FUNNY

It. Is. HAAAAAAAAARD.

I'm creating an animated sitcom. And my laptop has never been scarier to me.

Brain-storming ideas and writing is hard enough. Coming up with funny stuff? Phew!

You see that "Story Time II" thread I created? Or it's predecessor "Story Time"?

Warm ups.

Neither helped, by the way. I haven't been able to produce a single script. And I have to write ten. Ten funny scripts.

A lot of you might have spotted that I struggled through Story Time II. The only thing that made me chuckle upon review were the descriptive names (Hairy Veiny Bulbuous Dude, Smelly Smelly Yellow Water).

The fucking story had no POINT?!?

So essentially, if people think you're a hoot in real life?

Or if you've got a knack for pointing out hilarity in the grim?

Or you're the kind of person who can laugh about having their stomach pumped after a particularly eventful night out?

My hat goes off to you.

Because funny ain't easy.

😢

What are you looking to do or accomplish? After you identify the mindset you're going for. You really just gotta let it flow. Comedy that follows a strict formula sort of loses it's freshness at times. You're right though. It can be hard to accomplish, specially when you seek it. ESPECIALLY animation. The thing is, funny is harder when you look at it as a talent or learned behavior.

For instance, face to face comedy. That can be a real bitch. Even if the subject material is the bee's knees, if the vibe and delivery is off, then everything gets all fucked up. It's like "Come on funny, show your face, don't let me down! I've got an audience here. This is funny material, I just need 5 minutes of your time." The joke flops. Where was funny? Who the hell knows? It could be off making a ham sandwich.

You got to get to the level where you take your mind and let it realize humor is EVERYWHERE. No looking, hoping, practicing, or anything required. Once you're brain is wired this way. There's no turning back. It's like sending your mind on a one way ticket to cartoon-town, USA. Everything suddenly becomes akin and reminds you of a punch line on a sitcom or the wacky 10 second side-skits in between the plot of a family guy episode.

Funny can be morbid things like my dead gram. Everyday mundane - seeing a shelf stocker whose hand slips from ripping a box open and punches them self in the throat or pokes an eye with their thumb. Realizing the varnish/stain finish on a wooden door has a splotch that highly resembles the side profile of the Pope doing the macarena. Being at a fancy dinner party during some notable silence and purposely pouring a pitcher of water slowly while holding it extra high to mimic the sound of urine hitting toilet water.

I feel like it's really the simple, least rehearsed, most random, but true shit that holds the greatest potential. People have gotten trained to laugh only at slapstick stuff and have forgotten how funny everyday life is. It's cool to remind people that funny shit is happening constantly, that they're the comedians, just help them recognize it and they won't be able to resist a laugh. Like talking to your boss at work. You breath through your nose or mouth too hard. Low and behold. A crusty snot or that under the tongue spit squirt hurdles forward and lands somewhere between their hairline and collarbone. People like to relate to situations a lot. You should post random shit on here. It's hard to see your own work as

funny. *

zjv: thank you. Funny is everywhere. Funny is natural. Stop trying to force/control/format it.

I just... I want to say things. And I want these things to give people new POVs and I want people to think about these things while laughing.

And above all else I want it to look like i'm not even trying.

Because I love to laugh and make others laugh. It's a freeing feeling.

I feel you. Righteous cause. Holler if ya ever wanna collab.
😄

Ged,

You mentioned you're focusing on an animated sitcom. Have you tried using storyboards to help put together and visual your ideas?

Posted by VirgoHero
Ged,

You mentioned you're focusing on an animated sitcom. Have you tried using storyboards to help put together and visual your ideas?

No. Because I don't know how. I've literaly drawn a bunch of charcters, tied 'em togethr with a premise and I'm struggling with the ideas stage.

It doesn't help that I'm doing this guirella style and my imagination is hampered by stupid ittle but important details such as how close-ups will be handled against the illustrator's backgrounds, sets WITHIN sets (e.g front porch/backyard) and other stuff.

PLUS, I'm trying o figure out how to cram funny jokes AND emotiona moments into a 5 minute show (I'm releasin it on the internet).

And then there's picking afont for the logo...

Posted by FeistyAquarian

I've been trying to work on a good story I have but it's stalled....I dunno how to get it from Point A to Point B at the moment lol It's intimidating!!

I HEAR THAT!!! Ugh. I wish I could just magic the ideas into place. Even the potential adoration (if it comesout good) is't enough to distract me from how difficult the task at hand is.

Posted by &2gedanow


No. Because I don't know how. I've literaly drawn a bunch of charcters, tied 'em togethr with a premise and I'm struggling with the ideas stage.

Think of it as a method to help visual the flow of whatever you're trying to depict. You mentioned a sitcom so it has a definitive beginning and a definitive end. You also mentioned 5 minutes so you know length from beginning to end.

Storyboarding is just literally drawing a quick comic to help visual what's going on. It doesn't contain every aspect. It doesn't contain every written word. You're just visualizing it from beginning to end depicting the major points. Hell you can use stick figures. For me, as a very visually oriented person, it helps seeing that all come together, EVEN IF ITS ROUGH and just a DRAFT, to help fill in some of the blanks or brainstorm more ideas.

Pulling from my own experiences,
Years ago, all my projects I worked on had an introduction of some sort. Myself or the writers / designers would have an idea of what needed to be conveyed in this introduction and perhaps what needed to be spoken. Now with all this, we'd storyboard it to see it all come together pre production, as well as when we did go to our artists to create it (in this case, production), it gave them direction rather than us saying "okay the dude, has to walk in the room....then he has to do stuff....then stuff becomes other stuff....the end".

From what you described, you might not be at that point to start pulling it all together and my words are spoken without truly knowing your situation but its something to think about. Sometimes it works as a stepping stone so you can get unstuck going from Point A to Point B with your ideas.

Posted by FeistyAquarian

Posted by &2gedanow

Posted by FeistyAquarian

I've been trying to work on a good story I have but it's stalled....I dunno how to get it from Point A to Point B at the moment lol It's intimidating!!

I HEAR THAT!!! Ugh. I wish I could just magic the ideas into place. Even the potential adoration (if it comesout good) is't enough to distract me from how difficult the task at hand is.

Yeah, exactly! There's so many ways you can go with a story and I always feel like writing 15 versions but that's impractical 🙂 I'm trying to do what JK Rowling did with Harry Potter, where she just outlined her story with the tiniest, minute details.

click to expand

The pleasure is in the details, Feisty. Have fun with it 🙂

To Feisty: Have I got a solution to our writing problems.

It's a simple formula of

(a) create a character/characters
(b) create a plot
(c) create SITUATIONS relevant to the plot and characters AND - for me, anyway
(d) put a funny spin on these situations

So it'll be like:

(a) a Paraphilic (sexually attracted to inanimate objects) dog
(b) The Paraphilic dog finds a bone
(c) The Paraphilic dog struggles with its doggy instincts of burying the bone and, because the dog is paraphilic, humping it.
(d) The Paraphilic dog humps the bone. And promises to call it later. But then doesn't. Because "don't hate the player, babeh. Hate tha game."

In Hollywood speak this is called "beating out" a plot, googlers usually don't explain it in a way you can grasp quickly, so tadah!

It's too bad we're aquarians, though, and therefore don't do organisation or most forms of structure really well...

Posted by Dynamite Parfait
Are you using some of the characters on dxp as inspiration for your project, gedsy?

such ripe creative fodder, we are......

😉

😄

I actually created a character based on past dxp posts lol.

She's a depressed and agony aunt and feminist simmering with pent up rage, who gets call-ins from women that have very hard-hitting questions like "He was only inside me for two seconds - does that count as cheating?"

Creative fodder indeed lol

Posted by FeistyAquarian
But maybe NIB and I will both be rich little Aqua writers some day...his in the form of a SunDance film that becomes huge! And mine in the form of an intriguing novel

Amen to THAT, sista!

Posted by &2gedanow
To Feisty: Have I got a solution to our writing problems.

It's a simple formula of

(a) create a character/characters
(b) create a plot
(c) create SITUATIONS relevant to the plot and characters AND - for me, anyway
(d) put a funny spin on these situations

So it'll be like:

(a) a Paraphilic (sexually attracted to inanimate objects) dog
(b) The Paraphilic dog finds a bone
(c) The Paraphilic dog struggles with its doggy instincts of burying the bone and, because the dog is paraphilic, humping it.
(d) The Paraphilic dog humps the bone. And promises to call it later. But then doesn't. Because "don't hate the player, babeh. Hate tha game."

In Hollywood speak this is called "beating out" a plot, googlers usually don't explain it in a way you can grasp quickly, so tadah!

It's too bad we're aquarians, though, and therefore don't do organisation or most forms of structure really well...

So, feisty, your imagination doesn't have to fuck things up for your novel in terms of having to decide what happens in it.

Basing the book on a single plot (a hostage situation), populating it with characters that will react in an interesting manner to the plot (a hostage-taker who's never taken hostages before, his recently converted ex-con hostage and a timid security guard slowly reaching the end of his rope) and making sure the characters react in the appropriate manner (the ex-con who was in for murder finding himself conflicted, the timid security guard finding bravery and the hostage-taker losing control of the situation) will fill your story up real good.

Well: I'm off to do some writing. Thanks everyone!

Posted by Shaka_laka_boomboom
Youre so weeirdddd ahhahaaa omg youre such an aqua omg this is really not normal, omg youre so creative and original hahahahahahahahahahAHahahhahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahhh.

Is this what you wanted to hear? its all aquas really want to hear, it makes them orgasm since nothing physical possibly can 😛




wHATEVER, boring, next.

Mmkay?

Posted by Shaka_laka_boomboom
😄 I was just trying to fuel your inspiration

🙂

Posted by VirgoHero

Posted by &2gedanow


No. Because I don't know how. I've literaly drawn a bunch of charcters, tied 'em togethr with a premise and I'm struggling with the ideas stage.

From what you described, you might not be at that point to start pulling it all together and my words are spoken without truly knowing your situation but its something to think about. Sometimes it works as a stepping stone so you can get unstuck going from Point A to Point B with your ideas.

click to expand

Nope, you're right, actually. Was still tinkering with little things but I have the formula now.

Thanks a lot for the story board description. Really helps.