Analysis of Two Live TV Productions



In this evaluation I aim to critically evaluate two “Recorded as Live” TV shows, to find out the show’s formats and how they were created technically. The two shows that I have chosen to evaluate are; Have I Got News For You which is a panel quiz show with News and Political themed questions. The second show I’ am going to evaluate is I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here in which Celebrities compete to become King or Queen of the jungle which they are living in.

The first show I’ am going to evaluate is Have I Got News For You. The studio for Have I Got News For You is roughly 90ft by 60ft which allows space for different sorts of camera shots including MCU’s,Two shots and Wide shots. The camera shots used mainly in this program include: MCU’s of the host and contestants, a variety of two shots, three shots and wide shots so that there are different camera shots for the director to choose from. The likely size of the crew in this production is 24 – 30 people which is an average size studio crew for a live TV event the crew mainly consists of: several cameramen /women, a couple of vision mixers, producers, a floor manager and assistant, a pair of sound operators and many others who all have to make sure the show is being made as directed.

The design of the set also makes camera shots of easier to achieve because the layout of the set isn’t too big it allows more space in the studio for a variety of camera shots. The set itself is set out so that it doesn’t distract the audience’s attention, but so that it can be used to show images and video clips linked with the questions if needed. The set for this show is permanent and so it doesn’t waste time having to construct and de-construct it before and after filming and so allows extra time for the show itself. The set consist of nine 8ft high hardwood boards which are used to show the name of the show to begin with, and then to show newspaper headlines and articles throughout the show, unless images or the VT inserts need to be shown.

The types of microphones used in this show are clip on microphones which are specifically designed to be concealed so that they are small enough to not be seen by the audience/viewers at home but can still produce good sound quality which is what is needed as the show mainly involves talking between the host and contestants.

The lighting rig for this production is at a medium level of size and consists mainly of back and spot lighting which is focused on the host and contestants during the show. The level of lighting is fixed at the same level of brightness throughout the show so the host is kept at the same level of brightness as the background and the contestants are lit up the same time to make them the same as the set which has the same lighting to them. There are between 4-5 cameras used in this production and these are set out so that there are large selections of shots for the viewers to see and so that the director can make sure that each shot is different for more variety.


The genre of this show is comedy and the format is based around chat, questions and answers. The comedy genre is definitely noticeable in this show as the main contestants are comedians and they add AD Lib to the show and they can banter with the host to make the show more entertainment. The main role of the presenter in this show is to ask the questions to the contestants and to get the answers whilst adding a comedy feel to the show.

The main title sequence is mainly animated and shows a variety of different political, world resources, presidency and political issues. The Title music used in this show is upbeat and fits in with the title graphics which makes the show itself seem more up to date. I think that the target audience for this show are aged between 19-30 years old because a lot of the show’s content and topics are adult related, and this show wouldn’t be viewed by younger viewers because of the used of strong language throughout the show.


The second show I’ am going to evaluate is I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here. There is much of a studio for I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here because it is filmed in the Australian jungle, but there is a small studio above the jungle camp which is used by the hosts to introduce the show and to tell the viewers what is happening throughout the show.

Although the studio isn’t very big it is big enough to allow space for different sorts of camera shots including MCU’s, Two shots of the hosts. The camera shots used mainly in this program include: MCU’s of the host and the celebrities, a variety of two shots, three shots and wide shots so that there are different camera shots for the director to choose from.


The likely size of the crew in this production is 30 – 35 people which is an average size crew for this kind of live TV event the crew mainly consists of: several cameramen /women, a couple of vision mixers, producers, a floor manager and assistant, a pair of sound operators and many others who all have to make sure the show is being made as directed. There are quite a lot of health and safety issues in this show because there are a lot of dangerous animals that can cause a problem whilst this show is being shown.


The design of the set which is this case is the camp that the celebrities are using allows for lots of camera shots to be achieved because the layout of the camp isn’t too big it allows more space for a variety of camera shots. The camp which in this show is the set is permanent and this means that it doesn’t mean having to wasting time having to construct and de-construct it before and after filming and so allows extra time for the show itself.




The types of microphones used in this show are clip on microphones which are specifically designed to be concealed so that they are small enough to not be seen by the audience/viewers at home but can still produce good sound quality which is what is needed as the show mainly involves talking between the celebrities.

The lighting rig for this production is used only to light the small section of the studio and consists mainly of back and spot lighting which is focused on the hosts during the show. But there is natural light that influences the celebrities during the show meaning there doesn’t need to be lighting on the celebs.

The level of lighting is fixed at the same level of brightness throughout the show so that the hosts are kept at the same level of brightness as the background. There are 22 cameras used in this production and these are set out so that there are large selections of shots for the viewers to see and so that the director can make sure that each shot is different for more variety, and to capture all the celebrities’ movements.


The show’s genre is reality TV and the and the format is that 13 different celebrities are put in the Australian jungle and must survive whilst also completing “bush tucker” challenges and tasks, until they are voted out by the public or leave because they’ve had enough. The main role of the hosts in this show are to tell the viewer what the celebrities are doing or have done in the jungle over the last 24hrs, whilst also adding a comedy/banter feel to the show. The main title sequence is computer generated and shows the celebrities pictures inside each letter of the main title entering the jungle by air attached to a helicopters and then the letters spell out the main title. There are other smaller graphics called sting used in this show. These stings are used when switching from a sequence of shots of the celebrities back to the main studio and special sound effects are also put with them and these consist of animals and other jungle noises

I think that the target audience for this show are aged between 24-30 years old because a lot of the show’s content and topics are adult related, and this show wouldn’t be viewed by younger viewers because of the used of strong language throughout the show.