Introduction

The humor project was a very self-directed production. There were four varying stylistic choices of projects in which we could work on, and then it was in our hands. We also had a choice to work in a partnership, group, or by ourselves. I decided to work with my peer Briana Sauter and create a parody commercial about fitness advertisements. Many fitness companies try to sell their products by convincing the viewers that there will be quick results, when in reality that is varying for each individual and body type, and in reality are not entirely true. So we created “Diet Water”, a product that helps you lose weight, instantly!

Humor Project Proposal

Overview:

Your humor proposal contains two essential parts: 1.) a 2-page study of two humorists of your choice; 2.) a description of your project for teacher approval. Both parts of the Proposal assignment must be fully completed by the due date listed on the calendar in order to avoid late penalties.

Part 1 – The Humorist Study (2 pages)

An important cornerstone of your Humor project is the study of two professional humorists who have done work that inspires you to make comedy of your own. Compare and contrast their subject matter / themes and styles, using terms from the Comedy Toolbox, in a 1-page, single-spaced analysis. Then, in another 1-page, single-spaced page, reflect on which subjects/themes and techniques you find most inspirational and valuable in considering your own project. You may opt to include outside research to supplement each of these sections, especially if you are interested in connecting which comedians influenced their work or criticism/reviews. You will need to include a Works Cited for all sources used in your study section. This section is worth 75% of the grade for this assignment.  

Write your 2-page study here:

Kevin Hart

Has been active since 2001, as a stand up comedian, an actor in films and television. The genres he uses are observational comedy, black comedy, surreal humor, insult comedy, and satire. He focuses on subjects such as African-American culture, American politics, current events, everyday life, human sexuality, marriage, parenting, pop cultures, race relations, racism, and self-deprecation. Hart first started doing stand up. His first performance was at the “Laff House” in Philadelphia, and he performed under the name “Lil Kev”. Apparently this did not go well. The following several acts did not go well either. It took him to start stand up competitively to actually improve. He has been in at least 45 movies, and plays a comedy role in most. I thought of Kevin Hart because he has a couple shows on netflix, which are pre-recordings of his stand up comedy acts. Since he is a shorter guy he plays that up in movies and tries to act tough, like in Jumanji, and often makes fun of himself during his performances.

Jonah Hill

Has been active since 2004, as a screenwriter, actor, comedian, and producer. He actually started writing his own plays and performing them at the “Black and White” Bar in the East Village Neighborhood of New York City. He has been in 45 movies, and nominated for an oscar from the film “Moneyball”. He made his debut in the movie “I Heart Huckabees”. He is known for the 21 jump street series, in which I was particularly interested in. After watching the movie and the sequel, I was particularly interested in Hill’s way of conveying the humor. Since this is pre-recorded, I find analysing his ways of talking and acting helpful to me, when I make my commercial, since that will be pre-recorded as well. In the movie, he acts as the sidekick of Channing Tatum, because he’s not as macho as him. He still lives with his mom in the movie from what I recall, so that adds to the humor. So throughout the whole movie he tries his hardest to be the alpha as well, and conveys his character very well through acting, which is what I hope to achieve as well. It’s a raunchy comedy and uses many instances of blue humor. Not that this is something we would use, but it is an example of how it stays constant throughout the whole movie, so it has a sort of flow in a way.

Reflection

I believe that engaging and connecting with the audience is very crucial to create an effective performance. Therefore creating something relatable is adequate to do so. I also think that connecting everything that is said is also important. I often see stand up comedians who either have a successful or unsuccessful performance, and I think that has to do with how well they tie everything together. If everything that is said is off topic, than it confuses the audience, rather than make them laugh. Lead ins are successful ways into doing this, as I have seen, as you can ease one way out of the topic into another. Since I am making a pre-recorded comedic narrative, I will have the opportunity to plan and generate a flow of the recording to ensure that it can humor in the right places and time. We are going to do a commercial, so it’s technically a sort of parody of real life. Commercials try to sway you to purchase products, and really talk what they are selling up, but since we are trying to make it funny, we will make the product silly and undesirable. Just as Kevin Hart wasn’t successful on his first try, nor fifth try, it is important to note that not everything will be accepted by the audience as well as what we may think. So one helpful thing may be to show many people the commercial before coming to class, so if something is not working well, we can see it and change it before actually getting graded. Since we are able to get this pre-recording opportunity, it will hopefully enhance the product, since we won’t be nervous up front in real life. Based on what the test groups of the recording are, we can revise accordingly.

Comedic Narrative

Analyze several scenes or narrative monologues from films, TV, stand-up, literary works, sitcoms, sketch comedy shows, and/or cartoons you find to be effective comedic storytelling. Incorporate the techniques into a short comedic scene or sketch that you perform live or pre-record. The scene should have original, compelling characters, dialogue, and a clear conflict, climax, and resolution.

Part 2 – Description of Proposed Project

Provide a detailed description of your project, including what you intend to develop (the form of humor, topic/content, techniques you plan to use, how many people you’ll need to deliver the performance, visual aids/props, time, and any other details that will help to give me a picture of what you’re performing. This section is worth 25% of the grade for this assignment.  

  1. Are you working with a group? Yes* or No

*If Yes, list your group members here (when I meet with you, I will also need a clear picture of who is doing what):

Yes, Brianna

  1. Which form of humor are you planning to develop? (See menu.) Will it be a LIVE or pre-recorded performance?

Comedic Narrative. We are doing a pre-recorded performance.

  1. What is the subject (or, in the case of satire, the target)? Why did your choose this subject?

We were thinking to do is a product commercial. Maybe a hair product, or a tv-episode spin off.

  1. Which comedic tools/techniques do you plan to use, and why? (List at least 3 main ones):

We plan to use blend word, exaggerism, puns, and jokes.

  1. Why do you think this is the right humor project for you? (If you have a group, can you assure me that everyone is invested in this idea and you won’t have trouble getting everyone to contribute meaningfully?) What makes you excited about this idea? What are some potential pitfalls you wish to avoid?

Yes this would be, because I could exert a lot of work into it since it is pre-recorded and I believe I would get better content. I wish to avoid getting off track.

  1. If you get approval today, what’s your next step?

Brainstorming the scenes and writing a script.

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Final Product