MassMedia: Entertainment: Is Reality TV Real? (W11-P3) Fa16

Within entertainment television, one of the increasingly popular genres is reality TV.

Reality TV: "a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors.”

Unscripted?  Really?

In the video clip below, pay particular attention to the comments about writing dialogue, creating a setup and conflict.  Sound familiar?




More on the writing and creating of reality TV shows.  In the video below, pay particular attention from 1:09 to 3:15.  Note the speakers mention of archetypal roles and frankenbites.  What does he mean by a frankenbite?




The clips above suggest that during the production of a reality TV episode, "writers" sometimes write dialogue for the "actors" and do things to create conflict.

However, it is in post-production, where a lot of the creating or writing of the story happens.  In post-production, the producers and "writers" have to put together the best material to tell the best story.  The post-production process would begin with (1) the screening of 100s of hours of raw footage, (2) identifying a story that they want to tell, and (3) try to thread that story through the acts of episode.

The common parts of a story: introduction of character, explain the problem or need, face the obstacles to overcoming that problem, the character does or does not solve their problem.  This sound familiar?

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MassMedia: Entertainment: Save the Cat & Synder's Beat Sheet (W11-P1) Fa16

There are a variety of screenwriting methods available.  We've already talked about Syd Field's approach and Campbell's Hero's Journey.

Let's now look at another approach to screenwriting, Blake Snyder's Beat Sheet.
Don't follow Snyder's (or another approach) dogmatically.  See them as guidelines.




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Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
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MassMedia: Entertainment: Is Reality TV Real? (W11-P2) Fa15

Within entertainment television, one of the increasingly popular genres is reality TV.

Reality TV: "a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors.”

Unscripted?  Really?

In the video clip below, pay particular attention to the comments about writing dialogue, creating a setup and conflict.  Sound familiar?




More on the writing and creating of reality TV shows.  In the video below, pay particular attention from 1:09 to 3:15.  Note the speakers mention of archetypal roles and frankenbites.  What does he mean by a frankenbite?




The clips above suggest that during the production of a reality TV episode, "writers" sometimes write dialogue for the "actors" and do things to create conflict.

However, it is in post-production, where a lot of the creating or writing of the story happens.  In post-production, the producers and "writers" have to put together the best material to tell the best story.  The post-production process would begin with (1) the screening of 100s of hours of raw footage, (2) identifying a story that they want to tell, and (3) try to thread that story through the acts of episode.

The common parts of a story: introduction of character, explain the problem or need, face the obstacles to overcoming that problem, the character does or does not solve their problem.  This sound familiar?

One of the videos above, suggests that it is in post-production where some creative editing can happen. Frankenbites, for example?

Could you write a reality TV series?  An interesting challenge, yes?  How would it be similar to and different from the writing of fictional TV?


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Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

MassMedia: Entertainment: Hero's Journey (W11-P1) Fa15

Previously, we've covered how to write a story based on the three-act structure (e.g., Syd Field's approach). Now let's take a look at a different way of writing a story. Joseph Campbell first identified what he called the Hero's Journey, common story structure found around the world. He found this common story structure in a vast number of old myths from around the world.  Some film directors started using Campell's work when they were writing their own stories.  The most famous example of a film which was shaped by Campbell's work is George Lucas' Star Wars. After the success of Star Wars, many script writers began using the Campbell's ideas. Today there are a number of books on how to use Cambell's ideas in script writing.

However, let's skip the books and get some insight from the videos below.

Let's start with archetypal characters found in many stories.



Now with an understanding of the common archetypal characters, let's look specifically at the hero's journey itself.



You spot the Hero's Journey in any of your favorite films?



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Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

MassMedia: Entertainment: Is Reality TV Real? (U7-P2) Fa14

Within entertainment television, one of the increasingly popular genres is reality TV.

Reality TV: "a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors.”

Unscripted?  Really?

In the video clip below, pay particular attention to the comments about writing dialogue, creating a setup and conflict.  Sound familiar?




More on the writing and creating of reality TV shows.  In the video below, pay particular attention from 1:09 to 3:15.  Note the speakers mention of archetypal roles and frankenbites.  What does he mean by a frankenbite?




The clips above suggest that during the production of a reality TV episode, "writers" sometimes write dialogue for the "actors" and do things to create conflict.

However, it is in post-production, where a lot of the creating or writing of the story happens.  In post-production, the producers and "writers" have to put together the best material to tell the best story.  The post-production process would begin with (1) the screening of 100s of hours of raw footage, (2) identifying a story that they want to tell, and (3) try to thread that story through the acts of episode.

The common parts of a story: introduction of character, explain the problem or need, face the obstacles to overcoming that problem, the character does or does not solve their problem.  This sound familiar?

One of the videos above, suggests that it is in post-production where some creative editing can happen. Frankenbites, for example?

Could you write a reality TV series?  An interesting challenge, yes?  How would it be similar to and different from the writing of fictional TV?


Share this post with others. See the Twitter, Facebook and other buttons below.
Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.

MassMedia: Entertainment: Hero's Journey (U7-P1) Fa14

Previously, we've covered how to write a story based on the three-act structure (e.g., Syd Field's approach). Now let's take a look at a different way of writing a story. Joseph Campbell first identified what he called the Hero's Journey, common story structure found around the world. He found this common story structure in a vast number of old myths from around the world.  Some film directors started using Campell's work when they were writing their own stories.  The most famous example of a film which was shaped by Campbell's work is George Lucas' Star Wars. After the success of Star Wars, many script writers began using the Campbell's ideas. Today there are a number of books on how to use Cambell's ideas in script writing.

However, let's skip the books and get some insight from the videos below.

Let's start with archetypal characters found in many stories.



Now with an understanding of the common archetypal characters, let's look specifically at the hero's journey itself.



You spot the Hero's Journey in any of your favorite films?



Share this post with others. See the Twitter, Facebook and other buttons below.
Please follow, add, friend or subscribe to help support this blog.
See more about me at my web site WilliamHartPhD.com.