Kinda wish writing something comedic was easy.

[CB2001]

I wasn't sure if this went in Off-Topic or here on this forum, but I figured I'd post this here (and worse case scenario, it be moved to off-topic).

As someone who writes, one of the things I always found the most difficult was coming up with something I knew was funny and made other people laugh. Sometimes, in my other works, I often include a small joke, but doing a full on comedy was something I never considered out of all the stuff I have written. In fact, I remember one of my teachers from Full Sail telling me that writing comedies are hard.

Well, I kinda wish writing something comedic was easy, or at least coming up with something I know is funny for other people. I've had an idea for a web series called King and McQueen, which deals with an artificial intelligent program and the human being who has to deal with it on a regular basis. I sort of pictured it being a comedy series, but with the first script I've done (two pages long), I can't tell if its funny or not.

If anyone here has written anything comedic before and has any advice to share, care to help a fellow writer out?

 

[SSgt Burton]

No replies?

I thought everyone around here thought they were a comedian. :lol



Seriously though... wish I could help you, but the only (good) writing I've done (which isn't much) has always been dead serious. I don't think I could write a joke if I tried. :unsure


Kevin

 

[firesprite]

Comedy is so hard because humor is incredibly subjective. 90% of what is popular in comedies these days, I don't find humorous in the least... but every now and then something comes along that just knocks me off my feet with how funny I find it.

There are only a handful of comedies I've really enjoyed (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and Tropic Thunder among them) and tons that I haven't even bothered with because I knew I'd just be repulsed by them (pretty much anything featuring gross-out or offensive humor).

All you can do, really, is write what you think is funny and either people will agree or not... I'm sorry I can't be more help than that.

 

[El Duderino]

Whenever I used to write scripts with my friend, comedy always just came naturally. I found if you're having a good time it's easier. Also, life experiences really help. I could write a whole TV show based on just living with my grandparents.

 

[fuelish]

Can you co-write or work with a team? I found that to work well when I was doing sketch comedy and writing for standup.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

When you try to be funny, most often than not, you won't be. When you write, just write what comes naturally and comedy is often more funny, if it isn't written for laughs. I know it is contradictory, but the most funny movies are not really the slap-stick in your face gag-fest comedies... it's those that are done seriously, but with a hint of flair and subtle humor.

 

[CB2001]

First off, so far, thanks to all who have contributed input.

fuelish- I could co-write. But the thing is that I don't have anyone to co-write with.

Too Much Garlic- I sort of get what you're saying. So far, for the first episode of King and McQueen, I don't know where it'd fall under, especially since it's only two characters, always set inside McQueen's apartment (so far) and is primarily arguments about problems caused by the A.I. program.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Artificial Intelligence? Hmm... sounds rather interesting. Well, since it is a learning program situation... there could be many humorous points and interactions about how the human world works and doesn't make logical sense, if you really think about it. Is that the type of stuff you are going to write about?

 

[CB2001]

Artificial Intelligence? Hmm... sounds rather interesting. Well, since it is a learning program situation... there could be many humorous points and interactions about how the human world works and doesn't make logical sense, if you really think about it. Is that the type of stuff you are going to write about?

Well, I was thinking more of some of the problems the A.I. program inadvertently causes, and how McQueen often reacts to it. For example, for the first "episode", I have McQueen ticked off at King (the name of the A.I. program) because King hacked into his Craigslist account and sent several messages to some women Tech Support specialists, asking them to "pull his dongle" (and McQueen explaining how someone could mistake that as being ask for someone to "touch his junk.")

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Oh... yeah... you're right... that's not funny.

 

[CB2001]

Oh... yeah... you're right... that's not funny.

I told you, I've never written comedy before. I'm used to doing a lot more serious stuff. It's the only thing I could think of.

 

[niennumb1]

I find a lot of comedies aren't that funny these days because it feels so forced.

Parodies used to be very funny to me, like "Naken Gun" and "Hot Shots!" After that the whole parody thing started to go down hill, though Keenen Ivory's first "Scary Movie" was good too.

I always say this and don't know if people know what I mean when you see these comedy shows or films that the big failure comes when I see that the material is being completely overshadowed by people who THINK they are funny vs. those people just saying what's written and not be over the top about it and just let that be funny. It comes off completely different. The performers coming off as trying to be funny always fall flat to me.

Comedy is an art form though and not many can pull it off well. You also need to get those people who know how to deliver the lines whether actors or directors.

Then there's those other proclaimed comedies where the people making the films take the whole slapstick thing too extreme and everything becomes so predictable and not at all funny.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Humor is best played subtly. Too much and it's lame. Too little in something too serious and you miss it.

So seriously. You have a story about a guy and his A.I. I'm going to ask you to list 5 things off the top of your head that you could think of when thinking Guy and his A.I. Doesn't have to be funny things, but just things you'd find interesting to explore in that setting. Having the A.I. send out "naughty" messages to women through the guy's account is... not... really... interesting. Unless, you go into the why's of the situation. Why did it do it, what is its motive, what does it expect to get out of it?

Don't write humor. Let the humor show through the way the characters react to each other and the situations they are put in. Play it for real and not slapstick. You don't want the *slip in the banana peel, cue: laugh* effect. You want the *guy is walking, spots a banana peel on the street, sidesteps it, bumps into a pretty lady, can't speak, she smiles knowingly but is already moving on, then she slips in the banana peel.*

See... even that isn't all that funny.

 

[CB2001]

Humor is best played subtly. Too much and it's lame. Too little in something too serious and you miss it.

Okay.

So seriously. You have a story about a guy and his A.I. I'm going to ask you to list 5 things off the top of your head that you could think of when thinking Guy and his A.I. Doesn't have to be funny things, but just things you'd find interesting to explore in that setting.

Alright.

Having the A.I. send out "naughty" messages to women through the guy's account is... not... really... interesting. Unless, you go into the why's of the situation. Why did it do it, what is its motive, what does it expect to get out of it?

Well, King (the A.I.'s name) didn't really send out a dirty message. He was inquiring about getting tech support for a malfunctioning dongle that McQueen uses for the connection between his laptop and King's A.I. housing unit. Since he hasn't really interacted with anyone excepted McQueen (the human character), he is blunt in his statement to a few women who are offering tech support services through Craigslist, saying "I need someone to pull my dongle." As a result, the women he sent the message to misinterpreted it as slang for a certain sexual act, McQueen's Craiglist account (which he primarily used for posting on the forums) ended up getting suspended.

Don't write humor. Let the humor show through the way the characters react to each other and the situations they are put in. Play it for real and not slapstick. You don't want the *slip in the banana peel, cue: laugh* effect. You want the *guy is walking, spots a banana peel on the street, sidesteps it, bumps into a pretty lady, can't speak, she smiles knowingly but is already moving on, then she slips in the banana peel.*

See... even that isn't all that funny.

Okay. I think I get it. Set up the comedy like you know the trouble is coming, but can't avoid it, right?

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Well, King (the A.I.'s name) didn't really send out a dirty message. He was inquiring about getting tech support for a malfunctioning dongle that McQueen uses for the connection between his laptop and King's A.I. housing unit. Since he hasn't really interacted with anyone excepted McQueen (the human character), he is blunt in his statement to a few women who are offering tech support services through Craigslist, saying "I need someone to pull my dongle." As a result, the women he sent the message to misinterpreted it as slang for a certain sexual act, McQueen's Craiglist account (which he primarily used for posting on the forums) ended up getting suspended.

Oh... okay. I guess computer tech savvy people got it immediately, but there's already too much explanation needed to explain the funny part of it to someone outside that circle.

Okay. I think I get it. Set up the comedy like you know the trouble is coming, but can't avoid it, right?

Well... set it up, but do the unexpected. Keep things fresh and not just go for the cheap laugh. For instance... interaction between male and female can be extraordinarily funny if done right. Interaction between a human and a machine can be really funny, again, if done right. It's all about toying with the characters and put them into situations they are not masters at and see how they deal with the situation.

I don't find much comedy funny. Most comedic movies are so far out idiotic in what they call humor that I generally don't waste time on it. But hey... I'm maybe not the most funny guy and used to go by the username No Humor Man... so maybe I'm not really the guy to advise you on humor. But what I've learned is that it's all in the delivery. The most funny and absurd when delivered with a straight face can be hilariously funny, and the most serious lines, if delivered just the right way, can also be funny. It's all about context and how you deliver the funny.

 

[CB2001]

Oh... okay. I guess computer tech savvy people got it immediately, but there's already too much explanation needed to explain the funny part of it to someone outside that circle.

I'm not sure many tech savvy people would get it immediately.

Well... set it up, but do the unexpected. Keep things fresh and not just go for the cheap laugh. For instance... interaction between male and female can be extraordinarily funny if done right. Interaction between a human and a machine can be really funny, again, if done right. It's all about toying with the characters and put them into situations they are not masters at and see how they deal with the situation.

Okay. I think I get that.

I don't find much comedy funny. Most comedic movies are so far out idiotic in what they call humor that I generally don't waste time on it. But hey... I'm maybe not the most funny guy and used to go by the username No Humor Man... so maybe I'm not really the guy to advise you on humor. But what I've learned is that it's all in the delivery. The most funny and absurd when delivered with a straight face can be hilariously funny, and the most serious lines, if delivered just the right way, can also be funny. It's all about context and how you deliver the funny.[/QUOTE]

Okay. But I still appreciate the input you've given me.

 

[blip]

......

 

[CB2001]

I'm in a bit of a rush , but some quick thoughts.
In the year dot, comedy was about people getting engaged. see greek theatre.
Contrast helps, a straight man to play off against.
Saying what everyone is thinking but dares not speak...
personality, how a particular personality sees themselvs vs their shortcomings.
Incongruity, leading a person to expect one thing then taking a 90 deg turn.
eg mary had a little lamb, she kept it in a bucket, every time she let it out the rooster tried to follow it.
lots more stiff. it's a skill, just practice.
good luck.

Wow.... Thanks Blip.

 

[CTF]

What genre is comedy? That's the real question.

 

[firesprite]

What genre is comedy? That's the real question.

Oh, thank GOD I wasn't drinking anything when I read that! :lol