#9: THE FUTURE OF REALITY TV PRODUCTION?

What does the future hold for reality television production?

 Let’s have some fun and find out! 

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 FAKE FUTURE PRODUCTION COMPANY STUDIOS

MANUAL FOR PRODUCTION, POST-PRODUCTION, AND DISTRIBUTION PROCESS

Updated: Tuesday June 21st, 2039 at 11:56 PM

 

New hires, welcome! Please read this document thoroughly before starting your first day. We would like your on-boarding to be as seamless as possible. Thank you!

Footage Capture and Send to Cloud: As shooters capture the material for a particular episode, the cameras will automatically transmit the footage in real-time to the cloud. Fake Future Production Company Studios (FFPCS) gains access to all footage for edit almost immediatelyBasic errors in color-correction, exposure, and audio levels are corrected in real-time according to parameters set by the director of photography and the audio supervisor. More complicated errors that used to cause great headaches (such as recording in an incorrect frame rate) are corrected (automatically) in mere minutes. Please note FFPCS does not store footage on-site. No footage is ever sent (either via mail or via transmission) to us. Please make sure you always have your cloud password(s) handy.

 Instant Categorizing: Based on the information that camera operators and assistants enter before the scene is shot, footage is automatically categorized as B-roll, Reality, Interview, or OTF et cetera and arranged automatically in the cloud under these headings. All post-production editing software programs are compatible with these cloud storage and categorization protocols. However, please also note that post-production teams may have to further adjust the footage categories based on creative storytelling needs. Guess what: algorithms designed to automate this process don’t always work! A good example of this is while algorithms have no trouble determining OTFs from formal green-screen interviews, they tend to fall flat when it comes to discerning B-roll from cutaways. Many editors pull out vast clumps over hair over this and other similar issues. Therefore, it bears repeating that Assistant Editors must categorize footage as needed / requested, but keep in mind that all footage is retained in the cloud. Please make sure you always have your cloud password(s) handy.

 Instant Transcriptions: As interviews and OTFs are captured and sent to the cloud, a separate algorithm transcribes the material in real time and sends that to the cloud as separate documents. This means that you can search through interviews and OTFs for your bites and build them into your edit almost immediately after the material is recorded. Note: At FFPCS, we do not ever use FrankenbitePro to dictate our frankenbites and have the simulator spit them back at us in a participants’ voice. This is cheating! (And potentially litigious!)

 Automatic Editing / Story Structure Programs: Programs like Apple’s MyEpisodePro boast the ability to comprehend story beats and arrange the footage into a compelling narrative, choosing match cuts, L and J cuts, etc, and even selecting and dropping in music beds. But we’ve found that the algorithms’ choices in programs like these produce episodes that are humorless, dry, and sometimes ridiculously confusing. Here at FFPCS we NEVER use automatic structure programs. We celebrate the individual creativity of our teams. 

 Internal and External Notes Process: Many companies have attempted to streamline the notes process by outputting edits in real-time during the actual editing process. The idea is that execs can watch edits-in-progress and flag problems as they arise, but we feel that story and edit problems are solved by engaging in the creative process itself. That’s why episodes are edited and noted in the traditional manner here at FFPCS. Outputs take a fraction of the length of the episode to complete output and upload. All executives access all cuts from the cloud as cuts become available. 

 Network Distribution: Quick! Here’s a trivial question! What percentage of Americans stream their entertainment through one of a handful of streaming Services? Answer: 78%. That leaves about 20% of the rest of America’s population still watching their shows through cable or fiber optics. (Some 2% apparently have other things going on). We’re gonna have to wait until the year 2060 at the earliest before the High-Altitude Drone Entertainment System (HADES) comes online and makes cable / fiber optic systems obsolete by offering low-cost streaming to all Americans. Until then, here at FFPCS, we simply upload all locked cut episodes to the cloud.

End User Interface: Back in the days of passive viewing, End Users were called ‘viewers.’ Today, we End Users interface with our content. Almost all entertainment programs incorporate some form of real-time interactivity – everything from choosing the color of a participants’ dress (using color correction software embedded in modern monitors) to choosing alternate responses / decisions for a series participant. At FFPCS we pride ourselves on having the BEST interactive content available. 

Quantum Parallel Entertainment: You know the shows where End Users choose alternate endings and watch their choices unfold in real-time? Guess what: We. Own. The. Patent. That’s right, we own the patent that allows Quantum Parallel Entertainment (QPE). Using the latest in quantum computing, End Users can interact with our episodes and alter content in multiple parallel universes! Sound like sci-fi? It’s just everyday business here at Fake Future Production Company Studios. 

 Automated Social Media Feeds: No! No, and no! Everyone remembers this debacle. A certain company, which shall remain nameless (not us), used algorithms that posted human-sounding comments from millions of fake fans for hundreds of television shows both scripted and reality. No one could tell the difference between actual humans’ comments and fake ones … that is until a twelve-year old-kid hacked into the company’s systems and trolled the heck out of their fake feeds. The company was exposed. They apologized for lying to the public. After serving three years the founder of the company disappeared. We think he’s living somewhere east of Jimmy Hoffa (Google it). We don’t use Automated Social Media Feeds and we never will.

 Ratings and Renewals: Gone are the days of television series taking as long as an entire episode to get a cancellation or a renewal. Nowadays, real-time tracking software allows these decisions to be made automatically and within the first quarter hour. Recently, a popular network’s heavily-promoted show was cancelled within the first eight minutes of the premiere episode (also not us). So, let’s make our Act One content SING!

  

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Thank you … and have fun on your show!