Spit Takes: Writing Short and Funny for the Internet
Stephany Folsom
Given that I've written material for some of the biggest players on the Internet, I'd like to impart some advice on what it takes to write a successful web video. Keep in mind that I'm not talking about writing a web series. I'm talking about writing those short videos you see on YouTube, Funny Or Die, College Humor, etc. that provide a quick comedy fix. So here are some tips to get you started:
1. Keep it short.
Your video should not be more than four minutes long. There are all kinds of analytics on viewer retention, and all of them show that most viewers will lose interest in your video around the four-minute mark. If you want to keep your viewers watching, keep it short. You should also know that three to four minutes of video translates to roughly three to four pages of a script.
2. Make your title do the heavy lifting.
You don't have a lot of time to explain things. So make sure your title is clever and clearly communicates your premise and characters. Check out these titles from successful comedy shorts:
BETWEEN TWO FERNS
CONVOS WITH MY 2-YEAR-OLD
SASSY GAY FRIEND
What do all these titles have in common? They clearly tell the audience the premise so you don't have to waste valuable page space explaining your setup. Devote all that time you saved to your jokes.
3. Clichés are your friend.
You know all those things you've been taught about character development and story arcs? Throw it out. You don't have the page space to create a character arc, so you have to use existing "mental real estate." Use props and settings to establish your character's job and role. If the character is a mom, show her with kids. If it's a doctor, put him/her in scrubs. If the person is drunk, show him drinking and slurring. Seriously, you have less than a quarter of a page to build this stuff. Save time and space by working with what your audience can quickly recognize and identify.
4. Forget a plot and go for the jokes.
If you do this in any other form of storytelling, you should be slapped. But when it comes to Internet shorts, you have to throw out conventional wisdom. There is no time for an act structure in this type of writing. Your job is to set your scene and characters at the top of the page, and then establish the joke and premise immediately. It's your job to keep escalating the joke for the next three pages until you reach your final punch line. I think of it like building a staircase. The first page is your initial step where you create character, setting and the joke. The second step (i.e. page) is where you build and expand what you established on page one. The third step is where you reach crazy heights with your jokes and level off with a final twist, punch line, or visual gag at the end.
Once you get the knack of writing everything in three to four pages, you'll be shocked at how much you can convey with so little. You'll also find the skills that you gain writing shorts are invaluable, and will help you craft better scenes in your longer film or TV scripts.
More Spit Takes by Stephany Folsom
Why You Should Write a Short Film Screenplay
Writers on the Web articles by Rebecca Norris
Tools to Help:
Nuts and Bolts Filmmaking:Practical Techniques for the Guerilla Filmmaker
Filmmakers and Financing: Business Plans for Independents
How to Make Money Making Movies: The Secrets of Becoming a Profitable Filmmaker
stephany folsomBetween two Ferns with Zack GalafanakisCollege HumorDrunk Historyconvos with my 2-year-oldFunnyorDie.comspit takesSecond Citysassy gay friendcomedy writingwebisodesYouTube
Stephany Folsom was raised in the mountains of Colorado and attended film school in Los Angeles. After graduation, she had many day jobs until she landed a gig working for news outlets and non-profits, producing short documentaries around the world. Eventually growing tired of life on the road, she landed back in Los Angeles and delved back into fiction writing. Her script 1969 A SPACE ODYSSEY: OR HOW KUBRICK LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LAND ON THE MOON made the Black List in 2013. Since then she's written on Marvel's THOR: RAGNAROK, Lucasfilm's STAR WARS RESISTANCE series, and most recently co-wrote the Academy Award-winning TOY STORY 4. Currently Stephany lives in Los Angeles with her husband and precocious mutt, where she is a consulting producer and writer on Amazon Prime's LORD OF THE RINGS. In her spare time, she is showrunning and writing the series adaptation of Brian K. Vaughan's PAPER GIRLS with Plan B, Legendary, and Amazon Studios. Twitter: @StephanyFolsom
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