frankenbite

n. in the making of reality television shows, several recorded clips edited seamlessly together. Subjects: English, Entertainment, Television

Etymological Note: Frankenstein’s monster + sound bite. Franken is a classic portmanteau word that, no matter where it is attached, connotes something unholy patched together from many sources.

Comments? | Cites | Permalink | Tell a Friend

Citations: 2004 William Booth @ L.A. Washington Post (Aug. 10) “Reality Is Only An Illusion, Writers Say” p. C1: The reality stories have a beginning and middle and end, shaped by writers who are called not writers but “story editors” or “segment producers,” who use the expression “frankenbites” (after Dr. Frankenstein’s monster) to describe the art of switching around contestant sound bites recorded at different times and patched together to create what appears to be a seamless narrative. 2004 Kevin Arnovitz National Post (Can.) (Oct. 16) “Realityspeak: Reality television has developed a nomenclature all its own” p. SP5: Frankenbite…An edited reality show snippet, most often found in contestant testimonials, that splices together several disparate strands of an interview, or even multiple interviews, into a single clip. A frankenbite allows editors to manufacture “story” (see definition below) efficiently and dramatically by extracting the salient elements of a lengthy, nuanced interview or exchange into a seemingly blunt, revealing confession or argument. While the frankenbite’s origins certainly don’t reside in reality TV, this is a reality show editor’s most potent tool for manipulating viewer perception of a contestant. 2005 Richard Verrier Los Angeles Times (June 21) “Reality Show Writers Seek Representation”: Writers also splice together comments to create story lines and manufacture drama. In industry parlance, it’s an editing process known as “Frankenbite.”

Posted 30 Nov 05 | Permalink | Tell a Friend