The scenes from The Inbetweeners that most likely to come to mind are its gross out moments, such as Simon’s testicle doing the catwalk or Neil casually punching a fish to death. But it is not these moments that really define the show and in fact, as argued in this excellent video from ‘Full Fat Videos’, the puerile moments are only funny because of subtle character development throughout the series.

On the face of it ‘The Inbetweeners’ characters are all stereotypes but in certain understated, perfectly executed moments they are shown to be real people, not caricatures. It is these scenes that facilitate much of the comedy in the series. They provide a crucial authenticity – as viewers we believe they are all friends, and we believe and can relate to their relationships with each other.

As creators, if we can establish this authenticity, then the scope and effectiveness of comedic moments in our shows will be enhanced markedly.

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There are amazing opportunities for those interested in writing for children’s TV, but what puts many off is the perception that they would have to dumb down or simplify their writing.

Increasingly kids TV has moved away from the fairytale Disney story and character tropes towards a more nuanced style that blurs the line between children and adults. The standout example of a show that does this well is SpongeBob Squarepants. SpongeBob is a show that combines narrative styles in a fashion that delivers some of the moral messages you would traditionally expect, but does it with more than a nod to an adult audience too.

This Wisecrack video explores this idea further and could provide some inspiration as to how you could  write for children’s TV without compromising your style.

For more insights on writing for Children’s TV check out our recent Q+A with ‘Horrible Histories’ writer Dave Cohen on Comedy Crowd TV (access for a whole year currently costs only £12)

For more articles and videos like this that get your creative juices flowing, plus a round up of all the latest comedy opportunities subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.

It’s incredible to think that something as consistently good as South Park has less than a week turnaround on each of it’s episodes, especially when the industry standard for animation is around 8 months! This video by ‘Nerdstalgic’ looks at why the creators put this constraint on themselves, stating that some of the benefits are:

• Authenticity
• Relevance
• Combatting Censorship
• Freshness
• Innovation

For more articles and videos like this that get your creative juices flowing, plus a round up of all the latest comedy opportunities subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.

Sven Pape’s ‘This Guy Edits’ Youtube channel is a fantastic resource for editors, regardless of their level of experience. This video is aimed at those who are new at the craft, listing 7 tips that will have a huge impact on the quality of your work, including:

• How to keep a scene tight (but also when you should consider a long setup)
• How to use editing to guide your audience
• How to use misdirection
• The importance of blinking
• Trusting your gut

For more articles and videos like this that get your creative juices flowing, plus a round up of all the latest comedy opportunities subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.

‘More to That’ is a blog by Lawrence Yeo that uses simple, distinctive illustrations to craft thoughtful posts. Yeo describes himself as a visual storyteller, and in this post he explains how he takes an idea and creates a narrative journey in which visuals play a vital role. There are some brilliant insights in this guide including:

• How to get creative at the intersection of your personal interests and landscape of ideas
• Where epiphanies come from
• How to create a visceral journey for your audience
• What makes a great reveal
• How and when to use visuals to maximum effect

It’s a long piece but its packed with insight and inspiration for your next comedy project. Read it here.

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Pixar have a rigid 22 rules of story telling that they apply to every project. In this video Youtuber KaptainKristian looks at one in particular:

‘Why must you tell THIS story? What’s the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That’s the heart of it.’

He argues that it is this rule that makes Pixar stories so deeply relatable. It is the driving force behind Pixar’s rich layered characters, particularly compared to some of their less nuanced Disney equivalents.

For more articles and videos like this that get your creative juices flowing, plus a round up of all the latest comedy opportunities subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.

In this series Youtuber ‘Nerdstalgic’ picks out an episode of a renowned show that encapsulates what it does best. The Simpsons is a particularly interesting case study, having departed so far from what used to make it great. Simpsons fan or not there’s lots for creators to learn from this analysis of the episode ‘Marge Versus The Monorail’ including how it:

• Embraces the absurd and the limitless nature of animation
• Is densely packed with a variety of types of jokes, including ‘Homer’ humour, visual gags and satire
• Pins these jokes to an engaging narrative
• Deploys ‘parody with purpose’
• Involves all its key character in a meaningful way

For more articles and videos like this that get your creative juices flowing, plus a round up of all the latest comedy opportunities subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.

This is a really interesting and thought provoking video about why certain comedy shows lose their appeal over time. In picking out examples the creator, Renegade Cut YouTube Channel, hasn’t exactly gone high-brow (Dumb and Dumber, The Mask and Austin Powers feature strongly) but nonetheless there are some really interesting principles highlighted.

Using specific cultural references is clearly a surefire way to ensure eventual irrelevance, but perhaps most interesting for creators to consider is the fact that jokes depend on the element of incongruence and woven into that is the need for the audience to be surprised. So creators of comedy who aspire to be original and remembered need to be constantly looking at novel ways of structuring, framing and delivering their funny scenes.

For more articles and videos like this that get your creative juices flowing, plus a round up of all the latest comedy opportunities subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.

Balancing Acts is our partner podcast, created and hosted by comedy writer, performer and director Steve Whiteley.

Each week Steve sits down with successful creatives to discuss their journey, explore how they find a sense of balance (or not) between their careers and everyday life and looks at strategies they use to unlock their creativity.

There is always someone who has been through what you’re going through now, and through this podcast you can learn so much from the experiences of other creatives. Here are our 3 favourite episodes (check out the full list here).

Mark O’Sullivan

Mark is an actor, writer, director, producer and co-creator of the Channel 4 sitcom ‘Lee and Dean’. In this episode you’ll learn:

• How ‘Lee and Dean’ was commissioned off the back of a failure
• How everything good that happened to him started on Twitter
• Why it can be better to enter comedy later in life
• How to get a creative team working effectively and overcome ‘Imposter Syndrome’
• How he balances marriage, kids and comedy

Zara Symes

Zara is an actress and writer. In this episode she talks in detail about her experience of hustling and pitching a script:

• How she got representation
• The experience of pitching before she was ready
• What happens in a script development meeting
• How she improved her writing (plus the best podcast for scriptwriting)
• How she structures her routine to maximise her creativity

Khyan Mansley

Khyan is an actor, writer and director who started his career as a Youtuber. He went on to create a short film called ‘The Ministry’ which led to a US sitcom script commission. In this episode he talks about:

• How he got started making Youtube videos
• The experience of pitching to US executives
• Breaking down a 2 year development process
• How agencies ‘package’ a script for pitching
• How he takes an analytical approach to maximising his productivity

Like content like this? To get a Monday update on the latest comedy opportunities, plus a weekly dose of creative inspiration sign up to our newsletter here

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

By Daniel Page. People often ask me, “Dan, how the heck did you come to produce an iTunes Top 10 sci-tech-comedy podcast?”. And I’ll say to them, a) “Hey man, it was only briefly Top 10 in the iTunes Tech chart but thanks for mentioning” and b) “Do you want the jet wash or the deluxe?”. Also, I work at a car wash now. ….And people never ask me this. Well, almost never. But when those cool jazz-hounds at The Comedy Crowd mentioned it vaguely in an e-mail, I immediately seized upon their ill-informed slip of the tongue to pen this article…which I then forced them to publish in return for me releasing their Fiat Panda that machine with the big blue brushes. Click here to read more »