ART-ENTERTAINMENT-TELIVISION

1. Television The Most Popular Form Of Entertainment

The beginning of the twenty-first century, saw Latin Americans watching around three to four hours of television daily for entertainment and information purposes. Television is still considered to be a relatively new technology which appeared some fifty years ago and was not accessible to the universal audience until ten to twenty years ago.

Before the introduction of the television era, people had different sources of entertainment which included parties, festivals, sports, concerts, theaters and cinema. However all these sources of entertainment were not accessible to all the people. For example, cinema did not reach the rural people.

Television turned the world into a global village bringing movies, games and news to the people. Television created new genres of entertainment, such as the vastly popular telenovelas.

However a vast majority of people did not consider television to be boon to society. Some believed that it lead to a breaking down of social and family values. According to others with the introduction of television people have no time for other as they are busy watching television. The television sets became available since the late 1930s. It became a great source of entertainment and news.

Television genres
Television genres include a wide variety of programmes that entertains, informs and educates the audience.

Drama is the most costly entertainment genres to produce. Other genres, like historical Western genres, may also have high production costs.

Popular entertainment genres include action-oriented shows such as police, crime, detective dramas, horror or thriller shows.

The drama genre includes other genres like medical dramas and day-time soap operas.

Programmes based on science fiction can be included under the category of either drama or action, depending on whether they lay emphasis on philosophical questions or high adventure.

Comedy is a popular genre which includes situation comedy (sitcom) and animated shows for the adult demographic such as South Park.

Game shows, talk shows, variety shows and reality TV are less costly form of entertainment. The people participating in the various game shows have to answer questions and solve puzzles in order to win the prize.

Talk shows showcases the interview of various celebrities and public figures.
Variety shows feature a variety of musical performers and entertainers like comedians and magicians introduced by a host.

Some leading talk shows also often feature performances by bands, singers, comedians and other performers in between the interview section. Reality TV features ordinary people not necessarily actors who are going through unusual challenges or experiences, ranging from arrest by police officers (COPS) to weight loss (The Biggest Loser).

A variant version of reality shows depicts celebrities doing mundane activities such as going about their everyday life (The Osbournes) or doing manual labour (Simple Life).

2. How To Get A Correct Television Just For Your Home Theater

While there are many components that make up the average home theater system most people often overlook the importance of their televisions to the overall video and movie watching experience. As with all things in life, bigger, when it comes to televisions for your home theater, is not always better. There are many things that must be considered when selecting the best possible television for your home theater and size is only one of many.

Mass retailers show televisions in a manner that suits their purpose, which is a sale. This doesn't mean that their methods for displaying their televisions paints those sets in a proper light for your home viewing experience. Not so long ago, a 20-inch viewing window for your television was considered huge. It was a luxury saved for those who were extremely wealthy. The truth of the matter is that if you do not sit a proper distance from your television the quality of the picture will look horrible if your set is too large.

There are good rules of thumb to consider when purchasing a television set for your room, at least where size is concerned. The rule is that you will want no more than 4" of diagonal screen inches on your television for every foot away from the set you will be when watching cable television. The rule goes up to 5 inches per foot for satellite television or DVDs, and 6 inches per foot if you are viewing high definition television.

Of course with every rule there are exceptions. For this rule general exceptions would be two story great rooms or cathedral ceilings that might actually call for a larger television and basements or dropped ceilings that might actual be better suited for smaller televisions. You really must consider all of these things when selecting the television that will best suit your needs when it comes to your home theater and your theater set up.

Of course there is more than size to consider when it comes to the television you ultimately choose for your home theater and taste as well as space will each play important roles in the television you should choose. One important consideration is price. When you walk into the store and see all the wonderful new televisions that promise endless hours of movie watching bliss at a very hefty price tag to match. You need to be able to weed through without getting distracted by the latest and greatest of bells and whistles in order to find the set that will meet all of your movie watching needs and fall within your budget.

For this particular trip I recommend walking in with money in hand (the limit you have set) and that you leave the credit card at home. You should also carefully consider whether or not you will want an extended warranty as that will raise the base price of your television and isn't reflected in the 'sticker' price. If you bring your credit card you will be tempted to overspend rather than sticking with your original budget.

Other than price you really need to carefully consider the type of television you'd like to have for your home theater. Keep in mind that you can buy larger versions of older technology for the same price you'd pay for smaller screen sizes when it comes to LCD televisions. You should also consider the size of the television you really need for this portion too. Most of us do not sit more than 12 feet from our televisions, which means you may not need quite as much television as you may have previously thought you would need. The most important thing when choosing a television is to remember that this is an investment that most of us do not make terribly often. For that reason you should expect to drop a considerable chunk of change on this particular investment in your home theater system.

3. Breaking Into Hollywood - How Do I Pitch a Reality Show?

As a long-time professional in reality TV, I routinely am asked "How do I sell my own reality TV show?" - which I'm happy to answer based on both personal experience and industry expertise. These days, though, I prefer to talk more specifically about "how to get a pitch meeting" to "shop" your show. That's because the expression "selling a reality show," honestly, is a bit misleading. It suggests that someone "buys" your reality show, and that, therefore, money changes hands in that process. As I explain more fully below, that is not typically part of our business model, especially one's first time out. So let me first clarify that the two real verbs in our industry are "pitching" (or "shopping") a show in the beginning, and "getting an order" for a show at the end (which may be a pilot order or a series order for multiple episodes - not always 13!).

As you try to shop your first show, please, right now, reframe your language to say "How do I get a pilot or series order for my show?" That will more clearly set up the journey you are about to embark on, and it will keep you focused on your actual goal in the process.

Next, I want you to reframe your initial step in this process, the pitch, from the singular to the plural, as in, "How do I pitch my own reality shows?" You never want to scratch and claw your way into a meeting, at last, and bring only one idea. There is a lot of opportunity sitting across from you at that moment, and if they say, "That pitch is not right for us - what else do you have?"...well, your having nothing else is going to be a shame.

So are you with me? You are not trying to "sell a reality show" anymore. You now are trying to "pitch multiple reality shows" to try to "get an order" for at least one of them. Here's how you are going to do this.

There is one main way to pitch any reality show, and that is through someone you know. If you feel resistance or despair or skepticism upon reading that statement, stop for a moment and regroup. That is not a flip answer - it is an industry truth, and embracing it will help you strategize correctly towards your goal. You simply must actively and regularly seek to meet people who will enable you to pitch - without being perceived as a parasite in the process.

How do you start networking effectively? Ideally, you or someone involved with your projects is a reality industry professional, so you should first reach out to the heads of any production companies where you have worked to see if they are a fit for your particular genre of show or will make an introduction to a prod co or network on your behalf. In addition, professional groups like the TV Academy and Producers Guild offer many resources, from meeting network heads to educational and social gatherings where you can network and try to set up meetings, so your team's reality insider(s) must take advantage of those. Finally, a reality professional absolutely can cold call development heads at networks for shows they have worked on to try to get a meeting, but it is a tougher route. Ultimately, it doesn't matter if you reach out to a prod co or a net; it matters that you find someone who will take your call AND that they have a track record making shows like yours that actually air.

If you do not have anyone on the team with a reality track record, it is a harder job to shop a show, understandably (since that represents starting at the very top of a tough industry), and appreciably harder to stay attached to it since you would not be bringing valued experience to the table. It still can be done, with a lot of cold calling and persistence - and a focus on the unique and exceptional talent (like a Cesar Milan) that you have built the show around. Reality show ideas are not hard to come by (please believe that), but great talent is, and that will be your in! Otherwise, you are asking for a favor in getting any meeting, and that can stick you in the "parasite" column quickly, even if it seems unfair. You can pitch to either nets or prod cos; again, that will be determined mainly by whom you can meet and convince to take your pitch. Expect to sign a release, as well.

I always point out that our business model usually does not include a show's creator being paid for getting a green light (be prepared, in fact, to spend money to "sell" your show). In non-fiction, an order often instead triggers a small development fee that goes directly to the production company hired to flesh out the project, which is usually a company the network has a close and trusting relationship with. So as you list the reasons you want to sell the show, remove "making money" from the list and push ahead. Money comes AFTER production begins if you can stay attached (which is easier if you already have reality credits), so be sure to have an experienced non-fiction attorney on your team to fight for you to have a production position if it sells. That's where some of the expenses come from.

What about the agent option? It is very unlikely you will be able to secure a reality agent unless your team's reality insider is an established show runner, or at least at the senior producer level on a show. Non-fiction agents don't typically rep shows or projects; they rep talent. That's because, per the last point, there is no money in selling reality shows, but there is considerable money in taking 10% of a show runner's weekly salary. If you (or your team's reality person) have management level credits on a successful show, it is perfectly all right to cold call agents to try to set up an introductory meeting. Your job there is to convince them you are hirable onto many shows at the management level and that, again, you have multiple pitches ready to shop so they can try to sell a show for your own production company once you have the credits to warrant that (for which they can fight for a bundling fee as you hire all of their other clients to the show's staff).

Are you ready now to pitch your show? That depends on if you have multiple projects prepared to present and have networked your way into effective people to present those projects to. As you delve deeper into this difficult but exciting experience, I recommend you focus on success in reality TV in terms of having a successful career in reality TV because that is where you can both sell a show AND make money in the process.