Adding Humour to a Film?

Semiazas

Semiazas

I'm wondering how to add humour to a film, like, what to do for timing the lines.
My sense of humour, especially in films, is very much black comedy.
Like the lines that accompany torture scenes in Ichi The Killer
The humour in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is very dark (especially the scene with the grandfather)

I'm just not a naturally funny guy so I'm wondering how to get humour in my writing.
 
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I don't think there's any formula for humor, in fact, I think that would completely kill it, to try and make things so calculated. When I try to write humor into my films, I think of stuff that I think is funny. And if I think it's funny, then hopefully, other people will too. I think that's the only way to do it. What sort of things have made you laugh?

As for the timing of the lines, in my opinion, that's very much a factor of how your actors deliver it, and of course this is something that you can work with them on, during rehearsal, but you very much need an actor who can do comedy.
 
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I've found that, much like what Cracker Funk said, trying to be funny is not funny. I made a short short once, (like 3 min long) and people laughed at all the wrong parts. The parts that I wrote in as "funny" turned out to not be funny at all. Like in "Father of the Bride". During the scene where Steve Martin is shopping for hot dog buns, he is trying to be funny. Because of that, hes not really funny. I'm sure if he just would have acted it out, it would have been funny because hes just a funny guy. Just don't try to be funny. If your creative flow for a script is funny, then it is. Don't force a film to be funny.
 
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I've always tried to stay away from humour....not because I'm not a funny person, just because the line between funny and lame is way too thin....

so how do we know if it's funny..or lame?
 
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You can LEARN comedy. An excellent example is Gene Perret who was an insurance saleman who wanted to become a comedy writer. He studied standup comics and tv shows.

You may have heard of some of the TV shows he later wrote for:


1988 Bob Hope's USO Christmas

1983-1987 Mama's Family (TV series)

1979 Three's Company (TV series)

1978-1979 Welcome Back, Kotter (TV series)

1973-1978 The Carol Burnett Show (TV series)

1976-1977 What's Happening!! (TV series)

1976 All in the Family (TV series)

1970 The Tim Conway Show (TV series)

1969 Love, American Style (TV series)

AND MANY OTHERS...


Gene Perret has written numerous books on how to do comedy. Some are for sale on Amazon..
 
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