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The Future of "Reality" TV -

Anything that makes a splash like the "Reality TV" boom is bound to bring out the skeptics. What's most interesting about this hot genre in programming is that the skeptics are both the buyer and the seller. The viewing audience and the Networks both ask the fearful question, "How long can this last?"

The irony is that both continue to tune in, as well as produce and promote new shows. The creators and producers of these shows are people that think "outside the box" to begin with, and many have been vocal in explaining that the format of reality programming only broadens the possibilities of various forms of hybrid shows. It's the same thing we've witnessed with scripted shows over the past decade- Rules are broken and new forms are accepted. 

There has always been an appetite for event-type programming. And when real people are involved, viewers will watch with the same addictive appetite as those who are hooked on soap operas. What's more powerful in reality-based programming is that even though the situations are set up and manipulated to guarantee a result for content, we are watching people with real emotions in circumstances that create real drama. As long as we continue to be fascinated with the human condition, and have an appetite for entertainment, there will always be some evolving format of a reality show.

UPFRONTS UP! Car, Cellular, Banking Want Primetime: May Be Strongest Since 2003
By DAVID LIEBERMAN

Cable channels are already making upfront presentations to advertisers, and those sales efforts will accelerate on Thursday when Discovery Communications introduces its fall shows. According to new forecasts out this week which do not take into account the deepening NFL labor strife, cable channel sales could hit $9 billion during the coming 2011 upfronts, up 11.5% over last year. As for broadcast, Miller Tabak analyst David Joyce projects a 14.9% increase to nearly $9.9 billion for the Big Four networks’ primetime schedule unveiling next month. Media services firm Zenith Optimedia also said this week that it expects double-digit gains in cable and broadcast sales. Car, cell phone, and banking service companies -- eager to take advantage of the thawing economy -- could make this upfront ad-sales season one of the strongest since 2003. Auto companies normally account for about a quarter of TV ad sales but were in a deep slump during the economic crisis giving the TV honchos fits. Now they'll likely drive the market once more. They’re introducing 65 new models this year vs. 60 in 2010, and only 40 in 2009.

There’s one potential cloud in the sunny forecasts: Networks, especially NBC and ESPN, will struggle to find attractive programming to replace NFL football if the contract dispute between owners and players forces the league to cancel the 2011-2012 season.  Advertisers spend about $3 billion a year to sell their wares on televised football games.

Remember, networks for years have sold as much as 80% of their ad inventory in the upfront market in a sales frenzy that typically takes place in May and June right up to July 4th. The last two years, however, much more emphasis was put on the scatter market as big advertisers worried about making sizeable commitments in the economic doldrums.

THE RULES OF HOLLYWOODTurner Entertainment's Michael Wright tells how to pitch Trying to sell a project idea to a network or a studio? To be successful, you have to be smart about it.
By MICHAEL WRIGHT

May 4, 2008 - LA TIMES MAGAZINE
One of the weirdest memories from my time at CBS was a meeting I refer to as the guitar-guy pitch. I was a creative executive in the television movie department (remember when networks made TV movies?), and, in that capacity, I took pitch meetings in which producers, writers and so on tried to sell their ideas.

This pitch began normally enough, with the producers telling me about their project. Then one of them opened a case he had brought, pulled out an enormous Martin guitar and proceeded to sing the rest of his story. I have no recollection of what they were pitching. Or singing. I do remember that I passed on the project.

The moral of the story is . . . well, there is no moral; this is Hollywood, after all. Rather, the observation I made was that gimmicks rarely work when pitching. I've had people come in with flowcharts, collages, recorded soundtracks, actors to read parts not yet written and mimes. Yes, mimes. None of it is necessary--or even helpful--because only one thing gets a project set up in this town if everyone is doing his or her job correctly: walking into the room with a pitch that makes sense for that buyer.

That sounds straightforward, yet the sheer number of pitching courses offered seems to belie that simple truth. If you've come with material appropriate to the network or studio you're pitching, and you have the talent to execute it (or have the right talent attached), you're ahead of the crowd. No performance art, special effects or b.s. should persuade an experienced buyer to choose something that is not, at its core, right for his or her audience.

That said, the first rule of successful pitching is to understand the buyer. We live in the era of the brand, when every network and studio has (or believes it has) a specific personality that is understood by its audience. You wouldn't pitch the same project to TNT (my own beloved drama network) that you'd pitch to my other beloved network, TBS (our "very funny" network). Yet I've had comedies pitched for TNT and epic dramas for TBS (granted, some of the epic dramas were unintentionally hilarious).

Similarly, you wouldn't want to take your dark, dystopian, toxic family tragedy to Disney any more than you'd pitch a zany comedy about nuns who enter a baking contest to the folks who produced "Saw." Successfully selling your project starts with knowing which studios and networks do what and why and targeting the appropriate home. Let them know you've done your research. It flatters the hell out of the buyer because they think you actually know their work. Or care enough to pretend. Either way, it's all good.

The second rule of pitching is to be brief and clear. Believe me, if you pitch longer than half an hour without being asked to elaborate, it's a pass. At some point, you should hear a form of "Tell me more" from the buyer. If you don't, and you're continuing on anyway, you are risking death by schedule (by going on so long, you've screwed up the exec's schedule and now he hates you).

The third rule of pitching (and, for the record, there is no rule book--this is Hollywood) is you must be able to back it up. You might walk in with the most center-of-the-target project of all time. But if you can't write, produce or otherwise execute the brilliant project you're pitching, you'd better hope that, right before your meeting, the buyer met with a brilliant writer or director who was looking for a project just like yours.

The truth is that ideas are a dime a dozen, and the real currency in Hollywood is the ability to write, direct, produce and/or create the great idea that 800 other guys already thought of. When your uncle is watching TV and gets mad and shouts, "I had that idea!," remind him, "Yeah, but you can't write." This is why the talent--and, with all due respect to myself and other creative executives, we are not the talent--is the heartbeat of our business. Talent is crucial to your pitch. If you are the talent, refer to rules No. 1 and 2 and proceed. If you are not the talent, find it, attach it to your project and have at it.

There's certainly more to it than this, but if you follow these basic rules, you'll be OK. Start your meeting by making it clear that you understand the buyer. Then set up the basic world of the pitch: the concept, the central character or characters and so on. From there, pitch--briefly--the basic story outline. Then move on to the "Here's why we can pull this off" part of your pitch: "Brad Pitt has decided he wants to star in a TV series, and this is the one!" Or, "Can you believe it? Quentin Tarantino has a series he wants to write and direct, so here you go!" If options like those are not available to you, a simple explanation of how and why the talent involved will be able to execute it will suffice.

One last thing. I once took a pitch that included attending a concert and having the show pitched to me from the stage as part of the performance. Seriously. I was invited to the concert by the performer, who was certain her current hit --a lovely ballad about lost love and misbehaving men--would make a wonderful television movie. I sat in my fantastic seat, enjoying the concert, when she turned to me during the instrumental break in the song and, in front of the whole audience, smiled broadly and said, "See, Michael? Wouldn't this be a terrific movie?" I bought the show.

So, OK, I fell for the gimmick. I broke my own rule.

But guess what: Rules are meant to be broken. In fact, we love people who break the rules. This, after all, is Hollywood.

Michael Wright is senior vice president in charge of Turner Entertainment Networks' Content Creation Group.

Brian Skiba received the 2010 Arizona Filmmaker of the year Award from the Phoenix Film Foundation during a ceremony at the Phoenix Film Festival. Brian Skiba is an independent film writer and Director. He and his producing partner Laurie Love also premiered a feature film called Dirty Little Trick which was Showcased at the Festival.

Brian who is the co-owner of Victory Angel Films, a film production company has been active in Arizona film making and TV for over 5 years and has a been a trusted source for Kellan Media for his talent and quality production.

Blake Snyder called his book "The last book  on screenwriting you'll ever need"

I don't know about that. Its always good to check out other books but this is a great resource for aspiring screenwriters. 
http://www.blakesnyder.com/ (the last website on screenwriting you'll ever need)
Save The Cat and sequel Save The Cat Goes To The Movies give you an exact guide for your script structure as well as key pointers:

1. How to write an unforgettable logline
   
2. Why genre is so important to your script
3. Coming up with your hero and antagonist
4. Structure is the most important element in the writing and selling of a screenplay
5. Common sense rules of screenwriting based on experience in the trenches of Hollywood
6. Marketing your screenplay
7. The Blake Snyder Beat Sheet

Join us Snyderphiles.  If you don't want to buy the book, shame on you, buy it anyway. In the mean time, I have included the most important part: The Beat Sheet in the link above.
Don't give up on your screenplay and don't let your cat die, OK?

 The low cost model for Reality show means that no one on the show is union. So it is not a case of writers not being paid while the Reality show performers are receiving SAG (Screen Actor Guild) scale salaries. The Networks have found a way to keep the costs and salaries down on shows that are categorized as reality. This means they can be more profitable.  Even though the writers do as much work as any in 'scripted' shows we are forced to work without a WGA contract. 

Reality's quickly created celebrities come and go. Most of the time they end up back at their everyday jobs with no extra money in their pocket but a bit of TV face time fame.  Some of these Stars De Jour parlay the experience into real riches or more permanent gigs while the show's writers who created them just continue on pay check to paycheck. With no WGA contract there is no pension contribution, Health Insurance or other benefits. There are no Royalties or residuals paid to writers and there is no recognition.

Recognition is important and in TV and film  getting a 'credit' is important.  It sounds unimportant but in the Industry the credit does put you in a position to apply to be a member of a Guild and has a major impact on how you are viewed and what you get paid.

Jennifer L. Pozner, the author of 'Reality Bites Back: The Troubling Truth About Guilty Pleasure TV,' didn't necessarily want to write a book about reality TV, but she felt like it was her duty.

"I wrote the book because I kept waiting for someone else to do it, and nobody was," said Pozner, the founder and executive director of Women In Media & News. "I kept waiting for a really critical conversation about what these shows are telling us, and I wasn't seeing that conversation happening."

 Observational Documentary


In many reality TV programs, camera shooting and footage editing give the viewer the impression that they are passive observers following people going about their daily personal and professional activities; this style of filming is often referred to as fly on the wall or factual television.

These shows are popular and Networks like TLC have made them a mainstay of their programming . Their  lineup includes shows about multiple births : John and Kate plus 8 shows , 19 and counting. Little People and others that show disabled people.   These shows are about people in extraordinary  circumstances going through an everyday life.    They are just people a bit different from us living the way we do.

When these shows run on too long they morph into something completely different. When the unknown players become celebrities because of their show they cease to be their own characters. They simply go 'off brand'.   When an everyday housewife becomes a T V star- she stops being the very relatable character we originally were drawn too. When we are no longer endeared to the Reality star our relationship changes with them. Where we rooted them on- now we hope for them to fail.  But we  have so much time invested in them we can't stop watching.

The writer is involved in every step of the way from pre-production, on the set during shooting to the editing and post production.  The same writers write the Hoists' scripts, the teases and bumpers, the 'ins' and out' of the segments as well as any voice overs.

Reality shows are written in much the same way as a play or screen play, they follow a formula.

• The show intro
• Introduction of Characters
• The Set up
• The introduction of the problem or challenge. The conflict
• The continuation of the B line or sub stories
• The climax
• Solving the problem
• The Wrap up

The acts make up segments linking the real or contrived circumstances and location to provoke action and conflict.
Writers may write segment breakdowns, a back-story, a synopsis, and proposed story beats. These are reviewed in a pre-production meeting and even distributed to the shooting crew so that everybody is on-board to collect the A and B storylines.