Quizzes have a long television history, and are a highly regarded form of entertainment. If you love watching them, you may have a desire to develop one yourself. Whether you're looking to have your quiz broadcast on a major channel or local TV, or even stream it for free on YouTube, there are many things to keep in mind when creating a quiz.
Steps
Part 1 of 5: Setting the Format
Step 1. Choose a genre
There are various types of quizzes on the market, and you have to choose which genre yours will belong to. Types include:
- Anecdotal and general culture, such as "Who wants to be a millionaire" and "The legacy".
- Puzzles.
- Puns, like the "Wheel of Fortune".
- Physical competition, such as "Games without borders".
- Talent challenges, such as "Italy's got talent" and "The voice".
Step 2. Find the uniqueness of your program
You have to find a way to distinguish your quiz from everyone else on the market - you have to create an innovative point of view. The worst you can do is copy 100% of an existing program, but you can mix and match different aspects of various programs to create your own.
- Do your competitors win cash or goods prizes (like a car or a trip to the Bahamas)? Maybe they win a donation to an organization of their choice, as happens in many quizzes with “VIP” competitors.
- You could focus your quiz around a specific topic: for example, a quiz dedicated exclusively to football, aimed at a sports audience.
- Do your competitors have a chance to get back into the game by battling over a series of rounds, or is the lowest scoring competitor eliminated at the end of each round?
Step 3. Determine the duration of each bet
You don't want it to end too fast, but neither does the opposite problem. At a minimum, the game should last half an hour, to make sure there are enough questions and answers to satisfy the audience. If the episode lasts more than an hour, viewers may begin to get bored and lose focus.
Step 4. Divide each bet into rounds
By giving the competition a bit of structure, you provide a narrative arc to the competitive nature of the quiz. At the end of each round, the public can assess the gap between the individual competitors; in this way the tension increases, and one wonders who will win.
- Make sure that each round is long enough to develop fully - at least 10 minutes each. The number of rounds will depend on the length of the program - a short quiz might be limited to two rounds, while a long one might go up to four.
- Rounds should all be roughly the same length.
- You can increase the points corresponding to the answers as the round progresses, making it more difficult for the winners to stay on top, and easier for others to reach them; this increases the suspense in the audience.
- You can have a much shorter final round, to give competitors a chance to overturn the final score.
- It could include a single question that is worth a lot of points, or maybe it could allow competitors to gamble with their own points for that last question.
Step 5. Determine the format of the challenge
Do you want competitors to face one-on-one, or do you want different teams against each other? If you opt for teams, do you want them to be randomly chosen from among the candidates or do you prefer groups of friends to form a team and show up together?
Part 2 of 5: Creating the Questions
Step 1. Choose the categories for each episode
All the quizzes, from the weekly anecdotal one at the bar, to “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire”, divide the questions into categories.
- The categories can be as open or specific as you like, but it's best to have a good balance between the 2 extremes.
- Examples of open categories: science, history, music or politics.
- Examples of more specific categories: protected species, WWII, punk music or US presidents.
- Although you can repeat the categories from time to time, vary them as much as possible between one episode and another. You don't want competitors to be able to predict the questions you will ask, and you don't want the audience to get bored.
Step 2. Follow a strict research routine
A successful quiz is based on the constant production of high quality questions. It is important to have a large pool of questions to draw from, and to do all the research necessary for the quiz in due course, so as not to be caught unprepared.
- Prepare more questions than you need. You can always save them for the future. This strategy also gives you a way to choose the best and most interesting questions from a larger pool, rather than settle for the first handful of questions asked.
- Work ahead. Don't delay your search, or you risk finding yourself timeless and without questions.
- Form an editorial team of authors. Build on the strengths of each individual author and delegate specific categories to them. For example, authors with a scientific background should develop science-themed questions, while those with a background in the humanities should deal with questions about history and literature.
- Follow a schedule. Don't get distracted during the week if you're planning a weekly schedule. Once you've delegated responsibility to your editorial team (or simply after defining the categories yourself), set deadlines by which to receive applications.
- For example, in a newsroom, you could set a midweek deadline for three times the number of questions needed for the episode. Two days before shooting, you need to select the questions you will use that week.
Step 3. Avoid databases
While it's easy to find sites that provide databases of anecdotal questions, you should only use them as a last resort, because everyone has access to that same archive. The audience and competitors will be much more attracted to interesting and engaging questions that cannot be found in a generic archive, but that you or your editorial team have formulated after careful research.
Step 4. Arouse the interest of the public
As you develop the questions, keep the audience in mind. Stay away from boring topics: for example, an entire category dedicated to the periodic table of elements could be boring.
- Consider the audience of your program. Based on the age of the target audience, it will be necessary to develop different strategies to attract attention and maintain interest.
- If the program is aimed at teenagers, you can think of questions about pop music, movies or children's novels.
- If the program is aimed at people interested in strict academic competitions, focus on university subjects: philosophy, political science …
- Even questions about current events can bring the public back to attention.
Step 5. Don't be too cryptic
If the questions are always too difficult for your competitors, the result could be a decrease in requests. Also, the audience will likely get bored if no one is able to answer correctly.
- As good as it is to have difficult questions every now and then - those designed to blow anyone away - most of the questions should be oriented between medium difficulty and impossibility.
- You can rank the questions in each category based on difficulty, from the simplest to the most complex.
Part 3 of 5: Creating Dynamic Quiz Challenges
Step 1. Create multiple challenges
As much as your competitors' talent sells in this type of program, it's also worth diversifying the challenges just enough to keep everyone on their toes and keep the audience focused. Before starting to shoot the episode, plan the challenges of the entire season.
Step 2. Offer classic games to competitors
Many TV duels are based on classic and highly regarded games. If your show falls into this category, your audience may respond well to today's competitors struggling with traditional games.
- For a culinary-themed quiz, ask contestants to recreate traditional dishes, such as cordon bleu or a croquembouche.
- For a singing game, ask contestants to sing great classics to demonstrate their ability to tackle a piece with an important past - Gino Paoli's "Heaven in a Room" or Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York", for example.
Step 3. Ask contestants to reinterpret great classics from new perspectives
As if it wasn't already difficult to run a classic, asking competitors to add their personalities to it presents an interesting challenge.
For a dance program, you could ask contestants to create a new choreography for a piece made famous by a historical interpretation - "Singing in the rain" by Gene Kelly, for example
Step 4. Challenge your competitors to demonstrate their technical skills
As much as the goal is to demonstrate the imagination and innovation of your competitors, even demonstrating their technical skills can captivate the public.
For a dance program, for example, try to see how many pirouettes a dancer can do without losing balance
Step 5. Propose timed challenges
Sometimes it is difficult to test a talented group of competitors. A good way to put pressure on them for technical skills is to provide limited time.
For a cooking game, for example, you could ask contestants to cut a basket of vegetables into cubes as quickly as possible
Step 6. Allow contestants to demonstrate their personality
Although some of the challenges may relate to technical efficiency, it prepares other challenges to bring out the character of individual competitors.
- In a cooking game, you might ask them to make a dish from their childhood.
- In a singing game, you might challenge them to compose their own songs instead of doing covers.
Step 7. Encourage your competitors to innovate in their respective fields
In some cases, such as song and dance, it may be more difficult to demonstrate innovation, since the competitors are not necessarily composers or choreographers. However, if your program contains a field where competitors can raise the bar of their art, it creates challenges for innovation.
- For a fashion game, ask contestants to create an evening look aimed at the women of the future.
- For a cooking game, ask contestants to deconstruct a simple dish or simplify a complex dish.
Step 8. Forces competitors to get involved in a wide variety of styles
While you want to allow them to demonstrate their personality and style, you also want to see how they adapt to a wide range of challenges.
- For a dance game, have them work on different styles, from classical to hip-hop, to Indian folk dances.
- In a cooking game, have vegan dishes cooked the first week, then grilled meat the following week.
Part 4 of 5: Creating Physical Challenges for the Quiz
Step 1. Challenge your competitors to outdo themselves in tests of strength
There are many ways to test their strength, not just the usual weight lifting in the gym. Here are some examples:
- A classic wheelbarrow race in pairs; not only do they have to demonstrate long-range arm strength, but audiences can also enjoy watching adults try their hand at child's play.
- Recreate a village festival atmosphere by letting competitors play target practice; however, the balls used should be heavy medicine balls, and the targets far away.
- Use your imagination - there are endless ways to have fun using physical prowess.
Step 2. Test your competitors' speed
You can have them compete in the race, or you can make it more interesting by asking them to perform random tasks during the race. For example, running 50 meters, solving a puzzle attached to a card at the 50-meter finish line, then returning to the starting point, solving a mathematical equation, climbing a flight of steps, reciting the alphabet backwards, then again. to the starting point. Again, you can pepper the race as you like, but the goal is to show the speed of the competitors.
Step 3. Test their coordination
This skill might be the most fun in a game. You could have them compete in a classic cake-throwing contest, a "splash tub" or a game of extreme dodgeball. A bonus challenge could give extra points to the competitor capable of making a 3-point field goal from half court.
Step 4. Take them to an obstacle course
Obstacle courses increase unpredictability, prompting competitors to get involved. You could prepare a military course with walls to climb, logs on which to maintain balance, weight lifting exercises and sudden sprints. You could also create a more fun atmosphere by ambushing competitors with water balloons along the obstacle course.
- Obstacle courses have the advantage of simultaneously testing different skills, rather than isolating strength from speed and coordination.
- Always worry about the safety of your competitors. Use rubber pads on any dangerous object or surface, and do not fire bullets that can injure them.
Part 5 of 5: Shooting the Episodes
Step 1. Organize a team
Whether you are trying to sell the program to a national channel or a small local TV, or simply for YouTube, you will need the help of a technical team to go from fantasy to reality. You will need, at a minimum:
- Operators: Various angles are required to show the handler and all competitors. If they participate one at a time, 2 operators may be enough - one for the conductor and one for the competitors. However, in the case of multiple teams, you may need an operator for each team.
- An editor: Someone skilled with production software such as Adobe Premiere Pro or Final Cut.
- A sound engineer: someone who can guarantee high sound quality for all dialogues in the program.
- A Charismatic Conductor: The host sets the tone of the program. You can hire someone, ask a friend to help you, or do it yourself as long as you bring a high level of energy to the whole.
Step 2. Introduce the competitors
The host should introduce the contestants one at a time, asking to share something about them. This information can be essential (“I'm Amanda and I'm an accountant in Trento”) or more whimsical (“I'm Amanda and I have a cat who likes to be led on a leash once a week”).
Step 3. Introduce the program
Even if it has been on the air for some time, you may have new viewers every week. It is good practice to present the program by briefly explaining the rules and format of the game at the beginning of each episode, to put everyone on a par.
Create a standard script for introductory presentations. In this way the rules will be clearly explained in each episode, and a cheerful routine will be established for the loyal public
Step 4. Take breaks between rounds
In the case of television shows, there will be periodic commercial breaks - but even if it is online, it's a good idea to take breaks every now and then, preferably at the end of a round.
- When a round ends, the handler should recap the score.
- It can also be a good time to comment on the progress of the game, or to ask competitors for some impressions on their performance.
- These small breaks will give both the audience and the competitors time to recharge for the next round.
Step 5. Explain the rules and format for each round
If your program has a format that changes from one round to another, make sure the conductor explains the new rules at the beginning of each round. You could have an identical format for each round, like “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire”, or maybe completely different challenges from week to week, like in “Masterchef”.
Step 6. Show quiet interactions between host and competitors
The audience wants to like the people they are watching, especially the host, who is a constant on the show. Make sure the host is empathetic, jokes with competitors, congratulates them when they do something right, and allows them to show their personality.
Step 7. Conclude the program by reminding viewers of the appointment at the same time the following week
At the end of each episode, the host should thank the competitors and congratulate the winner. Take a moment at the end to thank the audience and invite everyone to come back for the next episode. Communicate the date, time and channel in which they will be able to see you again.
