Funny Commercials: What Makes A Funny Video?

The question what makes a funny video might seem to some as a ridiculous question - I might as well ask why the sky is blue. Something is funny because it makes us laugh. Whilst this is completely true it fails to recognise the key fact that video as a medium is generally scripted, rehearsed and carefully constructed to elicit laughter as a response. Those videos that are not generally rely on an unforeseen accident or unusual occurrence to elicit laughs. With that in mind we will look at the key ingredients that make up comedy in the realm of video media and the categories we can summarise them into.

For ease of explanation we'll start with the kinds of humour that are generally used in comedy in general. These can be briefly summarised as - abstract, situational, slapstick and vulgarity. Whilst there are many subdivisions within these overarching themes most comedy and funny videos will employ one or more of these techniques. They each elicit different types of responses and are directed towards certain audiences. Abstract humour generally takes normal characters and puts them in ridiculous situations or in incredibly unlikely contexts - far removed but often parodying our normal situations. This comedy technique uses the situation and created world to create something humorous. Situational humour (most commonly seen in sit-coms) uses everyday situations, relationships and social behaviour as its key method to create laughter. By letting us relate to common situations and carefully adjusting the circumstances situational comedy allows us to laugh at the most common pitfalls and difficulties we all face in our everyday lives. Slapstick comedy is well known and simply uses farce as its base - basically silliness. Vulgarity is simply as stated and makes us laugh through our revulsion at a given situation or occurrence.

These techniques form a crucial ingredient in funny videos but it is the actual structure and scripting that guarantees the humorous response desired. Carefully setting up a situation and ensuring that you have the correct build up and the correct humour type for your target audience is equally vital to the success of any funny video. The scene that your script creates establishes the comedy and gives it a world to unfold in. The characters themselves must be the driving force behind the humour - giving it shape and feel based on their believability as characters. Finally the words themselves have to carefully follow (bending where necessary) our standard ways of interacting with each other and be crafted to create the correct responses. Overlooking any of these crucial steps will often mean a funny video fails to reach its intended audience.

William is a freelance writer and webmaster with a passion for comedy in all its forms. He is currently running the website http://funny-commercials.org/ dedicated to showcasing the very best in funny commercials from around the world.