Andrew Graystone, #MediaLit

Work in TV

• Can you fix my DVD player?
• Can you get my nephew work experience?
• How do you work out how many people are watching? http://www.barb.co.uk/ – see http://www.barb.co.uk/about/tvMeasurement .
  • How many are watching at all
  • Record = audience share of those watching anything at all
  • Appreciation index – how much people like the programme.
  • Programme Ratings
    • Reality
    • Participative
    • Make you laugh/relax
    • Fascination for people’s lives/stories (especially “success” – e.g. Susan Boyle)
    • 20^th November BBC News – Cumbria Floods.  Question Time = Nick Griffin
    • What is the impact of digital?
    • In annual survey – events, especially entertainment events, at the top – ITV do more of these.
    • Most 7-9pm.
    • Lots of murder mystery/whodunit.
    • Not much that’s obviously children’s programming – if they are, they’re watching adult TV.  (Has been declining for 30 years, rising with girls watching Hollyoaks/Eastenders).
    • How many people watching TV in total in any one time?  Unknown
    • Most watch 2 hours 40 mins per day.
    • WHY do people watch TV – engage, escape/not on their own, inform, etc.  Defining ‘normative’ behaviours?  Idleness? Soap = magnified/distorted version of life? But the normality of what they’re doing/wearing/listening to, etc.
    • Equation – media influence the culture or culture creates the media?
    • Difference of American/British soaps? Teenagers repeat what they see on the soaps, etc. – extremist religion, etc.
    • Why do Christians watch TV? Our previous survey indicated that Christians watch less TV than the general population. Don’t think this is true – watch same/react same way. Only difference – those in Christian leadership watch less & complain about it more. Worrying – if we’re not integrating it into our Christian discipleship.
    • Nick Pollard  & Steve Couch– Get More Like Jesus Whilst Watching TV.
      • To learn about God, as God reveals himself in the world. As an art form, allows us to see God – tell our story – that is part of God’s story.  A theology of communication. Encourage and value Christian creativity/artists, including programme makers, but also challenging them to tell the trust about God, and what is the media telling us about God, ourselves and the world. Media = a mirror to the culture – but a fairground mirror.
      • To understand the culture – a theology of mission. Presents us with a digested view of reality. Tells us what kind of behaviour is good/valued, etc. People assess the importance of world events in relation to TV appearances on the media… or reference Hollyoaks/Neighbours, etc. – won’t necessarily copy the behaviour there, but it’s a reference point. Even those who don’t see TV understand the cultural references to it.
        • The Church now provides the liturgical calendar for the year – frames the year as the church calendar used to.
        • To be effective in mission need to understand not only what you believe, but how others believe!
    • To take time out. Have mind distracted. Frank Lloyd-Wright “Chewing Gum for the Eyes” – Theology of Entertainment – God takes joy in our leisure, etc. God created rest – it’s legitimate. Pollard wants us to watch with our guards aware…
    • To indulge our fantasies – including monetary fantasies or BabeStation!
• Advice for a Christian getting a TV for the first time…
  • Buy a decent TV!
    • With a TV – it’s all online, so why do you want a TV?
    • Community viewing via Twitter, etc..
    • Be selective/intentional.
    • Be critical – reflect on things
    • Watch it with your kids
    • Are there any decent Christian characters on TV?
    • Be aware for  #watercooler conversation
    • Danger: think it’s real life “I saw it on TV, so it must be true”
• 8 October 1961, Andrew Graystone & Songs of Praise were born at the same time.
  • Accidental ended up in TV. Wanted a job in the North-West. TV researcher “how hard can that be?”.
  • A real shock from theology to the BBC. Long hours, lots of travel. All the numbers are big (budgets, audiences, etc.) whereas church all the numbers were small. Put Charlotte Church on TV at 12. Spent 1.5 days with Stephen Hawking talking about God, etc… Chaotic industry. Wants those who work in churches to understand more.
• 10 things that TV has taught Andrew Graystone
  • TV is made by ordinary people, including the “celebrities” on screen. (Avg age BBC employee – 27, most on v short contracts/insecure, powerful cultural influences held by the young, e.g. marriage not held in high regard on TV as many of those had not much or poor experiences. )
  • TV is powerful. E.g. When Delia Smith used a brand of frying pan sold out the next day; Jamie Oliver using real vanilla – those in African villages were killing each other for that; Princess Diana’s funeral still the most watched; Baywatch still biggest global programme; Only Fools & Horses sold to Nepal)
  • TV has a major impact on children. Majority have TVs in their bedroom including 1/3 pre-school age. 50% of under 2 year olds watch 3 hours  a day – because neighbourhood is “unsafe” – so TV a ‘safe environment’.
  • Older people watch more TV than younger people.  About 5 hours per day, more than national average (2 hours 40 per day). So if average viewer is 56… producer = 27?! Making TV for our parents.
  • TV doesn’t always tell the truth. “Stars in Their Eyes”…  (come in with their “ordinary clothes” (just bought by Wardrobe!), 3 seconds later through the door (transformed)…  first bit = Tuesday, re-record Thursday (different audience, but the smoke = a trick!).  We’re sophisticated in grammar on TV so we can spot/forgive it.  Have to turn 40 hours of filming, turn it into a 59 minute programmes – could have told ANY NUMBER of stories that would have worked for the audience – making choices – not trying to record 1 hour of events! Had chosen the “random” people to be good characters. The integrity of the programme maker is REALLY important. Those who are watching it’s important not to just watch uncritically. Whilst editing – could have got some juicy stuff re: Melvyn Bragg – could get some good coverage in the news, etc. but decided not relevant to who he is, so left it out. Glenn Hoddle – actively asked to leave out ‘believe in reincarnation’ – should you leave it in or out? Real dilemmas faced whenever in the edit suite – put it in because it was clear that he believed in it – important to tell the truth.
  • Audiences are all-important. All programmes are commissioned to the audience (not just ‘a great idea’ – guidelines ,e.g.  want 1.5 million/female/over 50 audience, find a programme that will give me that).  If more people watched = great, if less = have an ‘inquest’. More proactive than you think…  Don’t assume that the first priority is to tell the truth – it’s to entertain. (http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/724175/Ant-and-Dec-Saturday-Night-Takeway-Jiggy-bank.html) – why were they not sent to the tower – people were entertained so they voted.  In purely commercial TV – it’s about selling the advertising. BBC as a PBS – not purely commercially driven.
  • TV is competitive. (800 people applied for his job, 799 were still waiting!). For every slot on TV there are 100 ideas submitted.
  • TV is changing very fast. Digital has transformed everything in TV… we’re only at the start. In 5 years look VERY different
  • All TV is trying to sell you something. Children watch 18000 TV adverts per year.  They are not public service announcements.
  • TV creates the framework for our culture/lives.  What do we do with it?
• Is all TV the same? What difference has digitisation made (e.g. being able to watch at any time?). What about access to e.g. God Channel, Al Jazeera. Hole in the Wall – sold to many countries. What about massive brands  -e.g. “X –Got-Talent” – many voices round the edge (digitally), but the central homogonisation!
• Mass Culture – YouTube, etc. Will see more of the ‘Rage Against the Machine’ type thing…  Will people get bored with Simon Cowell? Yes, but they’ll be another one waiting in the wings…  YouTube – very “normalness” – we’d never escape from that.
  • Rage Against the Machine – originally written as a protest song, but became a piece of consumerism – difficult to break out of the circle.
• Analysing world view of culture (crude tool)
  • Watch a programme on TV
    • Surface: describe what you’re seeing there.
    • Can then identify the values of that culture/programme – what is approved/disapproved of? What is rewarded/encouraged?
    • What are the core beliefs driving that culture/programme.
    • Example: The Weakest Link…
      • Dark, brooding, colours, etc.
      • Coming first is valued, being fast enough, rewarded by money, it’s OK to be rude to people, etc.  Is a competitive environment.
      • Essentially Darwinist – the survival of the fittest – adapt to an environment? Or is it survival of the luckiest? Dishonesty is built into it – I can’t own to being the weakest link.  Usually the Godlike figure is the production community – e.g. The Dealer on ‘Deal or No Deal’.
    • Example: Deal or No Deal
      • Noel Edmonds – has-been celebrity. Money, boxes, old-fashioned telephone, banker. No skill required.  Randomly distributed boxes. Audience (interactive). Sense of community.
      • Values: Approved of: Risk, Community ‘we want the best for each person’ – the banker is the enemy.  Wants to give as little money away as possible. Noel Edmunds = “a priest”. Language has a religion around it.. “positive thinking = it’ll be a blue”. Liturgy – do you have a pattern or not? Chanting together?! Audience are called ‘pilgrims’. People give reasons for why which numbers, although it’s completely random… Re-edited to give a ‘superstitious’ choice. Rituals about the ‘newbies’.
      • Core Beliefs: Noel Edmonds believes in Cosmic Ordering. More money you have = the better your life will be “life-changing amount”. Positive community. Gambling is OK. You can change “what’s in the box”. Negotiation access – have limited power to make decisions – but in the end not fundamentally in control.
    • Superficially similar programmes, but have very different formats.
• Important we begin to try and understand what is driving the TV programme.