Canned / Studio Laughter - Whaddayah say?

Here's one might stir up a bit of strong feeling I suspect.

So added laughter - for or agin it?

I'm against it by and large. I think that for example when you compare Mash avec the laughter track to Mash sans the laughter track then "sans" does for me every time.

I'm puzzled about their origin and guess (could well be shot down in flames here) that it comes from Amerikay? I'm thinking of early shows like Lucy etc which seemed to have loads and loads of people going into paroxysms of cackling, hooting and hollering when quite often (IMO) there wasn't an awful lot to laugh at on screen.

I know there's a difference between studio audience laughter, as recorded on the night, and canned laughter too but neither of them particularly work for me. Are we saying that without these enhancements that comedy shows wouldn't be as funny?

Discuss...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laugh_track

Canned laughter in sitcoms is bad, with the exception of That's My Bush. Canned laughter in Scooby Doo and other cartoon shows is dumb, which adds to the fun. Studio audience laughter is only annoying if the show/joke is not very funny.

MASH with a laughter track is unwatchable, but studio laughter can work when the performers understand how to play off it. Yes Minister was originally intended for filming on closed set, but Nigel Hawthorne and Paul Eddington argued for a studio audience, as they thought it would sharpen up their performances.

Comedy films don't have canned/audience laughter. This omission does not detract from their comedic value. I therefore argue that TV comedy shows need no laughter either.

That said, live audience laughter adds to the theatre and guides the timing of the performers in a way canned laughter can not. So if it had to be one or t'other, studio laughter every time.

Quote: Blenkinsop @ March 28 2009, 9:05 AM GMT

So added laughter - for or agin it?

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It depends entirely on the show, I'm neither for or against. Whatever suits the show is fine by me; I don't really understand the problem with it.

And canned laughter, by which you mean false, pre-recorded laughs just poured over a show, is pretty much a myth these days; if there's laughter over a show, it's because a live audience was laughing.

Quote: Blenkinsop @ March 28 2009, 9:05 AM GMT

Are we saying that without these enhancements that comedy shows wouldn't be as funny?

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To some degree, possibly yes; hearing others laugh can influence our own reaction and make us more easilly join in and laugh out loud. Can you imagine some of the old classic sitcoms without it's laughter? It just wouldn't be the same now would it?

Is canned laughter a tin of worms?

Think you're right about the studio laughter helping with actors' performances etc and indeed it may aid overall when giving the viewer an experience of being there. However...

I'm a bit suspicious of what's going on in the edit when a show that says it doesn't have "canned" laughter, still has the audience laughing at the most mundane of things. Things that quite often aren't a gag either verbal or visual and I strongly suspect that extra little bits, titters etc. are added in.

EDIT:

Matthew had posted in the interim and makes the point that Most shows only have live audiences not "canned". And that's my point. I can't give specifics but I'm sure we've all seen something happen on screen that's accompanied by a titter and you wonder...why?

Know what you mean about the old shows. I guess Steptoe etc without laughter might well be a bit flat - though I've never seen it broadcast that way. The laughter in their ilk was an intrinsic part of the whole shebang.

I think it works well on some shows (eg Father Ted), doesn't on others (eg pilot of The Mighty Boosh, maybe first series of LoG) and some it obviously has no place on (The Office).

Quote: Blenkinsop @ March 28 2009, 11:46 AM GMT

Matthew had posted in the interim and makes the point that Most shows only have audiences not canned. And that's my point. I can't give specifics but I'm sure we've all seen something happen on screen that's accompanied by a titter and you wonder...why?

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Well, I think you have to take into account the fact that they are a live audience seeing a live show; getting caught up in the atmosphere, a warm up guy egging them on, etc. I'm sure that most would laugh harder and more often if watching a stand up live than if they just bought the DVD and watched at home. So I would say that has a lot to do with it. But yes, Possibly some shows fiddle a bit with the laughter track they recieved on the night here and there.

As for the for and against thing again, I personally enjoy a lot of studio sitcoms, and I think that form suits having the laughter over it, in fact it would feel a bit odd if it didn't, like an element was missing. I know laughter over a show does really bug some though.

Whatever suits the show in my opinion. The Office wouldn't work with canned laughter, but The IT Crowd would seem strange without it.

Have we got so used to canned laughter in studio sitcoms that we expect it to be there? It does seem a strange concept. Why do we need pointers for where to laugh?

Quote: Blenkinsop @ March 28 2009, 9:05 AM GMT

So added laughter - for or agin it?

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For it with every fibre of my being.

Preferably live, but canned can work - although it's hard to tell which is which.

Quote: Blenkinsop @ March 28 2009, 9:05 AM GMT

I'm puzzled about their origin and guess (could well be shot down in flames here) that it comes from Amerikay?

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What came before broadcast mediums, Blenkinsop?

Quote: Blenkinsop @ March 28 2009, 11:46 AM GMT

I'm a bit suspicious of what's going on in the edit when a show that says it doesn't have "canned" laughter, still has the audience laughing at the most mundane of things. Things that quite often aren't a gag either verbal or visual and I strongly suspect that extra little bits, titters etc. are added in.

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Yes, sometimes laughter is 'upped' and shifted around a bit. But generally it's all totally legitimate.

Quote: Blenkinsop @ March 28 2009, 11:46 AM GMT

I'm sure we've all seen something happen on screen that's accompanied by a titter and you wonder...why?

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Also you must understand that watching in a studio is an entirely different experience to watching on screen at home. For starters, you've generally got a standup comedian there to keep you entertained and get you up in the mood for laughing in the first place.

Quote: Matthew Stott @ March 28 2009, 11:57 AM GMT

Well, I think you have to take into account the fact that they are a live audience seeing a live show; getting caught up in the atmosphere, a warm up guy egging them on, etc. I'm sure that most would laugh harder and more often if watching a stand up live than if they just bought the DVD and watched at home. So I would say that has a lot to do with it. But yes, Possibly some shows fiddle a bit with the laughter track they recieved on the night here and there.

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Yes.