I work largely in the documentary style of corporate and non-profit videos. I’m 26 years old and have limited experience outside of my local area.
I enjoy watching Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares and Hotel Hell in the UK, however I’ve read comments claiming the show’s owners are given a clear script. I believe they simply employ socially engineered scenarios and excellent pre-production to select good people and produce consistent outcomes.
My reasoning is that most individuals aren’t very good actors, and they are actual people with businesses and backgrounds you can research. It’s not written; it merely seems like a highly produced documentary.
But I am aware that there is a ton of reality TV that is scripted. Just out of personal interest to learn more about my field, what percentage of reality TV is pre-written?
my brothers quick edits and impactful music can create a sense of intensity in an ordinary conversation. Repeated lines typically indicate that multiple takes were combined.
There isn’t much written in it. It’s been staged. Our casting skills are exceptional, and we know just what to look for when developing drama and tension between people. But every show is different, and field producers frequently coach the “fight”.
For the majority of our shows, this is how we put together an episode: 1) Draft a simple screenplay for an engaging series. 2) Select the performers 3) Proceed to film the episode. 4) View the uncut video tapes and record the dialogue from each character (THIS TAKES FUCKING FOREVER). 5) Using these logs, the story producers piece together a compelling narrative (on paper) with plot points that will captivate readers.
The level of writing in reality television varies greatly. Certain shows, such as Gordon Ramsay’s, combine real-world events with pre-production preparation in an effort to achieve authenticity through organized narrative as opposed to rigid scripting.