How Staged is Reality TV? - Duggars

[homeschoolmomma1]

Okay for a long time I was drinking the Duggar kool aid or pickle juice- whatever it was haha

 

Anyway I was watching the episode today when Jim Bob takes Josiah to his drivers test and I never realized this but when he is talking to Michelle and saying where he was going it just seemed so... staged. So my question... Do thet stage the transition parts? Like where they are going and whatnot? And when do they do the voiceovers and talking heads? Months later? I was just wondering since I used to think the show was really reality. Yes... feel bad for me...

[Kitten]

ALL of these "reality" shows are staged. The Roloffs got caught with a "Storyline Cheat Sheet" sitting on the desk in one show. TLC "suggests" ideas for filming (Hmmm, "hillbilly slip'n'slide," or "knitting hats for babies" or "the big sex talk before your wedding night," anyone?) Then obviously, stuff like "We're cleaning the kitchen with our handy Swiffer mops!" is staged, and most of the trips are set up with/by TLC and the participating cos (hotels, airlines, tourist attractions, etc.).

Even when they are filming "real" events, things are often staged or repeated for the cameras, to ensure they get the right angles, or to get something on film when they missed the actual event. Stuff like entering/leaving (ever wonder how they're outside filming the person and then bam! the person walks through the door and they're still on camera! No, they don't always have two cameras rolling - they simply make the person wait until they get inside). Things you noticed, like "conversations" (I. am. going. to. the. store. now.), are often set up or repeated. And when the people involved aren't actors, they sound as silly and uncomfortable as they look.

The only real thing about a reality show is that the kids don't have the option of not being filmed, there are no restrictions on the amount of time they have to spend in front of the cameras, and they don't get any of the money.

[PBrooke]

The most obvious restaged or refilmed part to catch is in the special where they find out Anna's pregnant. Anna explains, past-tense, to the camera that she peed on the stick and left it for Josh to read. Then the camera crew says that Josh called them AFTER he read the positive test, so they were there when Josh told Anna. All that is probably accurate - but there's a bit in the middle where they show Anna pulling a pregnancy test out of a drawer at the car place and going into the office bathroom. Within the context of the show, it's blatantly obvious that scene had to be staged.

[O Latin]

The most obvious restaged or refilmed part to catch is in the special where they find out Anna's pregnant. Anna explains, past-tense, to the camera that she peed on the stick and left it for Josh to read. Then the camera crew says that Josh called them AFTER he read the positive test, so they were there when Josh told Anna. All that is probably accurate - but there's a bit in the middle where they show Anna pulling a pregnancy test out of a drawer at the car place and going into the office bathroom. Within the context of the show, it's blatantly obvious that scene had to be staged.

And wouldn't calling the camera crew have ruined the "surprise"? It's not like Josh would call them to come watch him tell her she wasn't pregnant.

I don't know why they bother with those "Okay, I'm going to go do X now" conversations, because the viewers already know what's going on because they've been talking about it in the talking heads for the last five minutes. And Michelle's talking heads (she always seems to have the most) are soooooooo repetitive. "Well, then we had to go to the store, because we always do that. You know, we're always running out of food and so we have to go to the store to buy more, because otherwise we wouldn't have any food. So that's why we had to go to the store." It drives. me. crazy.

[Guest Anonymous]

We get disclaimers at the start of US reality shows, to explain that, unlike in the UK, some parts are filmed 'for entertainment purposes'. In the UK, the fun comes more from the dry commentary and the editing.

[Kitten]

In the UK, the fun comes more from the dry commentary and the editing.

Ah, anniec, I do miss the British sense of humor (humour ;) ). Well, okay, the English/Scots/Irish/Welsh sense of humor, because they're all a bit different in their way. But yes, they do have a marvelous way of coming out with the most droll comments. I used to wish fervently I could think of such clever things to say, but I finally gave up on that and just enjoyed hearing them from other folk.

I've watched all the reality shows BBC America has given us, like Manor House and Regency House, and the comments that came out of the participants' mouths were sometimes ROFL funny. I read the BBC sports (especially the football reports) just to enjoy the commentaries. You won't find US sportswriters writing like that. Ever.

I often wonder if Hugh Laurie gets to contribute to House scripts, because a lot of what House says sounds like what a Brit might say.

[Lillian]

In the UK, the fun comes more from the dry commentary and the editing.

Ahh my favorite part of British TV. Especially on shows like 'Come Dine With Me', the narrator is hilarious.

But yeah on 19KAC it's pretty clear that they recycle sound bites and things in different episodes. There's one of Michelle saying something like "field trips are a great way for our family to learn together" that was used in at least 2 episodes that I remember, one when they were actually on a field trip and the other for poor Joy's birthday train ride. They must stage things for continuity purposes as well.

[Kaylee]

Yep, usually they start filming with a sort of plan or schedule of what they'll get on camera, do multiple takes of each scene to get the dialogue and camera shots like they want, then fill in the transitions and things later. For voice-overs, they'll film footage of walking, driving, or whatever they use and do several practice scripts separately, then combine the two. Usually that part is done at the same time as the talking head type things are filmed, at or near the same time as the rest, so it's all together conveniently for editing.

Also, all of this is a royal pain in the ass and I don't know how the kids stand it. We spent 4 days doing filming for a 30 minute show and, while my film and production crew were really awesome, I was so ready to be done and get back to my normal vegetative state (I was pregnant at the time and busting ass doing stuff at home).

[homeschoolmomma1]

Yep, usually they start filming with a sort of plan or schedule of what they'll get on camera, do multiple takes of each scene to get the dialogue and camera shots like they want, then fill in the transitions and things later. For voice-overs, they'll film footage of walking, driving, or whatever they use and do several practice scripts separately, then combine the two. Usually that part is done at the same time as the talking head type things are filmed, at or near the same time as the rest, so it's all together conveniently for editing.

Also, all of this is a royal pain in the ass and I don't know how the kids stand it. We spent 4 days doing filming for a 30 minute show and, while my film and production crew were really awesome, I was so ready to be done and get back to my normal vegetative state (I was pregnant at the time and busting ass doing stuff at home).

Where did you work?

[JenniferJuniper]

The only real thing about a reality show is that the kids don't have the option of not being filmed, there are no restrictions on the amount of time they have to spend in front of the cameras, and they don't get any of the money.

Yes, yes, yes.

I really think in 10 years we'll look back and be shocked at how minors on these so-called reality shows were exploited. At least kids considered to be actors have some laws in place to protect them. In many states, Arkansas included, reality show kids who are put to work and have their personal lives exposed for the world to watch and re-watch for all eternity are merely unpaid "participants". Former child actor Paul Petersen has been doing a great deal of work to expose these practices and to try to change laws to protect these kids. See http://www.minorcon.org/

And fundie kids should have rights too!

[xDreamerx]

I remember back in the day when Trading Spaces was the big thing, they did this "Behind the Scenes" type special and the designers were interviewed. One of them, I believe her name was Christy (or something like that), said the hardest part was doing the scripted scenes, usually with the carpenters. It showed her doing a scene where she walks up to Carter chats to him about something, they play some basketball and then he goes off to build. I'm not a freak I just have a fairly good memory.

So yeah, they are scripted. Shows like Trading Spaces maybe a bit less so but they still had some "storyline". People had to audition to be on.

[lilwriter85]

Staging and scripting in reality TV has gone on for a long time. The original cast of the Real World confirmed years ago that some footage was staged or reenacted. Several other RW cast members from other seasons have revealed that some things were staged.

I also heard about the Roloff cheat sheet incident. I read on another site that the Roloffs kept their farm gated when they weren't filming the show.

I have feeling that in the most recent episode of 19 kids and counting, Grandma Mary's "surprise" was staged.

[Kaylee]

Where did you work?

I was on a reality show, just one of those one episode series type things for the Discovery Channel. It was really random, but I could not believe how much filming the did for something so short and how tiring it would be for me to do something like that over the long term, from the combination of having to keep redoing things and also just having a bunch of extra people in your home and/or following you around for most of the day.

[browngrl]

I was on a reality show and it is totally staged. They would always feed me lines and would ask question in a way to get the answer they wanted. The best part was talking with the camera/sound men/women. They had all crewed on other reality shows/tv/movies and they had the best stories. One of the camera men was on Canada's next top model and he said the way they get those girls to really act up is to keep them awake and working most of the day - so the girls are all sleep/food deprived. Turns out this was a great way to bring out the crazy.

[doe]

I have never watched Jersey Shore, and had no idea who Snooki was until sometime late last year. But recently I saw a video clip of a fight that broke out on the show, and how you see some people wrestling on the ground in bare feet one moment, and then one of them is wearing socks the next. It was apparently an editing mistake that showed that it was staged.

[lilwriter85]

I have never watched Jersey Shore, and had no idea who Snooki was until sometime late last year. But recently I saw a video clip of a fight that broke out on the show, and how you see some people wrestling on the ground in bare feet one moment, and then one of them is wearing socks the next. It was apparently an editing mistake that showed that it was staged.

I'm not surprised by the editing mistake. I remember a few years back VH1 had a documentary about secrets of reality shows and editing mistakes were caught on various shows. Rocco DiSpirto's first reality show The Restaurant had tons of editing mistakes that revealed staged incidents or reenactments. There was one editing mistake in which a waiter was injured on the job but the camera crew didn't see the fall that caused the injury. The camera crew was filming in the kitchen when the incident happened and they got footage of a paramedic examining the waiter and putting his arm in a sling, in those shots the waiter was wearing a black shirt with a white stripe across on it. Later on the producers had the waiter reenact the fall but they had the waiter wear a plain black shirt and they shot that scene and then blended with the paramedic scene and people saw the mistake. The waiter admitted to what happened and said that most of The Restaurant was staged.

[Guest Anonymous]

Yes, yes, yes.

I really think in 10 years we'll look back and be shocked at how minors on these so-called reality shows were exploited. At least kids considered to be actors have some laws in place to protect them. In many states, Arkansas included, reality show kids who are put to work and have their personal lives exposed for the world to watch and re-watch for all eternity are merely unpaid "participants". Former child actor Paul Petersen has been doing a great deal of work to expose these practices and to try to change laws to protect these kids. See http://www.minorcon.org/

And fundie kids should have rights too!

I don't like to see children in reality shows, full stop. Especially in these days where re-runs can go on for decades and clips are posted all over YouTube. I particularly hate shows like Wife Swap or Nanny 911 where all the family secrets are brought out of the closet in the name of entertainment/education. There is no way on earth that children can be believed to give informed consent to be on those shows and I don't think parents or TV producers should be allowed to take that decision from them.

[LIzzieB]

A friend of mine was on a reality TV show last year (sadly got voted out of the house on the first ep!), and loads of it is staged. If not scripted, they have to repeat activity for better camera angles, or rephrase sentences so that it makes more sense for editing.

[homeschoolmomma1]

A friend of mine was on a reality TV show last year (sadly got voted out of the house on the first ep!), and loads of it is staged. If not scripted, they have to repeat activity for better camera angles, or rephrase sentences so that it makes more sense for editing.

AHHH Big Brother???? I watch that all the time! Is that the show? Sorry got excited for nothing otherwise haha

Why would the roloffs lock their Pumpkin farm? I don't get it

[thoughtful]

I remember back in the day when Trading Spaces was the big thing, they did this "Behind the Scenes" type special and the designers were interviewed. One of them, I believe her name was Christy (or something like that), said the hardest part was doing the scripted scenes, usually with the carpenters. It showed her doing a scene where she walks up to Carter chats to him about something, they play some basketball and then he goes off to build. I'm not a freak I just have a fairly good memory.

Well, Carter is hard to forget!

[lilwriter85]

AHHH Big Brother???? I watch that all the time! Is that the show? Sorry got excited for nothing otherwise haha

Why would the roloffs lock their Pumpkin farm? I don't get it

The Roloffs claimed that people were bothering them and showing up at the farm at various times and they decided to only have the farm open to the public when cameras were around which was basically just weekends. On some forums, I read posts from people who said they lived in the same town as the family and they said the family isn't as friendly as they were on the show. Some people claimed that Amy was rude during certain events at the farm and also some people claimed that Mike the family friend and the soccer coach was on TLC's payroll.

TLC always tried to spin Matt and Amy as very inspirational LP couple who were both well respected in LP communities, but sadly some things came to light about how some LP organizations had issues with Matt and Amy. Matt was also causing trouble at LPA conventions and then a couple of years back Zach followed in his dad's footsteps and caused problems at the Dwarf Atheltic Assocation of America Games. TLC actually caught Zack making unpleasant comments about DAAA on camera and they didn't edit it out and DAAA met with the Roloffs. Sometimes networks and reality show producers do their best to make people or certain situations seem one way but sometimes they put things on the air that muddy the waters.

[JenniferJuniper]

I also seem to recall a story about the tall twin making racist and gay bashing remarks on his Myspace page a few years back.

I'm glad that show is gone. Once the novelty of seeing how little people cope with the challenges of every day life wore off, we were left to just watch a family get wealthier and wealthier thanks only to the fact that we were watching them get wealthier and wealthier. And it was pretty clear that Matt and Amy can't stand each other, which made the voyeurism that much more creepy and uncomfortable. Shades of the old Loud family.

[lilwriter85]

I also seem to recall a story about the tall twin making racist and gay bashing remarks on his Myspace page a few years back.

I'm glad that show is gone. Once the novelty of seeing how little people cope with the challenges of every day life wore off, we were left to just watch a family get wealthier and wealthier thanks only to the fact that we were watching them get wealthier and wealthier. And it was pretty clear that Matt and Amy can't stand each other, which made the voyeurism that much more creepy and uncomfortable. Shades of the old Loud family.

I remember Jeremy's MySpace comments. I remember Matt telling the media that the family was going to teach the kids diversity. That was done as damage control. On twop, somebody said that Matt's dad Ron had a long history of making racist comments. This person said he knew Ron from a business.

I'm also glad LPBW is gone. I agree the LP challenges stories just wore off and we saw the family get wealthier and wealthier. I find the Roloffs to be more likable than the Duggars. At least Amy and Matt would admit that their kids aren't perfect. The Duggars can even admit that Smuggar is receving help from them with the businesses.

[homeschoolmomma1]

So Mike was on the TLC payroll? They were not really friends? THAT IS SICK! Sorry I never realized that theRoloffs were so shady :(

I thought Molly was cute the first season. That family never knew how to clean there house.

[lilwriter85]

So Mike was on the TLC payroll? They were not really friends? THAT IS SICK! Sorry I never realized that theRoloffs were so shady :(

I thought Molly was cute the first season. That family never knew how to clean there house.

I think they were friends with Mike. Some people said the reason TLC put him on the payroll so he get could his medical bills paid off due to the accident that happened with the pumpkin launcher thing. I noticed after the accient Mike was featured in several episodes.

I think the Roloffs might have been ok people before their show was placed on the air. But they always had money problems, Matt was sued by an employee years ago and they almost the farm a few years before LPBW. They had two documentaries before the show and it was obvious in one documenatry that Matt and Amy were fighting over money issues.

Once the Roloffs got a show, they were vacationing a lot, they swtiched from PC's to Macs, and Matt was always doing remodeling projects. I believe they also sent Jeremy to some expensive soccer camp. Without TLC, they family wouldn't have been able to do all those things. It is the same thing with the Duggars. At least the Roloffs only have 4 kids and could probably be ok if something drastic happend in that family. I have a feeling without TLC, the Duggars might have had some debt from Josie's birth.