Dan Harmon is the creator of ‘Community’ and ‘Rick and Morty’, so when he speaks it’s worth paying attention. In this hilarious talk (filmed in 2014 but more relevant than ever) he speaks directly to comedy writers, appealing to them to find their distinct voice and explains that it’s their duty to find out where it can be put to use. He covers a range of topics that are really resonant to independent creators including:

• How your fears make you funny
• What scripts should you submit? Spec? Original?
• What is a ‘rubber band writer’ and why he hires them? 
• Should you make your own show?
• How technology fragments media and what that means for comedy writers 

By Dan Page

Okay, clickbait alert! I haven’t personally become a BBC accredited supplier because, well, people can’t. But companies that people set up can. And – spoiler alert – I just stubbed my toe. Wait, that’s not how that works…the point is, I’ve set up my own company and as of January 2020 I’ve been able to formally pitch ideas to the BBC through it.

Some of you out there may be asking what the fuss is all about. I mean, anyone can pitch ideas to the BBC, right?

The answer is yes…and no. It’s yes in the sense that anyone can email a BBC Producer with an idea and ask them if they want to commission it. It’s no in that the likelihood of this succeeding is about as high as me suddenly understanding Quantum Mechanics and unifying it with the theory of General Relativity (although I do have some very promising ideas involving penguins and the old packets of mints you sometimes find in your coat).

It’s also no in that official BBC policy is that they won’t accept programme ideas from individuals unattached to a production company and that to formally pitch you have to register as a supplier. 

What’s interesting though is that in the last 18 months or so, the BBC have relaxed the rules as to who can become registered.  

Previously to become a supplier you had to have experience in delivering programmes to network radio (e.g. the BBC Radio), or have access to people with that experience. Which is pretty much the ultimate chicken and egg situation, in that how can you gain experience delivering programmes to the BBC if you’re not allowed to deliver without experience?

The standard get-out clause was to form a company with an ex-BBC producer (hence why so many independent Production Companies have ex-BBC producers on their boards).

But recently the BBC added a clause to their requirements that allowed podcast production companies with at least 2 active podcast feeds to register.

And this was HUGE. Because it meant that:

1. The BBC recognises the importance of podcasting to the audio landscape
2. The BBC is keen to encourage new suppliers
3. My company could register

Because, being the smart, sophisticated* producer that I was, I’d realised that the second podcast that we’d produced – The Engineering Edge – was going live in November, whilst our first show – The DesignSpark Podcast – was still very much live, thus meaning we’d meet that all-important criteria.

BUT before everyone with two podcast feeds reading this article race towards the BBC website and click the ‘sign me up you gorgeous gorgeous people’ button, there’s also the…small matter…of all the other things you need to demonstrate you’re fit to spend public money.

Like a Limited Company registered at Companies house.

Which means a business bank account. And an accountant. And money to pay for them.

And being willing to follow 7 sets of BBC policies and guidelines and 65 pages of BBC Terms of Trade. 

And committing to complying with BBC audio quality standards.

And being registered under the Data Protection Act.

And having Business Continuity, Data Protection, Health and Safety, Equal Opportunity and Diversity and Inclusion policies…alongside an employee code of conduct.

Which unless you’re a smart, sophisticated** producer like me, is a LOT of paperwork. And even if you are, it’s still a LOT of paperwork.

So what’s the moral of the story? Being good at paperwork can help in surprising places. Although being able to come up with original ideas for podcasts is still the most important thing. Well, after being able to unify General Relativity with Quantum Mechanics that is…

Tickets to the live recording of Series 3 of the iTunes Top 10 rated sci-tech-comedy show The DesignSpark Podcast are available now from the box-office at Etcetera Theatre.

* really anal

** really really anal

With only our spare time and a tiny budget, we could never have launched our own web series without having the crowd behind us.

Matt Harris – Creator of ‘Comedy Of Gamers’

The Comedy Crowd is all about supporting creators to go beyond an idea – to stop dreaming about the comedy you want to make and to actually do it.

But it’s hard. We know. It’s why we started this community. To make anything more ambitious than a smartphone monologue (and we’ve seen some good ones of those) you need people who bring skills but who also share your vision, and that’s really difficult. Get it wrong and you plough time and money into an endeavour that never lives up to your expectations. That’s so disheartening, but it doesn’t need to be.

The Comedy Crowd is a community full of people like you. People who have great ideas and want to see them happen. Helpful, friendly, funny people with a diverse array of skills, and we’ve created a platform that brings this Crowd together.

The team at The Comedy Crowd adopt an innovative approach to collaboration. Their platform has put me in touch with some fantastic and brilliantly funny creatives. The Comedy Crowd’s platform has allowed me to pursue my own creative endeavours, and I will therefore forever be indebted to them.

Connor Kent – Creator of ‘Box Of Charms’

It’s called Comedy Crowd TV. Creators create a project and call out who they’re looking for to help make it happen. Here’s a list of all the roles available:

• Producers
• Directors
• Writers
• Director of Photography
• Editor
• Sound Editor
• Composer
• Actor
• Animator
• Voice Actor
• Marketing / Social Media
• Graphic Designer

Comedy loving folk can then scan through the projects, filtering by the role they’re looking to fulfil, and then contact the creators directly through their project page.

Calvin and I started our collaboration by comparing Comedy Crowd profiles and finding a project to work on together. At every step of the journey we found other Crowders coming to our rescue with their feedback, encouragement, time and skills, helping us make our work better and get our show made.

Matt Harris

Whether you want to create your own show or get involved in an existing project, now is the time to get involved. To search for current projects click here or set up a new project and get help from the Crowd.

By Peter Wright

There are now more film festivals inviting your submissions than ever before. They give filmmakers the prospect of reaching new audiences, awards and recognition, access to the industry and cash prizes. But there are also costs, not only financial but also in terms of time and sometimes exclusivity rights.

To help you evaluate the festival option we interviewed the founder of Festival Formula, Katie McCullough. Festival Formula create bespoke strategies for filmmakers to take their film through the circuit in the most effective way.

Tell us a bit about your background and why you started Festival Formula.

I actually started out in writing and went to Bournemouth University to obtain a useless degree in Scriptwriting for Film & TV (which at that point was the only designated pure scriptwriting degree in the UK). But the upshot was I made loads of close friends but also it started me on the path of what is now Festival Formula. We had to do work experience and because I don’t live in London I didn’t want to pay through the nose to do a free job, so I found somewhere close that I could drive to which was the home of the Blaine Brothers – Ben and Chris. The first thing they did was sit me down and explain that I would never be asked to make the tea, and that I was to be given the company credit card and their back catalogue of short films and my task was to find film festivals to submit them to. What then happened is I poured over rules and regulations because I was spending someone else’s monies so I wanted to know that it was worth it and the film suited. Since then I’ve acquired an encyclopaedic memory of festivals all over the landscape, a large slate of films that we look after, and that was coming up to 16 years ago. One of the main reasons I started the company? Because it was evident that filmmakers needed help and they didn’t have the patience to do it themselves (or the know how).

What do people get out of entering festivals? What is the benefit of doing it?

It’s down to what you expect, managing that expectation, and utilising what does happen. We always tell filmmakers that just because you’ve gotten accepted to a festival it doesn’t mean all doors will suddenly fly open… But if you’ve made your festival choices wisely and they are strong and legit festivals, you can then knock on some doors to show that off and it can help. It’s the same way of looking at an agent, just because you now have one it doesn’t automatically guarantee work – you still have to work at it. The main benefit is showing that you’re creating work, that you’re reaching a wider audience and you’ve proved your idea works. And if you have the time and budget then you can also travel with the film too and that’s an experience.

Should you enter festivals with a submission fee?

Absolutely. No one runs a film festival to make money, that’s the first thing to learn. And if they are making money from a film festival then the chances are that they’re not a legitimate one or they’re scrimping on much needed areas. Festivals have costs that would make filmmakers weep – venue hire, projector hire, location insurance, alcohol permits, transcoding costs, staffing costs, data storage facilities, fuel costs for shuttle buses, advertising, programmes…. And so on. What I would say is be cautious of *how* much you are spending. There are some great festivals out there that are FREE, a few Euros or dollars, then there are some brilliant festivals out there that carry a higher cost. It’s more to do with how much budget you have to begin with as that will dictate how you spend it – if a singular submission fee is going to rinse your budget then think twice.

What are the best festivals for new comedy filmmakers?

Whilst there are some comedy specific festivals out there on the circuit, there aren’t a whole load of them. But what we’re seeing is the appearance of comedy specific categories within a traditional festival, but also those that pick the theme of comedy for their upcoming edition. For comedy specific festivals I would recommend LOCO London Comedy Film Festival (UK) and Just For Laughs Eat My Shorts (Canada) for sure.

Are there timeframes to be aware of and exclusivity / premiere requirements to think about?

After doing this for 15 years there have been so many changes, and one of the major ones is the idea of online versus offline exclusivity. Going back even just 5-7 years there were not a lot of festivals who would consider films eligible for submission if the film was online. Whereas now a lot of festivals don’t mind if it’s online (and some even have separate categories to accommodate for them) but it still isn’t a blanket shrug from festivals. There are still those that do mind (and they mind a lot!) which means that some filmmakers don’t consider that when it comes to launching online as well as heading on to the competitive circuit – they often find out they can’t submit to a festival they really want to till after they’ve launched online and have been ruled out.

Unless you are aiming towards the higher-tiered section of the circuit (like Locarno, Berlinale, Venice, Cannes) then premiere status is less of an issue. If festivals outside of those more industry prolific festivals mention a premiere it’s generally on a smaller scale – Tribeca needs a New York premiere, Edinburgh International needs a Scottish premiere (for a UK production), St. Louis International needs a St. Louis premiere, Indie Memphis needs a Memphis premiere and so on. I would always recommend a filmmaker understand if a festival has a premiere requirement before they submit as sometimes you can waste money by submitting to somewhere that you don’t realise you’re not eligible until you’ve parted with cash. And you’re not going to be able to get that back due to reckless stupidity.

What mistakes do people typically make when entering festivals?

They don’t understand *why* they’re submitting there. And they often aim too high. We are forever telling comedy filmmakers that Berlinale are really not a comedy focused festival… So getting filmmakers to look at the festival in question’s previous line-up goes far. Sometimes filmmakers are doing it out of other filmmakers’ habits. Like Sundance. Everyone, and I mean everyone, wants to submit there, but no one can tell me what screened there last year and why they think their film fits. It’s a weird rites of passage; know why you’re submitting because you are spending your money there. That and not reading rules and regulations; if they don’t accept mockumentaries then they don’t accept mockumentaries, if you submit to a different category because it’s cheaper it doesn’t bode well for you, if you don’t get accepted by the festival DO NOT email them and tell them they are wrong. People in the film festival world talk, and reputation can precede you – whether that’s good or bad is up to you.

Tell us about a great example of a comedy film that has done well on the Festival circuit – what did the creators do well?

We have several clients that have done well, but one that I do always like to reference due to many different factors is HANGOVER FOOD by Ross McGowan from Deadline Films. The film was made for £400 in a flat with a small team and when I watched it, I just found everything about it brilliant from a festival circuit perspective. It was well written, funny, extremely well performed, and just over 10mins. Everything that just sings well on a festival circuit. The way that we look at it is like this – festival programmers are wanting comedy shorts to break up a more serious programme, or just cheer up an audience. So when we have something fall into our lap that fits that bill it’s so much fun to see it travel. And this film did brilliantly. It shows that you don’t need a massive production budget, or fancy equipment or big names – you just need a tight script, strong performances and confidence in the execution. This screened at 14 film festivals including Another Hole In The Head (USA), Hamilton Film Festival (Canada), MONSTERFEST (Australia) and more. It kept picking up awards left, right and centre including Best Foreign Short, Best Dark Comedy and Audience Choice Awards. And those kind of awards mean the most as it’s come from the audience so it’s recognition from pure punters which is what everyone should strive for.

To learn more about Festival Formula visit www.festivalformula.com and for a list of festivals accepting comedy submissions check out our Opportunities Hub.

By Becky Holderness.

Watch out, everybody. Fiona’s here and she’s got a fitness plan to conquer the world.

Meet Fiona. She’s confident, she’s spiritual, and she’s a positive thinker. She’s also got a strategy to bring her amazing talents to the public.

Fit to Drop is a mockumentary following one woman and her mission to give fitness classes to the wider community. She’s willing to help everybody out of the kindness of her heart, from her husband and his “accidental” affair to those people that she knows will most benefit from her fitness expertise. Fiona’s aware of her natural talents but, being the good person that she is, she wants to share them with everyone.

With the help of her best friend Lindsey, and her overly-enthusiastic assistant Suzi, Fiona is finally realising her dream of giving fitness classes. She’s doing everything she can, eating 4500 calories a day to “keep her energy up”, creating marketing plans to “touch people” seven times a week so they get enough exposure and not charging for classes because it’s a “gift” she wants to give to those in need.

In series one, we followed Fiona as she went out into the local community, finding the perfect location for her classes and going door to door to promote them (with the minor setback of only having one copy of her flyers). Fit to Drop is now back with a second series, in which Fiona expands her brand and reaches out to even more people… which isn’t too difficult considering she had no customers last time. She’s giving taster classes to the residents at the local care home, drafting up marketing plans, and even auditioning additional instructors. There’s the same cast of interesting characters, from hopeless caretaker Mr Bowen to her arrogant husband Alexander, only now we can finally see Fiona’s plans come to fruition.

Who wouldn’t want to get ‘Fab, fit and funky with Fiona’?

The full mini-series of Fit To Drop is available exclusively on Comedy Crowd TV – the home of independent comedy.

Sign up here to watch the Fit To Drop, and more of the best independent comedy you won’t find on TV.

The winner of the 3rd Annual Comedy Crowd Chorts! competition is Madam Horace, a dark comic sketch by Winston Gregory in which a young boy discovers his special powers. Gregory and the team receive £500 and expert support towards developing the show into a series.

The competition was judged by Saskia Schuster (Head of Comedy for ITV and founder of Comedy 50:50) and Michael Orton-Toliver (co-creator, writer and Executive Producer of Borderline on Netflix). Michael said of the winner:

There were 357 entries to this year’s Chorts! Competition and you can watch all the shortlisted videos here.

‘The idea behind Chorts! is to shine a light on some of the brilliant independent creators that don’t get the attention they deserve. The incredibly high standard this year demonstrates that there’s so much untapped potential. It’s our mission to support and showcase these creators.’

Peter Wright, Co-Founder

The Chortlist was screened at a sold out event at Angel Comedy in London. The audience voted on the show they most wanted to see more of and the winner was ‘The Amateurs’, created by Jamie Higgins.

If this has inspired you to create your comedy show, our Comedy Crowd TV platform is the perfect place to collaborate and find your audience. Find out more here.

Chorts2019 is supported by BCG Pro – the leading new online platform for emerging and established UK comedy professionals.

BCG Pro provides tools and services for those looking to advance their career in comedy on stage, screen, radio or behind the scenes, including new Pro-exclusive opportunities. Find out more here

Comedy duo Joanna Carolan and Pascale Wilson (aka Shirley & Shirley) have been tearing up the live circuit for years performing their range of comedy characters to sold out audiences.

“Flirty, filthy and funny as fuck” says Matt Cain, Editor-in-chief at Attitude

“The Punk Rock of Comedy” – Phil Jupitus

“Characters that make you think I wish I’d thought of that” – Mackenzie Crook

Now two of the characters Mackenzie Crook is talking about have made it to the screen, and Matt Cain’s 4-f description perfectly sums up ‘The Aussie Girls’.

The 5-episode mini-series follows best friends Kelli and Tammi, who moved from Darwin to Luton to pursue their careers in nursing and work their way through British Tinder.

But their friendship and promiscuity is put to the test when Kelli meets a British bloke who wants to do strange things like ‘date’ and ‘meet the family’.

In episode 5 Danni, aka Big Roo (played by the brilliant Jessica Gunning), moves in and has shocking news for Kelli.

Aussie Girls shines a timely light on how women really behave when they think men aren’t watching… Except these Aussies don’t care who’s watching.

From the Uber Eats guy being tied up upstairs to Tammi leaving a snail trail on an unsuspecting senior citizen, there is plenty here for all the family to enjoy. Just not together.

The Aussie Girls will slap you across the face in a very good way, and remind you not to spend too much time in a Walkabout.

The full mini-series of Aussie Girls is available exclusively on Comedy Crowd TV – the home of independent comedy.

Sign up here to watch the Aussie Girls, and more of the best independent comedy you won’t find on TV.

By Becky Holderness

Winner of “Best Script” at Short Com Film Festival and awarded second place in the “Funniest Film” category, alongside a raft of other awards, Spokke is a scandi-noir like no other. A visually stunning and cleverly-scripted series by Tim Grewcock and Shaun Lowthian, it is a fantastic addition to Comedy Crowd TV. From the outset, Spokke has the feel of a high-budget tv drama, written with a dry and witty humour that will have you immediately hooked.

Click here to read more »

By Joanna Tilley

Hello and welcome to the third and final instalment of my beginner’s guide to making your own sitcom.  

It started off here with how to prepare for the shoot and the second part is here, which provides tips for helping to ensure the shoot itself goes smoothly. 

So, gals and boys, this final portion focuses on the complex, mysterious but perhaps most of all challenging post-production stage. When I finished shooting my pilot episode of OLD (which you can now watch here!), I felt really good – happy and peaceful. I believed the shoot had gone well, everyone seemed to have fun and we had filmed everything we needed for a 30-minute pilot in four days. Not an easy feat. However, I think I was also happy because I was blissfully ignorant of what was to come. I was a naïve first-time filmmaker, who hadn’t encountered the post-production process before. Now, this may sound a bit gory, but post-production is a place where many self-made films go to die. And after going through this process with OLD, I totally understand why. Once the high of filming is over, the passion you have for your project will be tested to the max.

So here I serve up to you EIGHT TIPS to help you through post-production:

1) Find an editor who loves the project

Video editing is a hard job. It’s lonely, it’s conducted in darkness and it’s frequently undervalued. Basically editing is pretty much like doing a piece of homework that is constantly being returned with red corrections all over the place. Thus… the moral of the story is you need to find someone who likes your script and is up for the project.

I was lucky to find my editor, Kevin Chu Thomson, through a friend and I got the impression early on that he really wanted to be involved with OLD. Kevin was also prepared to edit this project for free – around his full-time job. Now considering I had already been quoted £3,000 by one editor, to get a professional editor for free was quite a result. However, I do want to offer a word of warning with this scenario. If you find someone who is prepared to edit for free then you have to bare in mind that there’s only so much that you can push for things to be done. Paying people in the post-production process should ensure a faster final product and also puts you firmly in charge. So I guess you have to weigh up the pros and cons here. I was lucky with Kevin because he worked extremely hard on the project and was easy to work with – however, I can imagine this kind of arrangement going wrong, quite easily. (FYI – I did end up paying Kevin some money because it didn’t feel right for him to spend so much time on this project for nothing).

I suppose this is something else to consider as you start out on the post-production process. You may be happy to get people to work for free at the outset, but your attitude may change when they are still working on it three months later.

2. REALLY get to know your footage

From the beginning, Kevin said that the editing process was going to be collaboration between the two of us. I don’t have much in the way of video editing skills, but what he meant was that we would be constantly communicating and evolving the film together. It also meant I had to get back to work quickly. If, like us, you didn’t manage to make notes on each take during filming, you will have to do this afterwards. What I did was create a table in Excel (or Word) and basically went through every take noting the strongest time-codes for each – and marking takes with an X if Kevin could discount them completely.

This saved time and ultimately meant I was helping to curate the first cut. However, your relationship with the footage needs to be ongoing. It is likely that when the editor starts sending back cuts, that you will need to delve back into the footage several times to check if there are any better options. We filmed 11.5 hours of footage and I went through it all at least four times, so this gets old quite quickly. But one thing is for certain – every time I forced myself to look at the footage again, I always found something that made OLD stronger. It really is a case of no pain, no gain. Let’s repeat once more for the people at the back! No pain, no gain.

3) Make a trailer

I think one of the reasons I managed to get a colourist and sound mixer involved in my project at a decent rate is because I had a trailer which I could show them. It makes the film feel real, before it is like proper real. But there are so many other reasons to do one. To help promote the film before it goes online, to send to people who you want to invite to the screening. To get the cast and crew’s energy up again.

It is also beneficial for when you are proving your project is legitimate for websites such as IMDb, who will ask for links that support your film. (On this IMDb note, if you can get a publication to review your film at a screening this is also useful for authenticity.) I made the rough cut trailer myself in iMovie – it was the first time I had used iMovie and while I was pretty scared, I survived. (iMovie is very user friendly – so if I can do this, you can too). 

4) Listen to Martin Scorsese

Heed these words from legendary director Martin Scorsese: “If you don’t get physically ill seeing your first rough cut, something’s wrong.”
When you are the creator and writer of a project, I roughly estimate that 99 times out of 100, you are going to dislike the cut you first get back from the editor. I was warned numerous times by people who had made films about this scenario and that made it a little easier to handle, but it still is quite hard to stomach. This is usually nothing to do with the editor being bad – it’s more a case that the reality of what you pictured in your mind when you wrote the script has shifted as the cast, crew, location, filming and editing moved it a little further from your vision. It isn’t going to look or feel exactly right – but as you work on it, it will start to get better. 

Another thing is that the editor might have a slightly different vision for your project. For example, Kevin favoured close-up shots which sped up the dialogue and zoomed in on reactions, whereas I often favoured wide shots as I wanted to set the scene, especially as I see OLD as a studio sitcom. This was something that we needed to iron out early – and therefore I think it was a good idea to get Kevin to send over the first scene, before carrying on with the rest. However, saying that, I did start getting too bogged down in the detail, so eventually I told Kevin to do the first five scenes on his own and then send them over. I think this was a good decision as we had sorted the major creative differences out and now Kevin could edit scenes without constant interference from me. At some point, you need to let people get on with it – and trust them.

 5) Patience is a virtue

If you are in a situation where your editor has lots of other things to do, you have to remember that the world doesn’t revolve around your project. It is normal to want to get your sitcom out into the world as soon as possible, but really hurrying the people involved is probably one of the worst things you can do. If you are feeling impatient, just do what I did and write this reminder on a piece of paper. Insightful stuff.

6) Be prepared to spend some money

Money, money, money – must be funny, if you are making a show for Netflix. But most of us aren’t. As I have said in other parts of this guide, the amount of money you spend will vary on the length and complexity of what you are planning to film. Even though I saved money on the editor, the post-production process was still expensive as I opted to employ a colour grader, audio mixer, composers and someone to do the special effects. It was all mates rates, but it adds up. It really does boil down to how much you have to spend. Personally, I don’t think good comedy will be overlooked because the colour or special effects aren’t perfect (although the sound does have to be good!). I have seen budget films on YouTube, and if the script, actors, camerawork and editing is strong – it will do justice to your project. I watched a number of the Comedy Crowd chorts recently and while the standard of comedy varied, I was impressed by the high levels of production on all the videos. We now have the technology available to do the post-production process ourselves and cheaply. Hurrah! 

However, if you have money to spend on your project, then it makes sense to make it look as close to TV quality as possible. I think, however, out of everything that I spent money on, it was the colour grading that made the most difference. The colours just POP when it has been graded and my colourist, Tom Cairns, who graded McMafia and loads of other shows, was great to work with. A colourist can also help to fix any problems you have with light inconsistency. In terms of music, employing a composer will always capture the essence of your show better – however, there’s loads of free and cheap music available to download online. One thing I would say is that music stings between scenes make SUCH a difference and I would thoroughly recommend using them. They add a feeling of professionalism and also keep the energy up – they are an excellent way of moving on from the last scene and introducing the next scene with fresh vigour. 

7) Watch it until your eyes bleed

I think I watched the ‘final’ version of OLD about 40 times. That is the completed version with all scenes in tact. If you take into consideration watching each separate scene, then it is closer to 100. Sometimes when I watched it I liked it, very rarely I loved it, and more often than I would have liked, I hated it. It is quite an exhausting experience to hate your work… but I think that watching something in isolation, again and again, is going to suck all humour out of it. There are no surprises because you know exactly what is going to happen – you even know exactly what the next joke is. The important thing to remember though is however much you dislike watching it – you have to! You have to again and again, and again, and again. I have mentioned this in the other parts of this guide, but this is why you have to go into your project absolutely loving the characters, the world and the story you are telling. Otherwise you are not going to make it out the other side. You won’t. Because any weaknesses you see in it will be amplified 1,001 times (that’s a precise measurement) in the post-production stage.  

8) Get it screened 

Okay so this isn’t strictly speaking post-production, but I just wanted to mention it now because this is the final part of this guide. The reason I recommend getting your sitcom – whatever length or format it may be – screened is because comedy works better when it is watched in a room full of people. It is also a nice experience to share with your nearest and dearest. I did five screenings of OLD and that included one cast and crew screening, two public screenings and two friends, family and industry screenings. I know, it’s an actual fact!, that people laughed in every single screening, sometimes more than once. (For anyone who still needs evidence, I have audio recordings of them all – so there!).

Basically OLD went down well and this is important for me to know, because there is something terribly scary and alienating about putting your work online for the world to judge. But I think this process would be even scarier if you hadn’t tried and tested the material beforehand. When I am feeling a bit insecure about the project, or fear people out there don’t like it, I can now remember how much fun people had at the screenings, and it really gives me a sense of perspective. 

Comedy is extraordinarily divisive – so many people are not going to like what you make. Most people will probably not like what you make. I watch comedies all the time which are recommended by comedians I like, and I watch them thinking ‘what the heck is this?!’ I know they aren’t bad comedies or programmes, but I just don’t like them. And whilst comedy is divisive and splits the room, there is still a part of me that gets desperately sad when I remember this reality. Comedians and comedy writers want people to laugh, and they want to make people happy, all the people – all the time!, and therefore, it is the most natural thing in the world to be dispirited when you think people don’t like, or understand, your show. But there is only one piece of advice I can give about this and that is to GET THE FUCK OVER IT. Is this really the way I am going to end this guide? You better bloody well believe it is.

And comedy friends, please do watch my pilot episode of OLD below and let me know what you think, in a constructive and wholesome fashion. Lots of love, and all the best with your projects. They are all worthy. (Unless they encourage people to mutilate kittens.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ozf9Kf2oFJI

By Joanna Tilley

Hello and welcome to part two of my beginner’s guide to filming your own sitcom. Like all good guides – maybe  – this guide comes in three parts. The first one can be found here and focuses on what to do before the shoot. This part, aka the one you are reading this very second, offers tips on how to ensure the shoot itself goes smoothly and part three will look into post-production.

The reason I have written this guide is because this year I decided to make my own sitcom pilot called OLD. For more information on OLD, you can visit this British Comedy Guide page.  

Although the characters for OLD have been with me for many years, I started this filming project in January 2018. It is currently being premiered and will shortly be available to watch online. While I am still a novice when it comes to film making, I am certainly learning a thing or two over these nine months (like a pregnant woman might). I hope this guide is useful for anyone who is also considering filming their own work.

So without future ado, here are my 8 TIPS for DURING THE SHOOT. 

1.    FEED ‘EM UP!

I covered this a little bit in the first part of this guide, but I think it is worth hammering home here. If you are hiring cast or crew on low budget, or no budget, then the least you can do it feed them well. Robin Bailes, who I met through London Comedy Writers and who assisted with the filming of OLD, first served up this valuable piece of information. Even though time can be tight on set – I think having a designated lunch break everyday with food that is healthy and not too stodgy is definitely worth any ‘waste’ of time. People aren’t machines – and they are more productive, happier and funnier with something in their bellies.

2.    DO SOME REHEARSING (if possible!)

Okay, fine, we didn’t do this on OLD – but that’s because the actors came from different parts of the country and we were stretching ourselves to the max filming 30 minutes in four days. But I do think that if you have time for rehearsals on set then it is a wise idea. When I managed to get two of the actors in the same room for a line read-through, we considerably improved their dynamic, so I can only imagine that a proper rehearsal would benefit a production. What we did do on OLD though was a line read-through with the whole cast (including someone we Skyped in) the evening before the shoot. This was valuable because I could hear it aloud – and the actors got a chance to suss each other out – we also socialised and ate together which I think was a good way to start the shoot.

3.    BEEF UP YOUR CREW 

On OLD, we had two assistants helping on the set – Robin Bailes and Maddy Couch. Before the shoot I thought one would be enough, but the truth is you probably need two – and three might be even better. If you think about how many people work on a TV set then it makes sense that if you can get good and reliable people involved – then do. Also making sure someone has transportation – aka a car – can be invaluable if you need to transport people or food around (I owe a lot of thanks to Maddy here!). And delegation is key – on the first day we sort of used the assistants when we needed them but that meant there were times when they didn’t know exactly what they should be doing. I would advise writing up a to do list for each runner/assistant so they know if they are doing props, following the script, taking notes, or being the actors fluffer. Okay, not an actual fluffer (do some googling!), but someone who looks after the actors and keeps them feeling positive. I spent the first day with a massive folder in my hands, trying to follow the dialogue, and that’s not what a director should be doing. The director should be looking through the camera’s monitor – which I think I learnt to do on the third day… 

4.    MAKE TIME FOR PRODUCTION MEETINGS

Trust me, the last thing you feel like doing after a day of filming is having a production meeting. But you must – or so said my cameraman Graham Trelfer – who turned out to be very right. These meetings are important to have so you can plan what you are going to film the next day, what time the actors need to come in, what scenes can be bumped forward if time runs out. It is also useful to be flexible – you might be tempted to stick to your call sheet (see part 1) – but that should only be a guideline. For example, you don’t need all the actors in at the crack of dawn if some of them are only in the final scene of the day. They will appreciate it if you give them a lie in if possible – and be in better spirits later on. You should also have a production meeting in the morning just to reconfirm the plan for the day. For example, if it is raining and you planned to film all your outside scenes – then you need to do some rearranging – and quick smart.

5.    TRACK THE LIGHT 

When it comes to filming, light is very important. If you have been planning properly, then you will know the hours of daylight for the time of year you are filming and therefore how long you have for the daytime/outside scenes. But light is more complicated than that because it changes throughout the day – so it is wise to consider if it is changing too much within a scene. If you cannot afford to use a colour grader in post-production, and you don’t have someone doing the lighting, then try to film scenes in the same light and also avoid filming by a window as overexposure is very hard to avoid. And it looks really bad.

6.    BE PROFFESH

So this is basic stuff but we are all basic people, right? It is good to film your production as professionally as possible so purchase a clapperboard, as firstly they are mega cool and secondly it saves a lot of time in post production. The clap of the clapperboard marks a point on the audio so it helps the editor synchronise picture and sound – or something like that. So you’ve heard of lights, camera, action – the order for our shoot – was:  

•       ‘speed’ (which is what the sound person says when they are recording – ps. you need a sound person)
•        ‘rollin’’ (what the cameraperson says when they are filming)
•        ‘clap’ – goes the clapperboard
•        ‘action’ (what the director says, if they remember!) 

7.    RUN THROUGH THE WHOLE SCENE

If you are up against the clock, it can be tempting to just pick and choose lines for the actors to deliver from particular angles/shots. However, the problem with doing this is that you can miss some priceless reaction shots from the actors. It may feel boring, and pointless, but making sure you have a good take of the whole scene from every angle is a good idea. Note, that take doesn’t have to run straight through though. As a first time director, the temptation is to stop the take every time one of the actors makes a mistake. However, this isn’t possible unless you have a lot of time, so you need to put your editing cap on, and that means if you have already got that line/part in the bag, you don’t need the actors to deliver the whole scene perfectly. I think this is a skill that develops with practice – and therefore it is why it is so important to have an experienced crew around you – particular camera person – as they will know when you need to do retakes. Especially if they also know how to edit. 

8.    KEEP CALM AND COMEDY ON 

Being a director of your own script is a nerve-wracking experience. Firstly, if this is a passion project, it is going to mean ever so much to you as you have a fair amount of pride riding on it – as well as some investment behind it. There are also a lot of people on set relying on you to know what you are doing. You have gathered all these people together to make something, and you should have a feeling of responsibility for them. Are they okay? Are they alive? Did you kill one of them? This sort of thing. But if you are a director that carries that stress on your face, it is likely you will drag the whole ship down. Anxiety, negativity, worry – it all travels. However, how do you hide that stuff? Well I think while it is kind of tricky, there are possibly two ways to keep yourself calm on set – 1) surround yourself with an experienced, friendly and fun crew 2) surrender some things to fate. Because there are so many different elements at play when you create a piece of film, you are inevitably going to get things wrong. But I think you are much more likely to get things right when you are relaxed about proceedings. When the people around you are laughing – you should take that as a good sign.

Part two over and out. Oh – actually – one final thing that Graham also made me do – was to give each member of the cast a round of applause after their final scene and to say ‘that’s a wrap for (insert character name)’. It is things like this that keep actors chirpy and the energy up – so it’s gooood. I will be back with post-production tips at a later date. If you have any questions, then fire away below or on my OLD Comedy Crowd project page.

By Joanna Tilley

Hello and welcome to the first instalment of my guide to help writers through the daunting task of bringing their creative projects to life. Before 2018, I was a virgin in all aspects of film making, and while I still have so much to learn about making content, I would like to share some of the things I have picked up this year.

In fact, as there is quite a lot to get your pretty little heads around, I have divided this information into a ‘before the shoot’ article, a ‘during the shoot’ article and a ‘how-not-to-shoot-yourself-in-the-head-during-post-production’ article (I might change the name of this last part).

A little about my story before I get into the meat, so to speak. This time last year, if anyone had told me I was going to film my sitcom pilot I would have laughed in their faces. ‘Make it yourself’ were my three least favourite words to hear when I was discussing my sitcom project OLD. I was a writer, for goodness sake, it wasn’t my job to get involved in the filming and anyway what did I know about production, direction, casting, and all the rest of it. Nowt. 

However, this time this year, I am a few weeks away from my pilot sitcom OLD hitting the big screens of YouTube and I am gearing up for the final furlong of this adventure.

So, without boring you about why I changed my mind (it all comes down to timing and energy levels really), let’s get straight to the sausage.

Here are my TOP 10 TIPS for ‘BEFORE THE SHOOT’: 

1.   SET A FILMING DATE

Without a deadline, so many writers do not write. Without a deadline, other writers lose their minds. People complain about deadlines, but we all love them really. What I am trying to say is that often without a deadline, not much gets done. I didn’t realise this when I was in the early stages of organising the shoot. I wanted to get location, cast, crew sorted and then confirm a date. Nah-ah. As soon as I set a date it felt real, I had something to work towards and things started happening. Exciting things.

2.   USE ACTORS

This may sound pretty basic but apparently even Ricky Gervais tried to film the Office at one stage with regular Tom and Janes (just go with me). His advice afterwards was ‘don’t do it’ – my advice is similar to Ricky’s ‘don’t do it.’ I think the temptation when you are filming your own project is to want to be naturalistic and a bit alternative, try out something different, give a few unknowns a go. The problem with this is we can forget that acting is a skill and a career. Actors have trained, or learnt, to become an actor and whatever stage they are at, they know a huge amount more than a non-actor. Unless you are extremely lucky, you will find that delivery, timing and confidence are lacking in the Tom and Janes. I worked this out quite early and all it really took was a few read throughs with people. The difference was striking immediately. For the main parts at least – listen to myself and the Gervaister – use actors!

3.   ASK QUESTIONS

I am going to keep this one really short because it is a simple concept. Ask people who have already filmed projects for their tips. You don’t need to heed every piece of advice, but if the same things keep popping up, then these are likely the bits you need to remember. For me, the main two things were ‘get the sound right’ and ‘surround yourself with more experienced people.’

4.   SURROUND YOURSELF WITH MORE EXPERIENCED PEOPLE

Well this was hardly a difficult challenge… But I suppose the point is get some good brains around you. Brains that have done this before and are not going to get frustrated by working with someone they may have to baby a bit along the way. So get nice people as well as experienced people on board, people with a passion for helping others to grow. One of the best decisions I made was teaming up with cameraman Graham Trelfer, who filmed OLD, but also helped me produce it. I was getting to the point where I was almost having sleepless nights worrying, but almost as soon as I had someone to hold my hand a little, the stress dissipated and I was able to do sleepy again. Hoorah! Check the IMDb, showreels etc of the cast and crew that you plan to use and then make sure to meet up with them ALL in person. Sound is so important, please don’t just hope for the best. Bad sound will kill everything. Our sound guy Cristian Majer also happened to be full of life and knew when to pick the energy up – these people are vital on set. Also if you know friends who are passionate about either you or your project, then ask them to be part of the crew. We couldn’t have filmed our pilot in four days without the tireless work of Assistant Director Robin Bailes (who I knew from London Comedy Writers) and Camera Assistant Maddy Couch. They were on fire!

5.   ACTORS WILL WORK FOR FREE 

Some people may disagree with not paying actors for a job. Each to their own. I am just here to say that I didn’t pay any of the actors involved in OLD, and I don’t feel bad about it. This is because I treated and fed them well, because I believe they enjoyed themselves, but mainly because they thought that being involved in my sitcom OLD would be good for their careers. Fingers crossed on that one, eh! The only issue with this is if the actors are then offered paid gigs you have to understand that they may cancel on you last minute. That’s why it is a good idea to have stand-ins for all members of the cast. The director for OLD was also pretty cheap, because that was me. But when it came to the people with the equipment (camera and sound), I did part with some money – but it was more like a payment for the equipment, rather than for their time. Often you have to go on your gut instinct when it comes to how much and all that awkward stuff. Mandy is a good website to find cast, and Shooting People is a good website for crew. Contacting talent agencies is also a useful way of finding more than one actor at a time. The main point I am making is that you can get a cast and crew together without it costing too much money. The key to getting people involved on the cheap is that they have to believe in you.

6.   TALK LOTS (AND KNOCK ON STRANGER’S DOORS)

Okay so I don’t mean total strangers. The point I am trying to make is don’t be too secretive about your project. Talking to people about it often reaps some very interesting rewards. For example, I got the singer, actor and West End star Peter Straker to play the role of Fred after talking to director Steven Dinsdale, who I knew through my sketch group Monkey Wedding. Steven had seen Peter sing at a party and thought he would be good for the part. Peter Straker read the script, liked it and offered his services straight away. He was the sort of talent that made other people interested in getting involved. If you can get talent on your project, is it absolutely priceless. And knocking on stranger’s doors did sort of happen. There was one day when I went around the local village Axbridge (where OLD was filmed) and basically through word of mouth found myself two make-up artists, a local cat to play Gus and a new location. The bottom line is – people want to be involved in film because it is exciting! So do knock on doors, but maybe get a heads up about the person behind the door first.

7.   ADAPT TO CHANGES

Yes a new location, that wasn’t in the original plan. One of the reasons, potentially the main reason, that I got the ball rolling on OLD was because I had secured a castle to film it in. This was very exciting, a castle, a free castle too, what a great start! Anyway, for reasons I can’t be bothered to go into, the castle fell through and I was left with cast and crew – but no location. Oh bugger. However, and it is quite remarkable when I think about it, I found a new location on the same day as the old one disappeared behind its curtain walls. Part of this was luck, but part of this was also because I spoke to people (see tip 6). I spoke to Juliet Maclay who owns the Roxy Cinema in Axbridge and she kindly informed me of all the venues in the area that might be suitable. I wondered up and down valleys, through streams and at the end of my mission found The Parsonage. Owner Patricia Filer immediately said she was happy for me to film there and wouldn’t charge either. The Parsonage was also a B&B so some of the actors stayed there on shoot – thus it ended up working out well for all concerned. So what I am saying in a convoluted way is don’t be afraid of setbacks, because they might be opportunities in disguise. (I’m sorry – I clichéd – I apologise.)

8.   WHAT CAN YOU AFFORD TO DO? (time & money wise)

Okay this is a question – not a tip as such, but I feel it is important that I bring it up. I decided to film a 30-minute pilot script mainly because that is the length of the one I had written. I wanted to see this script in the flesh and was committed to making a full episode for people to watch, and for some of those people to enjoy. However, and this feels like a big piece of advice, I would not advise anyone (unless they are as equally mad as me) to film 30-minutes of TV. 30 minutes of TV is a lot of TV and a lot of work. And it is expensive especially when it comes to post-production. If I was planning to film something before it was written, which might be the right way to go about it, I would do two things – 1) Film half an episode or a condensed episode (10-15 minutes). 2) Limit your characters. As my script was already written, there was no way around the fact that I had to find 8 actors and 1 cat. This is a lot of people to find, this is a lot of logistics to organise and even if you aren’t paying the actors, you will have to pay for food, travel, any accommodation required. A smaller cast is also easier to manage on set. Time is needed to work out when actors should be on set, and for putting them into make-up, and this was quite stressful. With three or four actors, a lot of this stress can be avoided. Another piece of advice here is, and although I love Tango the cat to bits, be wary of working with animals. It adds so much more time to proceedings. But I am sure you guys know this one – don’t work with children and animals, you aren’t stupid… I am a little.

9.   BORING TIP ALERT

Contracts. Perhaps my least favourite part of the whole project. I was advised by my guru Graham Trelfer that I needed to write up contracts for every cast and crew member. It sucked. If you know the right sort of lawyer, do get their advice on this. I didn’t – so what I did was ask people who had done this before to look at their contracts and also wing it. You basically need people to sign over the rights to their image, voice, actions etc etc. Another thing is that some actors, or more likely their agents, will ask for clauses to be inserted into the contract. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT THIS BIT. Do not make the mistake that I did and send the contracts to the actors too late. Because they can refuse to sign them. And then either you are left with no actor a day or so before filming or you have to concede to their demands, even if they want a full-time masseur who provides a happy ending. Or something. Just get them to agree to it in advance, so you aren’t in that situation. It’s all about the power play, folks. Oh – and also get insurance for cast, crew, location and equipment – it isn’t too expensive and Adam King at Towergate Insurance was wonderful. Finally, to bring this boring section to a close, write up a call sheet so cast and crew know what the heck is going on. Instead of directly pinching ones online, it is nice to add a personal touch and a bit of colour. I think it makes people feel more valued if they see you have made some effort not to be copy and pastey.

10.    DON’T BE OBSESSED WITH BEING LIKED 

The great thing about filming your own project is that you go from someone who has no power to someone who has all the power. I went from having my script rejected by people in the industry, to someone who could choose cast members, and make all these interesting decisions. It was wonderful. It was a well-needed change and I recommend writers putting themselves in the power seat. Far too often they don’t have enough of it. The thing with power is it brings great responsibility (again I’m sorry!). So that means it is important to be respectful, kind and understanding – you know, a decent person. When in doubt, just think would I like this done to me, and if you wouldn’t, don’t do it. However, saying this, it is also important to be firm and accept that sometimes you might have to let someone down, or reject someone, or be a bit clinical. You are not going to be able to write, produce and direct a film if you want to be liked by everyone. Writers can be very emphatic and intuitive human beings – and I think sometimes it means they are too nice. You don’t have to be a dick, but if there is a greater goal to be achieved, you can’t be overly concerned about being liked.

11.   THERE’S NO TIP 11 – I JUST DIDN’T WANT THIS ARTICLE TO END THIS WAY

I think one of the things you may have gathered from reading this article is that there is a lot of work required to filming your own project. This isn’t the sort of thing to embark upon if you are half-hearted about your script or concept. I love my sitcom OLD, I love the world and most of all I love the characters, they have been with me for years and I have fought for them every step of the way. But boy has it been a tough old ride to get to this point. This brings up another thing I should have mentioned earlier possibly is that if you can partner up with someone at the beginning, do it. Writing partners are difficult to find, but if you find/have one, it will be a more fun and less stressful journey to go through this together. Deciding to film my sitcom is without doubt one of the best things (if not the best thing) I have ever done, but at times it has also been incredibly lonely. It is still tough and I have needed to have so much patience (more about this in part III of this guide). I was lucky this year as I was freelance writing but to be honest I had lots of time to work on this project. I wouldn’t have been able to do this with a full-time job. However, this is partly because I chose to do a half-hour sitcom, so if people are planning 5 or 10 minute pieces, a lot of the stress, cost and time will be minimised.

Before I go, I should also put in a mention to my dad – Andy Tilley – who when I suggested filming OLD, immediately said I should film it in Axbridge, a small town in Somerset where he lived. A light bulb clicked in my head when he said that. I knew that I would be in the countryside, surrounded by friendly, helpful locals, and that I had the support of my father. My dad was right too, I soon got in touch with journalist and actor Harry Mottram who put me in contact with some local actors in the area. My dad’s enthusiasm was exactly what I needed to hear. However, if he had told me to film it, I would have ignored him just like I had everyone else. We all need to do things in our own time.

So punk – the question is – are you ready?

CLICK HERE to have a look at the highlights from the pilot for OLD.

And if you have any questions, then fire away down below, on Twitter @joannatilley, or on my OLD Comedy Crowd project page.

If you have read this far, I like you, so you get a special bonus tip and that is: AVOID GIMICS. Seriously if something feels like a gimic, and is taking up too much mental space, that is often because it doesn’t work. It’s that old cliche of making something for yourself, and not with the audience too much in mind. That’s why gimics don’t pay the bills, yo! Bye bye for now and check out part 2 here. x

Every month a VIP from the world of comedy picks their favourite show on Comedy Crowd TV. May’s pick was chosen by former BBC and Sky Comedy Commissioner, and founder of Yellow Door Productions, Lucy Lumsden.

Lucy selected the brilliantly original, slightly strange and very funny Zipwaz Humphries by Victor Hampson as the best “web series” on the platform.

Click here to read more »