Hit Reality TV Show Relies on Reality



The Show: Occupation Double

The second season of Occupation Double (OD) totaled 19 episodes that aired over 10 weeks during the fall of 2004. Produced by PRAM, OD attracted the highest local television audience and received two of the local television industry's most coveted prizes.



The Concept

Six bachelors and six bachelorettes are searching for the ideal partner. Over a 10-week period, participants are eliminated until only the winning couple remains. The show is about the desire and passion that grip young men and women as they attempt to charm their peers, and the deception they'll practice to come out the winner.



The Challenge

Twenty cameras spy on 12 participants, 24 hours a day…and the show is broadcast the next evening. Therein lies the challenge! What footage do you use? What story will be the most compelling? How can the director, who can't watch the action around the clock, quickly get a handle on everything that's gone on? How can you split the work among your staff?

“I was looking for a solution that would let me find the best material to broadcast, quickly. Long viewing sessions to recap all the action were simply out of the question: there was too much material, too little time,” Jean-Marc Létourneau, director of OD, explains.

Such a solution exists!



The Solution

‘'I wanted a live logging system that could integrate video,” explains Létourneau. “Imagine, if all I have is a log containing time-coded comments, it means I have to go back to the original material to assess it. Where is the benefit in that? I want to be able to play the material from the system, not just get a time code reference for it.” That's where Reality came in.



The Setup

Reality was set up with two logging stations, each one capturing and logging a different camera feed. Next, Reality's Web-based, searchable video library was connected to the network to make it accessible from anywhere. The entire staff could search, play, browse and edit three minutes after the action took place and from anywhere: on-set, from home or from any computer connected to the Internet.

Feeds from all 20 cameras spread around the set came together in the control room, where a main feed and a secondary feed were selected and redirected to high-resolution taping devices and Reality's loggers for the searchable, low-resolution version.



The Workflow

A typical day on the OD set was split into multiple shooting sessions, each supervised by a different director. One of the directors was assigned the creation of the next evening's show. At the end of the week, a wrap-up show was created summarizing the week's action.

Pre-prod
In pre-prod, directors and Reality loggers agreed on a list of keywords in keeping with the show's themes. The system automatically recognized keywords, which allowed for consistent content descriptions and efficient video searches.

Prod
Two Reality operators logged content as the action unfolded. “I would tell the operators to assign a top rating to great scenes as they happened or to mark shots for later use in the weekly wrap-up show,” Létourneau explains.

When a new director came in for the next shooting session, he or she would pick up the action instantly. “Reality's reporting feature gave me a feel for what to expect in the upcoming session,” Létourneau says. “I knew what or who I wanted to focus on. Reality provided continuity between the directors' camera selection and scene rating.”

Post-prod: creating the story line
‘'I would start preparing a show as soon as a few hours were shot,” Létourneau continues. “First, I would assess all the action using Reality's report feature and then find the best-rated shots via the search feature. Right away, I had a clear idea of the next show's story line.”

Post-prod: story assembly using the best and most recent material
“Next, I would assemble selected shots into a few stories featuring one participant or another,” he continues. “I then emailed the stories to my editing staff, asking them to find extra material to complete the stories or add a little zest. I went through many iterations, using staff suggestions and integrating more shots as the action unfolded on set. I could change the stories easily, replacing shots, without committing until I had the best material.”

Post-prod: pre-editing and EDL generation
“After the material was found, I went to pre-editing and playing the story until it flowed smoothly. I then generated an EDL and emailed it to the editing staff for fine-tuning. I usually had my show ready to go before the cameras had even shut down! I could do all this from home, which offers great flexibility in such intense shooting schedules.”



The Results


  • For the producer, Reality means reduced post costs.
    “Reality saved us a significant amount of time in post-production and a solid 30% in post-production costs.”
    - Jean Lamoureux, Producer, ProductionsJ

  • For the director, Reality means finding the best material for a top-quality show.
    ‘‘I loved Reality. It gave me a sense of complete control over the content. I knew my editorial decisions were the best ones all the time.''
    - Jean-Marc Létourneau, Director of Occupation Double, PRAM

  • For the technical director, Reality means no hassle: it runs and you can just forget about it.
    “Reality never failed us during the entire shooting. It was reliable 24/7.”
    - Yves Bériault, Technical Director, Productions Yves Bériault

  • For the logging operator, Reality means simplicity and reliability.
    “Logging with Reality is easy and incredibly fast. I never let the director down when it comes to finding the right shot, I get results fast.”
    - Véronique Forest, Indexing Freelancer