TV shows in China take canned laughter to the next level

TV shows in China take canned laughter to the next level

Staff Reporter

2013-10-21

China’s ‘professional audiences’ are not the focus of TV shows, but they still get paid for their appearance; as soon as the camera starts rolling, they’re on the clock. The practice of using a ‘professional audience’ in talk shows and reality shows in China, the members of which are paid to applaud, laugh or cry on cue and liven up the atmosphere of television programs is becoming increasingly common.A woman, who identified herself as Xiao’ai from Hubei in central China shared her experiences of working as a professional audience member in the city of Shanghai.

People in this peculiar profession are expected to be part of the audience and express tacit facial expressions during live performances in television programs. The concept has existed for at least a decade in China, Xiao’ai told the Changjiang Daily.

The issue of hiring paid audience was raised for the first time after several people who attended the shooting of the popular talent show “I am a Singer” went overboard with their expressions, which led some to question if they were acting.

Xiao’ai said she was recruited by an entertainment company, which has helped find jobs for more than 1000 professional audience members in Shanghai. There are at least two such companies operating in every district of the city, she added.

There are also “quntou” – agencies which differ from entertainment companies in that the entertainment companies offer professional training, including acting and courses on relevant laws for their “talent”, while the agencies do not.

According to the Changjiang Daily – a Hubei-based newspaper, all the companies operating in this industry have established connections and partnerships with television operators.

Xiao’ai pointed out that although she was offered around four different jobs on a daily basis, she preferred to refuse these jobs to make an appearance on a TV show.

“Last week, I had to sit there from 9 am to 2 am for a program,” she said.

Generally speaking, the market favors females over their male counterparts, she stated, adding that good looking women sometimes received higher salaries depending on the type of shows they were appearing in.

Her beauty had worked in her favor as Xiao’ai was recently invited to be seated in the front row at a talent show because of her looks, she was even paid double the amount that those seated behind her received.

With the lowest rates for such jobs starting at 50 yuan (US$ 8.19) per hour, a professional audience member can even receive a monthly payment of 4,000 yuan if she or he works at least six hours a day. It is easy, therefore, for Xiao’ai to earn up to 10,000 yuan per month as she attends mostly big budget TV programs, including matchmaking shows, which offer better pay. Xiao-ai said she was once paid 1000 yuan for a day’s shoot for a dating program. Recruiting professional audience members is simply an unspoken practive for TV shows, an entertainment insider noted, adding that hiring people for the audiences was convenient and helps liven up the atmosphere.

While it looked like easy money, Xiao’ai said that being able to sit through an hour of waiting was the basic requirement to take on the job. For a 40-minute show, the shooting might take at least five hours, she said and during the shooting, paid audience members were not allowed to leave their seat without permission. Refuting speculation that paid audience members cried or laughed loudly on shows to earn higher rates, Xiao’ai said that sometimes they too were just expressing their true emotions just like an ordinary audience member would.