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Horror comedy is more about tone than laughs. It has horror moments and maybe some genuine scares, but the tone keeps it light and fun. Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland, the upcoming The Dead Don't Die (zombies are funny!) all fall within that. So do the original Evil Deads (but the remake does not).
Re-reading the thread. I think I can see Dustin's point better. I think I read it as comedy and horror don't mix, rather than what he was actually saying.
I wonder if that's partly because of the page limitations. I personally prefer comedy that comes from character. But, that's nearly impossible to pull off in 5 pages. Mainly because character takes time/pages. So, when I write a comedy short, I concentrate on the world, the visuals, actions more than dialogue... because comedic dialogue works best after you know the character.
I find that most comedic dialogue in my shorts feels forced/over the top. I think it's because I'm trying to write something "funny" instead of finding the humor in the character. Or, it doesn't work for a reader because I know the character, but they don't.
Finally, I'd add that when writing shorts, I find myself steering towards known character types. Since I don't have time to build something unique, it's easier to take advantage of the reader's built-in knowledge of cliche characters and build from there.
Probably not a good approach... and I'm hoping my skills evolve to something better. But, that's where I sit right now.
I'm not the judge of what's right and wrong, at the end of the day.
I've got a terrible bias against comedy because it's the genre I most want to watch, but every time I put one on, it's turned off within twenty minutes.
Outtakes are usually the only funny part. Comedy has become a YouTube thing, for me, at least.
Basically, just best to ignore me when it comes to comedy. I'm a curmudgeon.
I find that most comedic dialogue in my shorts feels forced/over the top. I think it's because I'm trying to write something "funny" instead of finding the humor in the character. Or, it doesn't work for a reader because I know the character, but they don't.
There's a lot of truth to this. Not because it can't be done in 5 pages, but more because after only spending 5 pages and one weekend with the story, the characters are simply not developed yet usually.
I'm not the judge of what's right and wrong, at the end of the day.
I've got a terrible bias against comedy because it's the genre I most want to watch, but every time I put one on, it's turned off within twenty minutes.
Outtakes are usually the only funny part. Comedy has become a YouTube thing, for me, at least.
Basically, just best to ignore me when it comes to comedy. I'm a curmudgeon.
I think good comedy is incredibly difficult... and there's very little of it being produced by networks.
Add to that the WiDE variety of comedic tastes... and, I can see why YouTube is so popular.
PaulKWrites.com
60 Feet Under - Low budget, contained thriller/Feature The Hand of God - Low budget, semi-contained thriller/Feature Wait Till Next Year - Disney-style family sports comedy/Feature
Many shorts available for production: comedy, thriller, drama, light horror
A lot of the things that are really funny are unexpected, spontaneous events which can't be replicated in a scripted form so easily. The very act of trying to create it kind of kills it.
It's also apparent to me that a lot of the funniest people are funnier being themselves than they are in a film. Jack Black being maybe the most obvious example.
It's a strange thing. It feels like there's such a space for some funny films.
Will start reviewing soon have a bad cold and am struggling lol tough night at work with it
Funny reading the comments about the comedies It’s quite weird how some comedy doesn’t click with perps for whatever reason Mind you I’m fussy with it too lol One major role of writing comedy is not too edit too much If it ain’t working then scrap it
I think the fusion genre is the easiest one to lose points on. In particular, everyone seems to have varied ideas on what constitutes a horror comedy.
The whole "comedy is subjective" thing is also makes it hard. Im sure everyone that wrote a comedy/whatever thought it was funny. You are never going to please everyone when it come to comedy. I think the best result for this round is just to stay in with a chance and hopefully get some strong genre specific scripts in the following rounds.
That is until the next comedy round where almost everyone doesn't find anything funny
In that case, I thought I'd pop this up. Considering meeting the criteria can easily take you from a 5 to a 1, and it's completely based on whether an individual finds your script funny, then if they don't it automatically isn’t comedy.
Maybe reviewers could take into account the fact that there are many types of comedy, maybe they can take into account a writer’s attempt to meet the criteria of certain comedic beats.
It's probably never going to happen, readers would definitely be more content giving a 1 if they don’t find something funny, but considering people keep saying how hard comedy is and how subjective it is, why not give a little more breathing space.
I saw the genre fusion a little different I must say since I believe a complete "fusion" of two genres that take equal room isn't possible imo. Rather I see the task in getting a strong secondary sub-genre or say atmospheric thematic inside. Indeed as in Scream for instance as they constantly planted humor beats that relax from the rather hard tension.
So, the difference of what we do here is that we don't send a horror f.i. that's straight from the core to its shell. That's all.
As Blonde said somewhere, Alien, as Horror SF mix is a good example.
It's about fear on a space ship. The threat of the Alien is bigger than the futuristic tone and world it's laid in. In a sense, the Alien could be a Wolf hunting people in the woods, doesn't matter, the main genre would be horror anyway but it has strong threads to another genre.
However, to me the entrants do fine. I also found that most placed their 'main genre' re my theory on first position.