iRobert Cohen Writer Talent: How to Create Comedic Content
If you haven’t heard about Robert Cohen writer before, this is your chance to learn something new and exciting. The writer has a unique experience after being a part of various comedy formats. He has worked with sitcoms, animation movies, motion pictures, sketches, etc. You must know at least some of the projects that Cohen has been a part of: Saturday Night Live, The Big Bang Theory, Shrek, Tropic Thunder, and The Simpsons. There is so much that young comedy writers can learn from this Emmy-Award-winning writer and director.
You already know that talent alone is not enough to create something outstanding. You need to study, work hard, and learn specific writing techniques. Many investors repeat one thought: the idea alone is worth nothing. It is the execution that shows the potential of a project. Therefore, if you have a seemingly great idea for a new comedy project, you will need to make sure you execute it properly. To do that, you might need some of the helpful tips that we’ve collected for you. Explore them and find the unique voice of your creations.
Choose an appropriate tone of voice
If you look closer at the performances of famous comedians, you will notice that it is often not what they are saying that matters. The way they say it plays a key role. However, there is a very tricky point here. When you are on stage, you can decide how to present the material. You can see the reaction of the audience and adjust to their response. When you write comedy for someone to read it, there is no way of presenting the material in different ways. You need to rely on one single way – the way it sounds in your reader’s head. That is why the words you choose are so important. You need to analyze your audience and write every sentence with it in mind. In the case of sitcoms and animation, you can manipulate with different variants to see which one of them works best.
Know when to exaggerate
Without a doubt, a comedic effect appears when you extremely exaggerate something. Even if you had a really funny moment, it will not be enough to impress the audience. You want to underline its amusing parts. Many funny scenes are created on the basis of real-life stories. They are just taken to another level of funny. The kind that makes you laugh no matter what background you have. With this being said, it is crucial to avoid the situation when a whole episode of your creative work consists of exaggeration. The effect will be lost. Keep a healthy balance and include exaggerations wisely.
Surprise people with incongruity
Many comedians use incongruity as a helpful tool to get the necessary reaction from the audience. We can often see it when authors place characters in unusual situations. In this way, we can see how extremely rich people find themselves without any money. It is funny for us to watch them adjust to the new environment. Also, if we are talking about short funny bits, unexpected endings always work best. This is the way our brains work. We will laugh only when the ending of a joke is the one we did not expect to hear.
Use analogies
This approach is not only effective when you write academic papers. It also works nicely when you need to make the audience smile. Again, it is important to choose an unexpected analogy. Comparing women to cats will not work. This image has been used in many movies and anecdotes before. There will be no surprising effect. The element of unexpected twists and turns work so well because the audience will remember them for a long time. Our brain tries to memorize these elements to make sure we know what to do even if something similar happens in real life. So, writing a scene about an unexpected invasion of aliens during you and your partner are having a romantic dinner might be funny.
Work with a team
Hire funny people and let them improvise. It might seem like the easiest thing to do. You just hire a team of comedians to come up with something extremely funny. You might be a part of it or not. There is a tricky moment here as well. Suppose you have an idea for a funny next episode of your show. You pitch it to the team of writers and ask them to create possible options. It is crucial for you to make sure that the writers do not slaughter the initial idea. When you see that the initial idea of Stephen Hawking having a conversation with Kim Kardashian turns into a meeting between unlikely world leaders that discuss politics, ask your team to stop and start all over again. Take control of the situation.
We hope that these points will come in handy when you start writing your material. We wish you luck and remember that our team is here to assist you at any time.