Who makes realities happen? Q&As with industry professionals
On this blog, I have been talking a lot about reality television from an audience perspective, so I decided to interview Ruby Kuraishe, commissioning editor at BBC Entertainment, and Augusto Araujo, reality television picture editor based in NYC. Through a series of questions transcribed below, they provided an interesting insight into the behind-the-scenes of reality television, including commissioning, what makes pitches make the cut, and their views for the future of the genre.
Could you tell us a bit about your job?
Ruby: I’m a commissioning editor in BBC entertainment. This involves many things- I develop new ideas commission independent television companies to make new entertainment programmes for the BBC. I then executive produce said new programming in liaison with the independent television company. In addition, I am an executive producer, manage existing titles and I am the main liaison between the BBC (eg, delivery, marketing, scheduling, business affairs, press). For example, I take pitch meetings with indies, I have a number of pilots in development, I commissioned RuPaul’s Drag Race UK for BBC3 and The Ranganation for BBC2, and oversee Have I Got News For You.
Augusto: As an editor, my role is to tell the story with the most cinematic approach to turn simple stories into complex dramatic scenes. An average day looks like watching scenes in the raw from producers, selects and gathering music selections, reactions and sound effects that will help me tell a better story. Some of my credits include Black Ink Crew for and Love and Hip Hop, both for VH1.
What do you look for when commissioning realities?
Ruby: Authenticity. I think it needs to feel relevant in some way, and resonate with the audience. I also like warmth and humor.
What role does social media play on the success of reality shows?
Ruby: I think social media really helps foster the “event television “ feeling. In a crowded marketplace, with so many people watching on VOD sites, social media plays crucial support.
Why is it important to create an “event” around reality television, even if it’s distributed through online platforms?
Ruby: Much of the charm of reality television centred around being able to share the experience with others: “did you see that look…?” It’s real-life drama unfolding before one’s eyes! The driving narrative is what you hope brings viewers back, and the collective feeling of watching whether with your mates or online is something everyone can participate in. For an online platform, the feeling of event is even harder to achieve, but I think it’s really important that reality television should generate a bit of a buzz.
Why is editing key to the genre?
Augusto: Editing is key because it’s only through editing you can help improve the plots and help the viewers understand the sentiments you’re trying to transmit. Everything allows you to build a world within a world of thoughts and stories and presented in a much better and creative and artistic way, achieving an emotional reaction and attachment to the content.
Why do you think we like reality television and how do you expect the genre to evolve?
Ruby: People are interested in people, and real-life stories. Sometimes those real-life stories relate to their lives or are insightful. Either way, reality will never cease to intrigue people. I think there will be more competitive based reality, and reality that feels more closely linked to real life.
Augusto: I think people watch reality television because people love stories and anything that is a story will have an audience no matter what the format is. I think people watch reality television because they can relate to the situations they see. My prediction is that the storytelling will continue to evolve and there will not be and your limits to it, reality television is only a fraction of what you can do with the story so what I predict is that there’s going to be millions of different ways where reality television will transform, we will just call it different names.
If one thing is clear from Ruby and Augusto’s answers is that reality is here to stay — and it’s only going to get bigger.
