Blankens said, "We're also going back to the journey and the narrative and what we're trying to this year to bring more focus to getting to know the kids, the songs they choose to sing, what they are as a person because if you can tell that story, then obviously you can connect more and the show will be more relevant to the audience who will pick a favorite."
One of the more subtle ways Idol will highlight the narrative is through its camera work. Live episode director Louis J. Horvitz explained, "We want to make this more like a motion picture framing in 16 x 9... You know, most television shows, it's just framed for 4:3 television. You may not be able to detect that when I'm talking to you about it, but the first time you see the shows, you say, 'Oh, that's that frame that he was talking about.' When you use the cinematic frame for the people at home that are watching, it really draws them into the show, and our whole focus is to get everybody to watch the show, not as a rock concert, but for the narrative, which is the contestants."