Reality TV Show Idea: Turning the Camera on the Cameraman
Reality shows, they are amazingly true to the phrase, a dime a dozen. That is especially so now. All to predictably, you turn on the television and every possible channel is saturated with these programs. Some are appealing enough to be considered good quality when dealing with the “real” story of ideas, people, or places. I like “Super Nanny,” anything on Bravo, and perhaps a disreputable thrill on VH1. Then there are the others like “The Simple Life, “The Hills,” or even “The Bachelor” which is so transparently scripted without an actual script! My fascination with people walks a fine line when I feel convinced they are just “acting” verses allowing the cameras to catch them just being. I do not want to watch a half-hour long infomercial on why this regular Joe Schmoe wants to be on TV.
Ah, remember the good old days of the very FIRST season of Real World. True, unadulterated, unedited, realismâÂ?¦I know, it’s a long time ago, I almost forgot it myself, but I cannot. I refuse to. Ultimately those, the true reality ones, are rare just because there are so many now, they have to compete with each other, and as a result, the producers, the directors, perhaps even the camera men get to egg on more situations, or at least heavily suggest what should happen. Casting is involved too; everyone wants to be an actor, famous, they want that coveted fifteen minutes of mediocrity and gossip magazine celebrity!
except the cameramen, and my idea is just that. Let’s have a reality show of the men or women that do the actual filming of the reality shows? Did you follow me on that idea? The cameramen and women who have to film these “shows” fascinate me- are they bored? What’s their life like? Do they love their job? How do they feel about the business? How do they feel about the people or situations they are filming?
My curiosity may be just my own, but I think I got something here. Naturally as a writer I wanted to suggest a reality show about- surprise- a writer! Doing that writer thing everyday, but I feel like that show would compromise the integrity of the writer (hopefully), that they are trying to sell themselves rather than their work. It would be nice to see the true struggles, breaking into the business of nepotism, but after much thought, it seemed more appealing to picture seeing someone who did not seem to have an “angle,” so to speak, in a reality show sense. Someone who would just be their own self, in their own jobs, in their own lives, with little to no frills or thrills, not looking for a spot that would secure them on Entertainment Tonight. I think that person is the cameraman. They are not trying to be actors, not trying to be singers, they are doing the job they want and I want to know why! Do you want to know why?
Really, there are many grand ideas out there, and hopefully amidst the dubious stuff that gets on the air, we will get to see some factual great realities of life, and perhaps the days of the guys that bring these realities shows to fruition, is one of them.
Ah, remember the good old days of the very FIRST season of Real World. True, unadulterated, unedited, realismâÂ?¦I know, it’s a long time ago, I almost forgot it myself, but I cannot. I refuse to. Ultimately those, the true reality ones, are rare just because there are so many now, they have to compete with each other, and as a result, the producers, the directors, perhaps even the camera men get to egg on more situations, or at least heavily suggest what should happen. Casting is involved too; everyone wants to be an actor, famous, they want that coveted fifteen minutes of mediocrity and gossip magazine celebrity!
except the cameramen, and my idea is just that. Let’s have a reality show of the men or women that do the actual filming of the reality shows? Did you follow me on that idea? The cameramen and women who have to film these “shows” fascinate me- are they bored? What’s their life like? Do they love their job? How do they feel about the business? How do they feel about the people or situations they are filming?
My curiosity may be just my own, but I think I got something here. Naturally as a writer I wanted to suggest a reality show about- surprise- a writer! Doing that writer thing everyday, but I feel like that show would compromise the integrity of the writer (hopefully), that they are trying to sell themselves rather than their work. It would be nice to see the true struggles, breaking into the business of nepotism, but after much thought, it seemed more appealing to picture seeing someone who did not seem to have an “angle,” so to speak, in a reality show sense. Someone who would just be their own self, in their own jobs, in their own lives, with little to no frills or thrills, not looking for a spot that would secure them on Entertainment Tonight. I think that person is the cameraman. They are not trying to be actors, not trying to be singers, they are doing the job they want and I want to know why! Do you want to know why?
Really, there are many grand ideas out there, and hopefully amidst the dubious stuff that gets on the air, we will get to see some factual great realities of life, and perhaps the days of the guys that bring these realities shows to fruition, is one of them.
