Ani Sumadi's quiz shows keep viewers guessing
JAKARTA (JP): TV quiz show queen Ani Sumadi captured in one remark what made the current crop of programs so popular among audiences.
"We are in the business of filling up people's time."
She is indeed: Ani Sumadi Productions eats up 30 percent of the lucrative quiz show pie on TV.
Ani has produced 28 quiz shows during her 25 years in TV, and almost all were successes.
Current ones on the air are Gita Remaja, Berpacu Dalam Melodi and Siapa Dia on TVRI, Aksara Bermakna on ANteve, Persembahanku on Indosiar and Tak Tik Boom on RCTI.
Ani said the appeal of game shows was that they were "easily digestible by all minds and are fun".
But not all quiz shows are created equal, she said.
"Quizzes like Tak Tik Boom and Aksara Bermakna have limited viewer classes. People whose knowledge is not on the same level with that of the program's will not be interested despite the 'glossing'," Ani said.
"What I do is make quality quiz shows that can entertain. If they are educational, they will question more about scientific or informative subjects than anything else."
Ani, 59, started off as a broadcaster on Radio Republik Indonesia in Medan in 1958, and moved on to become a broadcaster and reporter for TVRI five years later.
She was one of five TVRI employees selected to study at Tryorson Polytechnic Institute in Toronto. She got her grounding in TV production at the Canadian school.
"I started off my quiz career with a show called Pantomim in the late 1960s," Ani said.
"We had a really good comedian called Ratmi ... a very funny character. One day I was just wondering how would Ratmi react to starving herself or how would she act out a scene sitting on a rocking chair, enjoying her grilled corn on the cob.
"I thought if these scenes were acted out and people were asked to guess what she was actually doing, it would be something."
Ani said those were tough times -- she made her own questions for each show and prepared entire programs with the help of "a handful of friends".
Today, she has her own camera crew and some of the best minds in the business to come up with questions.
For some shows, Ani said, her production house paid "totally for the decorations, studio, the participants, host, and all the staff".
While episodes of Aksara Bermakna and Tak Tik Boom cost TV stations about Rp 15 million to Rp 20 million each, Persembahanku and Berpacu Dalam Melodi come with price tags of almost Rp 25 million a show.
"However, Persembahanku costs me more than Berpacu Dalam Melodi due to too many personnel in the show ... I still have to pay them."
Ani listed the four crucial components of a successful show as the "shooting of the show itself, the participants, the material used in forming questions for the quiz and the quizmaster".
She said she used a special camera crew to capture those moments keep viewers on the edge of their seats.
"Whether a game show or a quiz, the success lies behind emotions of the viewers and audiences. Once they (emotions) get involved, it's a hit. If they don't, it's a failure," she said.
"A good camera crew should not miss out on the shout of a winner or the frown of a nervous contestant. It is just not done." (ylt)