By definition a sit com / situation comedy is a "series that involves a continuing cast of characters in a succession of episodes. Often the characters are markedly different types thrown together by circumstance and occupying a shared environment such as an apartment building or workplace." [Encyclopaedia Britannica, n.d.]
Sit coms are usually 30 minutes long and are filmed with either a single camera or multi camera set up. Single camera productions are usually more processed as each shot needs to be thoroughly planned in order to capture the intended action and comedy, whereas, multi camera productions are usually more natural in terms of the delivery of the dialogue by the characters as the multiple cameras are usually rigged around the set meaning that the comedy / dialogue will be picked up by at least one camera and, therefore, the shots do not need to be as meticulously planned.
Sit coms come in many different forms, most commonly family sitcoms which revolve around a family (usually with two parents and two to three children) or a workplace with different comedic characters. There are many different sub-genres of sit coms including; black sitcom, brit com, dom com, kid com, odd couple, roommate com, sit comic and work com.
There are also many different comedic techniques used within a sit com - the type of techniques used within a sit com are usually dependent on the tone of the production. The aspects that make up a sit com include:
The running joke - this is an amusing situation, catch-phrase, character trait or character that keeps reappearing throughout the sit com series. Most of the time running jokes start off being unintentional, but due to their popularity among viewers, producers bring back this joke and repeat it throughout the series.
The comic trap - this is the basic premise of the sit com and then the show is built around it. This 'trap' is the comic situation that the characters find themselves in which they can't seem to escape from. The humour in this situation comes from seeing the characters attempt to escape the situation and face the obstacles preventing them from escaping this situation.
The one-liner - this is often used in modern sit coms and stand up comedies. This is a joke that is confined to one sentence and is usually an observational remark made by a character to an event that has just occurred.
The laugh track - this is used to signify to the audience when to laugh by highlighting to them which points to laugh at by employing the laugh track.
Parody / Spoof - this pokes fun at an original work through humorous or satiric imitation. This is usually done in an extreme or exaggerated way to make the parody more obvious.
Satire - this is used through ridiculing the subject with irony, normally with the intent of bringing improvement. Satire is sometimes uses as an attack by the author to shed light on a subject that they strongly disapprove of by using wit as a weapon. Satire usually brings a deeper meaning to a comedy and is therefore used in more intellectual based comedies.
Mode - this is the style in which something is presented.
Innuendo and double entendre - this is where something is inferred but is not overbearingly obvious. A double entendre is similar and is usually used in a pun format where something has two meanings (often sexual or playful).
Irony and sarcasm - irony is when there is a difference between what the character says and what they actually do for a comedic effect. Sarcasm is similar in the fact a character will use it so say one thing and mean another.
Otherness - this is the clash that occurs between characters, usually concerning a character displaying different or 'other' characteristics.
Postmodernism - this includes features such as breaking the genre, form or mode, mixing styles, self awareness, confusing reality with constructed fiction and intertextuality. Post modern comedies usually means the comedy does not follow the rules as to how things are meant to be - this is due to its literal 'after modern' movement.
Sit coms featured around families usually contain families of different types. There is the usual nuclear family where there is a mother and father and any number of children up to 5 who all live together in their family home. There is also the dysfunctional family where this is technically a nuclear family but with one abnormal function that affects their day to day life. There is also the idea of a pseudo family / post modern family where the family is more of a modern reflection on family life that opposes the 'conventional' nuclear family - this usually is made up of different genders, sexualities, ethnicities and ages.
A sit com is then constructed using a selection of these techniques based on the tone and style of the production. Sit coms can be overt and obvious in their comedy which usually means techniques such as one-liners and parodies are used, or sit coms can be more subtle in their delivery of comedy which usually means they rely on techniques such as satire, irony and innuendo, however, sit coms do deviate from their use of these techniques depending on what type of reactions they are attempting to evoke from the audience - i.e. some sit coms such as The Thick Of It rely on a more intellectual reading from the audience and therefore stick to techniques such as irony and satire, allowing the deadpan and macabre tone to show through.
Further examples of sit-coms
Not Going Out
Not Going Out is a British sit-com which has run since 2006. It has a polished and structured feel to it due to the camerawork involved in the production of the show. This camerawork is appropriate to the style of sit-com Not Going Out is it is a more overtly comedic show consisting of mainly sight gags, double entendres, word play and one liners. The mise-en-scene reflects the intended production values as each scene is dressed and lit well in a way that seems artificial and produced - the show is not aiming for a realistic look at all. The characters faces never fall into shadow - they are lit well from all sides, creating a well-polished yet unrealistic look - this helps to reflect the overt comedy of the production.
The camera movements add to the lack of realism as they are all smooth, stable and fluid - making for an artificially smooth looking production. Every shot has a sense of movement to it - i.e. all shots are filmed on a track and track ever-so-slightly left or right during the shot - this gives the whole production a continuous feel.
Peep Show
Peep Show is a British sit-com which aired from 2003 to 2015. It has a natural feel to it due to the unconventional POV filming style - this gives the production a personal feel due to each shot being filmed from a character's point of view. This personal feel adds to the realism of the piece. As each shot is filmed from a character's point of view, the camera movement follows the movement of the character and therefore appears handheld and not entirely stable - again, this adds to the realistic, natural nature of the piece. To aid the natural mise-en-scene of the piece, the colour grading and natural lighting allows the depiction of the scenes to remain very natural and true to what would be seen in real life. This is shown the the natural pink tone of the skin, the cool blue / purple toned light appearing through the curtains and the orange glow of the lamp. All these colours combined help to depict natural, real life.
Big Train
Finally, I looked into Big Train a sketch show / sit-com which ran from 1998 to 2002. My main focus when looking into Big Train was seeing how the filming style complimented the comedy of the sketches. Big Train adopts a very naturalistic approach by shooting the sketches handheld - this gives the footage an observatory and real essence - making the viewer feel like they are watching natural life. The comedy within Big Train is quite surreal and macabre which usually wouldn't call for such a natural filming style - usually something more polished is used for surreal comedies, however, with Big Train, using this natural style in order to capture the surreal comedy works very well as this adds to the comedic effect of the surreal situations by making them appear as ordinary situations to the audience. This technique of using natural style camera work to capture the surreal comedy can be seen in such sketches as where Jesus and the devil are talking and this is being filmed through a gap, making it appear that the audience are spying on this natural conversation.
To compliment this natural camera work, this mise-en-scene is also very natural. The lighting in each scene reflects that of real life (despite whether it was captured using natural or artificial light) and the set design reflects real life settings - e.g. the office set shown below is dressed as a typical office with lighting that appears natural, as if this is observational of real life. The camerawork contributes to this scene by being filmed all in one shot - this gets rid of any manufactured or processed feel.
By looking into this genre and into a couple of example from this genre, I have gained a much clearer view of the style in which I want to film VET-MAN in order to compliment the comedy within the narrative. The way in which a sit-com is filmed is entirely dependent on the style of comedy and how this needs to be delivered to the audience. I will stick to a natural delivery of the visuals as this will compliment the deadpan, satirical nature of the comedy. As the research into Not Going Out shows, more overt obvious comedy calls for a more polished look in order to put this comedy at the forefront of the viewers reception - if the comedy is shown through expressions, one liners and double entendres, this needs to be clearly displayed to the audience and the best way to do this appears to be through a more artificially produced production.
If the comedy lies within the audience feeling indulged within the production and feeling as if they are viewing something which could be deciphered as real-life, a more natural approach such as that shown in Peep Show or Big Train is called for. This allows the audience to feel as if they are just observing natural behaviour and allows for them to pick up the subtle or satirical comedy within the characters dialogue - rather than this having to be signposted to them through processed or artificial means.
References:
Encyclopaedia Britannica (n.d.) 'Situation Comedy' At: https://www.britannica.com/art/situation-comedy
No comments:
Post a Comment