Transcripts
1. Introduction: Hello friends. Welcome back to my class. As you have already guessed from the title, this class is about how to get new ideas, get new inspirations and new insights for jokes, comedy and humor. And maybe you already know, but let me tell you that this class is the second part in continuation of my previous class. So if you haven't checked it out already, I suggest you to watch that class before watching this class. Because in my last class, I have explained the formula of homonyms, homophones, homographs, which is necessary to grasp the concept of a setup that is basically the scenario of the joke. It also gives you many new ideas for jokes and humor. In today's class. First, we will talk about the breakdown formula. Then we will talk about stating the obvious formula. By using these formulas, you will be able to generate new ideas for the jokes and get new inspirations and new insights about how a stand-up comedian or a comedy script writer gets new ideas for his jokes and humor. And I have to tell you that this class is for the beginner level, writers and comedians. So if you want to become a good stand-up comedian or a good script writer, watch the class till the end in complete all the assignments in practice a lot. Okay, without further ado, let's get started.
2. Breaking Down the Words: Okay, let's start with the breakdown formula. Whenever we come across a word, we should try to break it down into two or three parts. After breaking it down, if every part makes sense, then that's our cue for generating new ideas. Okay, for example, let's try to break down the word Washington. And after breaking it down, it will look like Washington. Here we go. Both the parts makes sense. Washing means to clean with water in ton means and extremely large amount. Then it's time for us to write a setup. The setup is like a scenario. You can write the setup however you like. It is up to your imagination. And as you know, your imagination has no boundaries. For this word. I tried to come up with different types of setups, but at first, it couldn't work. After five to ten minutes, I got an idea and I wrote a somewhat acceptable set up and it goes like this. What do you call an extremely large amount of laundry washing time. You can play with the words and change them accordingly. For example, what do you call washing a large number of clothes, Washington or what do you call tons of laundry. Washington, as you can see, we can come up with many different setups to create a good joke. The word Washington popped up in my mind after trying to break down at least 20 to 30 words. So do not fret if you don't get it in your first few tries. Most importantly, never give up. Okay, now let's try another one. What do you call a sleepy relative napkin? Basically the formula is after breaking down a word, find the synonyms of those words which makes sense and write a setup using those synonyms, such as nap means sleep and kin means relative. And like I said, you can play with the words and change them according to your setup. I was listening to a rap song while writing my script for this video, and I heard the phrase no cap. Then suddenly I got this idea know and kept both makes sense as a word. Then I tried to write a setup by using the word cap in the context of the cap we wear on our heads. After trying for a few minutes, I couldn't come up with a setup. I have a bottle on my table. After looking at it, I had a mental breakthrough. Then I wrote a setup and it goes like this. What do you call a bottle without a cap? No cap. Before writing this setup, it totally slipped my mind that the word cat has other meanings as well. So as we have learned in our previous class, we can find ideas in homonyms, homophones. Homographs is well, now that you know how to get new ideas from breaking down the words, Let's then hop on to our next lesson, which is stating the obvious.
3. Assignment: But before starting our next lesson, I have an assignment for you. Try breaking down everyday words and phrases, get the new ideas, and write at least three to five setups. And don't worry if you can't find new words, you can always refer to a dictionary. You can find new words in songs, movies, newspapers, et cetera. And like I said, do not give up if you cannot find it in the first few tries, you just have to keep trying and one day it will come to you naturally. Now, many of my students complain. Always comes a time when it seems like going on is next to impossible. So the most important point is when you're already overwhelmed in when your head is not clear, you have tried, but you are not getting any new ideas for jokes. It's time to take a break. Do not talk yourself into giving up. That giving up too soon could cause you to miss out on success. You never know how soon you might start seeing progress if you hang in there and give it a little more time. As you all know, many inventions in the world took years of testing and trying to get to where it is now. The people who invented them didn't call each iteration of failure. They called it a way to improve because each test, each trial gave them new information which influenced and improve the model. Not getting it right the first time or the 100th time is not assigned that you should quit. It's simply a way for you to keep learning how to do it better next time. So I would like to tell my students that getting new ideas for jokes and comedy scripts may seem hard at first, but with trials and errors, you will eventually get the hang of it. And after some time, you will get new ideas in every aspect of your life, like it is nothing. So please keep practicing until you become a pro at getting ideas.
4. Stating the Obvious: Okay, The formula is to tell the obvious thing in a setup. Here. Let me explain you with an example. What did Sam say to Sarah before they got in the car? Sara get in the car, as you can see, by stating the obvious, you can make people laugh. This is the easiest way to get new ideas for jokes. Okay, let's create a similar situation and try write a new setup. What did Sam requested from Sarah before closing the window? Sarah, could you please close the window? As you have noticed, it is very simple. It may not look like a funny joke to you, but to make this line funny, you have to crack it at the best time. As you all know, comedy is all about timing. Okay, let's try a new one. Ask a question with an obvious answer. For example, when is the best time to visit a doctor? It's when you get sick. Okay. Let me tell you how I get new ideas for jokes from my everyday life. Once I heard someone talking about Genghis Khan, how he had a great army in how he won so many wars and battles. Then suddenly I got an idea and I started writing my setup. Of course, it took me a few minutes to complete the setup. And this is what I came up with. How did Genghis Khan conquered so many lands, waging wars. Or you can also say, what did Genghis Khan do with his army fought wars? I know these are not so funny, but we are beginner level comedians. And this class is about generating new ideas, not about how to write a best setup. I just gave you the idea, but you have to have at least few years of experience and a lot of practice to write a better setup than this one. Okay, Let's look at another example of telling the obvious. Sam, do you know the difference between water and a phone, Sarah? No, Sam, one is a liquid and another is an electronic device. You better see somebody. Here. Sarah was expecting something out of the box. But Sam, the obvious which made it funny. Let's look at another example. What do you call a man sleeping on a couch, anything he can't hear you. As you can see, it is very simple. Now let's write a similar setup. How do you call a deaf man? You can't, he is unable to hear. Now, let's come up with another one with a similar setup. How do you make a wall angry? You can't, it doesn't have emotions. As you have noticed in all my above examples, I created a situation where the other person or thing isn't able to response. Everyone knows that. But when you ask a question about that, they expect the answer to be something out of the box. But when you reply with the obvious and answer, this makes the whole situation funny. Let me give you another example from my everyday life about how I get new ideas for my jokes. Once a dog entered our house, because somebody left the door open and my mom was cursing the person who left the door open. Then I suddenly got an idea and this is what I came up with. Mom, how did the dog enter our house? Me? Well, the door was open. You can write a big scenario for this same example. First you have to write a punchline at the bottom, which is, well, the door was open. Then you can write a good long story about how someone got angry because of the dog and started asking the obvious questions. How did the dog entered our house? Then you can complete the setup with punchline, which is well, the door was open. Let's try to make a similar setup. Mom, why is the floor wet? Me? Somebody's spilled the water. Here. You can see that the answer is very obvious, which is somebody's spilled the water. But when your mom ask you in an angry tone, she was not expecting the obvious answer. Thus stating an obvious answer makes the situation funny. Now, some students may say this class was not funny at all. Then is your teacher? I will give you the obvious answer by saying, well, this class is just about getting new ideas and not about how to write the best. This makes the current situation funny. Did you get that? Okay, now I believe we have achieved our goal before ending our class, I have an assignment for you.
5. Final Thoughts: The assignment is, you have to try and write down new setups with the questions with an obvious answer. And try to write questions where everybody expects and out of the box answer. But when you give them the obvious answer, it surprises them. It makes the situation interesting and funny. And maybe you are worrying about where can I get the new ideas? Let me tell you that you don't have to worry about new ideas, like I have explained in this class, you will get new ideas from your everyday life situations. Then the only thing left is to come up with a good setup. And I know you will become better at writing a good setup if you practice it every day. Probably. You may disagree with me, but I think asking the obvious question and surprising them with an unexpected answer is one of the easiest and best ways to get new ideas and write new setups. Okay, here are my final thoughts. Getting new ideas for jokes, comedy and humor is very easy. But many of us think that in an funny person or a person without a humor cannot become a comedian. Let me tell you that it is not true. Everyone has at some point or the other in their life made someone laugh. It means that anybody can become a comedian. But the question is, how quickly Can one become a comedian? And I am pretty sure that you already know the answer for this question. It all depends on the practice and experience. You just have to practice a lot and try to find new ideas from your everyday life, from movies, songs, newspapers in literally from every aspect of your life. So don't be afraid of the idea that I am not funny and I cannot become a comedian because I don't have humor and wit. As you have already watched both of my classes. Now you pretty much have a good understanding that you will get new ideas for jokes from the formulas I gave you in my classes. So use all the formulas and tried to write at least five to 10 setups every day. And I will guarantee that you will become professional in no time. Okay, then good luck and see you in my next class.
Mohammed Shamash
