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Comment by wccrawford | Hacker News Reader

I went to a live taping for a popular talk show host and was surprised to see how much they prodded the audience into cheering at the correct times for the hosts's jokes. I always knew that some of it was fake, but they really, really worked hard to make sure the audience applauded at the right time and for the correct length of time.

It left a sour taste in my mouth because I genuinely think the audience would have cheered for most or all of it anyhow, but knowing how it was forced really ruined it for me.

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That's interesting. I went to Late Night with Stephen Colbert the other month, expecting there to be some kind of red "applause" sign to coordinate it -- but it was 100% organic, which I found fascinating.

There's a warm-up act to rev up the audience and get them high-energy and excited! But all this is just to put them in a state of mind: once the cameras are rolling, it was all real.

What show did you go to and how did they "prod"?

My experience at Colbert was a mixed bag. They got all the guests in the lobby and one of the workers told us that our energy was very important, Colbert really feeds off of it, that it's important for the show. So they told us of the importance. But during the show there wasn't much prodding I guess. I forgot if they had an opener comedian.

What was a bit offputting was how quiet Colbert was when the camera was not running and how much more energetic he was when it was. I know they are playing it up for the camera, but it does make it feel ungenuine.

And add to that the format of the talk show. Each of the guests sorta comes up with a routine, planned by their publicists. If all goes well, they get their message across while being spontaneous. A hard thing to do, but also something that feels authentic. It's not just two buddies hanging out on TV.

You also realize that the TV audience is by far the most important part of the filming process. You're just a setpiece.

I'd almost say don't go to a talk show taping if you like them.

> two buddies hanging out on TV.

I had to think of Dick Cavett when I read that. They don't make 'em quite like that anymore.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dick+cavett+int...

Dick's interview with Groucho Marx shortly before the latter's death is legendary

> It's not just two buddies hanging out on TV.

I think this may depends a lot on the guest - search youtube for clips of Norm Macdonald on Conan. Then again, maybe Norm is just that good at faking it?

I think Conan, with his current show, has more freedom to let his guest go off script which helps with the spontaneity.

Fallon and Colbert are pretty controlled probably due to their mainstream audience - and advertisers.

It’s interesting to contrast Bill Burr’s appearance on all 3 shows.

Burr is most at home on Conan and worst on Colbert - who ran the interview like an interrogation; lost a lot of respect for Colbert after that (if you are going to be a wet blanket, might as well not book him).

On Fallon ... it’s hilarious to see Fallon fumble and panic as he tries to steer him towards the script then giving up half way.

The Nathan For You episode, "The Ancecdote", along with his subsequent appearances on Kimmel and Seth Myers, are required viewing on this subject.

The audience of some of those shows whoop and howl in a crazy way, totally disproportionate to how funny the jokes are even if you're really into the show! I'm sure nobody sits at home roaring with laughter at every line but for some reason they do it in the audience.

Crowds feed of one another, especially when it comes to outward reactions. At home, you're usually either alone or with a small group at most, which tends to limit how enthusiastic people get.

I bet it's different when you're there. When you're at a fun event, the crowd has been warmed up, and everybody laughs, it's much easier to laugh then when you're home alone.

I only watch him on Youtube, but Colbert's audience comes across as quite genuine. Sometimes he doesn't get quite the reaction he was expecting and reacts to that. And he's genuinely funny, so the audience doesn't need much prodding.

I find it interesting to hear that he's quiet when the cameras are off. Trevor Noah also puts some "between the scenes" bits on Youtube where he banters with the audience. Not full of scripted jokes like the regular bits, but frequently funny, and he seems quite genuine.

> What was a bit offputting was how quiet Colbert was when the camera was not running and how much more energetic he was when it was. I know they are playing it up for the camera, but it does make it feel ungenuine.

If Colbert was as energetic off-camera as he is on-camera, I'd expect him to get tired really fast.

"how quiet Colbert was when the camera was not running"

I have some experience campaigning. I can relate.

Being in public is exhausting. A real marathon.

Politicians, performers, athletes are super human. Talent, smarts, drive, charisma aren't even close to enough. You also need strength, endurance, cast iron stomach, amazing immune system, and a mental resilience to keep pushing forward.

I'd totally shut down the moment I went "off stage". Exhaustion. Rehearsing the next stump speech. Replaying the performance in my head. Remembering a zillion things that need doing.

Writing about this... It occurs to me that running for office is what transformed me from extrovert to introvert.

>What was a bit offputting was how quiet Colbert was when the camera was not running and how much more energetic he was when it was.

That's normal for introverted performers. There's a whole lot of them, from George Harrison, Kurt Cobain, David Bowie, Charlie Chaplin and more, who have been known to be quiet when offstage, and turned on when performing.

Craig Ferguson show did have applause coaching, a sign, etc when I lived down in LA and went to a taping.

Indeed, Everywhere, A fair portion of apparently spontaneous reactions in the media are fake.

I suspect the main significant thing in looking at Russia is that you have an important in-person performance rather than performance broadcast on a screen. In Russia, in-person performance is important while TV and later media are what matter in the West.

On a screen, a lot is by definition fake since real people and situations look strange broadcast on a screen with no tweaks/improvements.

You can safely assume that in show business they put a lot of effort into making sure they get the maximum effect without risk. Which means audiences get selected and pumped up, actors have plastic surgery and take steroids to look better, "reality" shows are highly scripted, "candid" paparazzi shots are planned. There is way too much money involved to allow for randomness or things to go wrong.

> I genuinely think the audience would have cheered for most or all of it anyhow

How much of that is because the general audience is conditioned over time to adapt to that particular kind humour?

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