Know Your Television Formats

Movies and TV · 10 questions

A quiz on television production formats, documentary and scripted forms, and screenwriting development terms.

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1. What chiefly distinguishes a TV format from a single episode script?

   1. Repeatable program structure
   2. Single-episode plot
   3. One-broadcast presentation
   4. One-time shooting plan
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   A) Repeatable program structure

2. Which information most directly belongs in a format guide?

   1. Cast members' personal contracts
   2. Channel annual budget
   3. Studio building plan
   4. Episode structure
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   D) Episode structure

3. Which narrative element chiefly distinguishes a docudrama from a documentary?

   1. Dramatized reenactments of events
   2. Archival records of events
   3. On-camera accounts from witnesses
   4. Studio commentary from experts
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   A) Dramatized reenactments of events

4. Which narrative arrangement is common in anthology series?

   1. A continuous competition ranking
   2. Independent stories
   3. One investigation spanning every episode
   4. A single plot
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   B) Independent stories

5. What is the defining narrative approach of a mockumentary?

   1. Competition presented live
   2. Drama narrated through archival footage
   3. Documentary narrative staged on a set
   4. Fiction presented in documentary style
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   D) Fiction presented in documentary style

6. In script development, what does a treatment usually provide?

   1. A production-cost breakdown
   2. A prose summary of the story
   3. A casting list
   4. A shooting-day schedule
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   B) A prose summary of the story

7. In documentary production, what does 'talking head' refer to?

   1. Archival text read as voice-over
   2. A person speaking on camera
   3. The mixing of dialogue audio
   4. A microphone mounted on a camera
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   B) A person speaking on camera

8. What is the primary purpose of a TV series pilot?

   1. Recapping the previous season
   2. Transferring the series rights
   3. Introducing the series premise
   4. Revealing the season finale
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   C) Introducing the series premise

9. Where does a TV episode's 'cold open' usually appear?

   1. After the episode's final scene
   2. After the closing credits
   3. Before the opening credits
   4. After the first ad break
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   C) Before the opening credits

10. When adapting a game-show format abroad, which choice helps preserve the format?

    1. Keeping the original host
    2. Keeping the original broadcast language
    3. Keeping the core game rules
    4. Keeping the original studio set
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    C) Keeping the core game rules