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FRONTLINE

FRONTLINE. A Satirical representation of tabloid Current Affairs programmes. Broadcast in Oz between 1994-1996 Written, produced, and directed by Working Dog Productions. Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner, Jane

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FRONTLINE

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  1. FRONTLINE A Satirical representation of tabloid Current Affairs programmes. Broadcast in Oz between 1994-1996 Written, produced, and directed by Working Dog Productions. Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner, Jane Kennedy, Rob Sitch. (The Panel, The Castle, The Dish, Thank God You’re Here) Confused viewers at first when it was taken for a real current affairs show.

  2. FORMAT • Two contrasting “worlds” : the on-camera world which gave the impression of smoothness, invincibility, and total control…. • The behind-the-scenes world which was chaotic and haphazard. • To underline this, off-camera scenes were filmed with a hand-held camera.

  3. SATIRE • The series satirised the way real current affairs programmes operate. • Stories chosen for popular appeal rather than news-worthiness. • Footage edited to enhance viewer involvement (erroneous impressions ?) • Emotive language and footage of emotional scenes. • “Experts” are paraded before viewers. • Misleading graphics and shots. • The humour relies on audiences recognising the texts that constitute it.

  4. CONSIDER….. • The view of the studio set and the view from the studio set. • Costumes in front of and behind the camera. • On-air language and the language used behind the scenes and their clear distinction. • Original interviews or footage and their edited versions. • The appearance of “real” personalities or stars from other television shows. • The authentically recognisable character types (verging on stereotypes)

  5. WHAT IS REAL ?WHAT IS TRUTH ? The similarities between the fictional Frontline and the real current affairs programmes in terms of emphasis on image over substance and ratings over reporting suggest that actual current affairs programs are not windows on to the real world. Rather, they shape and construct the world. They create narratives containing conflict, resolution and closure, with hooks to entice and catch the viewer. The idea of the “real world” as something different and distinct is almost obsolete. Images are disassociated from meaning

  6. BRIAN SAYS… • …the three things that make a good story are “vision, vision, vision.” • A pub brawl in Manly is better than a massacre of millions if you’ve got the pictures. • If we do not know what is going on in the world, it is because we “haven’t seen it on T.V.” • And if we haven’t seen it on television, it is because “there’s no vision”.

  7. THE SIEGE • Based on real-life events • There was a farmhouse siege and a hold-up of a legal office in Brisbane. • Mike Willesee on A Current Affair was the compere who made the call. • He did ask the actual question Do you know who I am? and did get the response No. It often appears as a classic Oz television “blooper”. • Much of the phone interview dialogue is authentic, lifted from that show.

  8. MAJOR ISSUES • Questioning of some journalists’ professional ethics • Concern with image over substance and truth • Driving power of the ratings system makes spectacle out of tragedy or potential tragedy.

  9. AUSSIE SITCOMS • Australians are known for a larrikin sense of humour – major screen successes are Crocodile Dundee and The Castle – why no successful sitcoms ? • Successes (?) Hey,Dad Mother and Son Frontline Various Sketch Shows • The Dilemma : (In 90’s figures….) - new Aussie sitcom The Newlyweds cost $50,000 per episode to produce - Seinfeld episodes cost $5million each to make, but could be sold to Oz networks at $10 – 20,000 per episode. - as a network executive, which would you choose ? • Australia can’t afford the failures that lead to the successes against which we must compete for ratings. • Successful sitcoms to be successful must reflect our own society. (As they do for Britain and the U.S.)

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