January 2013
‘The change of TELOPs on NHK variety shows
‐the actual conditions and two functions of writing information‐’ by SHITARA Kaoru
Yumiko Hara
In this is the fourth installment of a series that introduces scholarly papers written as outcomes of the “Trial Project on Academic Use of the NHK Archives.” This month’s report features a study on superimposed text on the television screen that is called “TELOP” in Japan, which is being used in more and more TV programs in recent years; on when and how “TELOPs” have become integrated into TV programs as well as on what information was delivered and how its functions have changed. In order to investigate the transition of written information in variety shows in general and the factors of it, the author of the paper selected variety programs that represent each five-year period, starting from the 1960s, and made qualitative and quantitative analyzes on what types of and how much written information have been shown on the screen. As a result it was revealed that, quantitatively, the “TELOPs” have kept increasing since the 1960s and that there were two distinctive points of the increase, one is in the 1980s and the other in the 2000. In terms of functions, the author clarifies that “TELOPs” function as simple clarification of the program composition but their functions have evolved, after going through the refinement of text information and the diversification of information according to the characteristics of each program, into stage effects (dramatic impact) and something that appeal to or “hook” the viewers. In the paper the author suggests that the introduction and development of “character generators” and a change in viewer’s behavior, namely the increase in non-concentrated viewing, serve as factors of the transition. Hara, the commenter of the paper, proposes a hypothesis that one of the factors of increased “TELOPs” is the enhancement of their role and function of adding dramatic impact to programs, and, therefore, points out that further analyses on programs including variety shows made by commercial broadcasters will be necessary.