Comedy and Film Production Comedy Terms looking at

Comedy and Film Production

Comedy Terms

• “looking at the grim with a grin” or finding humor in serious matters

• black comedy

• a delayed comic reaction to an event in a film, for humorous effect

• double take

• a combination of drama and comedy, also known as “serio-comedy”

• dramedy

• acting out a scene without script or rehearsal, to ad lib

• improv

• a recording of laughter used in television shows, also known as “canned laughter”

• laugh track

• the speechless acting out of a character and his actions

• mime

• falling on one’s bottom for comedic effect

• pratfall

• a film that mocks some other serious work

• satire

• a Yiddish term for a comedian’s trademark

• shtick

• a television comedy that focuses on the humor of a particular setting

• sit com

• a short comedy routine

• sketch

• violent actions used for humorous effect

• slapstick

• a film that playfully imitates the style of a serious work

• spoof

Film Production Terms: Preproduction

• the planning stage in a film’s production before principal photography begins: script treatment, set design, casting, etc.

• pre-production

• a novel, play, or original work adapted or written for filmmaking

• screenplay or script

• a filmed audition

• screen test

• a comic-style illustrated chart which maps out a film as it will be shot

• storyboard

• a detailed summary of a film’s story often used to sell a film project

• treatment

Production

• the movements that a director coaches an actor to make

• blocking

• filming done with only the essential crew present

• closed set

• advertising space within a film to showcase a commercial product, often a method to partially fund filming

• product placement

Post-production

• the final stage in a film’s development, including editing, sound, distribution, etc.

• postproduction

• a printed English translation of foreign dialogue on film

• subtitles

• a character’s narrative voice heard over the action

• voice over

• recalling acting to replace unclear or garbled voices in a soundtrack

• postsynchronization

• the last, complete edited version of a film, ready for release or “in the can”

• final cut

• an early edited version of a film used for focusgroup screening

• rough cut