Line #83 Main/ConfessionCam


1	[[quoteright:350:[[Series/GeordieShore https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/confession_cam.jpg]]]]
2
3	->''"Ahem. Um, my hair's not really blue. [beat] I need that tape!"''
4	-->-- '''Marge Simpson''', ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''
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6	%% One quote is sufficient. Please place additional entries on the quotes tab.
7
8	In {{Reality Show}}s, a camera which is set up in an isolated location (a small room or, in outdoor environs, a secluded area), where the show's participants appear individually to speak candidly about tactics, motivations, the other players, etc. A common feature of the RealityTVShowMansion. In many cases, Confession Cam interviews are produced in such a way that they can be spliced into the regular footage at any point with ManipulativeEditing, and may be used several episodes away from when they actually took place. A few clever participants (most of them female) have circumvented this by noticeably changing their hairstyles and/or make-up each day, very effectively limiting how much the footage can be misplaced.[[note]]Later shows have gotten around this by requiring contestants to maintain the same outfit and appearance for confessionals.[[/note]]
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10	The modern concept, similar in execution to documentary interviews, hearkens back to the granddaddy of the reality show, Creator/{{MTV}}'s ''Series/TheRealWorld'' along with its younger sister series ''Series/RoadRules''. Episodes were spliced with clips of the castmates talking directly to the camera, sharing their thoughts on the other castmates and whatever drama was at hand. Initially, it was made to look like the speaker was alone in a room with the camera. However, there was always an unseen producer ''behind'' the camera asking questions, and they'd splice together the best soundbites for the episode. Nowadays, it's usually much more clear that the speaker is talking to someone offscreen, and you might even hear the producer respond during particularly emotional or unusual moments.
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12	Speaking to the Confession Cam can be quite hazardous to the speaker's personal reputation -- it's important to not only watch ''what'' you're saying, but also ''how'' you say it, so that it's harder to twist around via clever editing. The above-mentioned hair-change trick is one method; another is to pay careful attention to what you're saying and deliberately 'bust the take' so that you can mentally compose a better response.
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14	Not to be confused with the {{confessional}} at your local Catholic church. [[RealityShowGenreBlindness If you do mix them up]], prepare to be ConvictedByPublicOpinion sooner or later. Compare EngineeredPublicConfession and AccidentalPublicConfession for when the speaker isn't aware he or she is being overheard.
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16	----
17	!!Examples:
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19	[[foldercontrol]]
20
21	[[folder:Reality Programs]]
22	* ''The 1900 House'' documentary had one of these in each bedroom hidden in a corner cupboard. The family would confess when they did something not of the period (such as the women buying modern shampoo), or just to air their frustrations as a sort of personal diary.
23	* ''Series/TheAmazingRace'' does a variant, as teammates almost always do them together.
24	* ''Series/AmericasNextTopModel'' has interviews filmed after the events of the episodes interspersed with the action.
25	* ''Series/TheApprentice'' puts a Confession Cam with the [[EliminationStatement eliminated contestant]] in the taxi ride to the airport, along with more standard invocations of the trope.
26	* Golf Channel's ''Big Break'' has one. It almost always telegraphs the confessor's next shot: If they're boasting about their skills, it'll be a terrible shot; if they're admitting they're scared, it'll be a great shot. It doesn't matter whether it's a drive or a 4-foot putt.
27	* The diary room in ''Series/BigBrother'' would be the second most common form.
28	** Additionally, both ''Series/{{Survivor}}'' and ''Series/BigBrother'' use confessionals of the actual voting, with both apologies to the person being voted for and the vitriolic rants against them.
29	* ''Series/TheColony'' uses the confession room regularly to get more insight into what's going the subjects' minds after noteworthy events. The first season makes a point that the colonists film it themselves in a back room, but no explanation is given in the second season.
30	* ''Series/TheDeadFiles'' has two particular instances:
31	** Steve Di Schavi is often filmed talking about aspects of the cases and what he's going to be doing via a camera in his car.
32	** Amy Allen does this at times during her psychic reading (talking about her experiences), during the sketch sequence (talking about what she's describing to the sketch artist), and at the end of the episode (making a brief commentary about the overall experience and her recommendations for how to deal with the episode's haunting(s)).
33	* ''[[Series/DestinationFear2019 Destination Fear]]'': Used by whoever picks the location they are traveling to, to give a small exposition to the viewers before the rest of the crew know.
34	* ''Series/TheDoctorOzShow'' uses them for both serious (addiction, weight trouble, deadly disease) and not-so-serious (a funny-sounding fart, or another normal body oddity) conditions.
35	* ''Series/DrPhil'': Dr. Phil typically embeds a camera crew with his guests a couple of weeks/days before they appear on his show; the preparatory footage thus collected always includes several Confession Cams.
36	%%** Ditto [[Series/{{Maury}} Maury Povich]].
37	* On ''Series/{{Endurance}}'', there is usually a small room provided where contestants can express their thoughts and comments on challenges and relationships that are occurring throughout the series.
38	* ''[[Series/FaceOff Face Off]]'' has the confession cam but, due to the general FriendlyRivalry among the competitors, they use it almost exclusively to express their thoughts on the theme of the challenges, as well as to explain screwups and decisions made in the creation stage. In the reveal stage, the contestants talk about the final results of their work as they are revealed to the judges.
39	* On ''Series/GhostHunters'', TAPS members frequently use the Confession Cam to explain the terminology used in their investigations. More often than note, though, they merely describe to the audience what we just witnessed actually being filmed. It can get tiresome.
40	** Thankfully, they've mostly stopped explaining how EVP works, which they used to do ''twice'' every episode.
41	* ''Series/HellsKitchen'', keeping with the theme, has shelves of pots and pans in the background that make it look like the Confession Cam is located in HK's pantry.
42	* ''WebVideo/JetLagTheGame'': In ''Tag EUR It'', there are several scenes where Sam hides in the restroom so that he can film himself talking about his strategy without his current team partner overhearing him since this season's structure meant that he, Ben, and Adam kept alternating between working together and working against each other.
43	* On ''Series/TheJoeSchmoShow'', the time the actors spent talking to the confession cam was the time that they could actually be themselves without having to be their character. This caused a panic in the first season, however, when everyone thought that Matt Kennedy Gould (the season's mark) had heard Lance Krall ("Kip") talking out-of-character on the confession cam.
44	* ''Series/JudgeJoeBrown'' shows them ranting ''before'' the show; after each case, they are shown leaving while the court report [[CaptainObvious describes what just transpired]].
45	* Most television court shows such as ''Series/JudgeJudy'' (see exceptions below).
46	* ''Series/JunkyardWars'' mostly relies on the cameras that are with the teams, but each team does have a video camera available to them in a remote corner of their workshops where team members can self-record brief confessionals.
47	* ''Jury Duty'' features the namesake jury ranting instead of the litigants.
48	* ''Series/ThePeoplesCourt'' still features interviews by the court reporter after the case wraps up.
49	* The short-lived teen game show ''Series/Pressure1'' would have one for the first eliminated contestant; they would talk about their most embarrassing moment as a punishment for being the day's first loser.
50	* The children's adventure game show ''Series/{{Raven}}'' has this, with the in-universe explanation of these thoughts being "seen" by Raven with the Raven's Eye. The contestants/warriors give their thoughts at the beginning of each episode as well as after each challenge. The spin-offs only have the thoughts on the challenges.
51	* ''Series/TheRealHousewives'' has multiple talking head sessions for the cast members, filmed after the events of the episode take place.
52	* ''Series/ScrapheapChallenge'' has one of these; it's rarely seen because contestants are too busy building things, but when a fight takes place or there is a lot of tension, expect a little elaboration from somebody on the team.
53	* The documentary-style Confession Cam employed by ''Series/{{Survivor}}'' is probably the quintessential incarnation.
54	* In interviews, many contestants on ''Series/TheTester'' have stated that they're not really shallow idiots as they appear to be. The editing just makes it seem that way.
55	* ''Series/TopChef'' uses this throughout the episode. Normally, the cheftestants talk about a dish they're preparing or explaining the challenge to the viewer.
56	* In a similar vein, ''Series/TheWeakestLink'' features contestants [[EliminationStatement ranting after they've been eliminated]].
57	[[/folder]]
58
59	!!Parodies and Non-Reality Programs
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61	[[folder:Comic Books]]
62	* ''ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'': A rare non-television example is used in ''ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2008'' with its debriefing 'video' clips.
63	* ''ComicBook/IceCreamMan'': PlayedForHorror in the chapter where a scriptwriter gets TrappedInTVLand by the eponymous HumanoidAbomination and finds himself in increasingly disturbing reality shows. Each time he shifts to another show, there are interludes like this where the guy details how he suddenly found himself in these shows, how disturbed he is by what's going on, and how desperate he is to leave. There are also interviews with the other show participants (like a mannequin woman in a dating show and three zombie women in a ''Real Housewives'' sendup) who talk about their roles in the disturbing shows like nothing unusual is going on, as well as an interview with the scriptwriter's uncle who was also pulled into the shows, killed, and is now surprised that he's dead.
64	[[/folder]]
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66	[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]
67	* ''Film/AxeMurderingWithHackley'': Hackley has a Vlog, which he uses to rant about his situations and talk about himself.
68	* During the allegedly gruesome filming of ''Film/{{Dogville}}'', a Confession Cam was set up for the actors by director Lars von Trier to help them cope. It's on the DVD extras.
69	* Used one by Creator/IngmarBergman in ''Film/EnPassion''. All four main actors have one chance to speculate on their characters.
70	* Used in ''Film/Series7TheContenders'', but it's hard to fit into the continuity proper, what with it being [[HuntingTheMostDangerousGame the most dangerous game]] and all.
71	* Used in ''Film/{{Showtime}}'' for the Reality ShowWithinAShow of the same name. Since this was a police-themed reality show, the two protagonists are contractually-obligated to spend at least 5 minutes a day in the booth with the camera. [[Creator/EddieMurphy Trey]] uses the camera to the full extent, complaining about Mitch and boasting about his own skills. [[Creator/RobertDeNiro Mitch]] does anything in the booth ''but'' its intended purpose (e.g. reading a newspaper, shaving, making fun of Trey).
72	[[/folder]]
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74	[[folder:Literature]]
75	* The ''Literature/WarriorCats'' [[ExpandedUniverse field guide]] ''Secrets of the Clans'' has a variant of this: there are brief sections called "_____ Speaks", and the characters talk about their feelings during a major event that occured in the main series, their motivation for doing something, and things like that.
76	[[/folder]]
77
78	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
79	* ''Series/{{Backstage}}'' uses this regularly.
80	* On the Hulu original series ''Series/Battleground2012'' this occurs. The interviews seem to take place after the ending of the campaign, showing where many of the characters are.
81	* Since ''Series/TheBigLeap'' is about an in-universe reality show called ''The Big Leap'', this happens often. The cast, hosts, and eventually executive producer Nick sick in a room next to the rehearsal area, which means they can also be interrupted during their confessions by people tapping on the glass or otherwise distracting them.
82	* Used in an episode of ''Series/{{Community}}'' in which Abed is filming a documentary about his friends. Shirley even films a confession cam segment without Abed's knowledge.
83	* ''Series/DoctorWho'': [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E12BadWolf "Bad Wolf"]] starts off with the Doctor arriving on a far-future ''Big Brother'', and immediately being sent to the confession cam.
84	-->'''Davina-Droid:''' You are live on Channel 44,000. Please do not swear.\
85	'''The Doctor:''' You have GOT to be kidding.
86	* Some episodes of ''Series/DrewCareysImprovaganza'' do this with the audience volunteers and some special guests.
87	* A variation of this is used in the Discovery Kids show ''Series/Flight29Down''. Each person has their own tape for the camera which they use as a sort of diary.
88	* ''Series/HighSchoolMusicalTheMusicalTheSeries'' have some set up as part of the mockumentary-style of the show, even though there's no recording occurring in-universe, so they mostly act as spots for soliloquies and inner thoughts.
89	* ''Series/TheKicks'' used this in the original version of the Pilot, but dropped it during the full season and released a recut Pilot that didn't use it.
90	* An episode of ''Series/{{Leverage}}'' meant to parody ''Series/{{The Office\|US}}'' naturally uses this.
91	* ''Series/LivAndMaddie'' does when the main characters have some comments about the scene at hand, for example, in Sleep-A-Rooney, Liv states that she did had fun times with Parker prior to her departure to Hollywood. The GrandFinale reveals this to be a ShowWithinAShow within the series itself.
92	* ''Series/ModernFamily'' uses this device, where characters complain about their family members.
93	* Both ''Series/TheOfficeUK'' and ''Series/TheOfficeUS'' use a {{Mockumentary}} format that will frequently cut to characters in confession cams revealing their thoughts about the situation that is unfolding.
94	* ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'', as the SpiritualSuccessor to ''Series/TheOfficeUS'', copies its use of confession cams while never actually establishing that there is a documentary being filmed.
95	* ''Series/RuPaulsDragRaceUK'': The {{Drag Queen}}s competing in the show provide commentary via confessional interviews, which are recorded after the scenes they refer to, then spliced into the episode. Confessionals are recorded out of drag and typically start on video, sometimes changing to voiceover when the episode cuts back to the original scene.
96	* In an episode of ''Series/ThatsSoRaven'', Raven and Chelsea are on a dating game show where they compete for a chance to date a guy. They're filmed via confession cam saying what they really think about each other, but they producer turns them against each other by editing what they say (i.e. Raven's "Chelsea is such a good friend, I would never want to lose her, and that's coming from the heart" is edited to "Chelsea is such a loser, and that's coming from the heart").
97	* The seventh episode of ''Series/WandaVision'' has these, being an AffectionateParody of ''Series/ModernFamily''. Mixing it with the characters' increasing MediumAwareness leads to some funny moments, like Vision realizing he has no idea what he's doing talking into a camera or how he suddenly got there.
98	[[/folder]]
99
100	[[folder:Music]]
101	* Music/{{U2}}'s [=ZooTV=] tour had a video confession that played before and during the show.
102	[[/folder]]
103
104	[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
105	* A regular feature of ''Series/TheMuppets2015'', which has a similar format to ''Series/{{The Office\|US}}''. In the first episode Gonzo uses it to decry the whole concept, saying it just gets used for cheap laughs based on HypocriticalHumor. We then cut back to the meeting, where he tells Kermit it's a great device and he loves it.
106	* Invoked on ''Series/TheMrPotatoHeadShow'' during the reality-show episode: Mr. Potato Head set one up and allowed the other cast members to go in any time they wanted to discuss their feelings. Which he then used ManipulativeEditing on to make it look like one of the characters was badmouthing all the others as an attempt at generating conflict to liven up the show.
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108
109	[[folder:Video Games]]
110	* In the ''VideoGame/SaintsRowIV'' DLC Enter the Dominatrix, Jane Valderamma interviews many of the Saints in this style about one of their "deleted scenes," a story that was partially "shot" but never released called Enter the Dominatrix. It's implied that many elements of ETD were later reconfigured and reused for ''Saints Row IV'' itself, mirroring [=SR4's=] partial origins in the unreleased Enter the Dominatrix DLC for ''[[VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird Saints Row:]]'' '''''[[VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird The Third]]'''''. [[NoFourthWall More lampshades are hung than in a lampshade factory.]]
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112
113	[[folder:Web Animation]]
114	* ''WebAnimation/BarbieLifeInTheDreamhouse'' makes frequent use of this, even for characters who can't speak English.
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116
117	[[folder:Web Videos]]
118	* ''WebVideo/EscapeTheNight'': As traditional for reality/scripted TV hybrids (see; ''Series/MurderInSmallTownX'', ''Series/TheMurderGame'', ''Series/Whodunnit2013'') it makes sense to have the [=YouTubers=] comment on the action from their points of view. It's later confirmed that those scenes represent the [=YouTubers'=] in-universe thought processes as it [[https://youtu.be/QVd8JbpZcKo?t=684s actually happens in that moment]], and as such, are not really to be considered as a actual thing in "canon".
119	* WebVideo/FishtankLive: Certain contestants, such as Vance and Sylvia, have spoken directly to the camera to speak about their motivations and strategies. Unlike with normal reality TV fare, the livestream format helps remove the risk of their "confessions" being selectively edited.
120	* ''Series/IAmNotInfected'' features a confession cam, which is a leftover from the series taking place in the house before the ZombieApocalypse, ''The Frat House of Representatives''. It's put to use by the characters frequently.
121	* ''WebVideo/BAMFGirlsClub'', being a parody of reality TV, has an obligatory one.
122	* ''WebVideo/OneHundredYardStare'': Ellie makes a startling confession at the end of episode ''18''
123	* The French web series ''WebVideo/ConfessionsDHistoire'' {{parod\|y}}ies this with historical characters.
124	[[/folder]]
125
126	[[folder:Western Animation]]
127	* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' which parodied RealityTV, the house which served as location for the reality ShowWithinAShow featured a closet equipped with a camera, dubbed the "Confessional," which Marge interpreted quite literally.
128	* Parodied, of course, in ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether''. The series uses it scarcely in later episodes as it becomes more divergent from its Reality Show parody premise and places more emphasis on BlackComedy and parodying just about everything else.
129	* Seen, of course, in the faux-reality show ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'' and its SpinOff ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaPresentsTheRidonculousRace''. Like much of the shows, it invokes the RuleOfFunny, so expect it to be used when it quite logically and explicitly cannot. For many reasons, including the fact that in ''Total Drama'' the confession booth is also an outhouse. Which is sometimes in use. When the camera is on. Thankfully, above belly button level.
130	* ''WesternAnimation/LifesAZoo'' features these as part of its reality show parody premise.
131	* WesternAnimation/The7D does this in almost every episode, even the main antagonists, the Glooms.
132	* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'':
133	** Also of course parodied in the episode It's a Jersey Thing, where the various Jersey Shore template characters suddenly cut to confession cams in the middle of a scene. This is Lampshaded when Kyle's mom does one and it cuts back to everyone else in the room staring at her talking to thin air.
134	** And again in "I Should Have Never Gone Ziplining"
135	* While not a confession cam per se, the interspersed comments by the cast of ''WesternAnimation/HulkAndTheAgentsOfSMASH''
136	* Used for a one-off gag in a season 1 episode of ''WesternAnimation/BigMouth'' with Coach Steve. It's very random and appears out of nowhere.
137	* Used in ''WesternAnimation/ButterbeansCafe'' with the Bean Team commenting on whatever is going on at the moment. [[BigBad Ms. Marmalady]] also gets some on occasion.
138	[[/folder]]

Context Main / ConfessionCam