{"id":7655,"date":"2020-06-01T09:00:01","date_gmt":"2020-06-01T13:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev2.worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/worldscreen.com\/"},"modified":"2020-06-09T13:49:53","modified_gmt":"2020-06-09T17:49:53","slug":"game-shows-gear-up-for-production-amid-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/game-shows-gear-up-for-production-amid-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Game Shows Adjust for COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"

Game-show formats are proving to be readily adaptable for fresh content as lockdowns and social-distancing measures are observed around the world due to the coronavirus pandemic.<\/em><\/p>\n

With the coronavirus pandemic continuing to affect production on new titles to deliver to broadcasters and streamers, certain genres are proving to be more readily adaptable to create fresh content amid lockdowns and social-distancing measures. Among those genres is the game-show format. On BBC Studios\u2019 slate, there\u2019s the long-running The Weakest Link<\/em>, while Hindsight and Hat Trick\u00a0produce Mastermind<\/em>, both formats easily produced remotely; Armoza Formats boasts Beat the Grid<\/em>, created pre-COVID-19 but more than ready to meet the moment; there\u2019s the revamped Septante et Un (71)<\/em> from Never Ending Story; and Global Agency\u2019s Home Quiz<\/em>, made specifically for these unprecedented times.<\/p>\n

Chief among the strengths of game-show formats during the current conditions are that they can be recorded in volume at cost-effective prices and that it takes little time to bring them from the studio floor to the TV screen, according to Sumi Connock, BBC Studios\u2019 creative director of formats. Pointing out the preproduction advantages game shows provide, Connock says, \u201cCasting can be done effectively over Zoom, and question writing\/verification is easily done remotely. Scripts follow a similar structure and therefore can also be done remotely, as well as building any technical gameplay software. This means that you can do all of your preproduction in lockdown and be ready to block-record in-studio, making them ideal to suit the quick-turnaround demands of broadcasters who have many slots to fill.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the sheer efficiency of game-show formats during COVID-19 could be enough to recommend them, they also provide the kind of entertainment that families stuck at home crave. \u201cIf the doctors ordered any kind of TV for families locked down during coronavirus, it would be game shows,\u201d says Connock. \u201cThey provide great escapism from what\u2019s happening in the real world and they are usually something that the whole family can engage in together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Avi Armoza, CEO of Armoza Formats, agrees. \u201cFrom the content point of view, watching game shows\u2014especially ones that viewers can play along with\u2014is really the \u2018ultimate family viewing.\u2019 This, of course, makes it very suitable for the current times where families are all at home together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Families can still enjoy the interactive experience of watching a game show even without the proxies of a live audience\u2014provided the gameplay isn\u2019t contingent on audience participation. As Connock points out, \u201cMany highly successful game shows do not require a live studio audience, and in fact, the lack of a studio audience also speeds up recording times.\u201d The Weakest Link<\/em>, for instance, doesn\u2019t have a live studio audience. \u201cThe host is suitably socially distanced from contestants and the contestant podium positioning would just need to be adapted very slightly to meet regulations. Then it\u2019s about spacing and socially distancing in the galleries\/control room and production offices in accordance with local government guidelines.\u201d<\/p>\n

When a game show does<\/em> require a live audience, technology makes it possible for them to play from home. Have You Been Paying Attention?<\/em>, produced by Working Dog for Network 10, launched its newest season last month to its biggest premiere ever. The show, which pits five well-known and well-informed news-watchers against one another to see just how much news they\u2019ve retained, is typically filmed in front of a live studio audience with panelists. \u201cWe have taken the show to a hybrid studio base and our guests are isolated,\u201d says Have You Been Paying Attention?<\/em> Executive Producer Michael Hirsh of the new season. \u201cWe are using a combination of domestic and professional audio-visual equipment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Global Agency has acquired the international rights for the game show Home Quiz<\/em>, which sees celebrities compete over a video link from home for cash prizes that will be donated to a foundation battling COVID-19. In the format, a host and three celebrity contestants participate remotely via a video conference application.<\/p>\n

Though as quickly and efficiently as remote and self-shot programming methods have been ushered into the TV mainstream, it\u2019s likely to take a backseat just as fast, according to Connock. \u201cBroadcasters are limiting the amount of self-shot programming they are commissioning at present and are starting to look to a post-lockdown future,\u201d explains Connock, adding, \u201cI think there will come a time\u2014quite soon\u2014when people will seriously tire of the mosaic of faces on Zoom as a form of mass entertainment. There have been far too many TV commercials with sad piano music and montages of empty streets intercut with people on Zoom calls, and that is not really a substitute for a proper creative vision. In fact, an intravenous infusion of properly 4K studio glitz could be very welcome globally!\u201c<\/p>\n

Armoza, too, believes that the home movie novelty has passed its heyday. \u201cThere was a time for formats with self-shot videos at the start of the pandemic as a solution for the immediate need for content,\u201d he says. \u201cThey have a more limited lifespan, as these formats are mainly talent-based, and I don\u2019t believe they are a long-term solution.\u201d There are, after all, more savvy options afforded by modern technology. CGI, for example, is used to give the impression of a much larger studio than the one in which Armoza Formats\u2019 Beat the Grid<\/em> is shot, with 80 percent of the set constructed in CGI in post-production.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are creating a technological hub that we supply to our clients to compose on the actual gameplay that they are shooting, and this can save up to 50 percent of the cost of any production of any game show,\u201d says Armoza. \u201cTechnology has a very important role [during the coronavirus], as it can also help limit the number of people in the studio as well using limited cameras.\u201d<\/p>\n

In want of a way to continue the run of Septante et Un (71) <\/em>on the Belgian French-language pay-TV channel RTL TVI amid the coronavirus pandemic, Never Ending Story developed a new interface. Based on Headstrong\u2019s American format Beat the Crowd<\/em>, Septante et Un (71)<\/em> sees one player compete face-to-face with 70 opponents over ten rounds in front of a live studio audience; the new digital interface allows the 70 competitors to \u201cjoin\u201d the studio-based player and presenter Jean-Michel Zecca remotely using their home computers and a virtual display in the studio.<\/p>\n

As with any sea change in an industry, new opportunities are bound to crop up. And the global cultural climate amid a health crisis that\u2019s touched every corner of the planet is more than ready for game show producers to roll out distracting and diverting programs, all while adhering to necessary health and safety best practices. As BBC Studios\u2019 Connock puts it, \u201cBroadcasters need light and shade across their schedules, and the ability to provide their audience with some escapism via a bonkers game show cannot be underestimated. Whether this is via game shows set in the real world\u2014which feel likely to be a future trend\u2014or through non-traditional Q&As that defy the conventional format beats of a quiz, the prospect is exciting both for programmers and their audiences.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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