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The Key Lessons Learnt from Producing the ABC Programme Talking

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The key lessons learnt from producing the ABC programme Talkin g Heads a talk show/documentary hybrid in a fast turnaround environment Jack King HND: Business Studies (Aston Birmingham) This exegesis is submitted as the written component for the degree of Master of Arts (Research) Film and Television Production: Creative Industries Queensland University of Technology 2009 Supervisors: Associate Professor Geoff Portmann and Associate Professor Alan McKee Abstract The following exegesis will detail the key advantages and disadvantages of combining a traditional talk show genre with a linear documentary format using a small production team and a limited budget in a fast turnaround weekly environment. It will deal with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation series Talking Heads, broadcast weekly in the early evening schedule for the network at 18.30 with the presenter Peter Thompson. As Executive Producer for the programme at its inception I was responsible for setting it up for the ABC in Brisbane, a role that included selecting most of the team to work on the series and commissioning the music, titles and all other aspects required to bring the show to the screen. What emerged when producing this generic hybrid will be examined at length, including: The talk show/documentary hybrid format needs longer than 26’30” to be entirely successful. The type of presenter ideally suited to the talk show/documentary format requires someone who is genuinely interested in their guests and flexible enough to maintain the format against tangential odds. The use of illustrative footage shot in a documentary style narrative improves the talk show format. iii The fast turnaround of the talk show/documentary hybrid puts tremendous pressure on the time frames for archive research and copyright clearance and therefore needs to be well-resourced. In a fast turnaround talk show/documentary format the field components are advantageous but require very low shooting ratios to be sustainable. An intimate set works best for a talk show hybrid like this. Also submitted are two DVDs of recordings of programmes I produced and directed from the first and third series. These are for consideration in the practical component of this project and reflect the changes that I made to the series. iv Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................ iii Table of Contents ...................................................................... v Statement of Original Authorship ................................................. vii Acknowledgements ................................................................... ix Chapter 1: Introduction .............................................................1 Chapter 2: The Literature Review ................................................5 2.1 Changes in documentary ....................................................... 5 2.2 The emergence of the talk show ............................................. 7 2.3 Practice led research ......................................................... 11 Chapter 3: Why attempt to hybridise two formats? ......................... 15 3.1 The commissioning of the series ............................................ 15 3.2 The structure of the series .................................................. 16 Chapter 4: The key areas that emerged ....................................... 19 4.1 The talk show/documentary hybrid format needs longer than 26’30” to be entirely successful ............................................ 19 4.2 The type of presenter ideally suited to the talk show/documentary format needs to be someone who is genuinely interested in their guests and flexible enough to maintain the format against tangential odds ............................................. 21 4.3 The use of illustrative footage shot in a documentary style narrative improves talk show formats like this one ..................... 24 4.4 The fast turnaround talk show/documentary hybrid puts tremendous pressure on the time frames for archive research and copyright clearance. The budget in this area therefore needs to be very well-resourced ................................................................. 26 4.5 In a fast turnaround talk show/documentary format the field components are advantageous but require very low shooting ratios to be sustainable ................................................................... 31 4.6 An intimate set works best for a talk show hybrid like this ............ 33 Chapter 5: Conclusion ............................................................. 35 Bibliography .......................................................................... 39 Appendices ........................................................................... 43 Appendix 1: Talking Heads – Guest List and Audience Ratings 2007 ......... 43 Appendix 2: Producer’s Bible ...................................................... 45 DVD Examples .............................................................. Back Cover v Statement of Original Authorship This exegesis contains no material which has been accepted for any other award for a degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution. To the best of my knowledge and belief it contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference is made in the text. Name: Jack King Signature: Date: vii Acknowledgements As a practising radio and television producer for the last thirty-nine years I have entered the world of academia as an almost complete novice. Like all professional environments the landscape was often difficult to understand but, with the patience and guidance of an incredibly supportive staff I have, I hope, learnt to adapt sufficiently to be worthy of an academic award. It has been a fascinating journey, rewarding and frustrating in equal parts but it has given me a much deeper understanding of the rigours of intellectual scholarship and, in doing so, a much greater respect for the discipline, learning and integrity of the university as an institution and a place of learning. For the opportunity to have been allowed to be part of this experience I am profoundly grateful. I have been surprised at how hard the study has been for me at times but, ironically, I feel I now have a much deeper understanding of the media world that I have been committed to for most of my working life. I would like to specifically thank Associate Professor Geoff Portmann for offering me the chance to become involved with the Creative Industries Faculty and for his advice and guidance. Helen Yeates too has been a great support especially during my first year of lectures. I would also like to pay tribute to the QUT library staff for their unfailing helpfulness at all stages of my study. That also goes for Leanne Blazely, who has since left, and her replacement Kate Symonds. Their constant cheerfulness and understanding of the administrative system has been invaluable to me. Finally, I would like to thank Associate Professor Alan ix McKee for his constant enthusiasm and belief in me even when my own insecurities and lack of academic understanding must have driven him mad. I will miss our discussions and his unwavering confidence. For the time, guidance and invaluable advice he has given me throughout this project, I am incredibly grateful. To you all my heartfelt thanks. x Chapter 1: Introduction This exegesis will explain the key lessons learnt when producing and directing a generic hybrid that took an early evening talk show format and combined it with field inserts shot in the traditional linear documentary style. It was used in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s series Talking Heads from its inception in 2005 until I left the show as Executive Producer at the end of the third series in 2007. The intention was to profile significant Australians from a variety of social and professional backgrounds through three distinct phases of their lives: Early Life, Career Highlights, and Current Situation. (See 2007 series guest list in Appendix 1.) This study will examine in some detail this type of hybrid in the context of a fast weekly turnaround of forty-two programmes per year in an environment restricted by a limited budget and a very small production team. The research is designed to give guidance to future production teams that may be considering further experimentation in this programming area and will examine some of the successes and pitfalls discovered along the way. In the modern television environment budgets are increasingly stretched and network schedulers seem ever more reliant on the fast turnaround talk and game show formats to provide weekly material over long runs at minimum cost (Schattuc 1997, 66). The proliferation of channels coupled with the worldwide economic downturn is likely to increase the pressure on many practitioners to supply more for less (Dovey 2000, 72). This was certainly the case in the scenario being examined with this project. 1 The intention here is to examine this alternative approach to the evening talk show formula. This should subsequently prove useful to those producers contemplating ways of developing interesting variations on this form. In particular this research examines the practicalities involved in producing a fast turnaround output with limited resources. It should also help future productions to assess more accurately whether these forms of hybrid are worth pursuing at all. Such decisions are rarely easy. Many producers with a documentary
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