PRE-PRODUCTION: Research - Baking/Cooking Entertainment Shows

Another genre of television I am interested in looking at for the Professional Pre-Production unit is Entertainment, in particular Cooking/Baking shows. Going with what I am interested in when it comes to watching television, I wanted to explore this genre as it is something I have been unable to venture into throughout my first two years at UCA, due to safety restrictions. However, as this project will be hypothetical and can be on a large scale, I am able to look at many other genres and be completely unrestricted in my choice. 

The Great British Bake Off & Masterchef

Two shows in this genre stand out to me in particular as they are favourites of mine, ‘The Great British Bake Off’ and ‘Masterchef’. I have watched both religiously and find them very entertaining. The material is very easy to watch and lighthearted which makes for great entertainment. They are both competition based shows which means that the audience get to see members of the public compete against each other in several gruelling and stressful rounds making for great entertainment which is often very gripping and tense to watch. By the end of the series, we see a contestant crowned the winner which is the final outcome. This is a crucial element to the these shows as it allows the audience to root for their favourite and continue watching to find out the result. 

The Great British Bake Off

Baking in particular is an interest of mine and so I find the subject matter of 'Bake Off' engaging as I feel as if I may learn something. The show itself is generally very easy watching which makes for comfortable family viewing.

Masterchef

However, the content alone is not the only draw for me. I think that ‘Bake Off’ in particular have established the show in recent seasons with a distinct style and appearance which is unique to them. For example the titles, theme and rounds all add to the quirk of the show giving it a unique selling point which appears to appeal to the masses. I recently found this to be particularly evident as the show has just been re-launched on Channel 4 as opposed to BBC 1. However, the company have retained all of their recognisable themes and quirks to appeal to its audience. As soon as I see the titles and hear the theme, I know exactly what to expect from the show and am very familiar with the format and structure. I also think that the way shows like this are broken up into segments and rounds helps to keep the interest of the viewer. Rather than showing a single round where the contestants are required to make a baked good or savoury dish, this is edited to capture the most entertaining moments and make time for more content. 'Masterchef' follow a similar structure in that each episode  is generally broken up into 3 sections, 2 of which they'll be in the studios competing directly against the other contestants and the other section will be in a professional environment where often they have to work in pairs or small teams. 

Both shows share many similarities including structure, contestants and the use of judges. The judges are generally experts which offer advice to the contestants and judge their performance throughout, deciding who goes through to each round and who ultimately wins. I think that this judging format is much better than public vote as used on other entertainment shows, as the result is always based on performance rather than popularity. 

I think that choosing an Entertainment show, particularly of a cooking/baking genre could be really interesting for this unit as it will be so different to previous units.
However, it should share similarities with the Studio Production unit as I will need to ensure that if I include rounds, they all must be entertaining and sustain the interest of the audience throughout. The show would also need to be somewhat different to these shows as they already exist and there is no gap in the market for something that is too similar.