Reality TV: An Insider's Guide to TV's Hottest Market (23 page)

stringout
: A loose assembly of story material and selects created by members of the story department for further refinement into an end product by the Editor.

Supervising Story Producer
: A person who oversees the story department and is usually responsible for setting the tone and overall arc of a season.

talent
: Reality participants on-camera as well as hosts or narrators, even if the latter only “appear” in narrative voice over.

temp track / temporary track
: Music that is likely to be replaced later in an edit due to clearance issues. You might not be able to clear that U2 song you like, but until you find something that feels similar, your Editor can work with it until a suitable replacement is decided upon.

timecode
: Track on source tape / source material that allows you to refer to specific moments in action… “Show me the fight at 01:12:36, Adam.” From a technical standpoint, it’s also useful when grouping action from multiple cameras in edit so that all angles can be synced to view simultaneously.

Transcriber
: The person responsible for translating content from taped interviews and spoken material into a text document that can be searched more easily.

transcript
: Word-by-word text versions of content, usually only executed for interviews and lengthier OTFs. These are either executed by your in-house Loggers and Transcribers or by a professional transcription company.

unscripted programming
: Reality TV purportedly shot without any sort of script or outline in place. Wince every time you hear the phrase, for you now know better.

verité
: Unobtrusive observational style less reliant on artfully composed shots, keeping the hand of production invisible and creating a sensation of being more “in the moment.”

WGA
: Writers Guild of America, a collective bargaining labor union for writers across the spectrum of film, television, and even some radio. Divided into two organizations, the WGAe and WGAw, which represent writers on the East and West sides of the Mississippi River, respectively.

Co-Executive Producer Lamar Damon on location. (photo courtesy of Lamar Damon)

It also helps, in the bigger picture, to remember that all this brilliant prose of yours has to come out of someone’s mouth. Write copy like this at your peril:

Say that content out loud. It sounds positively ludicrous. Nobody talks like that except robots.

Now give
this
copy the “talk” test:

Much better!

While your Field Producer or a Production Assistant in the field should be furiously working to maintain materials for a clearance binder that can be referred to later, sometimes things go awry in the heat of production and things get missed. Whether you’re on location or just reviewing materials in postproduction that you’d like to include in the show, here are some of the top clearance issues that can pose problems for you down the line.

Art

Whether you’re shooting in a restaurant, an office, or someone’s private home, keep an eye on what’s on the walls. If your subject, for example, owns a large painting that hangs over the sofa, that prominently featured artwork must be cleared for use by the artist, artist’s estate or publisher. Ownership of the artwork is irrelevant… a buyer/collector can’t just sign away the image.

Even if you’re dealing with a mass-produced piece, you should be sure someone takes note of the artist and/or publisher in order to clear a work down the line. Failure to do so may force you to blur the image in postproduction, which nearly always looks awful.

Castmembers

All castmembers and persons they interact with on-camera must sign a release.

Extras / Background

Any individual who’s immediately identifiable in a shot they’re walking through should be asked to sign a release. If you’re reviewing footage and there’s no release for the guy at the table behind your cast who can’t keep himself from staring over at the camera every few minutes, you’ll probably wind up blurring his face in postproduction.

Releases must be completely filled out and include, when possible, a photograph. If no photograph is obtained, a detailed description of the person written on the release may suffice (as in, “Older man in red shirt, glasses, black baseball cap”).

HINs

Hull identification numbers (or HINs) are the sequences of numbers found on the sides of boats. Since they’re used the same way as a license plate, you should consider having them blurred in postproduction. Also be on the lookout for identification numbers appearing on sails.

Landmarks

While one might assume that certain landmarks are public domain, a number of them are protected by copyright or trademark. A couple of good examples are the Beverly Hills logo shield and, believe it or not, the famous Hollywood sign.
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License Plates

Fully legible license plates on automobiles should always be blurred in postproduction.

Logos

If your producers have done their jobs, you should never see a castmember in an obviously logoed shirt, cap, or jacket.

Logos are a grey area, as some brands are more protective of their use on-camera than others. One popular brand of men’s shirts couldn’t care less if you see the critter embroidered on the front, while others take great exception to seeing their duds on television. Sometimes all it takes to conceal one is a well-placed bit of colored tape, other times you’ll have to blur them slightly in edit.

Sports team logos, unless cleared by prior arrangement, are absolutely no-go under any circumstances. Blur or avoid them.

Luxury car brands are also a big deal, so the next time you’d like to set up your wealthy character by showing off her car collection, think twice. You shouldn’t have a problem if you’ve got a room full of vehicles or B-roll of a sports car rolling down the street with an unidentifiable driver as long as you remember to blur the license plates in postproduction.

Minors

If you have a castmember with children at home, the parent or guardian will have to sign a release on the child’s behalf. In many cases, both parents may be required to sign off on a minor, even if the couple has separated or divorced.

Personal Life Land Mines

Let’s say one of your subjects is the ex-wife of a rock and roll legend who cheated on her in the most extravagantly public way possible. There are photos on the Internet, the next girlfriend (who got the same treatment) has sold her story to the tabloids, and the rocker in question is still being photographed with different long-legged beauties day after day after day. Can your subject say he cheated on her? Probably not.

As ludicrous as this sounds, lots of folks with lots of money to throw around love to go after shows for defamation. Talk with your production company’s legal advisors or ensure that your EPs sign-off on accusations of infidelity, drug use, or anything else someone might take offense to having discussed. Fighting lawsuits costs money, whether the person who’s coming after you is right or wrong, so why invite trouble?

One way around this, in some cases and depending on how risk-averse your employers are, is to ensure that the word “allegedly” finds its way into accusations made in interviews. There’s a big difference between someone saying that some musician “is a drug addict” versus “is
allegedly
a drug addict.” Two or three allegations by outside media sources supporting claims of “alleged” behavior can set your bosses’ minds at ease.