Exercises
- Watch a classic cartoon. List as many of the gags as you can. Rewrite five of the gags by
updating them, giving them a new twist, or switching the personality of some of the
characters. - How many different gag techniques can you list that haven’t already been listed here?
- Take a book of jokes that you like and analyze the sentence structure of five of them.
Are the sentences long or short? Did the writer use lots of adjectives and adverbs, or is
the structure lean? What kinds of verbs are used? What’s the imagery like? How is the
joke set up? How is the punch line delivered? What about timing? - Develop five funny premises, each using funny situations. Be sure that your star digs
himself in deeper and deeper. - Write five funny premises based on character.
- Make a list of props around a specific subject (such as mysteries, dogs, magic). Write ten
gags using many of these props. - Write ten sight gags. Then rewrite these gags, pushing them up a notch by exaggerating
even more. - Dash off ten gags using at least ten different comedy devices.
- Take five of your gags and rewrite them several ways. Set them up differently. Change
the character reactions. Experiment with the wording and the timing. - If you can draw, board a gag sequence. Concentrate on funny staging, funny drawings,
and funny movement. Explore several ways of doing the same sequence. - Can you think of other ways besides those listed to make your humor fresh and unique?
Discuss these in class. - If you’re developing a project of your own, try increasing the humor and uniqueness of
one or more of your characters by making their point of view a little more off-center. - Develop a unique and humorous storytelling style for an original project you’re working
on. Be sure that this style is right for this particular project.
194 Animation Writing and Development