Shadowing Practice: The Future of TV is Bleak - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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Hey guy!
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Hey guy!
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Sorry I haven't posted a video in a while.
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I went to Europe on vacation, but we accidentally locked our keys in the car, so we had to swim back.
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Boy are my arms tired.
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Oh come on!
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That's the best you could pop it?
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It's been like two months, man.
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You suck!
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Ah, shit.
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In case you didn't hear, the Writers Guild of America went on strike this month for the first time in 15 years.
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As a result, shows like Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, and Late Night with Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy, and Jimmy have ceased production until negotiations are agreed upon.
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The longer the negotiations take, However, the more shows will be delayed and affected.
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It won't just be daily talk shows, it'll be entire seasons of your favorite Netflix show.
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And for the shows that insist on powering through without writers, it will have the potential to completely tank the entire series.
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Because that's what happened last time, and there's a very good chance it's going to happen again.
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If you don't remember the 2007 writers' strike, it was a weird time for TV.
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Scrambling to come up with new programming without being able to employ writers, a lot of networks started doubling down on reality shows,
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which really altered the landscape of television for years and years after that, even though the strike itself only lasted about 13 weeks.
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I mean, TLC started just falling around families with a bunch of kids for a while.
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That was kind of weird.
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The Apprentice went from being nearly cancelled to one of the most popular shows on TV, which I'm sure didn't have any political ramifications about nine years later.
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But maybe worst of all, they started airing prices right.. at night.
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A lot of scripted shows at the time basically imploded from the strike.
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Seasons would be cut short, or instead they'd just try to keep on making them without the writers, and that was usually a disaster.
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The one I personally remember being affected the most was Heroes.
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This show was so fun to watch when it first came out.
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It felt like a big event that everyone was tuned into.
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But starting out it was very similar to Lost's first season, where you've got this huge ensemble of characters, and as it goes you kind of spend each one episode fleshing them out each individually,
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and you start to realize how they're all intertwined.
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I remember the finale being like hinted at from the beginning, so you kind of knew where everything was gonna converge, but you were still fascinated just to see how they would get there.
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Also, the main villain of the show could cut people's heads open by pointing at them, and that was cool as hell.
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So when season two started, the showrunner developed this big vision for everything that would come, but had to slow things down for a bit, set up some new characters and plot points, get the ball rolling on that.
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And it was a little confusing, but you felt like it was all leading to something until the writer's strike hits.
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Suddenly they have to scramble to condense 12 episodes into a two-part finale
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and what was already a little bit of a mess only gets a hundred times messier.
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All of the momentum the show needed going forward was gone.
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A lot of these new characters got so little airtime
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but then became integral to the story
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and In the Dust was left a show that ultimately survived the strike but never fully recovered from the damage.
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Most movies weren't affected nearly as much as scripted TV was but the ones that were were hit hard.
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Quantum of Solace was shot with very little script and obviously no writers on set.
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So they just had Daniel Craig improvised lines that he thought James Bond would say and you know, we'll fix it in post.
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They did not fix it in post.
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Revenge of the Fallen began filming with no script, just a 14 page outline written by Michael Bay himself.
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But honestly knowing Transformers, 14 pages actually kind of seems like a lot.
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I can only assume he was using a really big font.
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But as rough as things got for the movies that bombed and the shows that got cancelled, these failures were ultimately necessary for the Writers Guild to win,
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because they were able to prove the value that they had to companies who seemed to think that they didn't have any.
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All it took was hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue for Universal and Paramount to be like, wait, if we don't have writers to write the shows,
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then we can't make any shows, and then we can't make any money off the shows?
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Why didn't you explain it to me like that in the first place?
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So eventually their demands were met, the strike ended, and the producers and writers lived happily ever after.
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Until like 12 days ago.
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The WGA is striking again with a few main bullet points.
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They're trying to stop production companies from continuing to shrink writers' rooms.
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They're fighting to be paid residuals for streaming shows rather than just a day rate.
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And they're fighting to keep AI out of the writers' room altogether, because as much as Silicon Valley tech bros look at ChatGPT with dollar signs in their eyes,
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it completely undermines writers, and really the entire point of art in the first place.
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Not that that matters.
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So one of the biggest differences between this strike
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and the last one is that a lot of the demands coming from the writers are in regards to streaming services, which for years have been treated by Hollywood as like this fun little side thing
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that doesn't come close to matching the allure and prestige of cable television.
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I am a surgeon.
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Even though almost every popular and well-respected show from the past seven years has come from Apple TV, Netflix, or HBO Max.
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But because streaming is still archaically being viewed in this way, the writers are not able to receive nearly the same benefits.
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For example, thanks to past strikes and negotiations, network TV writers continue to get paid every time their show re-airs in syndication.
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So since shows like The Office and It's Always Sunny
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air over and over and over again on cable television and therefore continue to earn revenue, the writers keep getting paychecks.
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Which makes sense, right?
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As long as something keeps making money, then everyone involved in making it should keep getting a percentage of that money.
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But on streaming, there is no potential for growth for the people who helped bring it into existence.
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If you're involved in writing something
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that goes on to become the most popular show on Hulu for weeks
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and causes thousands of people to sign up for a subscription
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that they didn't have before just because they want to see the show you made, and maybe they even like it so much that they just continue to pay that subscription until the next season comes out,
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none of that matters to you because you'll never see any of that extra revenue that you helped earn.
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There's no financial upside for doing a good job.
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So overall, that's probably the biggest issue of the strike, but there are a few others.
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For years, production companies have been pushing for smaller and smaller writing rooms, which puts more work on the shoulders of fewer people
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and gets rid of the job security
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that used to be there for everyone who is now brought on for just as short of a time as humanly possible.
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Most of those people are paid for just a couple of weeks of work.
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They come in, they learn the show, they contribute a few ideas, and then they're told to get the fuck out of there
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so we don't have to put your name in the credits
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and we don't have to keep you employed while we continue to work on the thing that you helped come up with.
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And I think this is where one of the biggest misunderstandings about scripts comes in, where people treat it as if it's something the writers just type up
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and then they print it out and then the script is done.
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Now we can send all those people home and show them the movie when we're done filming it in six months.
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But that's not how it works, or at least not how it should and has in the past.
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Scripts are constantly evolving, even once filming starts.
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Sometimes everyone shows up to set
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and a joke doesn't really work as it was written
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because it just doesn't sound right coming from the actor
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or a prop doesn't look like the way they had intended and now this line doesn't make sense.
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Or the location doesn't accommodate the shot that they had planned.
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So now we gotta quickly get together and figure out an alternative, because every second that we don't get work done, we are burning through our budget.
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Let's brainstorm, guys.
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From what I've heard from people in the industry, this stuff happens literally every day.
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It's just how filming goes.
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So having people in the room who wrote the words
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and understand the story inside and out is the best way to make a quick change
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that doesn't disrupt the flow of filming.
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It's a collaborative process from everyone involved in order to make the best thing possible.
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And sometimes that means adapting on the fly rather than just sticking with words that were typed four months ago, no matter what happens.
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But like I said, this entire part of the process has slowly been getting cut out in order to save costs.
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And this is having two major effects on the industry.
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One, it's making shows not as good as they could be
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because you're having fewer people on set to contribute ideas when changes are inevitably needed.
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And two, writers are missing out on the invaluable experience that comes with being on set during your production,
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where they would get a glimpse into the entire process and everything that goes into bringing these scripts to life.
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Experience that historically has been vital as these writers continue to move up the career ladder to showrunner, director, executive producer.
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Like, they have to realize that they're cutting out this entire sector of built-in,
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inexpensive, on-the-job training in an industry where more and more money keeps getting thrown at these giant productions, but then you're handing the keys over to people who've never
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been even remotely taught to be in charge of something like
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that in my own experience i had a full room for
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20 weeks with brilliant group of writers none of them were
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allowed to come to set their contracts ended before we started production
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so they're all technically writer producers some of them had the title of producer
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but they were not welcome to set to produce their episodes
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which is both robbing the show of their perspective
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but your point is it's robbing the future of the industry
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because the things you learn on set are completely different than what you learn in a room just writing scenes
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that don't cost anything and you can put them anywhere you want
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and then you end up with this continuing cascade of problems, right?
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Where like people are suddenly given a chance to make their own show as they should, but they don't have the experience on set and they're set up to fail.
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So ironically, what's going to happen is there are going to be more and more issues that arise on sets.
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Expensive issues that result in reshoots and delays and extended post-production timelines.
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And before you know it, all of the money the studio was trying to save by
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pinching pennies at every corner is just gonna burst into flames anyway.
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I read that even one day of reshoots can cost like a quarter of a million dollars.
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When you have these writers who are just trying to stay employed for a few extra weeks
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so they can help out on set, where they could have helped prevent the reshoots in the first place, almost 100% of the time,
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it would have been cheaper just to pay them.
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It's so stupid.
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You've got the real-life embodiment of Kendall Roy out here making business-first creative decisions
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that make shows worse and then lose money anyway.
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So in my opinion, everything the WGA is fighting for is more than fair.
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Everyone deserves to be paid what they're worth
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and there's absolutely no reason in this situation to be rooting
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for the CEO of Warner Brothers who can't even seem to figure out what they want their app to be called.
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And yet, even though to me, it seems like a no-brainer thing to support, that hasn't stopped some of the dumbest people on the planet, Twitter blue subscribers, from sowing discourse.
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Like there's this weird thing where people seem to assume everyone in Hollywood is filthy rich just
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because the industry they're a part of is.
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But on average, writers are earning less than they did 10 years ago.
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Writing jobs don't last nearly as long as they used to because seasons are significantly shorter now, and no one wants to keep the writers around once they feel like their job is done, even though it's not.
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In the past, residual checks from previous gigs would keep them afloat in between jobs,
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but without that, a lot of them are having to deliver Postmates and find side hustles just to make ends meet.
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But then you've got these people who are salivating over the idea of spoiled Hollywood writers finally getting a reality check.
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Good riddance, Hollywood losers.
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Or should I say Holly-weird?
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Who even needs human writers anymore?
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Just have ChatGPT do it.
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Everything's just sequels and remakes now anyway.
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And this sentiment that I've seen shared by hundreds of people online is so infuriatingly stupid.
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Number one, if you're in support of a company replacing thousands of jobs with one single AI program, you are anti-worker.
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You are only supporting the billionaires in pursuit of screwing over everyone possible in order to maximize their wealth.
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Now I understand that you don't give a shit
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because you don't see any value in creative jobs and think
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that everyone who complains about it should just go into a real line of work.
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If you didn't wanna get replaced by AI, then learn to code.
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Disregarding how joyless of an outlook this is to have on life, one where no one gets to make art or do anything they're passionate about,
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and we should all just be typing code all day while computers get to do all the fun stuff.
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What makes you think only writing jobs will be replaced by AI?
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They're not gonna stop at the jobs that you don't care about.
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They're going to replace all of the jobs.
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I think we should be in support of any workers who are fighting to prevent this from happening,
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but you seem to be so distracted by this one tree that you've yet to notice the forest you're standing in.
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Number two, the idea that everything is just a remake or a sequel now anyway, so it's not like these writers are even coming up with original ideas.
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Yeah, there's a lot of rehashed IPs in Hollywood.
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Guess what?
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You don't have to watch those.
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Do you know how much shit has come out in just like the past few years alone?
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It's been unlike anything I've ever seen before.
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These 10 out of 10 shows and movies that have unique plots
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and original characters and up and coming actors that aren't just Chris Pratt doing a voice.
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And give me emotions that I can't even describe, but I guess you were too busy complaining about how woke the new little mermaid is to notice any of them.
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That's your own fault.
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Look, I get annoyed at how many sequels and reboots and superhero movies there are now too, but you know why they keep making them?
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Because they make a shit ton of money every time.
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You know why they make a shit ton of money every time?
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Because you keep going to see them.
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Go watch something else, dude.
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But if you want more originality in Hollywood, you know what's not going to solve that problem?
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Fucking chat GPT.
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AI does not create original ideas because it can't.
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It doesn't have unique life experience or a sense of humor that it can draw upon.
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It is a glorified search engine
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that just plagiarizes a bunch of elements of already existing human creations and regurgitates it onto a Word document.
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Can you believe this entire trailer is AI generated?
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Yeah, I can actually, because this shot is identical to one that already exists.
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Also, it looks like crap.
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And on the topic of AI, which is only a small part of the strike, but it's what a lot of these dumb asses are pointing to, to try to devalue writers and people who create art.
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To me, it's almost not even a matter of if an entire show could be written by ChatGBT, it's that even if it can,
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I don't give a shit.
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I have negative interest in watching, what, like an algorithmically generated show written by software.
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Using math, we've perfectly optimized this script for human enjoyment.
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Like that's what we're gonna do now?
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No thanks!
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I like watching TV and movies because they're a celebration of human creativity.
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I want to see people tell stories about their lives
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or turn hard times into art because it's incredible that it's even possible to do that.
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And when you see something that resonates with you
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and speaks to a part of you that you've never quite been able to put into words and makes you feel emotions, like that's that good shit.
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And then you get done watching it
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and you can look up behind the scenes videos
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and interviews with the director and the writers
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and figure out like how they filmed this crazy shot or how they came up with the idea for the ending.
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Like I just think it's one of the most beautiful things that we as a human race have created.
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And I can't even relate to the mindset of someone and was like, yeah, but my computer could do all that.
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I have nothing in common with that person.
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And to the people who treat every writer like they're the scum of the earth because they didn't personally enjoy one show,
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I don't think you realize that a lot of the changes that have been taking place throughout the streaming era, you know, the things the union is striking against,
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are contributing factors as to why you might not like a show as much as you used to.
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If there are fewer writers in the room than the writers they have get stretched thin.
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If writers aren't paid to be on set while they're filming, then the shows are going to suffer.
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But most importantly, if someone can't afford to pay rent from doing their job, and they have to waste all their time and energy on side hustles just so they can barely afford to eat,
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they're not going to do as good at the job.
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And that goes with any industry, obviously.
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If you take care of your employees and give them all the conditions they need to succeed, the work will be better.
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And when the work is better, more people talk about it, and it makes more money, and then everyone wins.
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It's so simple.
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Why are we against this?
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Just so one guy can have a third helicopter?
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That's the side you're on?
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He's not gonna let you ride it.
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He doesn't know you.
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It blows my mind that because of a handful of crappy remakes you've seen,
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you think every single writer in Hollywood is some millionaire hack looking down on you from their golden throne of infinite money.
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No, that's the people they're striking against.
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At the rate things are going, writing will not be a viable career path much longer.
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The only people who are gonna be able to afford to do it are 22 year olds with rich parents.
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And I don't wanna watch those shows.
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I hate 22 year olds with rich parents.
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So if you want TV to get better, you should be on the side of the people who are best equipped to make that happen.
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The last thing I'll say is that if you watch this video and you thought, well, I sympathize with the writers here, but this kind of thing is happening in every industry.
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The economy's in shambles, everything's more expensive now and wages aren't going up to offset that.
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I agree.
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All of that is bad.
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I'm only focusing on this specifically because it's something that's happened before that I was interested then, I'm interested in now, and it's actively going on as we speak.
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I hope the writers win this, get everything they demand, and then it inspires other people to do exactly the same thing.
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Imagine if every public school teacher in the country went on strike at exactly the same time.
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Society would crumble in like an hour.
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Their demands would be met instantly.
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It's a perfect crime.
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Anyway, thank you so much for watching this video.
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I'm gonna put a bunch of links to Twitter threads
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and news articles and podcasts and things that helped me write the video.
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One thing in particular, there's like a seven page document written by a showrunner named Eliza Clark about how to be a writer on set,
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coming from someone who has years of experience being a writer on set.
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And I thought this was fascinating, like a really insightful look you don't normally see into everything that goes on behind the scenes.
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How many decisions need to get made, how many people are involved in making those decisions.
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I don't know, really interesting stuff.
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Anything makes Holly weird, sad, mad and cry.
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Give me a smile.
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They called me a naisy for years.
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So be it.
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This is me being a naisy to them.
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I will never support anything woke, Holly, weird does or believe or says.
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Why practice speaking with this video?
This YouTube video is a unique opportunity for English learners to engage with contemporary cultural topics while practicing their speaking skills. The speaker discusses the implications of the Writers Guild of America strike on television programming, which provides a rich context for a variety of conversational scenarios. By shadowing the speaker, learners can improve their fluency and confidence in discussing current events, a valuable skill in both casual and professional conversations.
Moreover, the informal style provides a great environment for practicing everyday English. Through shadow speech, learners can mimic pronunciation, intonation, and rhythm, enhancing their speaking abilities in a natural way. Incorporating such content into your routine on a dedicated shadowing site can help solidify these skills as you learn English with YouTube.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
The speaker employs a conversational tone, which highlights several important grammatical structures and expressions helpful for learners:
- Conditional Statements: Phrases like "If you don't remember..." illustrate how conditionals are used to introduce hypothetical situations, which are common in everyday conversation.
- Past Tense Narration: The speaker often refers to past events, as seen in "I remember the finale..." This provides context for learners to practice past tense verbs, enhancing their storytelling skills.
- Informal Language: Colloquial expressions such as "Ah, shit" and "you suck" offer insights into how English speakers express frustration or humor in casual settings, enriching learners’ vocabulary.
- Vivid Descriptions: Phrases like "could cut people's heads open by pointing at them" encourage learners to practice descriptive language, essential for engaging conversations.
Common Pronunciation Traps
Certain words and phrases in the video's transcript present potential pronunciation challenges for English learners. Notably:
- Writers Guild: The combination of words can be tricky; practice the articulation of "Writers" and "Guild" as separate entities to improve clarity.
- Ceased Production: This phrase can be challenging due to the 's' sounds; students should practice slowing their pronunciation to ensure clarity.
- Showrunner: This term might be unfamiliar; learners should focus on the emphasis on the first syllable and practice shifting the stress appropriately.
- Negotiations: The 'g' in the middle can be difficult to pronounce correctly, so practicing this word within the context of the sentence will help solidify its pronunciation.
By tackling these pronunciation traps through shadowing techniques, learners can enhance their spoken English skills effectively. Whether you're using YouTube as a resource for shadow speak practice or engaging in real-life dialogues, these strategies are invaluable as you navigate the complexities of English communication.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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