Clips from Sit-com Pilot

I just gave this thread five stars for educational content.
I'll admit I did not watch the whole clip - I do not like sit-coms, first. And second, what I did see was, well ..., um, not interesting.
Now that I've read the thread I'm going back in to see the whole clip to get the full impact of all this new knowledge.
 
Bill_Hooper said:
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What's odd about your choice of using laughter here is the context.
Click to expand...


Bill,

Excellent points. I'm aware of the difference between the one camera and multicamera shoots, and I really wanted to get away from the studio look. The shows you mention - Bernie Mac, Arrested Development and Malcom are closer to what I am looking for (and when I post new clips over the next few days, you'll see what I mean). For you to draw a line between the two types in relation to a laugh track is very helpful. I'm an old guy and while that hard line of distinction is drawn in today's crop of sit-coms, that was not the case for many years. There are tons of single camera shows from the past that used a laugh track. My problem may be that I'm merging the old and the new mentally.

As far as Will and Grace and 2 1/2 Men. I knew there was a live audience. But I also know they provide "reinforement" in the way of laugh track. (On Will and Grace especially, nearly everything that comes out of their mouth, the "audience" is giddy with laughter. On one episode, they must have rushed things in post and it seemed that after every line it was the exact same "burst" laugh. It got really annoying. Most other episodes mix it up better.)

Excellent post, Bill. Thanks for the help.
 
Magicdavek,

Having hung scores of AT 933s over studio audiences, I can attest that most multicamera film and HD shows are still shot with live audiences, and that is what you're hearing in the broadcast for the most part. These recordings are tracked down for sweetening during the incredibly brief post-production period and rarely recorded directly to the master switched-feed decks.

As in legitimate theatre, live audiences are as much for the benefit of the performers - who get instant gratification through their responses - as they are a cue for at-home viewers to humorous dialogue and situational cues.

That said, laugh tracking has to be appropriate to the project. Another issue we've talked about is framing.

You indicate that you are shooting a unique "one-take" sitcom. What does that mean? Think about the fact that every show, whether it be multicamera or single-camera film, is presented as one take documentation of a certain subject.

Except for flash-forward (as in the scheme shots in Ocean's Eleven) and multicamera angle repeated sequences for emphasis (think explosion scenes, where the car actually blows up four times) this is the rule.

So, unless you're talking about breaking out of a conventional timeline, what does one take acquisition really mean? To me, it means that you might well not get the coverage you need to tell a functional story. Those long loved conventions of coverage and cutaways are there for a reason - even in shows as chronologically disjointed as Pulp Fiction.

From what we've seen, I gather that your program is frameed like a locked-off Arrested Development - a show that was supposed to look as if a documentary crew was omnipresent in every aspect of the character's lives - in such constant and close proximity that they went largely unnoticed.

The handheld work in Arrested Development, with the exaggerated shoulder induced motions, is the reason it feels acceptable. Take that away, becoming too static or smooth in your execution, and the audience will sense that something is "off". It is a subtle nuance, but if a handheld camera steps slowly toward the talent during a monologue, it will be better looking than if you were to push in using a smooth dolly shot instead.

Because AD used the forth wall effectively instead of removing it, laugh tracking would have seemed quite out of place. Curb Your Enthusiasm is another show lensed in this way.

You must decide once and for all if there is indeed a tangible camera crew following your characters around or if we are as flies on the wall - entirely transparent in observing the teleplay.

Taking the Arrested Development formula one-step further are shows like Parker Lewis Can't Lose and Alfie - both used the candid protagonist asides to great effect - though you might not see it as a device that will work for you. Bernie Mac does this very well - though anyone who actually makes it into his den is in on the joke!

Conversely, most multi-camera sitcoms have always broken the forth wall - since the Honeymooners and I Love Lucy - and we have come to accept laugh tracking somewhat. For me, it is still painful to hear a principal character get cheers simply for walking onstage, but that is a production decision made by the producer and director and unique to each different show.

Recall that those early shows were almost like a vaudeville performance captured on film, where the audience's reactions were a living, breathing part of the product experience. They were called teleplays for a reason - the audience at home was simply one tier further back than the ticketholders in front of them.

I think that you should dump the track if you don't break the forth wall - period. If you break the forth wall, take the advice from another poster above and open the performance up a little to accommodate your virtual or realized audience!

That is enough rambling from me on staging and laugh-tracking!

e
 
"(On Will and Grace especially, nearly everything that comes out of their mouth, the "audience" is giddy with laughter. On one episode, they must have rushed things in post and it seemed that after every line it was the exact same "burst" laugh. It got really annoying. Most other episodes mix it up better.)"


At the risk of continuing to take this thread further away from its original intent, they may have sweetened a little bit, but they get those audiences so amped up they'll laugh at anything. They high warmup comedians to do standup comedy in between the takes, they keep the theater cold, and work very hard to get you to laugh. Sometimes it's like pulling teeth for those poor warmup guys who are trying to maintain audience interest over the span of several hours of taping. Not a job I would want!

Glad you guys found my previous post educational.
Bill
 
e

Thanks again for another thoughtful post. One thing though I noticed in this post and your previous post - you misunderstood something I was saying. In your first post you said there was nothing unique about this. I indicated that I was not disclosing my unique idea that hadn't been done on television before and that the clip I suggested would not hint at my idea. Also, I must not have been clear about the "one take" thing. The show would not be "one take." I just indicated that in this particular clip, most of the shots were done on a single take. I mentioned that the pilot was more of a sketch or "prototype" rather than a true pilot with the udnerstanding that if I sold the idea, the entire episode would be re-shot with higher production values. So, no, this is not a "one take" format. If this works, we'll do as many takes needed to get it right. My goal is to sell a concept, not a totally finished pilot ready for air.

I apologize if I was not clear about these things.

If you could please clairfy something for me because your advice seems the opposite of what I was expecting you to say. I understand the fourth wall as the "behind the camera" wall that the viewing audience never sees (where the studio audience sits). I'm assuming that by "breaking the fourth wall" you mean that all four directions may be shot in a given scene. That is what I want. But I was expecting you to say that in this case, hold the laugh track but you seem to be saying to hold the laugh track if I don't break that fourth wall. Could you please elaborate on that.
 
I think it's great you got out there and did something. More than I'm doing!! Your point about some video is posted and people say, "that is great" when it's really crap is a good point.
 
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