(Joke) I am really tired today. I didn't have enough coffee. I only had 7 cups. Had I have two more, I could give a great speech.
Only a few of you laughed but imagine, if I hired the entire group to laugh at my joke except a single person, that single person would join the laughter too. The group action amplifies the comedy. This is one of the working principle of modern day sitcoms. My today's speech is about sitcom.
Sitcom is shortened for situation comedy that has a progressive storyline and a lot of jokes. Its origin can be found in ancient Greece, Rome and India. In modern day sitcoms, you will hear a lot about multi-camera vs single camera. In multi-camera, there are stationary cameras on one side of the room and all the other sides of the room is filmed. It is can be considered as a theatre set where on one end you have the audience. In the single-camera, there is not necessarily one camera but the idea is that camera is not stationary. It is like movies where two characters can move freely like they can walk in the hall way. It is also the reason why laugh track is not used in Single camera.
Getting back to laugh track, how many of you think that laughter is pre-recorded? Answer is both yes and no. While most of the shows use a live audience, there are shows like How I Met Your Mother that use recorded laughter since they have so many switches to different times.
Multi-camera sitcoms have several limitations like no close up shot of the actors and also, enclosed set like living room. But they are good money and better rating than single camera sitcom.
Writing SitComs is very productive. Each episode usually requires a 20-30 pages manuscript. But the writer's salary is very high. Here are a few tips to write a successful SitCom:
1. Pick a theme that has been used before. Most of the successful shows are a remix of the old shows
2. Write the story first and add jokes later. Story will act as a path that your show will follow
3. Lead character can be a genius in his work but should be insecure about him/her when it comes to other aspects of life
4. Make your characters loveable to the audience. One easy trick is to hire (or describe them in the writing) really attractive people.
Only a few of you laughed but imagine, if I hired the entire group to laugh at my joke except a single person, that single person would join the laughter too. The group action amplifies the comedy. This is one of the working principle of modern day sitcoms. My today's speech is about sitcom.
Sitcom is shortened for situation comedy that has a progressive storyline and a lot of jokes. Its origin can be found in ancient Greece, Rome and India. In modern day sitcoms, you will hear a lot about multi-camera vs single camera. In multi-camera, there are stationary cameras on one side of the room and all the other sides of the room is filmed. It is can be considered as a theatre set where on one end you have the audience. In the single-camera, there is not necessarily one camera but the idea is that camera is not stationary. It is like movies where two characters can move freely like they can walk in the hall way. It is also the reason why laugh track is not used in Single camera.
Getting back to laugh track, how many of you think that laughter is pre-recorded? Answer is both yes and no. While most of the shows use a live audience, there are shows like How I Met Your Mother that use recorded laughter since they have so many switches to different times.
Multi-camera sitcoms have several limitations like no close up shot of the actors and also, enclosed set like living room. But they are good money and better rating than single camera sitcom.
Writing SitComs is very productive. Each episode usually requires a 20-30 pages manuscript. But the writer's salary is very high. Here are a few tips to write a successful SitCom:
1. Pick a theme that has been used before. Most of the successful shows are a remix of the old shows
2. Write the story first and add jokes later. Story will act as a path that your show will follow
3. Lead character can be a genius in his work but should be insecure about him/her when it comes to other aspects of life
4. Make your characters loveable to the audience. One easy trick is to hire (or describe them in the writing) really attractive people.
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