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Need tips for shooting comedy

I have been offered the opportunity to shoot a pilot for a comedy tv show. I will be working without a massive budget. I need some ideas/tips about the style to shoot in, whether more steadicam style or tripod, what sort of lights/temperature of light. Or anything else that could help.
Cheers
 
Well, shaky cam is much funnier than anything on a tripod (just like k is a funnier letter than m) and as far a lighting, if you can't get a laugh out of an HMI then you can't get a laugh period! I'm chuckling just thinking about them.


Aaaaand in case you can't read the sarcasm, those are some pretty vague questions. Light it like you'd light any other scene that takes place at that location. Comedy is all about performance, script and timing.
 
the script and the actors are the key factors in comedy, it's the hardest genre to write and it's also the hardest genre to perform... but it feels really good when you've created a really funny scene.
 
Modern comedies tend to involve the "camera crew" feel. That is, that it documents the lives of others, rather than pretends that the camera isn't there at all.

In that sense, you can put the camera on a shoulder mount for some stabilisation, and it gives you the freedom to move and capture a lot of the acting without being restricted to simple panning / low angles. It gives it a lot more dynamic.
 
Filmmaking is all about performance, script and timing.

Fixed it for ya. ;)

Point being -- I agree with what Paul is saying. Shoot it and light it just like you would any other movie. For all we know, it might be a dark/macabre comedy, in which case you might want to light it and shoot it like a horror film. Your possibilities are limitless, and just like any other genre, your choices should be specific to this particular project.

There is, however, one piece of advice I'll offer. As with any other project, I always recommend maximum coverage. But with comedy, specifically, make sure you're getting plenty of tight shots. Even if you're not specifically doing improv (although you probably should), there's probably going to be plenty of unplanned improvisation, and that can be difficult to edit. Tight shots makes it MUCH easier to edit. For each scene, an Extra-Close-Up of each character should be mandatory coverage.
 
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