
Wild Applause, Secretly Choreographed (2013) - baxtr
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/18/arts/dance/designated-cheering-spectators-thrive-at-the-bolshoi-theater.html
======
wccrawford
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.

~~~
crazygringo
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"?

~~~
pradn
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.

~~~
chrisseaton
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.

~~~
ricree
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.

------
ryandrake
> Those cries of “Bravo!” that ring out after a spectacular pas de deux? It
> may be that the audience is genuinely electrified. Or it may be the sound of
> a very elegant theatrical protection racket.

I’m more and more convinced every day that the ability to detect fake signals
of quality is becoming an essential life skill that should be taught in school
or something. From fake reviews on Amazon and Yelp to PR masquerading as news
to payola on the radio, to web site SEO / search rank manipulation, phony
followers on Twitter accounts, you can’t seem to rely on anything as an
impartial measure of quality. There’s no way to tell what’s any good anymore
without observing yourself. It’s all fake!

~~~
kylek
We used to call this "critical thinking"

~~~
will_brown
No amount of “critical thinking” expose some of the tactics corporations
employ to market products, especially in the internet era of fake positive
reviews, fake negative reviews and just simply fake (counterfeit products).

For example, in the real world I did some independent marketing jobs in
undergrad and while some marketing is obvious (ex. red bull team giving free
red bull or handing free packs of gum out on the beach)...ever see a good
looking couple driving a new car (yeah in my day driver was paid $25/hour to
drive around a model in the passenger seat who got $50/hour. And it’s dozens
in every major city), ever have someone at a bar casually engage you in
conversation and buy you a drink/beer (yeah good chance that was paid
marketing, and we aren’t talking bud light girls).

~~~
nkrisc
Those methods also sound wildly inefficient and ineffective. I think the
"critical thinking" part is knowing that a new car is not going to make you
young and have an attractive partner.

~~~
will_brown
Well if you read a number of case studies on google/Facebook advertising I
think it’s also easy to conclude those methods are not very effective either.

And don’t think for a minute part of the car set up is not placing a
significantly more attractive female with a less attractive male. And if
people are really looking at that set up and thinking oh if I buy that car
I’ll be young too (which I never mentioned anything about young), they may
need more than critical thinking skills. Anyway it’s the same concept as
social media influencers...people actually do buy the things other people buy
that they envy.

As to the bar thing...it’s pretty effective, 1. Go to where people are
drinking already, 2. Chat them up in a social environment, 3. Buy them the
drink/beer they wouldn’t have ever otherwise tried...it leaves an overall good
experience in the mind of the consumers they relate to the drink...and trust
me it works.

------
edw519
Reminds me of perhaps the world's sleeziest use of claqueurs: Tony Robbins
conferences. At some cheap local weekend event, when Tony presents his coming
attraction, the more expensive week long conference, the crowd goes wild.
People jumping up and down and cheering. Your fellow attendees shouting to
you, "Wow! I HAVE to go to that!"

Then you sign up and find out 2 weeks later that your fellow attendees at the
loss-leader conference are your trainers at the big gig.

~~~
fossuser
My roommate was watching some documentary about him and I couldn't watch it -
everything about him screamed scam and conman, I found him extremely
unlikable. The few clips I saw were him giving someone terrible advice and
showing off how rich he was.

------
RcouF1uZ4gsC
At least it looks like the claquers are paid.

The NFL one the other hand doesn't generally pay the people who it signs up to
be "enthusiastic" about the half-time performance.

[http://www.espn.com/espnmag/story?id=3883771](http://www.espn.com/espnmag/story?id=3883771)

Sometimes the half-time show can be a dud, but it looks good on TV due to them
focusing on the "enthusiastic" volunteers.

[https://www.businessinsider.com/crowd-quiet-justin-
timberlak...](https://www.businessinsider.com/crowd-quiet-justin-timberlake-
super-bowl-halftime-show-video-2018-2)

------
braindongle
This is the most entertaining (false) stereotype that I've seen in some time.
Those artists with their big egos and weak constitutions! Makes me nostalgic.

“Artists have very fine and delicate natures, they have a very delicate
nervous system, and, unfortunately, all of them have a strongly inflated self-
image,”

------
NorthOf33rd
David Levine's Some of the People, All of the Time in the most recent issue of
N+1 Magazine is a fantastic short story that revolves around claqueurs.

[https://nplusonemag.com/issue-32/fiction-drama/some-of-
the-p...](https://nplusonemag.com/issue-32/fiction-drama/some-of-the-people-
all-of-the-time/)

------
scarface74
I went to a Wheel of Fortune taping. Steve Harvey did his own warmup and when
people didn’t laugh, he coached people to laugh and said most of the time you
have to pay $x to see his stand up and we were getting in for free.

------
stevecalifornia
Is there any documentation on what feels like paid applause at Apple product
reveals? It always feels like there are a ton of employees in the front rows
who are told to gasp and cheer for really benign feature demos.

~~~
microtherion
The last time I had a seat in the actual venue in a product reveal was during
the Steve Jobs era, and applause was definitely not coached — Steve was simply
a gifted presenter.

These days, getting an invitation to a product reveal is a rare treat for
employees (because there aren't that many seats), so I'm pretty sure the
enthusiasm is genuine. I generally watch these reveals in satellite offices
(where there are no cameras or audience for whose benefit one would have to
fake enthusiasm), and there is still applause.

