Homes Under The Hammer

Homes Under The Hammer is a factual television series on BBC One created by Melanie Eriksen. Running since 2003, main presenters Lucy Alexander and Martin Roberts share presenting duties. In Series 3 Alexander and Roberts also shared presenting duties with Marc Woodward and Jasmine Birtles. Birtles and Woodward were only used for Series 3, with Alexander and Roberts presenting up until the present series which is Series 14 (as of October 2011).

Presenters Martin Roberts and Lucy Alexander

Homes Under The Hammer is a show that is usually 1 hour long, showing 3 properties before they are sold at auction. 30 minute shows are also used when showing only 2 properties. Homes Under The Hammer shows properties that are being sold at an auction, the properties often need a vast amount of refurbishment, as they can be falling down, have damp or a lot of the interior needs to be refurbished. Before they are sold at auction one of the presenters goes to the property, has a look around and shows what could be improved. A local estate agent is then invited into the property to assess the house and give it a price for what it could be sold for at auction. The auction will then be shown and the final sale price revealed. An interview will then take place between the presenter and the owner of the property, finding out their background and what they intend to do to the property. The owner will then give a detailed plan into what they choose to renovate and how much they have budgeted to spend. The owner will then be left for around 3 months to renovate the property. After this showing this much of the first property, the show then continues with the 2nd house. Later on in the show they go back to the first property to see how the owner has got on. They show before and after shots, to show how much of a difference the owner has made to the property. Other properties are usually shown mid way through renovation which give an idea of the work being done but not the final effect. After the newly renovated house is shown there is another interview with the owner. The presenters are not present in this part of the show, but they provide a voice over instead. In their voice over they talk about how much the owner has spent and if they felt it was worthwhile. 2 estate agents are then invited round to the property to see how much the house would be sold for and the rental price.

Music is usually played that relates to the property whilst images of the houses are being shown. Typical songs that are used are; 'Money Money Money' - Abba and 'Moving On Up' - M People. Songs will be chosen depending on the location of the property and the people buying them. If the house looks a bit dreary and battered, something like 'Park Life' - Blur will be played. This will then show shots of the location the house is situated in. The same piece of music is used every episode when the estate agents visit the refurbished houses and give the amount of the rental and selling prices. The song used is called 'Soul Food.' Music is also used when the auction is taking place, the music is tense to relate to the tension in the auction room and how fast the auctions happen. The presenters have many opportunities to voice over, especially when they are briefing you on the buyer of the property and the locations of buildings and how much restoration the buyers have done.

The title sequence of the show is very stereotypical of what a property show is like, houses have been created by folding up money. They spin around, and coins build up on top of each other. The title sequence is very bland and the music sounds a little cheesy, but this coincides with what is happening on the titles.

There are many different camera angles and shots in the show. For example the introduction into the show at the beginning is handheld. You can see this as the camera is wobbling slightly and moving backwards as the presenters walk forwards. The clip isn't as smooth as it would be if it was shot with a track. Again typical zooms in and out are used to transition different clips together. Most of the on location filming is filmed handheld aswell, especially when the presenter is walking through the house. When the presenter is interviewing the owner of the building the camera is placed on a tripod, as you can see in the image above. This makes the shot look a lot more formal and it looks neater, whereas when the presenter is walking around the house having still shots look to prepared. Whilst in the auction room the camera is placed on a tripod where they can pan the camera quickly to the people that are bidding and the auctioneer. A wide use of close ups, long shots and mid shots are used during the show, as long shots are used to show off the buildings and the more intimate mid shots + close ups are used when the buyers and presenters are talking.

The credits of the show are typical of a daytime TV show, they aren't anything fancy. They show shots of what the restored properties look like, with the names of all people involved scrolling upwards on the screen. The theme music for the show is then placed on this aswell. The name of the production company is displayed at the end of the show.

Homes Under The Hammer is uploaded daily to BBC iPlayer, you are able to watch the show for another 7 days. Homes Under The Hammer also has it's on part on the BBC website. The website features auction advise for if you are planning to buy or sell a house via auction. The website doesn't have that much information on it, just mainly the auction guide, information on the presenters and details on how they film at auctions. There are galleries from previous auctions and a checklist that you can use when you are viewing a property.

Homes Under The Hammer is governed by the BBC Trust, and the BBC Complaints Management Board. The BBC Trust is the BBC's body that deals with the interest of license payers. It monitors editorial standards, compliance, and the handling of all complaints. All of these are shown in their Annual Report to license payers.  The BBC Complaints Management Board, does reviews complaints, any arising issues, matters from OFCOM and developments in the broadcasting industry monthly. The board is made up of senior executives and ensures that all TV shows meet the standards of the BBC Editorial Guidelines. The BBC must also keep within the guidelines of broadcasting regulatory body OFCOM. With the guidelines of OFCOM, shows such as Homes Under The Hammer must protect the identity of under 18s, provide fairness, protect viewers from harm and offence, and treat religions fairly.