Tag: reality tv

The Forgotten Casualties of the WGA & SAG-AFTRA Strikes

Leave a comment

Motion Picture and Television Fund (MPTF) President Bob Beitcher pointed out that although the WGA and SAG-AFTRA have been supportive financially to their own members, a lot of people have been left behind. How about the folks who run cables, operate cameras, apply makeup, design sets, record sound, organize schedules or serve lunch?

“They have become the forgotten casualties during these strikes, overlooked by the media. Let’s face it, actors and writers make better subjects for strike stories; and now crew members are not getting the philanthropic support they’ve earned and deserve.”

Bob Beitcher

The stats are illuminating. Prior to the writer’s strike on May 2, 2023, the MPTF would receive calls from about 100 crew members weekly looking for financial or other assistance. That jumped to 500-1000/week since July.

From the Crew’s Perspective

There have been more than a few unkind remarks from people — trolls — online. “Actors make too much already! Writers are just complaining! Get a real job!” We’ve all heard some variation of this.

“The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses.”

anonymous studio executive to Deadline

An anonymous executive made the comment that the studios would wait out the writers until they lost their homes. That kind of thing is already happening. And not just to writers. When the writers and actors aren’t working, neither can the crew members who work on those projects.

Let’s face it — the studios knew there was going to be a strike. So even prior to May 2, a lot of us felt it coming. Shows that should have started production in March or April just…didn’t. I remember countless talks with fellow film workers from March on: “Things are slow, right? Yeah they’re slow. Hope it doesn’t stay that way.”

Can I prove this was done on purpose to squeeze the crew and make them as anti-strike as possible? No, but the idea is in your head now, isn’t it? It also could be due to the mergers of various studios which I touch upon in the next section.

Film is a very difficult business. When work is good and plentiful, it seems really good. In fact, most people working regular jobs would probably scoff at some of the day rates I’ve gotten, and I’m not getting the crazy high rates that get advertised in Deadline.

The thing is though… you always have the possibility of not working for weeks or months after a job. You might be hopscotching from one day play gig to another, constantly hustling to find the next gig. There are film workers who already had a backup job as a safety net, and now that’s not even enough to get by.

The Answer is Easy. Just Work on Reality TV!

“But what about non-union? I can just work Reality TV! They aren’t affected by the strike!”

That’s not exactly a consolation prize and I’m a little annoyed people keep thinking like that. There’s a vast number of film workers who specifically work in the reality scene aka unscripted — and they’re being told that people in scripted could just take their jobs instead.

Reality is also not an answer because it’s not even booming like some would expect.

“… something one would assume is that there’s a lot of work and a lot of more projects getting greenlit, and that doesn’t seem to be the case for some reason. You know, I’ve talked to a number of producers who said this is the toughest moment they’ve seen for unscripted TV right now in terms of people aren’t working. There have been long stretches where since maybe December that a lot of people have been in without work.”

Ryan Gajewski, The Hollywood Reporter via article on PBS.org

In this Deadline article, it details the layoffs and cost-cutting that is plaguing reality tv for mid-size production companies. That includes Bunim/Murray Productions (Keeping up with the Kardashians, Real World) cutting eight staffers and Half-Yard Productions “right sizing” the company after being purchased by The North Road.

Mergers have definitely played a role. The Warner Bros Discovery merger, for one, took place in April 2022. That is being felt this year, as shows are just not being greenlit or put on a backburner for what feels like forever. I for one would have started on a season of a show this past April, except the date for production kept moving as it hadn’t been greenlit yet. Then I also heard that some people wouldn’t be able to return anyway — the company (whom I shan’t name so I can be hired again) would only be hiring in-house for certain jobs.

Survival Mode

I just deleted a home renovation show off my calendar. Easy come, easy go. On a normal year, this is a thing that happens from time to time, but there’s other projects to take away the sting. This year, it hurts losing even the possibility of a one-day gig.

This is scarily reminiscent of 2020, when all film work ground to a halt and most of us were out of work for nearly a year. Now, in 2023, we’re facing a similar situation. Some folks might not have had time to recover from 2020 yet. There are going to be film workers who finally just throw up their hands and change careers.

We waited for a while to see what would happen. 2023 started with a whimper, shows that should have started pre-strike didn’t and then the strike solidified it. This career has become even more dicey to try to hold onto.

Friends of mine have resorted to taking part-time jobs or even gig-economy jobs like Uber or dog walking. I’ve seen folks comment online that they can’t even get a job because employers don’t want to hire someone who will jump ship when the strike ends.

Nexxt steps are challenging.

Typical job search engines aren’t keyed into production style resumes.

And just try navigating unemployment when you’re a freelance film worker who can’t easily fit into the government’s forms. Imagine sitting down for hours, filling out information that is not always easy to find (was that job a W-2 or a 1099? What was the payroll company? How many weeks did I work in the last 18 months?) and then getting a call saying you missed one item — now you have to refile the entire application again.

There’s no easy answer right now.

No matter how long the strike takes, even if it ended today, it’ll be months before episodes are written and production actually begins. Meanwhile our rent, car payments, healthcare, and increased costs for groceries and gas still need to be paid.

Having said all that… I am still supportive of the strikes.

I understand, and many of my film fellows agree, that the issues the writers and actors are fighting for will have major repercussions down the line. They need to set standards for streaming and residuals, the middle class actor and writer needs to be able to afford to keep doing what they want to do, and a line in the sand must be drawn against AI use in writing and acting. The fight they are in will effect all of us in the end.

It’s time for the AMPTP to start understanding that.

Anyone interested in helping the MPTF’s emergency relief funding efforts can donate here: http://www.mptf.com/donate.

Sources

Hollywood Crew Are “Forgotten Casualties” in Strike, MPTF Chief Says in Call for Financial Aid

Hollywood Studios’ WGA Strike Endgame Is To Let Writers Go Broke Before Resuming Talks In Fall

Doom & Gloom In Unscripted TV: Producers Battle Challenging Conditions As Mid-Sized Firms Face Layoffs

What You Need to Know about the Warner Bros Discovery Merger

How the Ongoing Writers Strike Impacts Reality and Unscripted TV

header image: Photo 129097006 | Film Crew © Ppengcreative | Dreamstime.com

Telegraphing emotion through music in reality shows

Leave a comment

My deep love of movies has many facets to it. Sometimes I’m simply enraptured by the visual side; jaw-dropping imagery that instills excitement. Other times, it’s a really good story, that wraps me into a completely fictional world and makes me care as if it were my own. And then, there’s the wonder of the soundtrack.

I could probably devote several blog posts to the art of soundtrack music, but we’ll start here for now.

Music is telling you how to feel

Okay, spooky, but why?

I believe it’s a carry-over from ye olden days of early film, when movies were jittery black and white moving pictures projected without sound in dark theaters. Well, not completely without sound, because the projectors could be loud, rattling things. To cover up that noise, pianists would hammer away at their ivory keys, playing to the action on the screen and covering up the annoying racket of the projector.

By the time sound film came along, the idea of music playing during the story had already become ingrained in people’s minds. Movies are now almost never without some sort of musical soundtrack. The soundtrack, like the moving picture itself, evolved into its own art form.

Reality Shows

I don’t watch a lot of reality shows (don’t have much patience for something without a plot) but the few I have watched I’ve begun to notice the sometimes subtle, sometimes not-so-subtle cues present in the production music. In order to up the drama, the show does a little subliminal mind control.

The music utilized in reality shows tries to tell you how to feel about a situation by playing something with a direct emotional response: i.e. sad, slow music for a depressing moment, upbeat quick tempo music for a happy moment.

I’ve noticed this “telegraphing” (aka Mickey Mousing) happening in reality competition shows….a lot. I watch very few reality shows, but the few I have seen have been so obvious with their use of telegraphing, I can’t help but mention them.

Face Off – Syfy

This competition show pits a number of movie makeup artists against each other for a grand prize that includes working in the film industry. It’s a great show for anyone interested in filmmaking to check out, because you see the level of planning and immense amount of work that goes into creating fantastical creatures.

It’s a reality competition show, so there’s all the emotional drama you’d expect. Now, if you notice, whenever something is good or bad for a contestant during the judging portion, certain tracks will play:

The editor of this show dramatizes emotions and makes you feel positive or negative about a contestant’s results by what music and sound effects they play over the judges’ commentary.

If you watched the clip above,  you’ll see several contestants showing off their creations to the judges. The music underscores the initial discussion, adding a layer of unease and concern for the artists through its use of echoing undertones and dark, minor key notes. Are they going to make it? Did they make a mistake with some of their choices?

Then, as an emotional shift takes place and the judge says something kind, a snare drum/cymbal”Whoosh” plays and the music changes tempo, with higher, brighter notes. It automatically feels more upbeat.

Chopped Jr. – Food Network

I was watching Chopped Jr. recently and realized they do the exact same thing. I’m now assuming this is standard operating procedure in most, if not all, reality-based TV shows.

When the judges are telling the kids what they did well, the music is upbeat. As soon as they mention a misstep (their fish was overcooked, sauce was runny, whatever) the music immediately shifts. Combined with the reaction shots of the kids responding to these comments, we’re supposed to wonder who is next on the chopping block.

In the clip below, we see a contestant named Emma creating her dish. When things start to go wrong, the music mirrors her anxiety:

Chopped Jr uses a sort of staccato, picked guitar to indicate something bad is going down. Emma’s candy is burning, and she has none left. Uh-oh! This is grounds for being chopped. Tensions are running high.

To show Emma has some hope, the music shifts into a quicker tempo, now strumming and a little rock-n-roll.

Final Thoughts

The next time you find yourself watching a reality show, pay special attention to the music in the background. There’s a reason why it’s there. Ask yourself what this show might be like with completely different music, or no music at all.

Now that you’ve noticed the role of soundtrack music in reality TV, it’s going to be hard to be oblivious to its influence.