Secondary research 2 shows

Secondary Research

For this, i will be looking at two shows and analysing the format, codes and conventions and also the reasons for their multi camera use. The two shows i will be analysing are Celebrity Juice and Take me Out.

Codes and Conventions 

Codes and conventions are used together in any study of genre – it is not enough to discuss a technical code used such as camera work, without saying how it is conventionally used in a genre.

For example, the technical code of lighting is used in some way in all film genres. It is a convention of the horror genre that side and back lighting is used to create mystery and suspense – an integral part of any horror movie.

Below, this table narrows down the codes and conventions of both of these shows.

Take me out does not have any voice overs as there is no need. There is a host and a panel of guests (ladies), so a voice over is not required. There are interviews conducted by the show that are pre-recorded using a single camera. This is used for the second round when the panel of ladies find out about the personality of the man who came out of the mystery lift. There is no realistic expert analysis. There is footage, again from a single camera yet is used in the multi-camera production. Take me out shows significantly the research that is put into it, so that again is another convention of the genre.

Celebrity juice is almost identical in terms of its codes and conventions. It does not have any voice overs as there is a host and panel. Occasional interviews are conducted via single camera by the host Keith Lemon. There is no expert analysis as there is no analysis to be given from any perspective from the show. The footage surrounds weekly news, such as a new 'JLS' song, and the panel will receive a clue as to what the news story is via footage. There is a lot of research put into the show as it is needed to make topics to talk about for the week. 

Format

Take me out - Begins with introducing the host. The ladies (panel) and all 30 of them all walk onto the stage with very cheesy music on. Then the host reveals the gentlemen one by one after the ladies have had their pick per person. There are three rounds to this show. Firstly, the ladies get to see the gentleman. Whether or not they like him, they either buzz (do not like him) or leave their lights on ("No likey, no lighty"). The second round, there is footage of the gentleman talking about himself and his personality, and the same rule applies. The final round is when an associated person to the gentleman reveals something about the gentleman in an interview, then whoever leaves their light on, the gentleman gets to chose who he would like to take to the 'Isle of fernando'. The show ends with a highlight reel of the previous weeks dates. 

The format of celebrity juice contrasts against the format of take me out. Celebrity juice starts with the host introducing the guests on panel and making jokes about them. Then there are three rounds, with each round being something unique. For example, one round is a challenge etc. The team with the most points wins. Just before the credits, the guests and host all dance to very unimaginably random music. 

Multi-Camera Use

Above is a picture of the set of Celebrity Juice. Being quite a standard quiz show set, its only advantage over other sets is the fact it doesn't cost a fortune. There are three desks, two larger than the hosts. The set is actually a lot bigger than it looks simply due to the fact that the audience are drawn close. This allows more of a variety of shots to be taken, such as the high angle one taken above. The main reason for multi camera use in this show is for the cuts. The vision mixing is unique, as the host likes to look in each camera and make funny gestures. This is very clever as it stands out from other quiz shows. One camera is usually handheld too for the challenge part of the show, as it adds more room for different shots and different types of allowance. 

Take me out and its multi camera use isn't as impactful as Celebrity Juice, yet the shots are a lot different. The set is rather unique, and doesn't lack an audience or the initial scale of the show. Above is what the set looks like from a birds eye view (to the right). As you can see, there are two sections of the audience that are split by a set of stairs. There is a camera at the top of the stairs, a camera just outside the elevator, a camera each side of the panel so that they can get both wide and close up shots. The variety and expanded amount of shots they can do is great for production. The lighting is located on the set, with the centre spot being very bright along with all of the buzzers.

The difference between the two shows in terms of multi camera use is that take me out uses more shots in comparison to celebrity juice as the set is a lot bigger, yet celebrity juice offers more diversity and impact within its shots, rather than take me out just doing medium close up's and high angled shots of the set. Both shows wouldn't be able to function as well without multi-camera's yet i believe both productions are different in their own way.