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Week Three

 Howdy all comedy lovers,

This week, I'm pleased to announce, has been a little calmer. I still have a lot of chasing to do for the Comedy Report (clips, animations and interviews) but everything seems to be running smoothly. Famous last words!

Last week I left you with the impending arrival of the 4Laughs Window of Opportunity competition winner who won the chance work with Sam and me on the Comedy Report. All went exceeding well and fun was had by all... especially by Sam, who seemed to have ‘too much' fun dressing up as Santa and gallivanting around the set. It's such hard work being a presenter...

This week I'm looking at two very different styles of comedy. Firstly, as it's nearly Christmas (sorry, for using the C word), I'd like to mention a cool little animation, Tentaclaus.

Animated humour is one of my favourite forms of comedy. Anything is possible in animations and the boundaries of sketches are stretched into nonexistence. I love the clean lines, bold colour and quirky story of Tentaclaus. It reminds me of a clever little animation (not quite as seasonal), Oktapodi HQ http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=VaM9mrnOMJo However, I like a bit of darkness to balance out all the child-like light heartedness in animations, something that Tentaclaus does perfectly. I can't really say anything else about it without ruining the surprise, but it's well worth a gander...

The second film is from a couple of guys who've featured on 4Laughs in the past and always make me smile - it's Straitjacket with their film, Walk Left. As I mentioned in my first blog, I love nonsensical humour and these guys really bring it when they create comedy. Set on a beach in a medical journal style, Walk Left is brilliant for two reasons. Firstly, it's just so simple. Whenever my husband and I see a stranger in the street with a funny walk, we immediately say ‘Oh, poor bloke, he's suffering from Walk Left Syndrome'. Not a good reflection on me, but the sheer unusualness of the film sticks in your mind. Similar to Richard Herring's live show ‘Someone Likes Yoghurt' taken from a time when he bought a load of yoghurt from a supermarket and the checkout girl said ‘someone likes yogurt...' in a knowing way. This is another example where my husband and I discuss strangers in shops who‘ve an inordinate amount of one product in their basket.

Returning to the film (and away from what my husband and I get up to), the second point I'd like to raise is about set. Set is so important when you're filming a sketch. The more natural and real a set looks the better the effect. I'm always disappointed when a sketch is filmed in a bedroom or garage, the illusion is spoilt from the off and the effect of the punch line, no matter how good, can get lost. However, this is executed perfectly in Walk Left. I can imagine the list of ideas for the film being quite short and whoever suggested ‘pavement' got quite a glare. The sound is done well, as filming on a beach can be beautiful, but also disastrous for sound quality. The overlay of the narrator, who you assume is a medical professional, turns a silly jape of a man walking into the sea into a well-scripted fascinatingly funny little film.

My final thought this week is please support local comedy clubs. If you enjoy comedy then there is no better place to experience a full hit of the stuff than at a comedy club. Many people assume that their local club won't have the top comics in the circuit performing there - WRONG! Find out for yourself, go on!

Join me next week for my final blog where I'll be discussing more of your films and the world of comedy,

Bye!

November 14 2008

Recommended This Week

Tentaclaus (00:59)
This is why you should always listen to your...

 

Walk Left (00:29)
We all need help......

 

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