As Live Production: Entertainment programme

Jungle Run

1999-2006

Jungle Run focuses on three contestants who work as a team to collect sacred monkey statues throughout a series of games set within the jungle. The more statues the team collects, the more time they have to play the end game in the temple of the monkey king - and the more chance they have of being able to complete the challenges within the temple and successfully collect the ultimate prize of the golden monkey.

This premise is explained by the host - who introduces himself as the contestants 'jungle guide' - as he welcomes the audience. This cuts to the titles which shows a montage of all the challenges the contestants could face (see fig. 1), signalling to the audience what they can expect to see from the show and portraying the overall tone of a fast-paced action show - also evident through the rock music used.

Fig. 1 YouTube: Jungle Run - CITV (2002) (2017)

The players introduce themselves through voiceover as graphics show photos of them and statistics. They are then guided through the jungle by the presenter - as are the audience, set up by his piece to camera when he further explains the quest the contestants are undertaking and what the stakes are. This is a typical trope of game shows - the host is the central, main focus, there to help the team and guide them to victory (Boddy, 2008:163).

 Fig. 2 YouTube: Jungle Run - CITV (2002) (2017)

Fig. 3 YouTube: Jungle Run - CITV (2002) (2017)

The host as the focus is highlighted through the use of a handheld camera to follow him as he explains the games to the team (see fig. 2 & 3). Just like the host in Trapped! this gives the audience somebody familiar to relate to, especially since he is the one of the most constant elements of the show.

However, many of the challenges are also similar between episodes. For example, there is typically a physical challenge which involves contestants climbing a wall near a lake, and jumping to reach baskets containing monkey statues - similar to the one shown in the title sequence.

Since this challenge involves so much action, the cameras aim to get as many shots as possible. Thus, many of the cameras move between being on air, changing their shots to fit the subject or the action they need to capture (Singleton-Turner, 2011:44).

 Fig. 4 YouTube: Jungle Run - CITV (2002) (2017)

Fig. 5 YouTube: Jungle Run - CITV (2002) (2017)

To capture most of the main gameplay, a crane is used because of the amount of movement required from the contestants over a wide area as they climb and jump to reach the baskets (see fig. 4 & 5). However, it appears that the crane is fixed, meaning that it is able to swing in a steady arc from left to right (Cury, 2013:250). Nonetheless, this coverage is varied by the crane moving in or out, in order to film close-ups of the contestants' shoes for example, highlighting the difficulty they're having in climbing (see fig. 6).

This shows that camera movement has to be necessary and steady so as not to distract or jar the audience, or this would break their suspension of disbelief and take them away from the action of the game (Owens & Millerson, 2009:189). Movement is able to keep the audience interested by adding kinetic energy in this way, and thus keeping up with the fast pace of the game (Holmes, 2008:80).

Fig. 6 YouTube: Jungle Run - CITV (2002) (2017)

It can be seen that this movement is necessary since, because the director has positioned the cameras in order to get as most coverage as possible, thus meeting the "physical requirements" to film the game, they have then focused on covering the psychological requirements, such as shown by this close-up, to help convey what the contestants' thoughts and feelings could be to the audience (Rooney & Belli, 2013:81).

Fig. 7 YouTube: Jungle Run - CITV (2002) (2017)

 Fig. 8 YouTube: Jungle Run - CITV (2002) (2017)

Fig. 9 YouTube: Jungle Run - CITV (2002) (2017)

Varied coverage helps not only to cover all the action, but also to keep the game interesting for the audience, since within game shows, challenges are "played out within particular limits of time and space" (Holmes, 2008:63). Due to this time restriction many of the cuts or camera moves are fast to keep up with the movement of the contestants as they run and jump, therefore, different cameras cover different parts of the cliff (coverage of start of cliff shown by fig. 7, end of cliff shown by fig. 8 & 9).

Fig. 10 YouTube: Jungle Run - CITV (2002) (2017)

 Fig. 11 YouTube: Jungle Run - CITV (2002) (2017)

Fig. 12 YouTube: Jungle Run - CITV (2002) (2017)

In order to also cover the action, wide shots are used, such as a locked-off wide which shows the monkeys, the contestants as they enter, and the baskets (see fig. 10). These wide shots act like "safety shots" (Singleton-Turner, 2011:244) since they are able to inform the audience of many elements within the frame (StudioBinder, 2019) - (also see fig. 11 & 12).

Fig. 13 YouTube: Jungle Run - CITV (2002) (2017)

Fig. 14 YouTube: Jungle Run - CITV (2002) (2017)

To keep the challenge grounded so as not to confuse the audience, the presenter can be heard commentating on the action, and can help motivate the cuts when he talks about a particular contestant, as well as keep the contestants updated on the time they have left. Nonetheless, the focus on him is maintained through shots of him watching (see fig. 13), as well as pieces to camera which address the audience, helping to hold their attention and make them feel involved (see fig. 14).

Overall, the main focus of the directing style of Jungle Run is to get enough coverage of the action of the game, not only so the audience don't miss anything, but also to ensure that they remain interested and that the fast cuts to keep up a pace are warranted. These cuts are not jarring or confusing for viewers due to the necessary movement of the crane, as well as the wide shots. By filming coverage in this way the director follows the tone of the show as set out by the title sequence, delivering a fast-paced action show.

Influence on my sitcom

As the contestant's 'jungle guide' the host of Jungle Run plays a fictional character with a personality to fit his role. For example, he needs to be able to help and encourage the contestants, thus he is enthusiastic, but also somewhat stern since he has to ensure the contestants are in the right place at the right time, and not running over time with the games.

This influenced my sitcom since I also created fictional characters, and they needed to have their own personalities in order to be believable and fit their environment, as the host of Jungle Run does.

Nonetheless, sitcoms often work to archetypes, such as "the anchor" - who is intelligent, yet sarcastic (Jackie) - and "the dreamer" - who is defined by their dream (Adelaide) (Rohrbacher, 2015). The presenter of Jungle Run would also be classed as "the anchor" due to how he helps the group of contestants, and acts as their centre (Rohrbacher, 2015).

Yet, because his role is quite limited, the host of Jungle Run does not need to have a complex personality - the audience don't need to know his strengths or weaknesses apart from that he is an expert about the jungle, or his emotions, except that he doesn't like the monkeys who act as the show's antagonists (Schlif, 2015). The games and contestants are what drive the story instead.

However, in fiction, the characters are at the core of the story, and are needed to make it interesting and relatable for the audience (Chapman, s.d). Therefore, they need to be defined by both strengths and weaknesses, and thus be complex, as well as have a range of emotions, an attitude which affects how they react to situations, values, and unique traits and habits (Schlif, 2015).

To do this with both Jackie and Adelaide I found it was first useful to have a foundation of who they are by knowing their backstory, and some basic personality traits, such as Adelaide's idealistic world view, and Jackie's sarcasm. From this, I had something to work with when drafting which would help me see how they reacted to certain situations, however, backstory was not the only thing which shaped their personalities. Drafting several versions of the script helped me to define their values, attitude and emotions towards the current situation they were in, which was important when creating conflict not only between them because they are opposite, but also within them (Schlif, 2015).

Thus, these types of conflict could then be combined depending on the character and what was occurring within the plot to create more complex motivations - for example, when Jackie is mad at Adelaide about stealing the electricity, she is not only mad because did something illegal, which goes against Jackie's values, but because Jackie is embarrassed that her colleagues at the police station could find out, since part of her personality is her dedication to her job.

Influence on our game show

Jungle Run inspired our game show, Mission Control, since it is a similar type of children's game show, set in a fictional world, with the host as a character who guides the contestants. Thus, just like the host of Jungle Run is the 'jungle guide', our host was known as the Commander of the spaceship the show was set on to further make the fictional world believable. Our host also therefore acted as the expert, thus guiding the audience and contestants through the show and games.

Fig. 15 YouTube: Jungle Run - CITV (2002) (2017)

We were also inspired by Jungle Run to give the audience stats about our contestants (see fig. 15), encouraging them to get to know, and therefore relate to, the contestants. However, we decided to do this on set, rather than in a VT since we did not get to meet the contestants until the day of the show.

Overall, Jungle Run helped my directing in that it allowed me to see how essential getting coverage of the whole area where the game will take place is, because the action can be unpredictable and the contestants could move anywhere within that space.

Therefore, I ensured that the cameras were getting as much coverage as possible, and therefore as many shots as they could. For example, during game 4, we had one camera filming close-ups of both the screens, depending on which one was the focus in that moment, often determined by what the presenter was speaking about. Thus, this was planned with the camera operators in advance, but during the show I found it helped if I told the cameras when to move and what to focus on if they could be getting different shots in this way, as this then reduced the risk of cameras moving on air.

List of Illustrations

Figure 1 to 15.  Jungle Run - CITV (2002) (2017) [YouTube webpage] At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWxuNI6jUuQ&index=3&list=PLc9QYgv46S0NwHCLeCksn5n1BsdqP2oDU&t=134s (Accessed on 16 March 2019).

References

Boddy, W. (2008) ‘The Quiz Show’ In: Creeber, G. (ed.) The Television Genre Book. (2^nd ed.) Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

Chapman, H. (s.d) 'Creating Characters in Novels' In: Novel Writing Help. [online] At: https://www.novel-writing-help.com/creating-characters.html (Accessed on 16 March 2019).

Cury, I (2013) 'Directing and Producing for Television: A Format Approach' (4th ed.) Oxon: Focal Press.

Holmes, S. (2008) The Quiz Show. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Owens, J. & Millerson, G. (2009) Television Production. (15^thed.) Oxon: Focal Press.

Rohrbacher, G. (2015) '10 Types of Comedy Archetypes' In: backstage. [online] At: https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/types-comedy-archetypes-9505/ (Accessed on 16 March 2019).

Rooney, B. & Belli, M. (2013) Directors Tell the Story: Master the Craft of Television and Film Directing. Oxon: Focal Press.

Schlif, M. (2015) 'Character Creation: Personality Core' In: The Script Lab. [online] At: https://thescriptlab.com/features/screenwriting-101/3385-character-creation-personality-core/  (Accessed on 16 March 2019).

Singleton-Turner, R. (2011) Cue & Cut: A Practical Approach to Working in Multi-Camera Studios. Manchester University Press: Manchester.

Studio Binder (2019) The Wide Shot: Creative Examples of Camera Movements & Angles. At: https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/wide-shot-camera-angles-movements-examples/ (Accessed on 24 March 2019).