Comedy Techniques

Here are some types of jokes or techniques used in comedy. This list is not extensive, nor reflects the flexibility of the techniques. This is some suggestions and ideas for you to play around with.

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Acknowledge
Audience's
Intelligence

People like to feel smart when they "get" the joke
People like getting a specific joke that relates to a shared experience
You don't need to explain the joke

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Call Back

Referencing a joke you made earlier
Can be used to create the sense of a full narrative
Works well in a Rule of Three (Original joke, normal call back, final big call back)

"[Politician] looks like a sunburnt Ninga Turtle upset that he wanted the nunchucks, but instead got the long stick which he promptly shoved up his arse"

Imagery

Describing something (often with similies or metaphors) in weird or insightful ways
Only works if the comparison is believable and understood (don't just say something random)
Useful in satire, especially when explaining more complicated events

"I think everyone remembers the moment they first saw their parent naked. I regret being a contestant on Naked Attraction"

Misdirection

Stating a normal set-up where the audiance will mentally assume the normal end, then quickly changing it and recontextualising the scenario

"New Bad things are always happening in the queer community, which means there is always new comedy material!"

Positive vs
Negative
Attitude

Saying something that is assumed to be either good or bad in the opposite tone or phrasing
Most notably sarcasm

"The only thing stopping me getting a partner is my face, body, and lack of personality"

Self-
Deprecation

Being mean and bullying yourself for your own real or fictional flaws
Makes you the butt of the joke
Audience is simultaneously laughing at and with you
Makes you seem self-aware

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Vocal
Intonation

Speaking with an "attitude"
Used to state something obvious in a rude and demeaning way

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Anchor

Playing the "straight man" (maybe literally in queer comedy) to set a baseline of the norm, so its more suprising when it becomes absurd

"A Deer Walks Into A Gay Bar and Blows Twenty Bucks"

Familiarity

A well known theme or type of joke that provides either comfort to the audience (as they understand it easily) or creates an anchor for the absurd later

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Joke
Topper

A second punchline after the first
Only works if the second one is funnier

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Persona

Overall attitude in your project
Be consistent in tone throughout
Not a character, but a version of your own persoanlity and beliefs

"The trauma has affected my social life, my love life, and my ability to watch My Little Pony Furry Porn"

Rule
Of Three

Start with something small and logically, then something bigger, then an absurd answer
Best to make a whole list of potential answers and then cut it down to your favourites later

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Shock

Something outlandish, inappropriate, or taboo said without warning to suprise the audiences with the unexpected and forbidden

TYPES OF COMEDY

Parody
- The use of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues
Pastiche
- Like parody but with a deep respect and understanding towards original source material
Farce
- Taking things to an absurd extreme; A comedy that seeks to entertain the audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable.

COMEDIC STRATEGIES

The ludicrous
- Things that happen when they are not supposed to, or are out of place
- External forces (not the actions of the characters themselves)
Verbal Wit
- An imaginative and often disruptive use of language
- Includes: Catchphrases, The Unsaid, Malapropisms, Freudian Slips, Insults, Fast-talking, Free Association, Rearrangement of ideas and structure
Gross Out Comedy
- Employs humor that is willfully "tasteless" or even downright disgusting. It usually involves gratuitous nudity, unrealistic aggressiveness towards property or Schadenfreude
- Generally aimed at a younger audience aged between 18 and 24
- Inexpensive way to make a movie
The ridiculous
- People or situations are open to be ridiculed by their own actions
- The central difference between ludicrous and ridiculous is usually who is responsible, or whose point of view we regard the action from.
Slapstick
- Violent and usually tendentious humour
- Works well done on an innocent character (as that is the most shocking)