Fly on the Wall, Structured Reality, Fiction Production

Fly On The Wall Documentaries

‘Fly on the wall’ is a term used in relation to a documentary which is filmed as realistically and truthfully as possible, as a fly on the wall might view it.  This style of documentary requires little involvement from the producers and should be mainly/ purely observational so that the content is natural and unprovoked.

Structured Reality TV

A TV programme which features real people (like a normal reality show) however they are put in specific situations by the producers for entertainment purposes. Although the shows aren’t scripted, usually the ‘actors’ are given guidelines or topics of conversation to stick to.
'Keeping Up With the Kardashians' is and example of a structured reality show.

Fiction Production

Any production in which all the scenes are set up and the performances by the actors are scripted. No aspect of a fiction production aims to capture a ‘real life’ situation and they are mainly made for entertainment purposes.
Examples of fiction production are soaps such as Eastenders