QUIZ SHOWS

GCSE Controlled Conditions Test

2009

- A television or radio programme in which individuals or teams compete to demonstrate either general knowledge or knowledge of a specific topic

Genre conventions• Show will follow the same format each week, often consisting of

‘rounds’ which may vary in question type or response needed

• ‘Rules’ dictate the boundaries of even comedy quiz shows

• Often have celebrated hosts with a charismatic presence

• Filmed or recorded with a live studio audience

• Share a similar mise-en-scene with panel games and other traditional gameshows, although often less gaudy and glitzy.

• May offer prizes, may not

• Participants may be ordinary members of the public, experts or celebrities depending on the show.

Popular sub-genres

Real past and present ‘specialist show’ themes

SHAKESPEARE / GARDENING / TV / SCIENCE FICTION / CLASSIC LITERATURE / CONSUMER

GOODS / ANIMALS / NATURAL HISTORY / NOSTALGIA / ART / FILMS / FOOD AND DRINK /

GEOGRAPHY / CELEBRITIES / MOTORING / ADVERTISING / EASTENDERS / TRAVEL / SEX /

GLAM ROCK AND THE ’70’s / ANTIQUES / HARRY POTTER / RELIGION / POLITICS / SCIENCE AND

INVENTIONS / ITV SOAP OPERAS / THE LAW / THE BIZARRE / ASIAN CULTURE / THE BIBLE / THE

SIMPSONS / MUSICALS / HISTORY / MEDICAL / STAR TREK / THEATRE / CRIME AND DETECTIVES /

WILDLIFE / GREAT SCANDALS

Genre hybridisation

• Many of the most popular quiz shows are comedy ones; in fact, the comedy often predominates over the factual content.

• Comedians are often guests or hosts

Hybridisation with the GAMESHOW

• The most common form of quiz show hybrid

• GAMESHOWS differ from quizzes in that they do not expect or test prior knowledge of a subject and are task or puzzle-based

• GAMESHOWS sometimes test a physical or mental SKILL rather than KNOWLEDGE

Institution: Facts

All of the terrestrial and many cable and satellite channels have produced or commissioned and shown their own quiz shows over the years

Institution: facts

Longest running TV quiz show in the UK is A Question of Sport, which first aired on 5th January 1970, and has run to over 800 shows.

Institution: Histories

The American quiz show scandals of the 1950s were the result of the revelation that contestants of several popular TV quiz shows were secretly given assistance by the producers to arrange the outcome of a supposedly fair competition.

The 1994 film ‘Quiz Show’ is based on one of the shows involved, the Twenty One show

Institution: Histories

We had our own more recent quiz show scandal in the UK, resulting in the prosecution of the ‘coughing Major’ Charles Ingram for cheating in the popular show Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

Institutions

Most developed and developing countries with a TV network have their own quiz shows, some of which may look strange initially but actually follow very similar genre conventions.

Media Language: The Host

• Host addresses camera directly; personal mode of address which encourages audience participation at home as well as on set

• Host or regulars will tend to dress conservatively – the dress code is quite formal on many game shows but may be personalised, for example with loud ties

• The host will often repeat scripted catchphrases to increase audience participation with the show.

• Often male. Notable exceptions: Anne Robinson (The Weakest Link) Sue Barker (A Question of Sport)

• Often authoritarian in manner

Notorious hosts…Many hosts deliberately cultivate an outrageous

persona to add to the entertainment

Media Language: The ingredients of Quiz Show mise-en-scene

• Bright lighting centred on guests and hosts

• Brightly lit predominantly blue and grey or themed backgrounds, according to the nature of the show

• Formal and extrovert dress codes

• Guests and host seated behind desks or on spot-lit chair

• Studio audience lit more subtly

• Traditionally, host positioned between two panels of teams

Media Language: Shot types

ESTABLISHING / LONG SHOT

Usually shows the whole set at the beginning of the show. May be from a studio audience perspective (makes audience at home feel involved). Can be cut in throughout show as a reminder.

Media Language: Shot types

MEDIUM SHOT

Often a ‘group’ shot which shows a whole team, or a ‘two-shot’

which shows two team members

Media Language: Shot types

MEDIUM CLOSE-UP

Often used to show host and remind the

audience of their central importance to the show. Also used to focus on individual

contestants

Media Language: Shot types

CLOSE-UP

Often used to emphasise tension

and show the effects of pressure on

contestants

Media Language: Camera Techniques and Editing

• SLOW ZOOMS from MCU to XCU build tension, and move away from set at the end

• REACTION SHOTS of both contestant and studio audience enhance our sense of engagement with the show

• Shot reverse shot between host and contestant allows us to follow the logic of the show’s format

• Audience may be shown visual clues used by contestant on full screen

• Graphics may show questions. Timers or other information to the audience at home

MOST TRANSITIONS ARESTRAIGHT CUTS

IN QUIZ SHOWS*

* But some, like The Weakest Link, may use other movements such as the whip pan for dramatic effect

Media Language: Aural codes

• Recognisable and catchy up-beat theme tunes

• Music sometimes used to signify progress through rounds

• In music, dramatic chords, rising scales, increased pace and low-toned ‘heartbeat’ sounds used to escalate tension

• SFX such as buzzers• Applause and reactions such

as groans, cheers and sighs from studio audience

Narratives

BINARY OPPOSITIONS:

contestant v. hostteam v. team

winning v. losingelation v. sorrow

knowledge v. ignorancepublic recognition v. public

shaming

Narratives

• The narrative structure of a quiz show is closely linked to its FORMAT. This could be thought of as the sequence of events used to structure the quiz, such as rounds

• Each new stage of the format is signified by a combination of graphics, aural codes such as audience applause, music and dialogue from the host, whose job it is to convey the format clearly partly to the contestants but mainly to the audience at home. This means an audience can be casual viewers, dropping in on any edition of the show.

Audience

• Studio audiences often reflect demographic being targeted by producers at home

• Studio audience response helps shape response of audience at home

• Audiences at home interact a great deal with quiz shows, often verbally and with each other to a greater extent than is usual during TV viewing

Audience Types

Many quiz shows have traditionally been considered family viewing and listening

Audience Types

But many less widely-known quiz shows on both radio and TV cater for more eccentric tastes – for a NICHE audience who have an interest in a specialised topic

Audience Types

There have been many quiz shows over the years which target children…

…and the 15-25’s.

Audience Theory: Dyer’s Utopian Solutions

• Richard Dyer theorised that media audiences consume media products to make up for five things which might be missing from their daily lives because of the pressures of modern society: transparency, energy, community, abundance and intensity.

• This theory fits well with quiz shows, some of which seem to provide all five solutions…

TRANSPARENCY

The format of the show

demonstrates little variation and

provides security for the audience

ENERGYThe fast-paced nature

of the format, the sometimes garish

mise-en-scene, and the ‘heightened’

atmosphere contributed to by

sound and lighting

COMMUNITYApparent in team co-

operation, regular hosts and captains

with whom the audience develop a ‘relationship’. Also

relevant here is reception –

audiences may consume as a family

ABUNDANCE

Cash or other prizes may be on offer –

or simply the prestige of winning

INTENSITY

The final round or moments of the

show often provide heightened

emotional tension and drama

Representations:The following are the main areas…• Host

• Enclosed world of show signified by its set

• Contestants, both regular and not

• Constructed through mise-en-scene, camerawork and aural codes

…but have you considered these?

• Gender• Race• Class• Niche interests

…how are representations of these constructed? Are a range of social groups represented? Why are quiz show hosts mainly male? Have you ever seen someone with a disability appear on a quiz show?

Values and Ideologies

• Knowledge is valuable – in some cases, acclaim is the only prize

• Wealth

• Human instinct to compete

• Entertainment

• Celebrates human knowledge, culture and history

• Team co-operation AND individualism