Something that has grabbed my attention in the media recently is the editing style of reality TV shows, what they aim to achieve through their editing, and how the viewer has become conditioned to expect it. I am not an avid viewer of reality television, however I have begun wondering what the magic blueprint is to keep viewers coming back for more, and if it’s possible to incorporate into my own media practice.

I discovered that there is a very formulaic and cookie cutter style of editing and shooting that is used in almost every reality TV show, regardless of what the show is about. Some common editing techniques used in many reality TV shows are; “Missing or misused context, cherry picking quotes, cherry picking scenes, casual deletion, pointed questions, prompting, temporal shenanigans and music” Manipulative Editing. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2020, from https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ManipulativeEditing. The overall opinion that I came to throughout my research was that, in order for reality tv to keep producing content that viewers want to consume, it relies heavily on manipulating the audience and the subjects of the TV show. The heavy manipulation of the subjects of the tv show, leads to a plastic, imitative formula for success in the realm of reality TV. Many TV viewers are so used to seeing the characters of reality shows fit into moulds that it is comfortable and expected to see over the top and audacious characters. I believe the formula that is used in reality TV is so commercially successful amongst viewers, because it follows the same fairy tale storyline that we have grown up with. There is a villain, a protagonist, a love interest, and often, a plot structure with exposition, climax and resolution. An easy example of this is the bachelor, which at it’s most basic level resembles a Disney story in terms of plot, setting and costume. Although many of us know that what we are consuming is inauthentic, I think many people would be as surprised as I was to learn just how much power is given to the editors and camera operators of these shows. Although I don’t agree with the ethics of reality TV, I think it is very interesting to learn about the power editors hold in these particular scenarios – to have shots of people on camera, supposedly saying things they did not in reality say. In a strange sense, this makes me feel more desire to become an editor because an editor has the power to piece different shots together and create something entirely different and unexpected. I found it very comforting and interesting to learn about the editing of reality TV because it lead to me realising the power an editor has to completely shape and change the characters and plot of a story.