Name: Anita

Date: December 13^th, 2011

Teacher: Ms. Babb

A Different Side of TV

Lights, camera, action. It was my time to shine. If only that could have come true when you wanted it too. For me, well I was on TV, but off to the side in the audience. That's where I sat for about the next six hours, while I watched uncommon, loony and strange acts take place on the set of Zoink'd.

You may ask, what is Zoink'd? Well, Zoink'd is YTV's new show based on unusual talent completion where adults get to show off their wacky and zany moves to the kid's judges. The instructions to the game are easy, an adult does a wacky talent, that has to impress the kid judges and they interesting part was they only had 60 seconds to do it. If the judges don't like the act, the performer will get 'Zoink'd' which basically is getting hit with ping pong balls, streamers or blue goo. The set of Zoink'd dazzled me; it was a little small than how it would appear on TV. When you first step on the set you see a black, glossy, tiled floor, with the big words Zoink'd printed in the colours blue, green and a pinkish – purple. As you look up more, you see 4 name tags, and levers on a mini step stage. That's where the judges are. We were assorted to the audience section that basically surrounded the whole set.  There were bluish, soft movie chairs that we sat on. When we started the show's episode, I started to notice more about 'movie magic.' Zoink'd have made me change the way I see TV, in a whole different today. Especially with the judges, competitors, and us, the audience.

The show must go on, with the help of the people. There were 4 judges, Natalie, Wyse, Aleksa and Neal. They were some fair judges if you asked me, I agreed with most of their decisions. My favourite judge was wise, he was the best judge. But I didn't think the performers agreed there were about 10 different acts. There was one wear a man named James started to do all the amazing dance moves. With a surprising twist he actually won the prize. The other acts were weird, but also original. Some letters received claps, and some performers received the five letter word 'Zoink'd.' That was mostly the enthusiasm from the crowd, which were us. The audience felt marvellous because we actually got the privilege of being their, having a chance to be on TV and learn more about media literacy all in one day.

In between takes, we had breaks. During each break we had someone show their zany talent in exchange for a whoopee cushion. Some of the attention-grabbing talents came from our school, which made it even better. I could say everyone definitely had there own special talent. We also had a marshmallow competition, where we had to throw marshmallows into Adam's, the host, mouth. Adam, the host, was probably the best ever. His hilarious personality and down to earth personality made this the best trip, right after Teen Ranch. There was never a dull moment, especially when the other host, Josh, showed us a couple of his dance moves. It was an astonishing experience.

Time has convinced me one thing, TV if for appearing on, not looking at. This trip showed me all the secrets about TV. Being in the audience showed me that, not like in a normal TV show you might watch there is a lot of tape and redo. That definitely got me agitated sometimes, but if it meant being on TV, it was worth it. This trip made me re-think about TV and how it's worked. Now, I'll probably think twice before I actually believe on what the show on TV.