The Emotion Work of Reality Television

Television producers of reality shows are responsible for guaranteeing that over the course of filming there will be dramatic and emotional encounters to become the core of an on-screen story. Grindstaff says that the normal route of manipulated situations to create a more stressful interaction is problematic because there are limits as to what contestants would be willing to do and they always have the ability to quit during production. Instead, producers must create an emotional connection and build a relationship with each guest or contestant on their show.

 Grindstaff explains that, in general, most females and men in lower economic classes use ‘emotion work’ – meaning they use emotions to not only build relationships but also provoke desired reactions from their peers. These slight manipulations are often used to maintain normalcy, but can be used by producers to inspire more emotionally charged reactions from individuals on reality or talk shows.

Personally, I am unsure how necessary this tool of emotional manipulation is. I believe it is important for producers to build good relationships with the contestants so that everyone feels comfortable during the filming process, but I do believe that the situations themselves create high levels of stress and therefore heated reactions from the contestants. However, in a talk show or a confessional situation, it is important for the producers to know how to bring down emotional walls. By this point, the participants will have emotional guards in place about what is being discussed and producers have to build a trusting relationship to break through.

While I do believe these types of relationships are useful in creating dramatic reality television, I wonder how ethical they are. Contestants know to question the tasks they are assigned and their fellow competitors when they agree to appear on a reality how. However, most do not think to question the production staff of the show – the producers are supposed to be on their side. While I do feel somewhat uneasy about the imbalanced relationship if contestants are aware of their situation and lack of power, and producers do not overly abuse it these emotional connections help create good reality television.

Questions:

-How do producers approach the participants of a reality-competition show differently than an average reality show?

-Is the main goal in creating a show always to create the most dramatic story or is there a benefit to creating a simpler and more realistic plot line?

-How much do contestants personalities versus talent influence their ability to join or remain on a reality-competition show?

The Unreality of Reality TV

            Her response is that both reality TV and talk shows production staff facilitate situations in which ordinary people are thrust into conflict situations in order to facilitate a “good or dramatic” performance.  I think that it is important to understand how producers do this in a way that Grindstaff says will not create a situation in which the cast members quite or leave the show.  I think this is important because much of the appeal of reality TV is the drama.  The cast are people that the audience can relate to because they are considered ordinary, and having them in dramatic situations creates appeal for audiences.  I agree with Grindstaff in that this is important in order to create good TV, and think that is the main reason reality TV has been so successful without the use of paid actors.  The way to create good TV is to make it so that the situations seem as real to the audience as possible and therefore the emotions of the cast are as unscripted as possible.

            Producers of reality TV have kept the secrets of creating drama on shows as secret as possible in order to have audiences think that the drama on the shows are real and in order to keep the cast members emotions as real as possible.  However, it has been admitted through the media that much of the drama created on reality TV is done so by the producers in order to make programming interesting.  A show about actual normal people would not sell well because its not that interesting which is why producers create drama on shows.  The funny part of reality TV is that it is not actually real, but instead scenarios created by producers in order to make drama that will be appealing to audiences.
Questions:
What are your interactions with cast members as a producer?
Do you manipulate actors at all during their on screen performance?
What are your responsibilities on the editing side as a producer?

Controlling Emotions is Helping Reality Television Control Air Time

First, a producer guarantees good reality television by selecting an "ordinary” person” who has an issue, is experiencing a problem, or is stuck in a crisis.  Their problem should be compelling, have conflicts or be likely to create conflicts, and maximize the probability of emotional expressiveness.  The second step is for the producer to participate in emotional labor.  Emotional labor is where the producer influences and controls the feelings and emotions of the “ordinary” person, convincing that person that social guidelines tell them they should be emotionally responding in a certain way to their situation.  They do this for multiple reasons.  First, in a conflict with a high probability of intense emotion and the stressful schedule of reality television, emotional labor must be used to keep the “ordinary” person dedicated to continued participation.  They must secure the cooperation of the “ordinary person.”  Second, the producer must alter their emotions in a way that is favorable to creating drama, which leads to good television.  Grindstaff uses a pornography shoot as a metaphor for this transaction.  The producer “fluffs” the “ordinary” person, in order for them to “show wood” to the audience, and then after delivers a “money shot,” which could be “soft-core” or “hard-core”.  In this metaphor, “fluffing” is where the producer plays with the emotions of the “ordinary” person,” leading them to develop certain emotions that are desirable to the producer and make them easily visible, “showing wood,” and the money shot is where the “ordinary person” takes action based upon these emotions that the producer instilled in them.  This action, if the producer instilled the correct emotion, will guarantee drama and a good reality TV episode.
My take on this is that is incredibly manipulative.  This causes individuals who don’t have experience with the television industry on air, with millions of people watching, to act in ways that they never would if the producer, or an expert at emotional labor, wasn’t manipulating and amplifying their emotions.  However, due to the cheap production, great success of emotional labor, and the incredibly popularity of reality television it will remain a very popular form of television for years to come.

Three Questions
1) Does being the producer for "reality" shows require lots of the same skills as producing television for "scripted" shows (such as emotional labor)?
2) Have participants on reality shows ever complained to you or someone for your company about how they felt misrepresented by the final product, with the editing and presentation of the final show?
3) Reality television seems to spread across a ton of topics and genres, from love shows, to game shows, to extreme stuff.  What do you suspect the future of reality television to look like and why?

Reality Success

Reality TV has taken the global television culture by storm encouraging ordinary people with no training or television background to get involved in the production of shows and star in them. Referencing to Havens and Lotz's commercial mandate and economic conditions, the brilliant concept of reality TV meets the criteria for a successful show. The primary goal for a television show is to make profit and the best way to do that is to find an audience and gain a following. What better way to reach an audience is there than getting them involved with starring in the show and helping produce the show. Reality TV shows like MTV's Jersey Shore and FOX's American Idol incorporate the audience around the world and give them a huge role. The stars of Jersey Shore are ordinary people that are part of the entertainment cultural production in the US and therefore are willing to divulge personal information on national television as well as express themselves beyond traditional norms in order to capture the attention of producers and the viewing audience. The best parts about casting ordinary people to star in a show are the cost to cast the stars and the quality of performance. They are cheap and willing to work for low wages for fame and they are not expected to be quality actors because they don't have any training. This fits television's commercial mandate if the audience gravitates towards them. But since the actors are similar to the audience they are relatable. And since a lot of reality TV shows use conflict or alcohol to encourage conflict, people are interested.

Which brings me to my next point of interactivity. What better way to keep audience interested than to give the audience some sort of production control. Now reality shows like American Idol, have given the audience voting and responsive capabilities through telephone and online voting to live performances and through blogging. The interactivity gives the fans a sense of empowerment of the show of their choice. They invest the time to watch the show and now they have the ability to change the show to what they see fit by adding their own input. The script-less, non-big named relatable cast, and interactivity from the audience are the perfect ingredients to a successful show the meets the commercial mandate and follows the economic conditions. Networks and producers are formatting shows off one another based on contest, reality conflict, and talk shows because the trends are pointing too a strong success.

3 Questions for Magical Elves:

1. What’s the hardest part about producing a TV show?

2. Magical Elves seems to focus on producing reality tv shows so how do you pick an event that occurs in reality to base a show around?

3. How did you get into the production side of the Entertainment business?

Creating Good Reality TV: THe fabrication of an organic process

Good reality TV needs two components to make viewers believe in the shows “actuality”. The participants on the show must seem like ‘ordinary’ people and the emotions on the show seem unscripted. Since these shows participants are not trained actors, producers worry that influencing the participant too much will untimely effect the money shot. To produce good reality TV producers construct situations were conflict will naturally arise, thus participants true emotions will show through, giving viewers the desired product of people behaving badly.

She cites Hochschild’s idea of emotional work; emotions are the medium through which people express themselves. Emotional work is one’s attempt to fit with social guidelines. When produces become involved to produce a specific emotional reaction emotional work becomes emotional labor. The producers job is to put participants in situations where their emotions will shock audiences thus drawing in viewers. By giving participants ’wood’ they can then go out an perform for the audience.

I think it is important to examine the role of producer interaction in order to produce good reality TV. The key on shows like Big Brother and Jersey Shore is to make all drama look organic. Producers seem to walk a tightrope to keep the balance between creating situations and believable drama. Producers get directions from the network executives of what the network wants the show to look like, and it is their job to deliver. On lower budgeted shows like Maury producers use the elements of shock and surprise to excite emotion. The stories on the show are very outrageous, far removed form ordinary life, which entices viewers. Producers as well as audiences are never quite sure what will happen next. While this is a headache for producers it can also lead to some amazing TV because it is so “off the cuff”. I have become a big fan of Up All Night and after reading this article I will be paying much closer attention to Christina Applegate’s character as a producer to see how she creates good TV.

1) Has the drama on a TV show become so out of hand you worried the show would seem unbelievable or disliked by viewers.

2) How did you know you wanted to become a producers? Was it a situation were the opportunity arose and you took advantage of it, or was becoming a producer the goal all along

3) Have you ever had major conflict with network executives on how they wanted uyou to change one of your shows?

This is not "Reality" TV

Grindstaff's response to how producers can guarantee good, dramatic, television programs when using ordinary people is that production of these shows must cause conflict. She continues to say the just producing these situations can then cause more problems in themselves due to the show becomingg too unruly or contestants quitting. Producers will force contestants or participants on talk shows directly into conflict situations attempting to play off the participants emotions, drawing the audience in. Producers put ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances like living on an island and competing for a million dollars. When a million dollars is on the line there is bound to be plenty of conflict and emotion. Grindstaff continues to say that producers put in "emotional work" in order to shape the emotions of the contestants into a direction the producer would prefer. Producers will force a show to be shown with circumstances they think the show should be shown.

After reading this aricle I could not help but relate the circumstances Grindstaff was discussing to a show I watched a lot growing up. So naturally the article made me think of Survivor. Many aspects of the article pointed only to creating conflict, which is what Survivor is all about, there is physical competitions leading to direct physical conflict as well as the mental aspect of the game. Another point the article spoke of was shooting hundreds of hours of footage and then showing only portions the producers deem as good television. This is exactly what survivor does is view every minute of the contestants lives on the island. After all of these things being added together producers get exactly what they are looking for physical and mental conflict created by simply the nature of the game. These conflicts then reveal certain emotions about each of the contestants which then draw in an audience. The show has also ran into problems discussed in the article of contestants quitting due to the stress. This all being said, I completely agree with Grindstaff's response, that producers are able to guarantee good shows by forcing contestants into a particular conflict attempting to draw out certain emotions. I can only compare her analysis with a show I have history with and Grindstaff's analysis seems to be right on cue in describing a show that has been very successful and in its twenty third season.

Fan Favorite: Project Runway's Audience Interactions

Reality television has become commonplace on original networks and cable channels. Produces have come up with everything from talk shows, dating shows, a group of Italian-American spending the summer in New Jersey, cook-offs, to finding the newest designer. The possibilities have seemed endless and yet despite the difference in context three things remain the same – competition, drama, and audience participation. “Ordinary” people interacting, living together, and competing for a prize causes nothing but drama and audience opinions.

What has this new voice given American’s? Laura Grindstaff explains that this interaction between reality television and audiences has allowed viewers at home to become potential “producers”. Having the power to vote for a contestant gives voice to the individuals sitting on the couch enjoying their television program. The fans become influential in determining the course of narratives.

Magical Elves Production Company is famous for creating reality television programs that are extremely successful and have won many Emmy’s. One of their most popular programs is Project Runway, a show that follows contestants through fourteen-week process of challenges and eliminations. Unlike some contestant shows, viewers don’t have a “voice” in which contestant is voted off each week. This season Magical Elves changed that by instating a “Who’s your favorite fan?” campaign where viewers were encouraged to tweet at their favorite designers, the contestant with the most mentions at the end of the season wins $10,000. The interaction of the audience engages the viewers and provides a sense of involvement in a venue that used to be out of their control. Audiences know that their voice will be heard and accounted for – this encourages them to watch week after week.

Regardless of on the interaction available for each show – the interaction gives the viewers the power to be “potential producers”. This ultimately creates excited and enthusiastic viewers which lead to higher ratings and ultimately greater success.

Questions for Christian Homlish:

1. When producing a reality television show do producers always look to “type cast”?

2. How much input does the producer have in what is actually said on screen? Are there ever cases where the production staff can force a contestant to say something?

3. How did you get involved in this industry? Have you always been interested?

Tapping into the Human Psyche

When looking at how to develop good television with ordinary people in "Self-Serve Celebrity," Laura Grindstaff believes there must be a delicate balance. As we have seen on the most popular reality television programs, conflict has seemingly become the most interesting part of the show. For one reason or another, reality television audiences are ecstatic at the thought of somewhat controlled violence and verbal/emotional abuse. The delicate balance that Grindstaff believes needs to be met is the level and control of that violence, as she says conflict can create "production problems if participants quit or become too unruly to manage" (76). More broadly, what Grindstaff is trying to convey is that good television shows with ordinary people must draw on the emotions of the audience, to which she gives the name "emotion work" (77).

Many of the daytime talk shows seem to have this a lot easier than reality television shows. A good amount of them are geared towards conflict, think Jerry Springer, Maury Povich, and others. The conflict is boiling inside the bodies of the guests, just waiting for the host to coax it out. Other talk shows, like Oprah, draw on the compassion of the television and live audience, because the shows bring in those whose stories began with misfortunes and/or disadvantages and tell the tale of how those individuals turned their situations around. Talk show producers are looking tap into the human psyche and create an emotional connection that will leave the audience wanting more.

While it seems that talk show hosts may have it easier, reality television producers have it fairly easy too. Many reality shows bring together a group of people that have never before met and expect them to live together for an extended period of time in search of a certain reward. This nearly guarantees some form of conflict, because the individuals will undoubtedly split off into separate cliques with the ultimate hope of being the only person left at the end of the show without a knife in his/her back. Other reality shows attempt to provide a glimpse into a certain sect of society. However, there is always some form of competition within each show, whether it be to prove that they party harder than anyone anywhere or that they are more classy and sophisticated than the rest of the world. This competition-aspect normally always leads audiences to a feeling of envy or provides a ridiculously hilarious and embarrassing program.

I feel that Grindstaff is right on the money with her points and her insight. Especially with talk shows, you don't really think about what the producers are trying to manipulate the audience to think about or feel, because people tend to be compassionate and try to identify with others as best they can. But with reality television, it is fairly apparent that conflict will run rampant throughout the program. When alcohol is thrown into the equation, the conflict tends to heighten, poor decisions are made, and the show can become even funnier or slightly scary.

QUESTIONS FOR CHRISTIAN HOMLISH

1) From your perspective, how much of reality television is scripted? Is there a difference in this area between competition-driven reality TV and reality TV more about lifestyle.

2) What do you think is the more important factor in determining the success of a reality television show, total revenues or total profit?

3) How much time is spent when selecting a cast for a reality television show? What are the most important factors in a cast member?

Reality Shows: Life Actually?

Grindstaff’s study is unique because it discusses the particulars of production in reality shows of all kinds, and the lessons she conveys can be applied to all kinds of television production. Unlike scripted shows, reality show producers must frame their show within a narrative that they cannot anticipate: in other words, the actors also act as their own writers, with the producers having to act as both liaisons to the actors as well as their interpreters. Like Havens and Lotz, Grindstaff is concerned with the specific methods of how culture is produced through the media industry, not the ramifications of the culture that it produces. This is also how a reality show producer must approach the creative process: they must take what happens as it happens without trying to frame it within a storyline (as it would happen on a scripted show). This is why reality television has a very basic narrative structure, rather than a clear one.

Because of this method of study, Grindstaff poses this question in her study of reality television and why it produces the culture it does: “How, then, to guarantee good (that is, dramatic) television using ordinary people?” The answer, as Grindstaff explains, is twofold: the producers must make the reality stars comfortable enough to let them act normally (or motivate them to be as crazy as they can be) and the show must be edited in a manner that generates drama. The most crucial part of this process is the fact that people are always surrounded by cameras; with thousands of hours of footage, just about anyone can be made into a controversial reality star, especially on the shows where alcohol consumption is encouraged by the setting. Depending on the show, editing is more or less important to creating drama; a competition show like Top Chef will inherently have more drama than a show like Keeping up with the Kardashians (a show I am a shameless fan of) that relies on editing to catch sideways glances, create out of context arguments, and queue up dramatic music over the tiniest squabbles. As Grindstaff notes, much of the action on Sorority Life revolved around partying and drinking, and that the scenes of studying, community service, and camaraderie were cut out “despite the fact that they all occurred during filmmaking”. While I enjoy trashy reality shows from time to time, I am much more interested in how production works for the type of shows that Magical Elves produces, even if they have Justin Bieber in them:

Questions

1. How did film production on "Justin Bieber: Never Say Never" differ from the typical reality show production?
2. How does producing a documentary series differ from producing a more typical, competition based reality show?
3. How many hours of film does it take to make a typical episode of a reality show?

Top Chef Masters and Interactivity

As reality television has come to dominate a great deal of air space, the issue of what is "good" TV has often been called into question. With stations such as MTV (remember how it used to be MUSIC Television?) now filled with reality-ish shows such as 'Parental Control' and '16 & Pregnant', there have been both benefits and losses to both the consumers and producers of the TV industry.

Laura Grindstaff's article, entitled "Self-Serve Celebrity," focuses on the ways in which ordinary people can function as both stars, those who actually gain fame and attention for appearing on network television, and producers, those of us who sit at home and blog, vote, etc. regarding the happenings of reality television programming. The role that the "ordinary" consumers occupy is characterized by the term 'interactivity.' By looking at Bravo's "Top Chef Masters," produced by Magical Elves, I will further address the issue of interactivity and the ways in which programming such as this has changed the dynamic of production versus consumption in media industries.

As Grindstaff points out in her article, interactivity associated with reality television rises the question of who truly is the producer? In Top Chef Masters, it could be argued that the chefs themselves, the hosts, guest stars who taste the food, or even those who develop the show at Magical Elves could be the production force behind the show. The chefs provide the drama and the competition that exists (as well as produce the delicious-looking food that keeps us coming back to watch the show), the hosts and guest judges have the power to kick off whomever they decide to any given week, and the actual producers of the show most likely are in charge of deciding which of the former Top Chef contestants will be casted in the new, ultimate, super-charged version of the original show.

Top Chef Masters, in particular, is an interesting case when considering the relationship that exists between interactivity and the audience. For those who have watched Top Chef previously, if they discover that their favorite contestant from a previous season will be returning, they will likely come back and watch the new series. Additionally, it could be possible that audience feedback that can be found on Bravo's website regarding Top Chef influences who will be asked back to compete once again, as well as persuade judges in one way or another regarding who should be granted the title of Top Chef Master.

As long as audience members feel as if they have a powerful role in the production or creation of a TV show (as is the case in shows such as 'American Idol' and 'Big Brother'), further reality television shows will develop, encouraging the concept of interactivity between TV show and audience member. This leads me to particular questions for those working at production companies, such as Magical Elves:

1. In casting for new TV shows, does previous audience participation influence the decisions regarding who does make the cut for any given reality show?
2. How much of shows such as Top Chef, Top Chef Dessert, and Top Chef Master is scripted if any at all?
3. What roles do the hosts of the show actually possess? Do they simply act as a representative figure for the TV show or do their opinions truly matter when the time comes to eliminate another contestant?

The "Reality" of Reality TV

Question 3

Reality TV is motivated by a goal of creating entertaining, provoking and dramatic television through ordinary people that are just like everyone else - going to work, living life... and having every moment documented by a film crew.
It's pretty clear that by nature of being on a reality TV show, these people aren't living "ordinary" lives in the eyes of the general public. However, their status as non-professional actors or actress' with ties to some other lifestyle or profession means that they are ordinary in the eyes of reality TV producers. Grindstaff's article does a great job of bringing to light the behind-the-scenes construction of the reality portrayed through these shows. She asks the essential question on page 76: "How, then, to guarantee good (that is, dramatic) television using ordinary people?"
Her answer to this centers upon the creation of conflict. Essentially, viewers want to witness reality stars engaged in conflicts because their responses are typically entertaining, absurd, or provoking. Grindstaff discusses earlier on page 76 that producers find these ordinary people's stories compelling because they are dealing with a particular problem or situation. When this can be related (or is entertaining) to an audience, the producers want to make that conflict the forefront aspect of the show. Often times, this means initiating conflict situations or participating in what Grindstaff calls "emotion work."
Emotion work, explained beginning on page 77, means that in the reality TV business, emotional labor is just as much a part of the package as is physical labor and time. These are the subject's real lives being filmed, and the producers who spend significant time with them are thus wrapped up in their conflicts, issues, and "heartache" (77). In this midst of all of this, producers' main job is to convince participants to continue sharing all of this with viewers, in front of the camera. To keep conflict moving throughout the show, the participants can't get sick of the spotlight after only a few episodes. Good reality TV is dependent upon producers convincing ordinary people that their problems will be heard by a large audience.
I have certainly watched enough reality TV in my life to know that the snapshots in episodes are constructed to paint a certain picture, and this doesn't always give paint the participants in a fair light (an interesting example of this: Watch TLC's Cake Boss "Bridezilla" episode and read through some of the forums that come up in Google regarding whether or not it's real). Grindstaff's explanation of "good" reality TV made a lot of sense to me - If the industry is so focused on making something out of the stories of "ordinary" people, the problems these people face are going to have to be front and center, because that's what the audience will attach to - especially if it's not so different from their own issues. This reminded me of all that we've talked about in class regarding Mandates, or a media text's reason for being. If reality TV's main goal/reason for being is to produce engaging television based on the lives of ordinary people, then they are going to have to draw out the most intense and entertaining parts of these lives to gain an audience. Their "emotion work" and conflict creation is all a result of their goal to succeed as a certain type of show.

After reading this article, I'm really excited for us to skype with Christian Homlish and learn more about what Magical Elves does. My questions are as follows:
1) How did the idea for "The L-Word" come into being? We've talked in class about taking risks in production and being "ahead of the times." I would be interested to know how this idea was presented and responded to, both within Magical Elves and in the public.
2) What do you find are the greatest motivations for people applying to be on reality TV shows? It seems as though if all of the cast members are not involved for similar reasons, it would be very difficult to guide the show through production to reach it's own goals for what it wants to present.
3) What are the biggest differences in creation and production between the shows you produce for cable networks and those that are produced for broadcast? I wonder how much shows (or topics) have to change to appease different consumers, depending on station.