Fly on the wall
Fly on the wall is a style of documentary-making used in film and television production. The name derived from the idea that events are seen candidly, as a fly on a wall might see them. In the purest form of fly-on-the-wall documentary-making, the camera crew works as unobtrusively as possible; however, it is also common for participants to be interviewed, often by an off-camera voice.[1]
Decades before structured reality shows became popular, the BBC had broadcast fly-on-the-wall film Royal Family (a 1969 documentary produced in association with ITV),[2][3][4] while 1974's The Family, is said to be the earliest example of a reality TV docusoap on the BBC.[5][6][7][8] In the late 1990s, Chris Terrill's docusoap series The Cruise[9][10][11] made a star of singer[12] and TV personality Jane McDonald,[13][14][15] while Welsh cleaner Maureen Rees[16] became popular after her appearances on BBC One's[17] Driving School.[18]
Other British examples include Dynamo: Magician Impossible and Channel 4's Educating... series, while in the United States popular examples include American Factory, Cops, Deadliest Catch, Big Brother and Weiner, a film about a political sex scandal which developed during a mayoral election in New York.[19]
The format has also been spoofed, notably in 2001 BBC comedy The Office, based at a paper merchant in Slough.[20]
See also
References
- ^ "BFI Screenonline: 'Fly on the Wall' TV".
- ^ "'Royal Family': the fly-on-the-wall documentary the Palace doesn't want you to see". HistoryExtra.
- ^ "Royal family documentary 'banned' by the Queen resurfaces online 50 years later". Stuff. January 29, 2021.
- ^ Shaw, Neil (January 29, 2021). "Banned Royal family documentary from 1969 resurfaces on Youtube".
- ^ "BBC - History of the BBC, April 1974 - The Family - the first 'fly-on-the-wall' documentary". BBC.
- ^ "The Family first episode". bbc.com.
- ^ Miller, Laura (August 18, 2008). "The family says goodbye".
- ^ "The Wilkinses of Reading: Where Are They Now?". The Independent. October 23, 2011.
- ^ "The Cruise" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "BBC One - The Cruise, Let the Dream Begin". BBC.
- ^ "BBC One - The Cruise". BBC.
- ^ "Jane McDonald | Biography & History". AllMusic.
- ^ "Jane McDonald | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
- ^ "New series of Cruising with Jane McDonald to start this Friday | GoCruise & Travel Franchise". www.joingocruiseandtravel.co.uk.
- ^ "Biography".
- ^ Owens, David (December 23, 2018). "In search of Mo from Driving School". WalesOnline.
- ^ "Driving School". bbc.com.
- ^ "MAUREEN REES | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company".
- ^ "Weiner – how a film about a political sex scandal suddenly got more intimate | Weiner | The Guardian".
- ^ "BFI Screenonline: 'Fly on the Wall' TV". www.screenonline.org.uk.
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