X Factor Reminders

X Factor is an example of non-fiction constructed reality on British TV. It has the following four conventions, amongst others:

Constructed reality shows have high pressure stakes. In X Factor this means ticking clocks and time limits and blunt judges’ comments, at least in the early stages before they become mentors.

The viewing audience is sold the dream that any ordinary person can become a star. We see the journey of thousands whittled down to only 12 by the time we get to the live shows. The narrative structure shows how an ordinary person with flaws can be made into a more polished version of themselves with the right advice, outfits and staging.

There is elimination and competition through a combination of the voting public and the judges’ decisions.  In X-Factor there is voting by text or the chance to download their track from that week’s performance to keep your favourite in the show. The judges usually have the final say about who goes home that week but sometimes they take it to “Deadlock” which means that the public vote decides.

Good constructed reality shows have their contestants in constant jeopardy of being sent home until the final winner is chosen.Part of the appeal of X Factor is that at the end of the Sunday show someone will be eliminated. The audience sees nervous contestants pitched against each other and they give the “performance of their lives” as they “face the music” literally and metaphorically in an effort to stay on till the final. The audience feels in control but quite often how a contestant is portrayed and edited counts for as much as the performance in getting the votes of the viewers.

 

Traditionally constructed reality shows like X Factor use the experiences of others as entertainment for the audience at home.  The drama is manufactured before a camera crew. The moments we see on screen are made to look unguarded, unscripted and intimate. We see close ups of tears and long shots of people falling to the ground in relief or sorrow. The cameras are placed in many situations – an X Factor booth for personal reactions, cameras waiting in line, cameras backstage, cameras in the contestants’ house and at least four cameras at the live shows  – one on a crane, two on either side and one for filming close up and from behind. Performers are dressed up to look “transformed” and “star-like”. Ad breaks are used to set up for the next contestant and props such as plinths and special effects like smoke or falling glitter are all used to create a temporary magic. The audience marvels at the spotty youth with dirty hair who is transformed into the professional “dark horse” singer who might walk away with the prize despite being less talented than the overweight  over-twenty-five aged mother who loses weight and performs flawlessly week in and week out. What we see however has been carefully set up in advance and edited in such a way to make the contestant look worthy of winning or not. These contestants are willing to sacrifice their private life for the viewing public and are very deliberately separated from their families so that their normal support systems are missing. It is acceptable voyeurism.  In real life we do not get to see people eating toast on their way to rehearse but in a show like this it is perfectly acceptable as part of the process of growing into a world class star.

 

X Factor X Factor sells the dream that any person with the right combination of talent, luck and looks can rise to stardom. The audience at home is shown thousands of people lining up for the open auditions. Only some of these people ever make it on to an on-screen performance. Not everyone gets to perform and be filmed in front of the judges. Filming is very expensive so will be kept for the very bad or the very good. The audience at home likes to be critical of people who are worse than they are at singing and enjoys the performance of those who actually have talent. The show used to encourage those who were bad to re-audition the next year so the home audience could laugh at them again but this is now against the rules as some people’s mental health was being affected. The producers use camera angles and non-diagetic sound to make us feel the pain and triumph of the contestants at every stage.  We get background sob stories of people who are doing it for their “families” and often those families are seen back stage crying so that we can empathise with them about how important it is.

The thousands are cut down to hundreds to perform on large stages in front of a live audience and after this trial they are sent to “Boot Camp” if they are considered good enough. The final Boot Camp of hundreds is further whittled down to the “Judges Houses” stage where against a backdrop of luxurious houses and glittering sun, they are shown the life they might end up having if they become the star they wish to be. These initial stages are filmed over several months and by the time of the live shows the contestants are reduced to only 12 who are allocated judges to mentor them so that we can see who will finally make it to be the “winner”.  The show needs to push the audiences’ buttons so that they have a reason to tune in every week, sometimes to cry and sometimes to cheer and even sometimes to shout at a bad decision.

X Factor  needs to make a profit for the producers of the show. Viewers have to have an emotional investment in at least one of the contestants so that they vote or download the tracks so that they generate more revenue for the show’s producers Syco– owned by Simon Cowell and Sony Music Entertainment – this means that the vast majority of the profits are kept by the producers as they can control the acts and pay them much less than they would earn if they rose to fame through normal methods.

X Factor has been on our screens for 10 years now. It appears on ITV as part of their prime weekend evening slots on Saturday and Sunday nights. These weekend slots are extremely important to a commercial station like ITV and high audience figures are expected. There is an unofficial agreement that the BBC will air “Strictly Come Dancing” at an earlier slot so that the audience who might like both shows can switch over immediately after one ends to watch the start of another. Both are similar in nature in that there is a competitive element.  Both are examples of the constructed reality show and follow certain conventions.  X Factor has audience figures of between 7.2 and 8.6 million in 2013, with more watching on the Sunday evening than the Saturday. The BARB figures for “Strictly” for the most part outstrip the ITV performance as they are over 11.4 million for the Saturday and 10.6 for their results show. The higher the audience figures, the more ITV can charge for their advertising.  Although other programmes would be considered successful with figures of 7.2 million, a Saturday evening slot needs to be bigger in order for the programme to survive long- term. They have to have an emotional investment in at least one of the contestants so that they vote or download the tracks so that they generate more revenue for the show’s producers Syco – owned by Simon Cowell and Sony Music Entertainment – this means that the vast majority of the profits are kept by the producers as they can control the acts and pay them much less than they would earn if they rose to fame through normal methods. The show makes money from: Adverts before, during and after the show; Downloads of music tracks; Selling stories to newspapers and magazines;  The winning performers’ tours; The record sales after it is all over; Product placement – Samsung mobile phones and tablets were on screen constantly and Phone-in voting to decide who goes.

Traditionally constructed reality shows use the experiences of others as entertainment for the audience at home.  The drama is manufactured before a camera crew. The moments we see on screen are made to look unguarded, unscripted and intimate. We see tears and people falling to the ground in relief or sorrow. The cameras are all over the place – an X Factor booth for personal reactions, cameras waiting in line, cameras backstage, cameras in the contestants’ house and at least four cameras at the live shows  – one on a crane, two on either side and one for filming close up and from behind. Performers are dressed up to look “transformed” and “star-like”.

In X Factor, the audience at home grows to care about regular people who might have what it takes to be a star. Those written off by society because they are too fat or too old or too spotty or a thief might still become a star. We pay money to vote to keep our favourites in and the programme Gogglebox which showed viewers reactions to X Factor over several weeks and Twitter comments make it clear that the clever editing makes the audience engage with the programme so that they change their viewing habits to keep watching every week and often pay to vote to keep their favourite in. The artificial construct of the “reality” of transformation from “regular Joe” into stardom confirms the notion that dreams can come true as we see an eventual winner triumphing over adversity.