Real time (media)

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Real time within the media is a a method of narratology within a motion picture, television series, radio program, computer game, comic book, or comic strip wherein events being represented or portrayed exactly as it occurs. The exact time of the story action would be equal to the time it takes to view that action.

[edit] Film and television

Often, use of split screens or picture-in-pictures are used to show events occurring at the same time, or the context in which various subplots are affecting each other. Examples include the television series 24 and films Timecode and Phone Booth. Often, the use of on-screen clocks would remind the audience of the real-time presentation.

The most prominent current example of real time occurs within the television series 24, where 24 one-hour episodes combine to form the real-time events occurring to the protagonist over the course of a day.

Rope (1948)
The Set-Up (1949)
Dragnet episode "City Hall Bombing" (first aired in 1949)
High Noon (1952)
12 Angry Men (1957)
The Sadist (1963)
M*A*S*H episode "Life Line" (first aired in 1979)
Wannseekonferenz (1984)
Clue (1985)
Seinfeld episode "The Chinese Restaurant", first aired May 23, 1991
Frasier, episodes "My Coffee With Niles" (1994) and "Dinner Party" (1999)
Nick of Time (1995)
Friends episode "The One Where No One's Ready", first aired September 26, 1996
Running Time (1997)
Run Lola Run (1998)
The Royle Family (sitcom, 1998–2000)
Timecode (2000)
24 (TV series, premiered in 2001)
South Park episode "The New Terrance and Phillip Movie Trailer", first aired March 27, 2002. This episode had the characters saying a commercial was coming, followed by a commercial break.
Phone Booth (2002)
Russian Ark (2002)
Watching Ellie (TV series, 2002–03, first incarnation only)
11:14 (2003)
Before Sunset (2004)
The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005)
United 93 (2006)
16 Blocks (2006 film)
Numb3rs episode "One Hour" (2007)
Stargate Atlantis episode "Thirty-Eight Minutes"
"42", an episode of the third series of Doctor Who (2007)
Garfield and Friends episode "Five-Minute Warning", including a 5-minute countdown in the corner of the screen (note: the countdown jumps from :58 to :56)
The Simpsons episode "24 Minutes" - A parody of the TV series 24
Justice League episode "Wild Cards" features a real-time bomb hunt; the countdown clock is visible throughout the episode.
30 Minute Meals

The technique has been criticized for being unrealistic^{[citation needed]}, since in order to make fiction more interesting than real-life, tasks such as travel, eating, and use of bathrooms would occur much quickly (or be ignored entirely) and therefore require more suspension of disbelief^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Video games

In a real-time computer game or simulation, events in the game occur at the same rate as the events which are being depicted. For instance, in a real-time combat game, in one hour of play the game depicts one hour of combat.

[edit] Comic books and strips

In comic books, the use of real time is made more complicated by the fact that most serial comics are released on a monthly basis and are traditionally 20 to 30 pages long, making it difficult to tell a story set in real time without overlooking important events from one month to the next. Another explanation is the prevalence of the super-hero genre in American comics, and the iconic status attached to such characters : it is often considered that such mythological, sometimes godlike heroes cannot age in real time without losing the characteristics that make them special. Hence the more common use of floating timelines in Marvel Comics or DC Comics. Exceptions include Marvel Comics' New Universe line of books, Erik Larsen's long-running Savage Dragon ongoing series, John Byrne's Superman & Batman: Generations (three non-canon miniseries exploring the notion of "what if Superman and Batman could age?"), and Ben Dunn's Ninja High School

New Universe (Marvel Comics imprint, 1986 - 1989)
52 A weekly comic book series by DC Comics

Comic strips which feature characters aging in real-time include:

Gasoline Alley (Characters have grown up, aged and died in real time since the 1920s)
For Better or For Worse (for its first 28 years of existence)
Doonesbury (Characters age in real-time and interact with real history)