How do I direct a reality show?

modus

modus

Well-known member
A local couple wants me to help them produce a hunting reality show for the Outdoor Channel. They are an entertaining couple and we want the show to be partially informative/instructional, but also entertaining. There will be a total of three people and one dog on camera. We will focus on the husband & wife.

We are filming a ten-minute pilot over the course of a day with two HVX200s and a Go-Pro (used very sparingly, as I am not a fan of their quality). We do not have a dedicated audio person for the pilot (just the necessary gear). We have two camera operators and an editor. I am also trying to put together a shot sheet for the day.

I (and my cam2 operator) have plenty of experience shooting events (corporate, weddings, nightlife) and a lot of experience with ENG-style, run & gun interviews. However, I am not as familiar with reality show production formats as I would like to be.

I'm not going into this completely blind. I have watched a number of similar shows and tried to imagine how things went down behind the scenes, but that doesn't answer what sorts of things producers had to deal with in the field.

A few of my many questions:
  • How do you come up with content for the show? Do you just let things flow or do you intervene and tell them to do stuff for the sake of entertainment?
  • How often do you interact with the subjects? I am used to interrupting interviews when questions or answers get too complicated.
  • When and how do you conduct cutaway interviews? This will be filmed entirely outdoors. If the talent have an entertaining argument on-camera, for example, do you interview them directly after the fight?
  • Shot composition. For basic conversations or demonstrations, do you keep one camera tight and one wide? I'll be the DP, cam1 operator and field producer. I want to cut down on crew conversations so we don't contaminate the audio. I want to establish safe shot compositions between myself and my 2nd camera so we always have something usable.

Does anyone have any links to videos or documents I can view that would essentially tell me how to put together a basic reality show?

I have read the technical requirements on the show's website. I am not looking for tips on technical details such as camera settings. I am looking for tips on format and logistics. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!
 
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Almost by definition if similar content is already out there then you are about 1 year behind the schedule (at least 6 months). For instance withing past 12 months i have shot two NJ-related pilots (no doubt because of the popularity of the Jersey Shore) and despite good production value and drama they didn't stick around to be picked-up. Why? Because the networks have moved beyond the NJ theme - that is even if you are seeing still 'new' stuff related to NJ come out it was conceptualized 12 months+ before.
 
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Thanks for the input. This will be a hunting show in a category that has a very low number of similar shows. At this point, the only similar shows are mainly instructional and boring. The couple paying me feel as though they can liven it up a little. I don't feel like I'm imitating anything. Twelve months from now, I hope to see imitators. ;)

What I see today is a broadcast format for reality shows. Just like TV News has a format that is well-known and practiced by its writers and producers, I think there is a similar format for reality TV. It is propagated by shows like Jersey Shore, Pawn Stars and even Mythbusters (these are higher-budget examples, of course). I am looking for sources to teach me more about it.
 
Well my favorite reality show is Gold Rush. I think the important thing I can gleam from it is there are essentially two types of shots. The first is the "substance" of the show. It's important to have the camera rolling a lot, because the best moments of shows like this will not be planned. I would stay away from asking them to do things just to be interesting, as it WILL come across as staged to the viewer. Just watch any reality show on TruTV like Lizard Lick and you will see the difference between a show that is obviously staged and one like Gold Rush that lets the reality of the events unfold untampered. Yes, editing will be a pain because you have to go through so much footage, but I don't see any way around it. The other type of shot is the "glamour" shot. Slow mo, time lapse, etc. Anything you can insert in the middle of the show to keep it visually interesting.

Personally i'm not a fan of cut-away interviews. It takes me out of the "reality" of the show. I prefer a narrator (a la Gold Rush).
 
My gf, who's reality show editor, and me, who has shot a share of those are actually writing an article about those issues, namely:
- realty TV talks and talks a lot! (unlike documentary film, reality show needs to over-explain everything often with narration or on-the-fly interviews that are meant to clarify what the varite didn't get - again because execs assume that people don't think but also because most people don't pay the same attention to TV screen as they would to a film)
- reality shows operate on basis of cliff-hangers (ending an act with an unsolved drama that will force the viewer to stick around through the commercial break (because the execs haven't heard of TiVO or other commercial skipping devices)
- after a commercial show most reality shows have a mindless short re-cap for people who just tuned in (because most execs assume that people still watch TV shows on their TV screens...)
- basically most current reality shows are radio shows with some visuals.
- reality is often about manufactured drama that is drama that didn't exist there in the first place or something dramatic that did happen but is then stretched into infinite loop of face close-ups (reinforced by suspenseful music) and thus into a caricature of the moment - this often is because the exes ask to
 
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Thanks for explaining that stuff guys. We're still trying to figure out where we're going and what we have the potential for. We're very much in a learning phase. Thanks again for the input.
 
I did a pilot for OLN in 2002. They wanted 1 complete show and presentation treatments for at lest 10 more before they would even look at the pilot. That being said I'm pretty sure it is different now because they don't exist.
 
I know I'm off track but most off what I would say had been covered by the above posters. Depending on the on screen personality of the Husband and Wife you may have to produce the story. If the have good chemistry the story might unfold on it's own. The content can be better that way but creating the final product can be more time consuming then if you create the story.
 
I worked in reality TV in Los Angeles for a couple of years as a PA, Coordinator, Camera Assistant, Specialty Camera Operator and Camera Operator between 2003 and 2006. Every reality show is a little different but they were all outlined in some way. Films, sit-coms, and dramas have established formats, but reality shows can have a variety formats depending on the subject matter. There are different formulas for different reality shows and often the formula has to be developed to suite the theme and budget. Some portions of certain shows are always scripted and many are shot out of sequence.

I also think "Gold Rush" is one of the best reality shows on TV right now, but it is also a different kind of show with multiple crews working in multiple locations with a lot of subjects and activities to to cover. They are probably running at least two full size time code gen locked cameras for cross coverage with an audio person on a boom and multiple wireless mic mixer at the main shooting location and a producer or two probably toting a handy cam to pick up shots occasionally. This type of show does not have to be "written" much before the shooting begins since there is so much action going on and character drama inherent to the situations so they are generating an enormous amount of verite footage and the show is "written" in the edit. But even they have certain conventions they follow, and do stop down for "in the moment" interviews to clarify the plot points and then pull subjects aside for "stand up" interviews shortly after a plot point to help explain the conflicts going on. Then they pull the subjects aside again later in the shoot for sit down interviews to again recap and delve deeper into feelings that could not be expressed in the moment or in stand up interviews. They also stage the scenes they need to when they miss something, or want to make sure they get something specific, and especially for the title sequence and beauty shots. Once they get through finding the story in the edit they just have to script the voice over to tie it together and recap the show for those that aren't paying attention.

Reality shows with fewer characters and less inherent activity require the introduction of artificial plot points and situations that are "produced" to help move the story forward or create conflict where there is little and so these shows must be more formulaic, outlined and even scripted before the shoot and then be directed with shot lists and predetermined plot points or twists artificially introduced during the shoot to produce the desired material to make the formula work in the edit. This kind of show can be shot with a single camera because actions and lines can be repeated and do not have to be captured in the moment because you can do another take as you would in a film. You will be challenged to make a multi camera shoot happen as the producer, and evaluate the story elements, and coach the talent as the director, and actually capture the moments with technique as the dp/cameraman. Either way, it sounds like a great project and these are all great problems to have so good luck and have fun!
 
Thanks, Dan. I actually read your post while we were out on our first shoot. I spent the weekend getting to know our team and things went really well.

I appreciate your behind-the-scenes insight of Gold Rush. I love learning about those types of logistical undertakings. Our show, however, will be nowhere near that complex.

As far as content goes, we're waiting to see if our show's style can form somewhat organically. They're not actors so we can't force them to do it one way or another (beyond a reasonable point, anyway).

I'm working with a husband & wife and their hunting buddy. They're pretty much the executive producers for the show. They want to be seen as a husband-wife hunting team. The problem is that she's no where near the expert he is. He and his hunting buddy are better at throwing the hunting jargon around. And for the intended audience, somewhat technical hunting talk with lighthearted conversation is what they want to go for.

They need to be prompted for conversation, but once they get going, they can let it fly. It looks to me like it will pay to have a field producer to help get them going. I don't want to have a show with tons of percent voice over like Deadliest Catch, but at this point it seems like that may happen.
 
I suspect that a hunting show will rely on the improvised moments to keep up interest. I worked on the set of a well known "home hunting" type show and learned that the segments where the buyers were waiting anxiously by the phone for the realtor to call and tell them whether or not they were getting a new house were re enacted months after they had moved in!
 
modus said:
  • How do you come up with content for the show? Do you just let things flow or do you intervene and tell them to do stuff for the sake of entertainment?
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Both. As to how much it depends on the reality show format. You definitely need to have a structure put down on paper. First create the structure of the show - don't work without this.
The content obviously comes from the subjects them self and from the theme. What kind of content is going to be created depends on the ideology that your show represents. Does the show approve of killing animals for sport? What does the show have to say about a contemporary marriage and relationships in it? What's the shows uptake on guns? What's the intended audience? Etc., etc. When you know your structural foundations all you have to do then is to create the content, ie. you know the form all you need is the content.
Structure, structure, structure. And before is start to sound like Syd Field I'll say that reality show happens in the pre planing as much as it does in the edit suite.


modus said:
  • How often do you interact with the subjects? I am used to interrupting interviews when questions or answers get too complicated.
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Don't forget that you are doing a REALITY show. What this means is that basically what happens IS the shows content. Don't get carried away bi directing the show - this tends to happen a lot. You'll end up getting a documentary/reality. If this is what you want then I say ok, but do it how it's supposed to be done then not something in between.
Reality is basically this: you create a structure and then put your subjects into this structure and film them. You don't tell them how to act! This is reality - you create the situation and then you film theirs reactions, you see how they live within this structure. If you don't do it like this then you're back to documentary format - maybe even mocumentary.

modus said:
  • When and how do you conduct cutaway interviews? This will be filmed entirely outdoors. If the talent have an entertaining argument on-camera, for example, do you interview them directly after the fight?
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Fly-by interviews as this are called are something common. But it depends on the format. You may not want to have them. If you have the option (when doing a fly-by) try to remove the subject from the spot where reality was/is filmed just moments ago. Just a few steps in one or the other direction should do. This is because fly-by interviews can be confusing for the audience. But in general there is nothing wrong by doing them. But if you have more of a filmic/narrative type of reality you can't do them! Or to say it more kindly you shouldn't do them.

modus said:
  • Shot composition. For basic conversations or demonstrations, do you keep one camera tight and one wide? I'll be the DP, cam1 operator and field producer. I want to cut down on crew conversations so we don't contaminate the audio. I want to establish safe shot compositions between myself and my 2nd camera so we always have something usable.
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Yes. Doing a wide and a CU is something normal. A lot of reality shows are shot with only one camera most of the time - keep that in mind. You could do it with one camera. But in studio situations or when doing preplaned structural elements with more then one person it's better to have more than one camera.


I hope this helps:)

Br
S
 
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Thanks again for the input, guys. We ended up doing our first two shoots with one camera and an audio mixer/recorder. Too bad we didn't kill very many animals.

j1clark, I'll read those links this weekend. Thanks!

Here's a self-portrait from the hunt: http://i.imgur.com/qQQJN.jpg
 
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