Friday Night Lights (TV)
By rnspal
Friday Night Lights is a television show that captures many americans attention. It may not have had millions of viewers, but every person who watches the show can not stop until they are done.
Production
Friday Night Lights all started as a novel published in 1990 by HG Bissinger. The novel followed the Odessa Panthers, a high school football team in Texas during their 1988 season. The book then turned into a movie which was realeased in 2004 as a success. Then in 2006 a TV series adaptation of the book and movie debuted. The show ended its run in 2011 with over 5 seasons produced to date.
Representation
Friday Night Lights is a series that almost every person watching it can relate to. The series shows the constant and everyday struggle high school students go through, small and large. From families being torn apart to doing whatever it takes to be the best, everything is relatable in the series. Also, the struggle American families go through just to get by everyday without having a breakout down. Teenagers are never perfect, and this series shows how you can never judge a book by its cover, no matter how beaten up it may appear.
Distribution
In 2006 when Friday Night Lights premiered, it was on NBC. The show had decent reviews and continued to be shown with many episodes being put availible immeadiatley online. This was due to the huge online marketing NBC used to promote FNL. Then in 2007 due to the writers guild strike, NBC struck a deal with DirecTV were episodes would premiere first exclusivley on DirectTV and be ran at a later date on NBC.
Reception
The show initiItally drew in good numbers and steadily stayed the same. It is said that every viewer of the show is able to take a different meaning from each episode. Many viewers related the most with Tim Riggins, a screw up hard headed football player who can never stay out of trouble, but has a side that no one ever gets to see. The drama the show produces relates to many high school age teenagers who deal with the same problems almost every day
Socialization
Friday Night Lines contained a very small fan base throughout much of the series production. But this fanbase was very vocal with their love for the show. Many critics also proclaimed it was a very up and coming show and gave it many positive reviews. Many fans are still pushing for the production of a 6th season due to its cancellation after the end of the series in early 2011. The series itself has won several awards as a series including an emmy for oustanding casting for a drama series, multiple writiers guild of america nominations and hailed as one of the top 10 shows of the year
Activity
Producers of the show were very leniant with what was said on camera. They gave the actor the free will to be able to change or modify a line or gesture of their character if they felt it was necessary to improve it. The show was very free verse and the actors were followed by the cameras, instead of vice versa. Many of the actors of the series spoke highly of this form of creating the show and felt it had a great effect on making the show better.
Ecology
The show was orginally shot in Austin Texas and stayed put their throughout the show's life span. The filming of the show gave the city of 33 million dollars a year in revenue and fought to make sure the show stayed in Austin. The show liked to look and feel real, so filming would take place in actual small city spots, not premade sets. Also, most shots only were used as one continuous take, and this led to being the only take used in the production of a episode. To build upon the realness of the series, the show used high school team Pflugerville Panthers and used it for the scenes of actual football.
Comments
Randy—I really liked the title page of your CHAT map; it showed the setting of the show and really captured my eyes. On your production slide I think the picture could have been bigger since you have a lot of room left on your slide. You kept the information on the slides short and sweet and to the point and were easily understandable. The slide creativity was kind of dull but it made the pictures stand out more and the font easy to read. The description after each slide was a good way to talk about the slide after reading each one. Having the sources at the very end as a slide of its own was a good idea! Overall I think you did a good job of capturing the meaning of the TV series and the overall summary of the different aspects of the show as well.
Hey Randy, I think you did a really good job and I really liked the way you put your slides together. The pictures seemed to correlate with what you were saying and put more meaning into your words. I liked how the pictures were laid out within the slide and the text was easily readable. This is because personally I don’t like when people use pictures as backgrounds as I find it harder to see the text. Overall, I learned a lot from your slides considering I’ve never actually seen Friday Night Lights. Seeing your information makes me want to see what this show is all about. You did very good research and didn’t put too many words on your slides but in contrast made it quick and straight to the point. I also liked how you added your descriptions directly under your slides; this made looking through the presentation a smoother process and helped clear up any outstanding questions I had about the information. The thing that I liked best about your presentation was the source page at the end of your slides. This is useful to us readers because all the citation information is conveniently in one spot and we can easily relook up any information we would like to. One recommendation I do have however, is to have in text citation. Meaning, I would have a citation on the slide itself. This would make it more clear to which information is being cited. Overall, I think you did a great job with your research and presentation!
Hey Randy! I think you did a great job with your CHAT presentation! I have never seen the show Friday Night Lights but I have seen the movie and I love it! After viewing your presentation, I am interested in seeing the show as well. I think you did a great job with the pictures in this and really making the overall theme of this show stand out in each and every one of your slides. The pictures you put in all of your slides do a good job of showing what the show is about. You did not give too much or too little information in your slides which made it a lot easier to follow. Getting the main point across really makes things easier to understand. You gave a lot of information about what the show is all about which definitely helps people like me who have not seen it. I like that you have a citation page because it makes it easier to locate where you received all of your information. Overall, I think you did a great job!!
Randy, this show is amazing. I was orginally going to do my project on this, but then i saw you reserved it! You did a great job. This show truly attracts all football players in America, like you stated. Not only football players but athletes as well, so good job with audience. It was cool how you explained in ecololgy that they filmed actual football footage! I'm amazed because i thought each scene was just fake. Also, i had no idea that many of the lines were free versed. There are many talented actors in the show, so I'm not too suprised. The only thing that i would reccomend is a little mix up in pictures, I feel like that they were all the same. Overall, great project and one of the best tv shows ever
Matt
Randy,
I think you really did a good job on your CHAT map! Each of your slides was clear and concise and I liked how you were consistent throughout your slides. I liked how you added pictures to help the reader better understand the theme of the show. Each of your slides contained a great amount of information that allowed me to capture the main points. Your explanations were very clear as well. My advice would be that you may want to cite the information throughout your explanations, but good job at adding a citation page. You did a good job at explaining that the audience was mostly younger people or teens but that it appealed to other ages as well. You also did a good job at explaining how the show was perceived by its viewers. I was surprised to know that it was originally a book. Although I have never actually watched the show, your CHAT map made it very appealing and makes me want to watch the show. Overall, you did a very good job at explaining the seven different aspects of the CHAT map and relating them to the show!
Hi Randy, I really enjoyed your CHAT map. It is very organized and very creative! Each slide was very clear and to the point and all the slides contained very valuable information. I think you did a great job on the production slide and you inclided the perfect amount of information without going overboard. It was like a time line effect which made it all organized and gave me a play-by-play on how the show progressed and ended over the years. I really liked the fact that you included a citation page once again it proved your slide to be perfectly organized and put together. Overall I think you did an excellent job on the CHAT map and although I have not seen many episodes I still felt as though I knew what was going on and the main theme of the show based on your powerpoint!
Hey Randy,
I think you did an awesome job on your presentation! I love the show and the movie. I completely agree with your view on the audience. It was definitely a small following but each and every viewer was loyal throughout all 6 seasons. I hope they end up making another season because there is so much left unsettled. Your presentation was really well organized and researched that even someone who didn’t watch the show could get the gist. I could tell you really enjoyed the show and wanted to share the series with your fellow classmates. The only thing I would change is when you brought up Tim Riggins you said he was relatable. Maybe give some examples of his personality and situation so people can understand that he was seen as a tough guy, but really had a soft spot for helping people. Also talk about some of the relationships/friends that Tim had in the show and what role he played in them. Other than that, I thought your presentation was great. Did you know their thinking about making a movie based off the TV series?
Hey Randy, first off, great choice! This is one of my personal favorites. You represented the show very well and even taught a regular viewer a thing or two! You had interesting facts and you covered the topics very well. I thought that your title page was a great attention getter. If I had not seen the show before, I would have been very intrigued. One thing that I would add to the title page would probably just be your name. I know it is not mandatory and probably not needed but, in my opinion, it looks nicer than without a name. I loved your facts such as on the Activity slide where you said, “Many of the lines were free versed,” and on the Ecology slide where you mentioned, “Many of the shots were filmed in one take.” That really shows how great of actors are in the show and you might win over some new viewers. In contrast, I thought that you probably should have used more complete sentences on your slides. Also, your third point on the Production slide is grammatically incorrect. You would want to run through your presentation a couple times to be sure to weed out those small but noticeable mistakes. Normally, I get bored of the same background with the same font but you used different placement and good color combinations to keep me interested. Overall, it was a fantastic presentation. Keep it up!
Will
Hey Randy-
I want to start off by saying that this movie is one of my favorites. It is a very emotional and entertaining television series as well. I think that you did a great job with your organization and color scheme in terms of attractiveness. The presentation really catches the viewers eyes and makes it enjoyable for them to read through. I think that your socialization slide fit perfectly. You gave straight facts and kept them short yet sweet. The only thing that I would recommend is maybe picking a better picture for that slide since the background is dull as well. Other slides used great pictures which combatted/contrasted the dull background perfectly and kept up the presentation’s artistic appeal. I learned a lot about the series from your presentation. I had no idea that real footage was used and that some lines were even free versed. WOW!! All and all, I thought that your presentation was great and your topic choice was on point. Keep up the great work and don’t stop choosing classics such as Friday Night Lights.
Sincerely, Pat
Hiii Randall,
I really enjoyed your powerpoint. I've seen the movie Friday Night Lights and a few of the television show episodes so it was easier for me to follow. Your slides really gave me a good idea of the audience that this show appeals to. It's based off a high school football team so in that case it's definitely age appropriate for teenagers. But there are other parts that make it for adults too. It deals with family and the team and other struggles that people of any age can relate with. Under the reception slide you said that it talks about the American struggle. Whether or not you're a teen, this is something that we all go through or have already experienced in our lifetimes. This is why I think the tv show was so recieved by the public. It even won several awards, including an Emmy. I didn't know about that. Overall i think you did a great job explaining to us the way the audience works.
Best Regards,
Jenn
Hey Randal, first off i have audience and i just want to say you did a really good job with showing us how the audience plays a major role in friday night lights. for your first CHAT map you represented everything well. your slides were all nicely organized and contained enough information. for those who have not seen friday night lights , your slides would gain an intrest. i have nothing negative to say about your CHAT map. you included citations at the end in a seperate slide- good thinking. OH- the interseting fact about the lines being free versed and everything being used was a good touch- i did not know that at first. overall good job !
Hey Randy, I found your presentation really interesting. I have never seen Friday Night Lights but hear about it often from multiple people and it seems like an awesome show. First of all I think you did a really good job with your topic and I can genuinely see the interest you have in the show through out the presentation. Each and every slide came with a really solid and detailed description under it, and I feel like I know so much more about this show that any teen can relate too. The only thing I would want to see more of is the pictures, its kind of hard to see each picture and I think you could spice up the power point a little bit. Focusing on your socialization slide specifically, I thought you gave a really detailed description of just who watches this show, as well as the three big reasons on why someone would watch this show. I also liked how you added that the fan base isn’t as large as bigger shows but that the competition is still there and the fan base is loyal to the show. Over all I think your presentation was very good and cant really find anything wrong with it. Good job!
Hi Randy! I like how you don’t have too much information on your production slide. I think you provided just enough information for the reader not to get bored with reading it. I like how you elaborated on this topic at the end of this slide. I noticed that you have a sources slide, I think you should have put the sources under the slide that corresponds with the picture it is referring too. I think you could have done a better job at picking out the color of the slide. The color is okay but it is kind of boring it makes readers not want to read the slides. I like the picture you put on the production slide. It helps you figure out what the movie or show is about. I think you should have included that ABC produced it just in case your readers wanted to watch this TV series. I like how you say it was a book that turned into a movie then later into a TV series. Overall I think the production slide was good. Good Job!
Hey Randall,
Very good choice for your CHAT map; I am a huge fan of Friday Night Lights! I liked your presentation a lot because I love the show and because it does a good job of relating to the show. For the audience section of your presentation you do a good job of stating who the show can relate to.....everybody. Which from personal experience is very true, this show involves a lot of things that relate well to teenagers, adults, and a whole family together because of what the show stands for and illustrates throughout its episodes. Showing some quotes could enhance your presentation even more and show how into this show some of the fan base is! Other than that I really enjoyed your CHAT map presentation and I think you did a good job!
Hey Randy!
The best part about these slides, is that its not hard to read at all. The text can be easily read. Another thing I'd like to point out is there actually isn't too much information on the slides. Sweet and to the point. But because of that you put enough information on the descriptions of most slides. One thing I'd also like to point out is well, this is my personal opinion but grey is boring. It makes the slides look very dull. Other than that I love the presentation overall. Including the citations page. You should work more on the overall appear of the slides because just looking at it made me want to not read anymore. Other than that I still read it and I actually enjoyed reading it.
-Ryan
###HubPages Comments###
**Housekeeping**
- Presentation Notes
- Use of Citation
The Introduction provides a good thesis for the presentation, stating that the show might not have had the millions of viewers of other shows, but that it drew in those viewers it did capture. Also, I like how your first slide right away tells us that this is the television show you'll be describing - this is especially important, given that your separating the show from the movie and the book. To build on this, you'll want to use the Introduction to center us a little more. For those who have never seen the show, it would help to know that it's about the life and challenges surrounding high school football. Also, this would be a good place to introduce the setting of the show.
For your citation, you'll need to let us know which information came from which sources. The best way to do this would be to link directly to the URL's from the areas of your presentation which are built on them. Another approach would be to annotate your sources in the final slide, describing what each source is and how you drew from it in creating your presentation.
**Production**
- Describing how it's produced
- Acknowledgement of creators
- Describing the research done by the authors
In your Activity and Ecology sections, the descriptions of the shots being made in one take, the freedom for the actors to ad-lib, and use of real places with a real high school football team reveals a great deal about how this show differed from others. I would build on this by telling more about the responses from individual acotrs. You've mentioned that the actors liked the freedom - how come? In what ways did they say it made the show stronger?
**Genre Conventions**
- Identifying the genre
- Describing the genre conventions
- Showing how these conventions are used.
For Genre conventions, you'll need to talk about the expectations for similar TV shows, and then talk about how *Friday Night Lights* either meets those expectations or challenges them. Comparisons to other high school dramas or football movies could give insights into what sets *FNL* apart from similar programs.
**Social Activity**
- Describing social and physical distribution
- Discussing cultural reception
I like how you've brought together the authenticity of the show with the production techniques - in particular, the way you describe the filming in Austin gives some good insights into the social activity around the production of this show, and it indicates the kind of mindset which allowed the actors and directors to make this film successful. Also, the compromise wherein NBC used airing on DirecTV to get around the Writer's Strike also reveals how a show has to work within the confines of the very social industry of television.
To build on this, you'll want to talk a bit more about this shows effect on audiences. Has it caused people to change their perspectives on high school football? In particular, you've given good hints in Representation regarding the show's moral lessons - develop these further to show whether or not it has led people to change their views.
**Audience**
- Identifying the intended audience
- Discussing how genre coventions are used to attract that audience
- Indicating audience reception.
I like how you describe the audience and awards of the show. In particular, you've nicely contrasted the critical acclaim and Emmy awards with the reality of a small fan base. To build on this, talk more about what fans are doing in order to push for that sixth season. What, in particular, do they say is important about the show? Also, you'll want to talk more about who's in this fan base. If you could talk more about which types of people like the show, that might illustrate why this group of fans loves the show so much while so many other people don't seem to be aware of it. I would recommend elaborating more on why people related so well to Tim Riggins, as you described in your Reception section - he seems to be a pivotal character on the show, and understanding why audiences relate to him could illustrate quite a bit about the show.
Hola Randy,
I have never seen Friday night lights so everything you included in your presentation is all I know. I especially like the cover slide because it looks so neat and it draws me in making it easier to read your presentation. The font and background color go great together and I can read all the writing on the slides. I also like how you include a few simple pictures because it levels the focus between pictures and writing. I found it very interesting that it switched exclusively to direct tv and I loved learning about. You did a really nice job at including all the information required for social activity. I like how you stated how the series started and how it transferred. You did a nice job at including all your sources and I love your layout.
Hey Randy!
I have never seen an episode, but by what I have read it seems like a very interesting show that I Would love to watch. I usually enjoy shows or movies that were novels to being with. I like how you organized your presentation. Very simple but still had enough information to state what was needed. I would like to see the information have a little more detail, but I can see how the information given is just the right amount that wouldn't be overwhelming. Sometimes kids our age tend to lose attention span when it comes to reading information. Other than that it was an all around good presentation. Stated the facts needed and was well organized. Good job!
-Aricela
Hey Randy...
This is one of my favorite shows, good choice! And even though I've been watching since the first season, I never knew it was made from a book. I know it was a true story turned into a movie, but it was interesting learning something new. I loved all of your slides including pictures of the players, the field, scenes from the show itself. It really gave a good representation of the show for someone who has not seen or heard of it. Overall I really liked it, not only because I love the show but because it made learn a bit more about it that I did not, or would not have, known before. You did great!
i want to start off by saying that the slide is looking good. The choice of movie is good because everyone at least have watched snow white. The pictures fit well with the movie and what you are trying to tell your audience. It was a good choice of movie. The picture is also really nice and it makes the background looks nice to watch. Every slide has a good amount of information on it which makes it more interesting to read and also easier to understand and interpret what is being said to the audience. AS far as each slide is concern I want to say that each one looks we done. They are well organized with bullet points. It makes the presentation nice to look at and also it makes you want to read the things that are on each slide. The first couple of slides do not look like they are chat map related but it helps us better understand the overall presentation and also the message that you are trying to give to your audience. As far as thing that you could strengthen would be if you write introduction on the first slide so we will know that it is introduction.. So it will not be like we are looking at a completely different slide. The overall presentation is looking good as well as the citation.
Hey Randy, Great job on your presentation. I'm very pleased to this movie became a T.V. show. It is a little sad they don't have any new seasons and I haven't got to see a single episode yet. It sounds like a fairly good show that actually has real football footage. I feel like this relates to a lot of my friends in high school on the football team. You really did a good job on your slides explaining all aspects of the show. I would have put in some of the cast of actors for main characters. Also, I would have went into a little more detail of the free-verse decisions they made along with the producers ideas of the show. Great job on this man.
kaflahe 3 months ago
Hey Randy I’d like to start out by saying that I think you chose an awesome topic for your CHAT map presentation! Although I was never a regular follower of Friday Night Lights, I have watched several episodes of the show and absolutely loved every one. My older brother watched all five seasons of the show so I sat down with him from time to time and watched it. It was interesting to learn more about a show I am a fan of. I also really liked your title page because of how the background and font looked together. I think it accurately portrayed the atmosphere of the show which is definitely a good thing. Judging from the content on your slides, you seem to be very familiar with this TV show and also did excellent research on it. I like how you added your descriptions directly under your slides; this made looking through the presentation a smoother process. Also, I think you did a great job of putting just the right amount of information on each slide. The source page at the end of your presentation was a very nice touch as well. I think you accurately demonstrated that Friday Night Lights is a show that all teens can relate to which is definitely something the audience should know. If there is one suggestion that I could make it would be to choose pictures that went along with the information in each of your slides better. Overall, I think you did a great job with your CHAT map presentation!