Reality TV Primer Part 1: Glossary
I’m amazed by how little most people actually understand the television they watch. I’ve known people with vast amounts of knowledge about incredibly arcane subjects, and even though they watch five hours of TV everyday, they still believe that the people in “Survivor” are actually hungry.
I’m kidding. They are hungry.
But still, in my tireless effort to occasionally educate the world, I present to you Part 1 of my Reality TV Primer. This glossary is by no means comprehensive, plus it’s my experience that every show likes to call the same things by different names. Additionally, I may sound a little bitter, but please believe me when I say that I’m like that about everything.
Casting: This seems like a no-brainer; I mean, these people on TV don’t just get pulled off the street… usually. But think about the casting process when there are no scripts to read or parts to play. I don’t know how it works. I’m way too much of a misanthropist to ever be good at casting for reality, but I can say that the first qualification is typically beauty, though in some cases it’s more important to be an idiot.
Cold Open: The cold open is the first thing you see at the top of the show before the main titles. It’s usually the host introducing the show, with highlights of what’s to come. Obviously, it’s meant to make you want to stay tuned to see the rest of the program, just like a tease. You’re friends may be impressed if you say “Cold Open” instead of “the beginning of the show.”
Host: As far as production is concerned, the host is the star. They’re the face and voice of the show. Sometimes they’re involved in the events that unfold on screen, or, if you think like me, they have no purpose. Studios like stars, plus it’s easy to have complicated events cheated with a host who can act as a story-teller.
Host Wraps: [or Host Wrap-arounds] Very few shows try to have segments play without some form of introduction. The most obvious kind of host wraps are on clip shows: there’s plenty of footage to show, but there’s a host in a studio set with a live audience and TV’s mounted at weird angles. I mention them because they require their own production because they’re not apart of the typical shooting on a reality show. In the case of clip shows, the host wraps might be the only production.
Tease: “Coming up next…” is a rough translation of “Don’t change the channel during the commercial.” They’re generally not my favorite part of the show, since the highlights they’ll show often give away too much, and I get really bored watching the same video play over and over again for an hour before it finally shows up in the program.
Segment: In the strictest sense, a segment is a taped piece about something that more-or-less stands on its own. Oprah might show a segment about a woman addicted to plastic surgery before she invites this woman out in front of her overly-sympathetic audience. In many reality shows, a segment is just a small part of the overall show, like when a woman who has undergone plastic surgery gets to go clothing shopping for her new look.
Producer: There are associate producers, segment producers, casting producers, field producers, story producers, co-producers, supervising producers, producers, executive producers… and yes there are more. Whether it’s booking a location for next week, sitting in an editor’s bay building a story from seemingly random footage, or making high-powered deals with network executives, these are the people that take otherwise real people or footage and apply direction to create a story. If anyone ever introduces themselves to you as a producer, just remember that about 70% of a reality show’s staff have the word “producer” in their title, and they still might work in a cubicle smaller than yours.
Voiceover (VO): Another no-brainer, but I include it because I don’t think most people realize how much VO can manipulate an audience. VO can seriously condense long and boring situations, explain things that would otherwise seem to come out of nowhere, and create drama where in fact there was none. Even though most people are vaguely aware of editing illusions (or “camera tricks” if you will), for some reason most people believe what they hear.
There. Now you can sound like you’re in the know the next time you decide to shoot the shit about last night’s hit show before you forget it a week later. Stay tuned for Part 2 - a breakdown of different kinds of reality programming.
I’m kidding. They are hungry.
But still, in my tireless effort to occasionally educate the world, I present to you Part 1 of my Reality TV Primer. This glossary is by no means comprehensive, plus it’s my experience that every show likes to call the same things by different names. Additionally, I may sound a little bitter, but please believe me when I say that I’m like that about everything.
Casting: This seems like a no-brainer; I mean, these people on TV don’t just get pulled off the street… usually. But think about the casting process when there are no scripts to read or parts to play. I don’t know how it works. I’m way too much of a misanthropist to ever be good at casting for reality, but I can say that the first qualification is typically beauty, though in some cases it’s more important to be an idiot.
Cold Open: The cold open is the first thing you see at the top of the show before the main titles. It’s usually the host introducing the show, with highlights of what’s to come. Obviously, it’s meant to make you want to stay tuned to see the rest of the program, just like a tease. You’re friends may be impressed if you say “Cold Open” instead of “the beginning of the show.”
Host: As far as production is concerned, the host is the star. They’re the face and voice of the show. Sometimes they’re involved in the events that unfold on screen, or, if you think like me, they have no purpose. Studios like stars, plus it’s easy to have complicated events cheated with a host who can act as a story-teller.
Host Wraps: [or Host Wrap-arounds] Very few shows try to have segments play without some form of introduction. The most obvious kind of host wraps are on clip shows: there’s plenty of footage to show, but there’s a host in a studio set with a live audience and TV’s mounted at weird angles. I mention them because they require their own production because they’re not apart of the typical shooting on a reality show. In the case of clip shows, the host wraps might be the only production.
Tease: “Coming up next…” is a rough translation of “Don’t change the channel during the commercial.” They’re generally not my favorite part of the show, since the highlights they’ll show often give away too much, and I get really bored watching the same video play over and over again for an hour before it finally shows up in the program.
Segment: In the strictest sense, a segment is a taped piece about something that more-or-less stands on its own. Oprah might show a segment about a woman addicted to plastic surgery before she invites this woman out in front of her overly-sympathetic audience. In many reality shows, a segment is just a small part of the overall show, like when a woman who has undergone plastic surgery gets to go clothing shopping for her new look.
Producer: There are associate producers, segment producers, casting producers, field producers, story producers, co-producers, supervising producers, producers, executive producers… and yes there are more. Whether it’s booking a location for next week, sitting in an editor’s bay building a story from seemingly random footage, or making high-powered deals with network executives, these are the people that take otherwise real people or footage and apply direction to create a story. If anyone ever introduces themselves to you as a producer, just remember that about 70% of a reality show’s staff have the word “producer” in their title, and they still might work in a cubicle smaller than yours.
Voiceover (VO): Another no-brainer, but I include it because I don’t think most people realize how much VO can manipulate an audience. VO can seriously condense long and boring situations, explain things that would otherwise seem to come out of nowhere, and create drama where in fact there was none. Even though most people are vaguely aware of editing illusions (or “camera tricks” if you will), for some reason most people believe what they hear.
There. Now you can sound like you’re in the know the next time you decide to shoot the shit about last night’s hit show before you forget it a week later. Stay tuned for Part 2 - a breakdown of different kinds of reality programming.
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3 Comments:
Great post. More, please.
I want to know what a "Cold Tease" is.
Thank's J.
One of the old-timers I work with (he's over 40, which is pretty up there in cheap TV) thinks a "Cold Tease" used to be the term for a Cold Open that was just a Host on camera announcing what's coming up - this is pre-graphics and pre-fancy-editing. I've never heard that phrase before, and if anyone used it now, I'd assume they're talking about a Cold Open. Or a evil flirty girl they like.
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