Research Into Codes and Convection of Reality TV

Research Into Codes and Convention of Reality TV:

Conventions:

• typical features, characters and structures.

Codes:

• technical codes
• character codes
• narrative codes
• cultural codes

Reality TV:

• TV programmes in which ordinary people are continuously filmed, with the intent to be entertaining, not very informative.

The Mighty Redcar BBC2:

• Shows young adults trying to make their way in the world and their parents trying to guide them.
• Gives an insight into the lives of different generations.
• The trailer shows plenty of different camera angles and show all different parts of the show.
• 'We are fighting for our future'.
• Young adults can relate to those trying to find their way and adults can relate to the parents trying to guide them.
• 'This could be your town'
• The young adults fit into character codes as they are all trying to become something great and gain the future they want. One of the boys shown has been in trouble with the police and the show is a chance for him to improve his life. 
• Used plural pronouns like 'us'and 'we' to include the audience.
• 'We are the mighty Redcar'
• Everyone Wants To Rule The World -  Tears for Fears. This implies that the young adults want to make it. 80's song that the adults know.
• Cultural codes of an outcast town that nobody has ever heard of. This might make the series stand out more as the public wants the see if the young adults can make it in their small town.

I'm a Celebrity ITV:

• Shows Ant and Dec trying to get to Australia.
• 'You can help Ant and Dec get to Australia... Download the I'm a Celebrity app'
• The theme song\jingle is used that many people recognised.
•  Reminds people that the show is back on without saying too much.
• The characters (celebrities) don't need to be shown to interest people.
• The advert was bright and implied that it is a cheerful show. Only one scene used of them in a boat.

Educating Yorkshire Channel 4:

• Set in a school and has naughty children to make people laugh, focuses on the naughty children rather than having exam results and well behaved children.
• Used talking heads - has a voice over, head teacher talking and clips from the show. Tells the audience what the show is about.
• 'I shaved my eyebrows off'.
• Character code of young children growing up and fitting into social norms about hoe they misbehave. 
• Structural turning points used to state 3 different points of a school life. 1) The naughty children, 2) Funny points and 3) The children and teachers being happy. The music fits with each different points.
• #educatingyorkshire
• The trailer shows plenty of scenes of the show though out the year and how some of the children have developed.
• Culture codes might be used as other people already have opinions on Yorkshire and how young children act. This might increase viewers as they want to see if their opinions and thoughts are correct and if they can pick up on any other stereotypes.

Case Study:

Great British Bake Off Channel 4:

• Up beat music which has the food singing along.
• In every series, there is always a relatable character that the audience feels close to; this increase which person, some of the audience want to win.
• No context need as everyone knows what show this is and what happens within it.
• The viewing figures from 2019 are 9.4m viewers watching the first episode and a 38.4% audience share, which is the highest among any culinary show.
• 'Coming soon'.
• This show draws the audience in as they can laugh about the good and bad baking and can possibly learn how to create something new. This show might encourage more people to put on an apron and get baking. 
• Uses bright colours to display the baking and different types of things being baked within the show.
• Have a voice over right at the end but the singing of the baking is the main part of the whole advert.
• The character codes used include having bakers on the show who can already bake and know what they are doing. The audience already knows what to expect before watching this show and can watch it to learn themselves.
• The lyrics being sung relate to the show and how many things can go badly easily.
• The show is filled with everyday people trying to become the best baker in the tent. As a result, the cultural code would include bakers and people who want to learn how to bake. The audience expect to be able to watch many different types of people baking together.
• 'We all stand together'. This suggest that the bakers stand together to bake and share what baking insight they have.
• The main stars of the show are the presenters (Paul Hollywood, Noel Fielding, Sandi Toksvig and Prue Leith) and then whomever moves on to win the competition normally writes a cooking book and hosts TV interviews.
• A montage is used to show the loaf being used and eaten as time moves on. Then a slam cut moves the scene onto cakes being built up and a whole cake forming together by rolling to the other slices. 
• Mary Berry, Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc all left bake off when it moved from the BBC to Channel 4. This was out of loyalty to the BBC and how they believed they were ready to move on.
• The audience that are mainly interested in Bake Off are aspiring bakers or people that can already bake. Others might watch it for the comedy value or if celebrities are on it. For example, for 'Stand Up To Cancer' many celebrities volunteer to bake and raise money even if they can't bake.
• Produced by Love Productions. Executive producers include: Anna Beattie, Richard Mckerrow, Sarah Thomson-Woolley and Kieran Smith. The development team first selected Mary Berry as a judge, and following an audition Paul Hollywood was also appointed. This program has been very popular with the British public.