<p>I think this same topic came up on a Mad Men thread.</p>
<p>One of my kids works in TV. Has some experience in the production end of reality tv. Knows people in it. By the standards of reality TV, House Hunters isn’t fake. Some shows are blunt fakes while others are managed reality. HH and HHI are managed reality, though of course some episodes will cross the line more. </p>
<p>If you think reality tv is real, you are mistaken. At best, it is a reduction or distillation of many hours of footage cut to tell stories, even if those stories significantly distort what really happened. Much of it is highly scripted. At worst, it’s completely misleading phony events. Most shows fall in the middle: some things are real and some aren’t. </p>
<p>The simplest things to remember are time & money. As in, it takes a huge amount of time to film anything. Each time someone walks into a room on HH, you may be seeing the 6th take and then there may be 4 more to cover different angles. These are not documentaries. Then consider how long it takes to find a home. You think a camera crew and producer are really going to follow a couple around for 3 months while they look at property? Not possible. </p>
<p>I assume much of HHI is done through producers with local connections. I assume they pitch to the main producers and compete to get into the show. I assume there are shoots which don’t get on the air. I don’t know if the local producers are paid by the piece (likely) or if they’re contract (unlikely). This explains why some shoots are more clearly “fake” than others. Some shoots are done on one day, two at tops. But in all but a few cases, these are actual houses and apartments actually bought or rented. That is not the case with all reality shows; many pretend to find things, pretend to buy and sell, etc. That to me is more truly fake.</p>
<p>We used to take family scuba vacations to Bonaire (near Aruba & Curacao). There is a great chat board there (not as big as CC!). A few years ago I saw a post from someone claiming to be a producer of HHI looking to speak with people looking for a place to buy on Bonaire or recently under contract. (I never have seen a HHI featuring Bonaire, however).</p>
<p>I am sad to learn that parts of this show are not real. After a recent show aired, a couple from our area admitted that they had a contract on a home before the show selected them and that one of the houses wasn’t even on the market when they looked. That bothered me the most. The show producers admitted they were chosen because they liked “their story”. It was something having to do with their father’s death making them realize they needed a vacation home.</p>
<p>I kind of expecting it. Who on earth would buy a house that fast? But I don’t enjoy all the drama on TV and this is the most lame show I can watch without getting to excited either before bed or early in the morning.</p>
<p>I’m always glad at the thought of actors finding paid work. If they’re going to fake these shows, why not at least hire professional actors? They could do “real people” so much better. Really, there aren’t enough tears on the current shows.</p>
<p>Lately, I’ve tried to imagine how the camera crew squeezes itself into the bathroom to film the couple’s reaction upon <em>first</em> entering. “OH, too small!” Where are the grips and dollies – up in the bathroom skylights? Standing in the tub?</p>
<p>We enjoy watching these shows as emotional warm-up to our own house search next year. In terms of selling our own house, though – we never knew we were committing a mortal sin by having carpets. We count the beats until the viewing couple (or realtor) says, “Hardwood Floor” and “Granite Countertop.” Also: “stainless steel appliances.” Until we started watching these shows, I thought I lived in a pretty nice place.</p>
<p>I identified most with the bachelor from Chicago who was stunned at low house prices for his work-related move to Syracuse. He could buy a 6-BR for under $200K. This dreamer was enthused at the numerous guest rooms for all his Chicago friends to come visit him. They filmed his going-away party in Chicago with everyone gently begging off of EVER taking a train to Syracuse. Poor guy.</p>
<p>Can anyone explain to me the fetish for double sinks and large enough bathrooms for multiple people to be in at the same time? If I can’t be alone in the bathroom I’m going to become a very angry woman.</p>
<p>We have a double sink in the main bathroom and it’s great, each kid gets their own sink and I don’t have to referee fights about who touched/moved/used whose stuff or who left what dirty.</p>
<p>Only one sink in the master bath but it is a small bathroom. Lucky for me I don’t have much stuff.</p>
<p>Also, another thing that really bugs me on HH (besides the young couples who “must have” granite countertops and master suites and who are shocked that they might have to repaint): couples who look at the back yard and exclaim, “oohh, little Fido will really love this yard.” </p>
<p>I love my pets as much as the next person, but they have very little input into my housing purchases…</p>
<p>Every other show there is a woman who looks at a master bedroom closet and says, “This will do for my stuff but where are you going to put your stuff, honey?” No one ever says, “Where can I set up an ironing board in this house?” And no one ever says at the end when you see them ensconced in their new home, “Gee, I wish we had bought Number 2 instead.”</p>
<p>HH pays small dollars. Like maybe $500. They aren’t actors. The camera crew will consist of a guy with the camera and a guy with a mike - probably a boom mike that dangles overhead. If the camera guy can fit in a space, the boom mike can go over top. This crew will usually have a producer with it. So 3 people is the likely max. That’s assuming the camera person isn’t also the local producer, which may be the case overseas more than in North America.</p>
<p>One of my kid’s first jobs involved a reality style production for another channel. The people on it said stuff and then, naturally, were coached a bit by the producer to emphasize certain parts. That’s what happens on HH: sort of like go into a room, see what you see and then refine the comments to make something that can be filmed. Edit it all together to make a story. I assume the local producers have a kit of sorts - pages, maybe an actual book, maybe an instructional video - that describes what to shoot, how to shoot, angles, coverage, types of comments, etc. so the whole thing can be edited. So for example, if they see only one sink, that becomes a thing to comment on. Heck, that may be mentioned as a possible thing to notice in the production bible.</p>
<p>TV doesn’t happen off the cuff. It can’t. Think of WWE. It’s closer to that than to actual life. </p>
<p>I have more trouble with Pawn Stars. Excellent production but it’s become more and more phony-seeming over the years as they focus more and more on the “characters”. Some of the items don’t walk into the shop. God knows how many actually do. You have to accept that, but the process has become formulaic and driven by character interaction. Other shows are much, much worse and some employ actors pretending to be “real”. My wife loves American Pickers. That show is managed reality, not fake.</p>
<p>zoosermom, I totally agree. No one is ever welcome in the bathroom with me. Can’t I have one place where I can be alone in the house? And why is it so hard for couples to schedule their time so each of them can use the bathroom in private? I guess some people don’t care, but I sure do!</p>
<p>Pawn Stars has been “busted” for using actors who pretend to be sellers of items the producers have located, for employees of the “experts” who bring in items that the expert owns only to have the expert brought in to appraise the item, etc.</p>
<p>People who have been there say the store is now 2/3 Pawn Stars souvenirs.</p>
<p>And the interactions between seller/pawn store people and between the pawn store people themselves is highly scripted. Chumlee is not as dumb as he seems, he supposedly makes $25K per episode.</p>
<p>And one wonders how much Subway is paying for all the product placement.</p>
<p>I love that we each have our own sink, and space for stuff around it, but we are never in the bathroom at the same time. Never. I don’t think that it’s nearly as common as these shows portray. :)</p>
<p>A few weeks ago I was watching an episode of HH about a couple buying in College Station, TX. Near the end of the program there was one of those Bush’s beans commercials, and what??!! The couple buying was in the ad. It took place at the home they chose that had the grill he had to have.</p>