I find the cutaways very irritating. There's nothing wrong with showing the audience reaction but 9/10 times they are completely unrealistic. I reckon the audience reactions are not actually reactions to the acts that are on. If they are then some people's are quite strange eg. the fits of laughter at something that is not amusing or a shocked face at something that is not at all shocking.

The X factor is the same. They showed the same reaction twice in one episode on at least one occasion last year.

Also can someone that's been to the audutions tell me if the cheering in the TV edit is realistic? Ie. do the audience really cheer and clap at every opportunity?

I enjoy the BGT format but the falseness in the editing is really off putting.

The funniest are the cutaways to the perfectly lit individual audience reactions, then you get the wide shot with the stage and you see the audience in that dim blue light! Anyone who's been to a show recording knows they spend lots of time filming the audience when there aren't even any acts onstage. Sometimes the reaction shots are of them applauding to the announcer/warm-up person!

Hate the audience reaction shots.
I just want to punch all those smug gits in the face!

A relative recently went to a live show by a so called comedian, hoping it really would be funny.

After a DVD was published they bought as a way to remember the evening. They saw themselves laughing uproariously, but only the warm up acts were really good; and nothing during the main act was other than mildly amusing - but the edited DVD made the star look wonderful.


Be very suspicious of any show that relies heavily on audience reaction.

their faces are annoying tbf

Most of the "reactions" are filmed before any of the acts or judges have even arrived in the building. It happens on all of the audition type shows. A popular clip at the moment going around youtube is from the US version of X Factor where they cut to the audience midway through a performance and the judges aren't even in the seats yet two seconds earlier there they were talking to the contestant

jaja Do you have a youtube video of that? ^^

This puts me in mind of the shot of that female's sneering face right after Susan Boyle claims she wants to be like Elaine Paige....

I was in the audience for BGT audtitons a couple of years ago and when it was televised they showed me laughing for an act that we weren't even there for, so yes, there's definitely some artisitic licence used with the audience shots.

It could be that I'm jaded but I think the audience reaction shots are particularly badly stitched together in this series. And the cutaways to the judges as well, their reactions 'to each act' often seem as if they were pulled off some other place.

I like it when a person in the audience (and it happens on X-Factor as well) turns and nods to their friend when there is a good act on. Me and my wife and up doing it just to take the mick, and end up laughing our heads off. Silly, but funny (to us)

There are also the shots where they individually show audience members going wild and giving lots of applause, and then the wide crowd shots show them all just sat there.

A friend of mine went to the X Factor auditions in 2011 and saw herself in a reaction shot during Misha B's audition. My friend wasn't even at the auditions on that day . They do the same for the judges too, they basically have a bank of them saying yes and no in different ways and different tones. If you watch closely they can occasionally be caught out.

There was also a time a few years ago where they used a wide crowd shot for a really good act who hadn't been buzzed, yet there was a red X on the judges desk.

I was at The X Factor in the audience and they once told all of the audience to stand up and applaud so that they can film it and 'fit it in' later.

Don't think we need so many cut-a ways, I'm more interested in whats going on with the performance.

The camera work is sometime shoddy to say the least.

I agree, its all very patronising and treating the viewers like children .
Oh look children this is a very good act because the judges have nice smiley faces .
Oh no children this is a bad act because the judges have gloomy faces .

I also find it infuriating when An Act That We Are Supposed To Like comes on and, after the first few seconds, there's a cutaway to And and Dec in the wings, turning to camera and saying, 'He's good!' I will make up my own mind who I think is good, thank you very much!

One of the things that annoyed me about Shaheen's audition was that the audience were cheering throughout, though I expect it was edited.