Single: A Review

A couple of weeks ago, I came across a press release in the newspaper announcing a new reality based tv show about to launch in Manila. Due to curiosity, I decided to catch the premiere episode.

Broadcast over ABC-5, Single's concept is to follow the single guy who will be chosen out of their three candidates, on his dating adventures. The show's twist, according to the press release, is its interactivity, wherein the guys will be given feedback through text messages about what he should or should not do. In fact, the guy will be chosen based on the amount of text votes that he initially gets.

So who are the guys? Joel Trinidad is a theater actor, Marvel Julian is an assistant director, and Lee Espino is a model. Last night's 30-minute show followed them around in their natural environment, presumably to introduce the characters to the viewing public. All of them, according to the show, are willing to be documented for the next few weeks, and will be given their shot at "stardom."

My take on the first episode? Humdrum. While it did do its job of introducing the guys, it didn't do a good job at introducing the show itself. In my opinion, they weren't able to layout the rules that will set the tone for the next few episodes. Perhaps they'd do so when the single guy has been chosen, but it would have been better to establish it in the premiere. An unobstrusive host/voiceover who can guide us will help as well.

The guys, and the peripheral characters as well, were a bit too conscious of the camera as well. It felt like a lot of the things said and done were put on. I could imagine why, though, because if you follow a person around with no real tasks or anything, they would act the same way as the guys did last night. But still, whoever will be chosen should not mind the camera, and just act naturally. Personally, I think the only time that they should talk directly TO the camera is when they have an interview/confessional type thing going on. Otherwise, just do whatever you need to do.

The show is obviously quite low-budgeted, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. However, having a low budget doesn't excuse them from bad production values. Frankly, they need to train their cameramen more, make better edit cuts, and improve their audio system as well. Why? Let me count the ways.

Video. Each guy, apparently, only has one cameramen assigned to him. Thus, whenever the shot shifts from him to the person he's talking to, the cameraman has to make quick pans. This could be accomplished well if the cameramen are gifted. However, the quick pans result in dizzying on-air break shots that are blurred, defocused, and have awkward shot compositions. (Side note: When I was in school, it was impressed to us that on-air break shots are a no-no and would merit in a failing mark for that production. Watching the show last night made me realize exactly why.) There were too many shots of people whose heads had been cut off, or focused on weird body parts that were obviously not deliberate. In fact, the show has the feel of an amateur holding a videocam, following his friend around, trying to create a home movie, not a made for TV broadcast.

Audio. The audio quality, for the most part, is acceptable. However, there were some auditory distractions that took away some points. First, when Lee was talking on the cellphone, you could hear the telltale hum of the signal interference, which was quite loud. Second, when they were at a cafe outside, the background noise just muffled the audio of the guy. Props to them, though, for giving subtitles for the readers to understand what he's saying. Clearer audio, however, would be better. Third, some interviews were held at a place that was just bad for the audio, resulting in a cavernous Batcave-like echo. A better choice of interview location would be appreciated. Fourth, you could actually hear the microphone being fiddled with, whether deliberately or not.

On the plus side, though, I love their theme song, performed by this band called Stonefree. And, I got to see my old college when Marvel was onscreen. Eye-candy factor? 3.25 out of 5. However, Single still needs a lot of improvement, both conceptually and technically. I hope we see those improvements soon.

Single is broadcast over ABC-5 every Thursday, at 9:30 pm.

I always knew it was only a matter of time before Manila inaugurates a reality tv show. On May 23, Single will be launched on ABC 5, a show that will purportedly chronicle one guy's adventures on dating here in Manila. I imagine that it will be something like the concept of The Bachelor. The production company is lucky that it hasn't been shown in Manila, lest the local public immediately recognize their show as a copycat. Will the show be a hit? Honestly, I might tune in just to see how they execute the series. I'll let you know if I get hooked.