techniques used to accomplish this objective: frankenbiting, selective editing, and story fabrication.( making a story up that didn’t happen.)

‘frankenbiting’. • Another way to manipulate footage in order to make a more interesting episode is in the editing process. In the world of reality TV, this technique is called ‘frankenbiting’. • Jeff Bartsch, a reality-show editor, worked with the series Blind Date. According to Bartsch, if a date was dull, the video editors would run clips out of sequence. If they wanted to make a man seem bored, they would cut from his date talking to a shot where he was just looking around, not caring. (Poniewozik)

Creating Plots Before Shooting • While editing scenes are obviously altering reality, viewers think that the essence of the drama being portrayed onscreen is real. Sadly, it is not. Much of the relationships, fights, and even certain lines of dialogue are planned out beforehand in storyboards. (Poniewozik) And the influence of producers, who are never mentioned in the actual TV shows, is usually very extensive. (Deggans) ( 6 mins)

TASK • Go to YouTube clip. ‘Educating Yorkshire - Mushy - The Journey’ • Identify and list as many reality TV codes and conventions as you can. How many? (10 mins)

Plenary and references • RAG codes? ( 5 mins) Ref: Reality TV: How “Real” is it? http://www.evankropp.com/2013/02/08/reality-tvhow-real-is-it/ The Guardian, showing it will go to any lengths to attract a young audience, has pages of online content dedicated to Reality TV http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/reality-tv Gill Branston, Roy Stafford The Media Student's Book 5th Edition ‘Documentary and Reality Debates’. There are 2 copies of this book in the library.

TASK • How does this documentary conform to the codes and conventions of the reality documentary genre? • In pairs, write a paragraph on the above question. From your identified list, evaluate ( weigh up how far these codes and conventions apply? How many do / do not apply? ) Hand in after writing names on top of page.( 15 mins)

Plan analysis of Educating Yorkshire for summer homework. •

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The doc is a reality TV genre. A mixture of the observational and expository mode and reality TV. Such programmes are cheaper to produce than drama. Say a bit about the programme….story, audience etc. Research this… Media Language: shows pre-planning by producers. This indicates little reality. Camera shots show that shot reverses are used showing the doc has been planned like a drama. Some may have been shot after the interview. Say more about media conventions from list… Sound is clear showing that radio mics have been used, indicated pre planning. A voice over narration is sometimes used to guide the viewer. School is the location. Activities are set up – such as the visit to the office by Moshi. Characters are chosen before shooting for narrative interest and audience identification ( uses). Narrative: Moshy has a problem to create an enigma and interest the audience ( what will happen?) and cause empathy ( uses and grats.) An intervention by the super teacher ( the helper) will cure Moshy and cause a return to equilibrium ( Todorov) Levi Strauss binaries are used disability/ability. Moshy is represented as a character who must search for a cure. Teenagers are often seen as helpless and a problem needing help from an adult. He is seen as ordinary but extraordinary. The children at the school are seen as supportive and represent the message that schools are supportive places. The representation of the teachers is… Channel 4 is an institution that targets….