Statistical Analysis of Television Style: What Can Numbers Tell Us about TV Editing?

This article assays the value of splicing together humanities-based analysis of television style with digitally generated statistical data. The editing style of the situation comedy Happy Days (1974–1984) provides an intriguing test case for the utility of such analyses, as the show made a radical shift in its mode of production after its second season—switching from single camera to multiple camera (with a studio audience). Using data collected on Shot Logger (http://www.shotlogger.org), this article measures the cutting rates correlated with each mode of production and finds a statistically significant difference between the two. Additionally, the article examines the general acceleration of cutting rates on American television since 1951 and comes to a perhaps surprising conclusion about the impact of individual editors on television style.