"Brief:
DO YOU REMEMBER THE NINETIES?
Year: 1994
Scene: City Nightclub with a Bondai Beach theme
Situation: A group of revellers sit around discussing how the 90's will go down in history as the best decade ever"
They ONLY want sketches in that exact setting? That doesn't sound much fun to judge!
Quote: Afinkawan @ June 10 2008, 11:32 AM BST"Brief:
That doesn't sound much fun to judge!
Or to write.
I didn't read the background, but does the fact that they have specified the set mean it is intended to go into a show?
Even so, it is a narrow and rather uninspiring brief.
Quote: Timbo @ June 10 2008, 11:39 AM BSTit is a narrow and rather uninspiring brief.
You mean like a thong?
LOL
I thought it was rather restrictive too.
Possibly the most boring brief I've ever read. A group of revellers sit around discussing how the 90's will go down in history as the best decade ever?
Oh the comic possibilities!
Holy shee-at.
Scene: City Nightclub with a Bondai Beach theme. In the background Song 2 by Blur starts playing
REVELLER ONE
Ah this a top tune
REVELLER TWO
A ‘top tune’; are we in Ibiza? Is it the nineties?
REVELLER THREE
Don’t knock the 90’s
REVELLER TWO
Why not, what’s so special about the nineties?
REVELLER THREE
Ok Computer?
REVELLER TWO
What?
REVELLER THREE
Ok Computer!
REVELLER TWO
Oh yeah, Ok Computer. Yeah. That's true.
REVELLER FOUR
And Reservoir Dogs!
REVELLER ONE
Oh yes ... Reservoir Dogs, you remember what the films used to be like.
REVELLER TWO
All right, I'll grant you that, OK Computer and Reservoir Dogs are two things that the 90’s have given us...
REVELLER THREE
And the World Wide Web...
REVELLER TWO(sharply)
Well YES OBVIOUSLY the World Wide Web ... the World Wide Web goes without saying. But apart from OK Computer, Reservoir Dogs and the World Wide Web...
REVELLER THREE
The Play Station...
REVELLER ONE
Nirvana ... Twin Peaks ... Viagra
REVELLER TWO
Yes... all right, fair enough...
REVELLER THREE
And Sky Television...
ALL
Oh yes! True!
REVELLER FOUR
Yeah. That's something we'd really miss
REVELLER ONE
What about the Wonder Bra!
(more general murmurs of agreement)
REVELLER TWO
All right ... all right ... but apart from Ok Computer and Reservoir Dogs and Nirvana and Twin Peaks and Viagra and Sky Television and the Wonderbra and the World Wide Web... what HAVE the Nineties ever given US?
REVELLER FOUR
Margaret Thatcher's resignation?
REVELLER TWO
Good point. Same again everyone?
Quote: Griff @ June 10 2008, 11:47 AM BSTThere's no suggestion the sketch will be used anywhere. The winner gets a comedy course and an open mic slot out of it, neither of which I particularly want.
I felt the same, a few of the 4Laughs crowd are already doing well in comedy and this is a comedy competition so its a bit like teaching a bear how to shit.
Also, I don't see the obvious link between being a good sketch writer and being a good stand-up. Anyway, good for a newbie I suppose.
Does anyone feel that 4Laughs is dying a very slow death?
I love 4Laughs and met some great people through it. That site and here are the friendliest places in my virtual world. I just wish that C4 would get behind it in a more demonstrable fashion.
At present, it seems very much like Comedy Soup, a useful parking bay for corraling the massive volume of new material that would normally swamp producers' desks.
the prize does seem sligtly incongruous. more for writer/ performers i guess. i've been lucky enough to win 3 of their comps. as a result have had an animation produced by baby cow, a videotone by E4 and a comic strip in loaded. get me. whilst that hasn't resulted in any direct contact from channel 4, it does look good on the cv and enabled me to place work where i might not have been able to otherwises. i don't think 4 laughs was ever going to be a direct route 'in' but more a stepping stone along the way. they're also a really nice bunch to boot.
I agree that they are a good bunch and have been helpful to me too. I've had a comedy report, won a few caption comps, and was a finalist in their last sketch comp but have really noticed a decline in productivity.
They used to have caption comps everyday, scripts every week, blogs sometimes twice a day etc. Now its blogs once a week, caps made up yourself, WOO once in a blue moon. It is a shame, maybe they are not getting the support or maybe there wasn't as much talent as they had hoped.
I just wish they'd build a more user friendly website.
Quote: ContainsNuts @ June 12 2008, 5:54 PM BSTI felt the same, a few of the 4Laughs crowd are already doing well in comedy and this is a comedy competition so its a bit like teaching a bear how to shit.
Also, I don't see the obvious link between being a good sketch writer and being a good stand-up. Anyway, good for a newbie I suppose.
Does anyone feel that 4Laughs is dying a very slow death?
As a recovering ex-user ... I could never make out what was going on there and still can't.
I've finally entered something not only ignoring most of the brief, but also wildly unfunny to boot. Thought I'd better enter though, as no point bemoaning lack of opportunities and then ignoring them, as I usually do...
Dan
Hi, this is going to sound weird but does anyone have the original details of what the prize is in the competition? As in full details...