Types of sketch Page 2

Quote: Griff @ November 5 2009, 11:08 PM GMT

Ever been on a screenplay writing course bigfella? You'd love it.

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I think I would Griff to be fair.

And I have to say I do find this thread interesting with useful stuff.

I was just being a little flippant.

Just at times I do think that people try to look at stuff too much. Art for example, I don't like to look for the hidden meaning or what the artist was looking for - I just want to say I like it or I don't.

But anyway this isn't an art forum - so I'll shut up. I'll read and learn.

Quote: Griff @ November 5 2009, 11:17 PM GMT

Personally I don't think that any analysis of art is wasted, if you want to get better at doing it. If "looking for the meaning" of a piece helps you think about what it was trying to achieve, and whether it managed it, and how it managed it, that's a good thing surely, whether it's a painting or a sitcom.

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No. I agree with you.

I think I just find it difficult to go through that process.

Quote: bigfella @ November 5 2009, 11:02 PM GMT

At the end of the day are there not just two types of sketches?

1, Funny
2. Not Funny.

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Yeah.
And No.2 isn't really worth pursuing.
So that's down to one really.

Quote: Steve Sunshine @ November 5 2009, 10:56 PM GMT

Just to add to this thread:

I've been doing Chris Heads Radio Sketch show workshop

We started with the classic sketch:
Two people, two different world views

Then the Worls Colliding:
Two completely different worlds combined

Next was the Format Sketch:
Based on a TV or Radio format for example.

Next Monday it's Surealism & Nonsense (I still need to write a sketch for that)

And then finally Character Comedy.

After that we actually have to perform the whole thing in a pub somewhere.

I'm crapping myself, but I've definitely learned a few things along the way, so it's been very useful.

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You've given away his secrets.

He will now kill you.

Quote: bigfella @ November 5 2009, 11:02 PM GMT

Don't people think that at times (and maybe not this thread) we are in danger of analysing things too much?

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Yes, intuitive thinking gets far better results IMO. Not to say analysing isn't interesting or useful, but if you're approaching comedy writing from that angle I don't think it will work as well.

I wonder if a computer programme was designed to follow all the rules of comedy, whether it would come up with something funny? I think it probably wouldn't.

"Computer says no"... is funny the first two times you hear it, by my calculations.

Quote: Griff @ November 6 2009, 12:18 PM GMT

I love "Computer Says No".

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Yes, well... For me, like a lot of the returning sketches in Little Britain, it tired very quickly then became grating.

Even my 75 year old mum says "computer says no".

Analysis is interesting up to a point, but wouldn't following a formula when writing just result in formulaic writing?

Quote: Griff @ November 6 2009, 12:22 PM GMT

Who's suggesting following a formula?

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No one. But looking at the structure of different types of sketch, suggests they have different forumlas doesn't it? This can help critique sketches, but can it help write them?

Quote: Griff @ November 6 2009, 12:39 PM GMT

Whatever, Dolly, I can't be bothered. Bigfella, Dolly's right. Taking any kind of interest in your chosen art form is just a silly waste of time.

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I didn't say that. I said it's "interesting and useful". I was asking if anyone thought approaching writing from this angle would result in better or worse material. I still don't know what you think on this.

An analytical approach can help when you get stuck, but the results can be a little mechanical.

Quote: Timbo @ November 6 2009, 12:57 PM GMT

An analytical approach can help when you get stuck, but the results can be a little mechanical.

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Good point.

Wouldn't it also make the result a bit predictable?

Whatever you are writing, analysing and improving its structure will usually make the resulting product better. A good sketch can be made very good. However, an initially poor/unfunny idea doesn't benefit that much from applying good technique.

Quote: Griff @ November 6 2009, 1:34 PM GMT

We know what you think, though, which is that any suggestion that analysis is a useful part of the writer's skillset should immediately be dismissed with comparisons to "following a formula" and "programming a computer with the rules of comedy" etc. And for that reason, I'm out.

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You don;t know what I think at all. I can also change my mind if an argument is good enough. I'm a reasonable person.

Quote: Griff @ November 6 2009, 1:34 PM GMT

This, I wholeheartedly agree with.

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I think maybe it comes down to what sort of mind you have. I'm a right-brained person and rely on intiutive thinking. Extremly left-brained people can get very uptight about things and hung up on rules .

Nothing is right and wrong, just what approach suits best.

I think most things can be broken down into gategories and if a line or gag isn't working, thinking of different ways to approach it so as to punch or polish it up probably helps. Some people put the anal into analysing. There is a whole industry for it. For my MA I had to write a screenplay and then write a dissertation on it citing influences, research et etc blah blah blah. Useful in the sense that I got to read a lot of crime books and watch a lot of Noir mind.