POSTCARD FROM CANNES
The third and last part of the definitive list of unscripted genres
MIPCOM 2024: ANOTHER ROUND OF THE WALTZ
A MipCom like any other, it seems. Attendance was good, more or less on a par with last year's event: according to official figures, more than 10.500 delegates (including 3.240 buyers) from 110 countries gathered at the Palais des Festivals, with 347 companies represented and 34 national pavilions.
Even the good old rituals were there.
The International Formats Awards ceremony on Sunday night at Hyde Beach (pictured) was as good as ever, with a good mix of winners in the various categories (big productions like The Traitors or Squid Game: The Challenge, but also smaller ones like Basque-based Pausoka's Instagram/TikTok show Itsatsita - which, to be honest, has nothing to do with unscripted formats, but ok...).
The people who filled the Grand Auditorium for The Wit's not-to-be-missed presentation saw some interesting formats, including some new ones such as Werewolves, The Box, Backpack of Life and others (unfortunately, almost all of them belong to the "psycho" and "adventure" reality trends, which are important, but certainly not the only ones in the market).
At the Opening Party at the Majestic on Monday night there was a lot of fun, food and drinks and to top it all off there were fireworks on the beach.
There were also a few small additions to remind us that this is 2024 after all: the AI Summit, confined to the Innovation Hub (with a good turnout anyway) and little else.
Everything apparently as usual, so.
It was only after the second (or third) glass of wine, looking into each other's eyes, that we asked ourselves: how much longer is this going to go on? Because the market is changing, economic models are changing, the media system as a whole is changing, but we still pretend not to notice (at least not completely).
In fact, our business will never die: humans need and will continue to need entertainment content, even more than food. But there is a need for a generational change which, for now, is rather limited (the average age of those attending continues to be quite high, with very few really young faces around...)
We will see what happens. For now, let us enjoy this other round of the waltz…
JAPANESE TREASURES
Among the many (too many) copy and paste formats, Japan's may or may not be to your liking, but they often stand out for their originality. The Treasure Box Japan showcase at MIPCOM, presented by Makito Sugiyama of the Broadcast Program Export Association of Japan (BEAJ) and Virginia Mouseler of The WIT, with commentary by Fotini Paraskakis of Empire of Arkadia and Tim Crescenti of Small World, was a good example.
Two in particular are really different. The first is Nippon TV's Man or Mannequin?, in which celebrity contestants race against time to find mannequins hidden around the city (we wrote about it on FE 20 Sept).
The second is Kansai TV's DASUNA - Don't Show Your Pants! (only one episode aired so far). The only rule of this comedy game is: don't let the golden underpants appear on the screen. Contestants team up in pairs, wearing a pair of golden pants, and take on four exhilarating challenges for a cash prize.
There are different rounds. In the first, for example, the contestants move forward, synchronising their movements with various moving blockers as they hurry towards the finish line without revealing their pants. In the third, there is a quiz with three answer panels: the contestants stand in front of the panel they think is correct: if they guess wrong, their pants are revealed.
I would have loved to have been in the writers' room to find out how this really hilarious format came about...
THE ULTIMATE LIST OF UNSCRIPTED GENRES (Part 3)
Third and last part of the definitive list of unscripted genres.
FACTUAL (ENTERTAINMENT)
This definition covers a range of very different programmes that are (or should be) 'fact-based'. That is to say, compared to the other genres considered above, there is no recourse to (many) 'artificial' rules and mechanisms added to make the show spectacular (e.g. prize money, competitions between contestants organised by the production, ritual eliminations...), but simply follows 'neutrally’ and ‘objectively' one or more people doing a certain activity, going through a crucial period in their lives, or doing something that is very important to them (improving themselves in something, learning how to do a certain thing, putting themselves in someone else's shoes, going on a long journey, etc.).
Within this ‘macro-genre’ there are many sub-genres; here are the most common ones:
Docu-soap / personality show
A programme about the lives of real people (famous or not), especially those living in the same place or doing the same job. E.g. An American Family, The Osbournes.
Observatory
Programmes that simply 'observe' a particular situation as a completely neutral external eye (also known as 'fly-on-the-wall'). For example, Emergency Call, which follows the ups and downs of a regular shift in an emergency call centre through the ears and eyes of the people who work there.
Travel (show)
Programmes which, as the name suggests, tell the story of the journey of one or more protagonists - within or beyond the borders of their own country - without any other mechanisms or additional rules (winning a prize, obstacles/challenges organised by the production, periodic elimination of participants...).
Lifestyle (show)
Programmes that focus on different aspects of people's lifestyles. They are often presented by experts or celebrities who give advice and tips on topics such as home decorating, cooking, fashion, health and wellness, travel and more.
Makeover (show)
Programmes that focus on makeovers in all their forms: people (Extreme Makeover), houses (Extreme Makeover: Home Edition), things (Pimp My Ride), pets (Pooch Perfect), gardens (Love Your Garden) and others.
In addition to these more common sub-genres, there are many others in circulation that describe the nature of the factual: Swap (when there is an exchange between two people or families: the exchange of wives from two families; two social conditions/status, etc.), Coaching (when there is a coach who helps a person in various areas: dressing better, finding a partner, improving fitness, sorting out finances, etc.), and so on.
And finally, two widely used terms that are NOT genres, but rather characteristics of the programme:
SHINY-FLOOR SHOW
A light entertainment tv program that is recorded in or broadcast from a television studio, often in front of a live audience. This label covers a wide range of genres, but all are very 'classic', usually broadcast in prime time and suitable for the whole family. Examples include competition shows such as Dancing With the Stars, talent shows such as The Voice, games such as The 1% Club and others.
SOCIAL EXPERIMENT
The most elusive, overused and imprecise of the definitions used in unscripted: any programme that presents a somewhat unusual situation can be called a 'social experiment'. In some cases, the term is appropriate because the programme really does reveal something socially relevant about the behaviour of individuals. For example, in the 'shocking' Swedish reality show Diktator, a group of teenagers experience first-hand what it is like to live under a dictatorial regime. But most of the time, let's be honest, this term is used only to 'ennoble' and 'glamourise' normal formats, perhaps with some slightly borderline situations...
TO DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE LIST FOR FREE GO TO FORMAT ESPRESSO - LECTURE NOTES: https://www.formatespresso.it/format-esprresso/
NEWS IN A NUTSHELL
Spanish Secuoya Studios and Belgian Eccholine have teamed up to develop and distribute internationally a daily version of the psycho-reality La Caza. Nada Es lo Que Parece (‘The hunt. Nothing is what it seems’). The original format is currently in its second season on the Basque public channel ETB2.
Next Monday, 28 October, Turn on the Charm will premiere on NET 5. The format is the result of a partnership between IDTV (The Traitors) and Talpa Studios. All3Media International will take it to the global market.
Project Runway will return to the US for Season 21 in 2025. The fashion competition series will air on the Disney-owned Freeform network before streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
Format powerhouses Keshet International (KI), Satisfaction Group (SG) and SG-backed reality TV prodco Ah! Production have announced plans to co-develop Keshet’s Together or Never format for the French market.
All3Media International has announced that IDTV’s global format hit The Traitors is set to travel to Korea, with Luyworks Media and Something Special set to adapt and produce the format for their local market.
ITV Studios has revealed that its dating show My Mum, Your Dad has been commissioned by Brazilian streaming platform Globoplay. The Brazilian edition will be the third new international market this year to bring the show to viewers.
Chilean public broadcaster TVN and Uruguayan private broadcaster Teledoce (Canal 12) will produce local versions of Talpa Studios' game show format The Floor. With these new territories, the format will now be present in 20 countries.
Talpa Studios and Acun Medya present the competition show Muscles & Brains. The first episode will air on NET5 on the 28th of October. The show was recorded in the Dominican Republic as part of the creative partnership between Talpa Studios and Acun Medya
Four board and card games (Pictionary, Werewolves, Hitster and Trivial Pursuit) have been or are being adapted into games and reality shows. We'll talk more about them in the next issue.
