[Watch the video interview on Youtube here]
Film Courage: What is the comic filter?
John Vorhaus, Author/Speaker/Artist/Screenwriter: Comic filter is a character’s way of viewing reality different from what reality really is. A strong comic character has an identifiable and consistent comic filter, strong in the sense that it’s completely uncompromising. I think about everything this way, examples abound. Here’s one I teach from He’s a cop, she’s a crook, together they’re law and disorder!
His comic filter is:
-Law and order (He’s a cop).
-He wants to do the right thing in all situations.
-He’s going to do the right thing.
Her comic filter is:
-Break the rules.
-I’m going to do the wrong thing.
-I’m a free spirit.
-I’m an outlaw.
-I’m a rebel.
-I’m an anarchist.
-The world is good when the rules are broken.
Now you have one character whose comic filter is obey the rules and you have another character whose comic filter is break the rules. You put those two characters together and give them strong comic filters, they’re going to fight…(Watch the video interview on Youtube here).
BIO:
John Vorhaus is best known for his comedy-writing classic, The Comic Toolbox: How to be Funny Even if You’re Not. He has taught and trained writers in 37 countries on five continents at last count, and created TV shows of his own in Nicaragua, Romania and elsewhere. His writing credits include dozens of teleplays and screenplays, plus seven novels and some two dozen works of non-fiction. His latest book is the little book of STANDUP. Vorhaus is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University and a member of the Writers Guild of America. He lives in Southern California and secretly controls the world from JohnVorhaus.com.
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