# What's the point of ,,reaction clips" in shows? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 25, 2016, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-reaction-clips-in-shows/755651 "2016-05-25T12:46:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JakeRS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3ab097/32.png) [@JakeRS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JakeRS)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2016, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-reaction-clips-in-shows/755651/1 "2016-05-25T12:46:44Z")
I absolutely can’t stand those fake reaction clip things that pop up every few seconds in tv shows, for example yesterday I was looking at some show where a guy was entering a garage of some sort, then he magically appears in a different room where he reacts/says ,I hope I don’t find (something) in that garage", then the camera goes back to him entering the garage and he sees something and is surprised and then the camera goes back to the ,reaction room" scene, where he acts surprised again…why?! Do they think that people don’t understand that those reaction clips were filmed after all the things they are reacting to? Not only that, but they put those reaction clips literally every minute or two, in almost all shows nowadays, for example when you have people that bargain about a price, you will have reaction clips of what they ,expect" will happen, even though that reaction clip was filmed way after the bargaining was finished, I just can’t understand why people would do that… ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2016, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-reaction-clips-in-shows/755651/2 "2016-05-25T13:07:36Z")
It’s a way of adding narrative structure. Real life tends to meander and take a lot of dead ends, which isn’t a lot of fun to watch and doesn’t fit in well to a 30 minute or 1 hour tv show format. Furthermore, a lot of important action may happen off camera, or in ways that don’t really show the full story- particularly when its important to know what’s going on in someone’s head. Without adding this kind of structure, a lot of reality TV would be people just kind of wandering around. With enough time and access, skilled documentary film makers can get around this, primarily by taking an enormous amount of footage, getting to know their subjects inside out, and very skilled editing. But TV shows don’t have those kinds of resources, so they have to use the documentary equivalent of a voice over to explain what is going on and give the story some shape. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2016, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-reaction-clips-in-shows/755651/3 "2016-05-25T16:31:56Z")
Thread relocated from IMHO to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2016, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-reaction-clips-in-shows/755651/4 "2016-05-25T17:14:45Z")
What difference does it make when the shots were filmed? One-camera shows (i.e., all dramas and some sit-coms) are filmed entirely out of sequence anyway. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2016, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-reaction-clips-in-shows/755651/5 "2016-05-25T19:45:44Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > It’s a way of adding narrative structure. That is the way I’ve always seen it. Kind of like the way DVD audio commentaries give you the whys and hows of the scenes you are seeing. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2016, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-reaction-clips-in-shows/755651/6 "2016-05-25T20:29:52Z")
> [@JakeRS](#): > > I absolutely can’t stand those fake reaction clip things that pop up every few seconds in tv shows, for example yesterday I was looking at some show where a guy was entering a garage of some sort, then he magically appears in a different room where he reacts/says ,I hope I don’t find (something) in that garage", then the camera goes back to him entering the garage and he sees something and is surprised and then the camera goes back to the ,reaction room" scene, where he acts surprised again…why?! > > Do they think that people don’t understand that those reaction clips were filmed after all the things they are reacting to? Not only that, but they put those reaction clips literally every minute or two, in almost all shows nowadays, for example when you have people that bargain about a price, you will have reaction clips of what they ,expect" will happen, even though that reaction clip was filmed way after the bargaining was finished, I just can’t understand why people would do that… Are you talking about in reality shows or scripted TV? It’s done in reality shows for a bunch of reasons. It adds structure, lets them clarify / streamline the “story,” lets them “stretch” sequences for time, and lets them get more clear face time on screen for the stars. The fact that reacts are shot later and solo can also bring out the catty / bitchy side of the performers, and that stuff is reality show gold. As for reacts in scripted shows, they’re not THAT common, but they’re used to emulate the feel of a reality show and to provide some narration without using a voiceover narrator. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2016, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-reaction-clips-in-shows/755651/7 "2016-05-25T20:37:25Z")
> [@Cayuga](#): > > What difference does it make when the shots were filmed? One-camera shows (i.e., all dramas and some sit-coms) are filmed entirely out of sequence anyway. He’s talking about reality shows, not scripted shows. Note: Before anyone gets snarky, reality shows are improv, not scripted. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2016, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-reaction-clips-in-shows/755651/8 "2016-05-25T20:52:03Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Note: Before anyone gets snarky, reality shows are improv, not scripted. Then why do they need writers? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2016, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-point-of-reaction-clips-in-shows/755651/9 "2016-05-26T11:39:38Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Note: Before anyone gets snarky, reality shows are improv, not scripted. Why would people be snarky about Reality TV because it is/isn’t scripted? There are so many other reasons. It is a pox on my home (entertainment).