SBS - Editing Top Gear ?

[isszy]

Last night the Vauxhall VXR8 test episode of Top Gear wnet to air. If you have watched it on Youtube, you would know that at the end of the test, after Jeremy says 'I love it', they then go back to the studio, James asks if he loves it enough to buy it. Jeremy says no, because it looks 'Moronic' and then they do a wet track hot lap by the Stig with Jeremy being suitably disparraging to Aussies.

For some reason, after 'I love it', they had a really bad edit to the next story ! Some of the funniest parts of the episode were chopped.

Why would they do that ? Do SBS think that we can't handle criticism of Australia or a Holden ? Or did Holden lean on them not to show the negative comments?

This does not bode well for the local version of Top Gear, if all we are going to hear is the good stuff.

[redTT]

The edit it so they can cram more adds in the time slot or to ensure that it fits within that particular slot. There was a big furor between the actors union and the commercial networks a few weeks back when the commercial networks wanted to chop out the credits.

Ten cuts credits to lure viewers



CHANNEL Ten will become the first television network to abolish on-screen credits at the end of programs as it tries to stop viewers switching channels between shows, but the move is likely to be contested by industry guilds.
Ten



Ten has a new policy for all commissioned programs that production partners exclude crew details.

Last week, Ten introduced a new end-credit policy for all commissioned programs that requires all production partners to exclude crew details from shows' end credits and provide them instead for the network's website.

Ten management was unwilling to comment on the change, although a network spokesperson said the change was intended to "maximise accelerated audience flow, that is, getting viewers from one show to the next quickly".

But the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, which represents a number of TV industry sectors, said the display of on-screen credits was a convention that it would fight to retain.

"It's an issue but we haven't been consulted on it," said the MEAA's Mark Ryan.

Coincidentally, the MEAA is due to meet Ten today about its Enterprise Bargaining Agreement. Mr Ryan said the issue would be raised.

At present, crew members have little recourse. There is no obligation to screen crew credits, but in drama production agreements with producers the TV networks are obliged to display cast credits in a visual, legible fashion.

That requirement has recently been abused by all commercial networks with credits scrolls being squashed, minimised or accelerated to allow network advertising or teasers which interrupt closing theme tunes.

Some credits have even been spliced over the final scenes of films. A rare few directors and producers, including Steven Spielberg, maintain strict credit-screening clauses in any sales to broadcast TV that disallow manipulation of credits.

The MEAA has raised that issue with networks although Ten's move appears to have caught most unaware.

"The new end-credit policy excludes drama and children's programming, however, the policy for these genres is currently being reviewed by Ten," said a network spokesperson.

But the MEAA's Simon Whipp, who oversees acting agreements, said: "They can review all they like but the producers are obliged to deliver a credit."

A number of production companies have anticipated the move by rolling credits below a final scene or sketch, or incorporating a teaser for an upcoming program in the credits.

And not all producers are against the move.

"I am not personally worried about losing credits," said Cordell Jigsaw's Nick Murray, co-producer of Ten's factual hit Bondi Rescue.

"Bondi Rescue has a tease for next week running at the same time as the credits; we have found the audience likes these, as they look good, have great energy and are often funny or dramatic."

Ten isn't an innovator though. Last year, the BBC introduced new guidelines that meant producers couldn't place programming or other visuals within their credits because the public broadcaster didn't want them to distract from its own larger network advertising running simultaneously.

The British spy series, Spooks, has taken the initiative to the extreme with no crew credits. Each episode's final scene concludes with a negative image compressing into a flat white line against a black screen before a teaser for the next episode is shown, followed by the logos for the BBC and production company Kudos.

But that is a stylistic choice, rather than a programming one, meant to emphasise the anonymity of its spy characters and heighten the series' mystery.

"I think it is unfair to expect the audience to watch credits running on a blank screen," Mr Murray said.

"It is very frustrating waiting for the show scheduled to start after very long boring credits of the previous show.

"As you sit and wait for your own show to start, you can hear the audience switching off."

[mikmak]

I just switch on when they finished the story and yeah, thought it was pretty short. Even if they wanted to cram more ads in, you would think that they would edit out something less interesting than the only time you would see an Australian car on an international show.

If I was in my 50's I'd write them a stern letter!

[Bhodie]

The worst part for me was the change in the music. Normally a strong point with Topgear, this was just crap.

I think they need to pull out DJ Shadow's "Endtroducing" more often.

[isszy]

OK, watch this, and imagine that they stopped it at 5.09 instead of running the full 7.40.

The only thing they cut was the humorous criticism and Jeremy's bad Aussie accent...

+ YouTube Video

[vt6banger]

vid no longer avail.....

[Zigmeister]

I read somewhere once that the show is shortened for all overseas markets.