Art and Reality TV? Instant Addiction.

08 Jul 2010 7 Comments

by debinca in Art, Uncategorized Tags: Art, Bob Bronow, deadliest catch, non-fiction tv, reality tv, Work of Art

I have never watched an episode of Survivor, or the Bachelor, or Bachelorette, or whatever. I missed the first gazillion seasons of American Idol until one of my children got me hooked.  And then Project Runway came along; again, I missed the first few seasons but got thoroughly addicted last year. Mind you, my husband is a sound editor / mixer /designer and works in the non-fiction television category more often than not* (see note below), but we also have a strict “no TV on school nights and more or less limited on weekends depending on how much we feel like negotiating with the children” rule, so we pick and choose our television carefully in this household.  Nevertheless, I got a little addicted to Project Runway, and then to RuPaul’s Drag Race, and dragged everyone in the family along.  And I forced Alice to watch PR when I was there in January, which made me both an addict and a pusher, and Alice was immediately addicted.  That’s why we’re BFFs!

Turns out that turnabout is fair play, and she has been e-mailing me on a regular basis to ask if I have seen “Work of Art” on Bravo yet. I kept promising to watch but honestly, I kept forgetting and then the children kept clogging up the DVR with all their junk TV (an appalling peak into their souls – the things they would be watching all week if they were allowed….).  Finally, I was home alone today with amazing intentions and far less motivation, when the reminder from Alice in.  “Have you watched it yet?” So I set up the DVR then and there, then decided maybe I should watch the first episode just to get the whole gestalt of the series. I should have known better.  I was instantly addicted.

Here’s what I love about all three of these shows (Project Runway, Drag Race, and Work of Art): we get a peek at creative decision making and the artistic process.  More importantly, even though they are set up as competitions and someone has to leave every week, we see the great ideas that don’t pan out, and the idea fragments that turn into visual glory.  So that’s my artsy endorsement. I’m inspired by all three of them in different ways, and though I get annoyed when the producers and editors over-emphasize the middle school personality dramas, I think any one of these are time well spent for anyone who wants to make better use of those creative brain cells.

Notes:

1/ Yeah, I know I should link all these TV references, but I have to figure out how to do that first, and I just don’t feel like taking the time right now.  I’m guessing everyone knows how to search for any one of these shows and record it.  Even I can do that, when I can manage to find the remote.

2/
Difference between non-fiction and reality TV, as far as I can tell:  non-fiction is shot and edited in more documentary style, and it’s not about the competition or who gets eliminated.  Husband is regularly asked to dig out actual conversations shot in the middle of the Bering Sea with on cameras with a boom mic attached – no ADR, no pristeen sound stages, no sound guys with big mics attached. (Deadliest Catch, anyone? If you can hear what’s going on, you have my husband to thank. He gets amazing video footage backed mostly by the sound of  huge waves and big wind, and he delivers the sound of life on a crab boat. Shameless plug? You betcha.  But he deserves it, and the show deserves it.)

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