Page 207 - A Handbook Genre Studies in Mass Media

CHAPTER 7

group house in Real World. The colors help emphasize the location as
well as the mood. The colors also tend to be very well coordinated. The
locations, sets, props, and costumes of The Apprentice use rich, dark,
warm colors to emphasize that the action is taking place in the lap of
luxury and the highest levels of Manhattan’s business and social com-
munity. The same elements of Real World use bright, in-your-face colors
to show this is a group of twenty-somethings hanging out and having a
good time. In Colonial House the colors help define the stark conditions
of the colony and its residents.

Narration/Diary. The narrations and diaries of the three shows actually
look very much alike in terms of color. They tend to be more natural.
This gives the audience the feeling that these are just regular people
talking to them, away from the extraordinary circumstances of being
part of a program.

Establishing Transitions. Although the establishing transitions rely
heavily on the ambient color of the scene, the editing of the scenes ties
them together in terms of using those ambient colors to weave a coherent
text within the transition.

Music

Voyeur. Music is used quite a bit in the voyeur portion of reality shows.
It helps establish mood and foreshadows an upcoming scene or action.
Music heightens the sense of urgency, touts success, amplifies failure,
and directs anticipation.

Narration/Diary. Generally the music and voiceover from the voyeur
section continues into the narrative section. If the music was foreshadow-
ing an upcoming scene or action, the narration will discuss the subject’s
feelings about the same scene or action. The music often fades during
the narration section.

Establishing Transitions. The music in the transition sequences is
almost always upbeat, even jaunty, and punctuates the jump-cut edit-
ing of the transition scenes. The music helps to define the transitions
as completely separate elements of the production that bridge between
competing or conflicting action.

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