someone asked me if i'd be interested in directing a reality show they are making a pilot for and i was wondering if those shows even use directors normally? i dont watch any really except maybe millionaire matchmaker because it's funny. seems like a majority of them are just scripted with a bunch of camera men pointing and shooting and producers just telling them what they want. is there any real need for a director on these types of shows typically?
Do reality shows have directors?
- Thread starter FilmBoy77
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Chris Santucci
Veteran
They have writers, directors, story editors, and at the very least producers that all push buttons and contribute to the "stories" which are most definitely a lot less "real" than they want you to believe. Take a look at the credits sometime for reality shows.
I've worked quite a few network reality shows as they all seem to pass through Vegas at some point.
Depending on the show what you'll normally find are Field Producers, Coordinators or DP's who tend to work in a Directorial capacity. There's not an obvious structured chain of command as you will find in episodic, film and live work. There's no script to direct to but there's a general direction the show is going.
For instance, MTV Cribs is a show I've done a lot of Steadicam on. That show comes with a DP / Camera Op, one of two guys who split the coasts. They have both been on Cribs since the beginning so they generally call all the shots and do B-Roll. There are always several Field Producers from MTV Staff there as well who facilitate the direction we are going and the focus (no pun intended).
I'd say 90% of the reality work I've done is along that scheme... some better or worse than others.
Robert
Depending on the show what you'll normally find are Field Producers, Coordinators or DP's who tend to work in a Directorial capacity. There's not an obvious structured chain of command as you will find in episodic, film and live work. There's no script to direct to but there's a general direction the show is going.
For instance, MTV Cribs is a show I've done a lot of Steadicam on. That show comes with a DP / Camera Op, one of two guys who split the coasts. They have both been on Cribs since the beginning so they generally call all the shots and do B-Roll. There are always several Field Producers from MTV Staff there as well who facilitate the direction we are going and the focus (no pun intended).
I'd say 90% of the reality work I've done is along that scheme... some better or worse than others.
Robert
so the field producers typically dictate which direction the show is going in? in your experience what do the directors actually do? just basically make sure the crew is doing their job technically? doesnt seem like anything creative a DP and his crew couldnt handle on their own. none of it seems like a director is really needed if the field producers are dictating the direction along with the top producers who are working with or for the network.
Chris Santucci
Veteran
Yes, in the absence of a director, they sure do. I've seen executive producers also sharing directorial duties with the actual directors on shoot days or the EP might completely override the named director since it IS their show after all.
No. They *direct*, as in pushing the "talent" in the right directions, and making decisions about what to shoot and what not to shoot and how and when. Sometimes they have production coordinators "direct", sometimes it's just the producers.
If the push includes feeding them lines, it can be painful to watch. Despite being given specific direction and rehearsing, the "talent" more often than not comes across as if they are performing in a junior high school play. After to seeing what actually makes it to air I can picture these directors saying, "F*#k it, it's not going to get any better than this - moving on". The "talent" should never be given lines to read. Although some may argue that amateurs attempting to be actors can be so bad that it's entertaining.
Nascency Chris
Active member
I did my first reality show (actually it was billed as a docu/drama by the producer for what it is worth) this year, and was listed as the director. What Chris Santucci said is spot on, I did ALOT; morning meetings to coordinate all of the cams, ops, and any PA's we might have had on hand at each location, final decision on where to set up for interviews, how to frame the shots, where a b cam would be set up, how and when to shoot b-roll, making sure we had all applicable paperwork and clearances for talent, location, etc in order to have a clean shoot, backing up of all material shot in a day, coordinating with the producers to go over what we got every day. My day usually began at 7 or 8AM and ended anywhere from 1 to 3AM. In reality all the producer did was give me a general direction he wanted to see and every once in awhile a specific shot, other than that everything fell to me.
Producers won't so often feed talent lines but help the subject restructure their longer thoughts into usable bites. In the production office or bullpen, you'll have A and B and ongoing story threads being tracked on index cards. A thirteen ep. show will have a room filled floor to ceiling with potential storylines, with significant situations and character milestones noted. These cascade down or die-off on their own merits.
There is definitely a heirarchy on unscripted shows. The EP / Show Runner is driving what the individual units are doing with their field / story producers. Writers are in the edit as well, story producing in concert with the EP.
In my experience, the plot isn't so much written as it is discovered through the production itself. Depending on the format, the producers will structure the characters more or less. We try to find interesting threads and introduce situations that might push more organic happenings to the edge. Shows like Celebrity ReHab do this to greater extent than some of the lighter formats. Producers force conflicting characters into proximity or situations with each other more than they invent or force a particular conflict. By design, it should look more real this way, but there is certainly a high level of orchestration - creating the conditions for a perfect storm to take place, but not so much the weather itself, is a reality producer's job.
There is definitely a heirarchy on unscripted shows. The EP / Show Runner is driving what the individual units are doing with their field / story producers. Writers are in the edit as well, story producing in concert with the EP.
In my experience, the plot isn't so much written as it is discovered through the production itself. Depending on the format, the producers will structure the characters more or less. We try to find interesting threads and introduce situations that might push more organic happenings to the edge. Shows like Celebrity ReHab do this to greater extent than some of the lighter formats. Producers force conflicting characters into proximity or situations with each other more than they invent or force a particular conflict. By design, it should look more real this way, but there is certainly a high level of orchestration - creating the conditions for a perfect storm to take place, but not so much the weather itself, is a reality producer's job.
Chris Santucci
Veteran
Yep. And I've worked on shows where the director has actually told "talent" to act a certain way in order the push the buttons of other "talent."
And then there's the "Jerry Springer Effect" when people have seen so many reality shows that they know how they're expected to act while on a show as "talent" themselves.
DVX100Shooter
Veteran
You have to remember that a lot of those shows especially the ones on VH1 the producers/Directors will stage certain things. They will deliberately cause something to happen to create a "situation" and stuff like that builds hype for the show. A friend of mine I went to HS with is a Director/Producer and she produced the reality show with T.I.'s wife. I can't remember the name of that show but it comes on BET. The Teenie and Tiny show or something like that I can't remember.
Paul Hudson
Vacuum Tube Member
More like traffic cops and agitators than directors.
I worked on Canada's next top model during the first season and it was mainly a group of producers who were directing the show. None of the producers really seemed to know what the fuk was going on half the time and pretty much freestyled the show as the ideas came to them. They were all fired after the production wrapped and didn't make it back for season 2.
Here's a lil reality mini pilot i was hired to do in the summer, we staged just about everything and used the "jersey shore" cutaways to tie it all together. Not sure what for or what will come out of it but it was great fun to make . http://vimeo.com/15047585
Here's a lil reality mini pilot i was hired to do in the summer, we staged just about everything and used the "jersey shore" cutaways to tie it all together. Not sure what for or what will come out of it but it was great fun to make . http://vimeo.com/15047585
ZazaCast
Major Contributor
I just happened to see part of one of those "American Choppers" (on Discovery) the other night and it was all about the producers and crew.
It was a very interesting BTS kind of thing. You might be able to find it on Hulu? Might give you some insight.
...and there wasn't/isn't a director.
It was a very interesting BTS kind of thing. You might be able to find it on Hulu? Might give you some insight.
...and there wasn't/isn't a director.