RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE SEASON 10 REVIEW

Although a reality entertainment show, RuPaul's Drag Race is one of the biggest shows and so well known for Drag Queens. Having done it's tenth season of Drag Race and with RuPaul also creating Drag-Con, RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars as well as growing in fame and bringing Drag to mainstream media and recognised as a true talent and career. Drag Race currently has all 10 seasons on the streaming service Netflix and the queens who have been on the show (even if they didn't win Drag Race) have ended up touring around the USA and even across to the UK and around Europe.

I thought that Drag Race would be ideal to watch for interviews and performance with Drag Queens. As the programme follows 14 Drag Queens from the USA compete against each other each week (episodes are separated weekly) to win $100,000 and become the next Drag Queen superstar, this is done through a series of challenges which is judged by the Host and Creator RuPaul but also by 3/4 other judges. There are always 2 challenges with each show, a mini challenge at the beginning and then a big challenge at the end. With each week you have a winner of the week and then you have 2 of the weakest Queens who then have to do a lip sync battle to avoid elimination. The loser leaves the show and this continues till the final.

With RuPaul's Drag Race, I'm looking more into the interview styles and performance filming as the way actuality is filmed throughout this programme is similar to what I've already research with previous documentaries.



Interviews
RuPaul's Drag Race has a constant style for the interview throughout the show. This being all the Queens being filmed out of drag. Below are some examples from the beginning of season 10:

What's good about these interviews is you not only see the Queens as they are without the wigs, make-up and dresses. But it's also where they'll be 100% honest about situations, how they feel and also their opinions of the other Queens. All the interviews are one type of shot which is a mid shot. What's good about the interviews is that they're consistent throughout the entire programme and in every episode.

Something else I like about the interview which I hadn't considered was the background. As you can see from the screen shot above and the videos linked in, the background is the same throughout the entire series. It's a simple purple with triangles in an orange. It's bright and colourful and fits the theme of the show as the entire show is colourful and bright and lively. Nothing is boring in Drag Race because it's all about performance and entertainment. This idea has made me consider a changed background as an option but this would need to be done with green screen and this can easily become a horrible look if not done correctly.

Performance
After speaking with Jemma, I'm aware that we are likely to have our Drag Queen performing in the documentary. I've only ever filmed a Drag Queen documentary during our Studio Production Steal the Style where we had our Drag Queen Sapphire Stonee perform. Below is the lip sync battle with Monét X Change and Dusty Ray Bottoms in Season 10:

Although the edits are quick and fast and the music and lights add to the excitement and performance... There isn't a huge amount of change in the camera work. With Steal the Style I got lots of tilting shots and wides but not enough focus on Saphhire's face. Throughout this, when they're lip syncing the focus is on their faces and when a performance bit comes in we cut to the wide or moving shots of the queens performing. There are a shots which are done on a jib which add to the production and make the performance more exciting, however the main shots used are mid and wide shots all moving (panning side to side) and sometimes doing a very slow zoom in. All edited together to the music (so quickly due to the song) as well as showing reactions from the judges so we're able to see whether or not they're enjoying it. It helps to give the audience an idea of who is winning and losing.