Once more with feeling-Crash course in reality television

I had always been curious about reality television.  When I had the opportunity to have It’s Me or the Dog tape an episode at PAWS Atlanta I jumped at the chance.  Prior to their taping I had several conversations with the producers and explained why the shelter would be a good candidate for the show.  The producers had been kicking around the possibility of doing an episode of It’s Me or the Dog that was centered on an animal shelter, instead of a family having issues with a couple of dogs. 

Victoria Stilwell  is the host of It’s Me or the Dog and she is all about positive reinforcement.  Her methods are more about teaching the owners how to do the correct things, in addition to, showing the dog the right way to behave.    Her show is very enjoyable for those that don’t have dogs and a must watch if you like or have dogs.

Why would an organization choose to do this?

There is a huge amount of risk involved with having a reality show film you or your place of work.  You or the organization may come off looking the exact opposite of how you intended it to be or how you are. 

I spoke with some public relations friends of mine and told them about what we were about to do.  Most of them said to have anybody from the staff that would be on camera attend a workshop on how to be camera ready.  I did think about doing this, but in the end opted for having all of the staff go on camera as they are and let the editors at Animal Planet sort it out, for better or worse. 

It certainly is a leap of faith.  For me and my knowledge of It’s Me or the Dog, I knew that they were there to help the organization.  Chaos and conflict were obviously there, otherwise I wouldn’t have submitted the organization to the producers.  In the end it was a great decision for PAWS Atlanta and the animals that wait there for adoption. 

The Circus comes to town

When they were filming the show I referred to it as The Circus.  One day it was an animal shelter and the next, with seemingly minimal effort there was a camper, two portable storage units and the cars of 15-20 crew members.  All of the logos for any products had black tape placed over them, windows with unfavorable sunlight were blocked out and some phones were turned off.

The crews’ use of time was remarkable.  They started as soon as I could arrive, which was usually around 6:30 AM and put in an average of 12 hour days with some of them being longer. 

They knew exactly what they were filming down to the ten minute increment.  After a couple days of filming a couple of the production crew even adopted a dog or two. 

The Heel

If the production of the episode were a wrestling match I would be the heel.  For those of you not into wrestling, the heel is the villain, agitator or person that generally brings attention to an ugly subject.   In other words, I’m the one on camera saying how much we need Victoria’s help and how screwed we are if we don’t receive it. 

I would give myself the title of Minor Heel or Whistleblower.  My actions weren’t extravagant enough to really be a heel, but I was the agitator…I think.   

It’s odd talking about something that I was a large part of, yet I have no idea how the final product looks.    The producers isolated us for solo interviews at various points during the entire time.  I look forward to seeing the final edit, even if they edited me out of the production. 

They asked us just to talk when there were filming us, answering the questions as the producer asked them from behind the camera.  We gradually learned to give concise answers instead of speaking in stream of consciousness.  More than a couple times I was asked to deliver the same emotion and outcome, but in fewer words. 

The Curve Ball

As with any reality show there is a curve ball, something unsuspected, usually good and very surprising.  There was a large curve ball during this episode that I’ll detail after it airs.  For a sneak peak you can dig this link or check these photos. 

The Episode

It’s featured in Season 2 of the American production of It’s Me or the Dog and is called The Un Adoptables.

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