Does the combination of comedy and drama work?

There's a thing about our fanfilm on the making that I'm hesitant about.

We were first going to make a so-called 'serious' star wars fanfilm. Then we realised that our budget, acting skills, props, costumes, EVERYTHING was limited and far from ideal for making a 'serious' film. So we thought, heck, let's try to make it funny. Yet the screenplay was intended to be serious, and we had already shot some serious-looking (we wish) material.

So what do you think of a film where: some parts of it are obviously (hopefully for most people) ridiculous and meant to be cliched or funny, while some parts look like they're trying to be serious, but end up having this effect of 'should i laugh or cry'? I mean, can you enjoy the film like that or does it have to be either very obviously comic throughout or very obviously serious(and try to look serious really hard)?

I don't know if I'm making myself clear here, but the way I look at most fanfilms is that I expect to find them funny. Some films may try to look serious, but no matter how well they're done, I can't take them seriously. I can't even take many parts of ROTS seriously: in the theatre, i found myself holding back laughter during the supposedly tragic moments. So I don't really think SW can ever be taken seriously( unless you're in a very emotional state.)

So can I expect scathing criticism or do you think you could appreciate a pitiful mixture of comedy (which might not even be funny) and drama (which might be painful to watch because of bad acting)?


I might also add that seriousness of a film is probably out of the question anyway because this is the first film we're about to finish and we hardly know much about filmmaking. But I'd like to hear others' views on this.

 

I know what you mean, we´re in post prodution to our second SW fan film. The first one was a clear parody and still had a few moments where we tried to make it look serious and more dramatic than funny. In the end, everyone remebered the film for being funny throughout and not dramatic. With our second film now, the sequel, we can´t exactly make it a total drama and leave the comedy behind, not for a sequel. So we´re again having this parody at hand and worked a lot of drama scenes into the story and now I´m hoping that the people will still like the movie for what it is. A fan film, made by fans for fans. People who can easily connect with a movie will surely have a kick out of the more dramatic sequences while people who don´t take fan films serisouly at all will probably roll their eyes or even laugh at it. You´ll never make everyone happy with your movie, so try and make it enjoyable for yourself and chances are that other people will like it too.

 

Make everybody overact as much as possible in order to evoke the hypocritic effect that will make people laugh.

If someone is supposed to be sad in your movie, make him cry a river. Just like the puking scene in front of the bar in Team America where our hero pukes a river.

If someone is supposed to be angry: Either make him go nuts (spit around because he is shouting so much) or underact the anger. Let his dialogue "be read out" without any emotion and add a slight note of stupid anger, like kicking the floor, at the end.

If one is going for the "final lightsaber strike" make him move ridiculously slow. Maybe, slow down the video footage until the "deathscream" sounds like a cow in the morning.

In general, put the camera close to the people's nostrils when they speak. Shoot them from below INTO the nostrils. That's gonna be a very disgusting and funny effect in some cases. Don't expect me to watch the entire film when you do it all the time, though.

Just WATCH yourself and your friends in daily life and try to seek demeanours that are funny and that you laugh about. Don't make your friends ACT (if they can't). You will either fail or it will take forever. My movie does hardly contain ANY shot (and there are 995) that was not shot at least twice. Don't do that with actors that can't act. Tell them what they have to talk about but not every single word. That will make it sound/look more authentic and funny if they speak the usual way.

 

The "genre" of action/serious comedy works.
The Incredibles
Fifth Element
Leathal Weapon
Just about any Jackie Chan movie
etc.

The issue, though, is that it is NOT easier to do that just a comedy or just a serious production. In fact, it's often MORE difficult to do effectively, especially for the actors.

Good luck.

 

You could take the acting SO far over-the-top drama style that the whole thing becomes satirical, mocking the drama genre all-together.

 

Three words. Movie spoof two. Of course it works.

 

It's an interesting concept that I have never seen on TV before. By that I mean there are tons of shows and fanfilms where the story is serious but has some comedic elements to it; dramedies if you will. But switching the two where it's intended to be a comedy but has some respectable serious elements to it, I think is rarely done.

But as bgii said, it worked for MS2.

_Max

 

I disagree completely on that count, personally.

In any case...comedy is HARD. Farce, however, isn't terribly difficult, but it's hard to make it more than mildly amusing. Zigzagging wildly from drama to comedy isn't the way to go about it (though every drama should have elements of comedy, and vice-versa), you need some kind of unconscious 'cue' when switching--otherwise the film itself becomes part of the joke.

 

There can be a balance between comedy and drama but it needs to be executed in a matter in which the comedy doesn't makes the drama of the story as just the biggest joke of the film. With my films, I never try for the balance since I'm more of a sponatoues comedy director although I would like to try the balance one day. It is very diffcult to make a film with the balance without destroying the whole film in the process. Both can be very powerful when used in a film but when it is combined with the other, you are working with two genres that are each aimed at envoking a certain human emotion and there will be conflict. It boils down to a solid plot and characters with mutliple dimesions, it will make getting the balance just a bit easier but not effortless.

 

Personally I think the key is to never take yourselves too serious. When you do I find the results often end up unintentionally funny.

 

That's true.

 

I took this info from some website. The proper term for comedy/drama genre is...Dramedy ....

Just for anyone's need to know, the proper term "Dramedy" is best understood as a television program genre which fuses elements of comedy and drama. According to Altman (1986) new genres emerge in one of two ways: "either a relatively stable set of semantic givens is developed through syntactic experimentation into a coherent and durable syntax, or an already existing syntax adopts a new set of semantic elements." Semantic elements are the generic "building blocks" out of which of program genres are constructed--those recurring elements such as stock characters, common traits, and technical features such as locations and typical shots. Syntax, or syntactic features, describes the ways these elements are related and combined. The recurring combination of semantic and syntactic elements creates a conventional type or category of program called a genre.

The TV series "House" is also considered a Dramedy.

 

Forrest Gump ... need I say more?

Sure, 'Gump' is definitely more of a drama than a comedy, but if you were trying to create a proper blend without making the drama seem comedic, watch it (multiple times if necessary) and take notes -- write down things that make it funny and things that made it dramatic. It's one of the few films that are both a tear-jerker and gut-busting hilarious. However, that's just my opinion.

 

Ok my p.o.v. with Dramas and Comedies

There are many blends of the two genres but since it's a crossgenre it can be a pain to make a good marketing.

The big troubles MS2 had was somepeople didn't know if it was supposed to be Serious or Funny.

Think Rush Hour and Rush Hour 2 those are some serious action films but ofcourse its also got some funny ass moments.

You should find a good medium and go with it.

Just in the synopsis leave a "Cross Genre" in there.

I mean my own Star Wars Fan Film (God rest it's soul) has an amazing script but it's a cross genre so it could face similar problems.

 

Just have serious drama, then use Porky pig as the comic releif. Damn - don't you remember anything bugs bunny taught you?

 

Gilmore Girls is a dramedy.

 

How about Gigli? Would that be considered a dramedy?

The only reason I saw that was because they were playing it on a flight from Illinois to California. It was pretty bad though...a few people even walked out.

 

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

 

Thanks for your thoughts, some of them were quite helpful.

I think I'm going for pure farce with the next film. The film in making is a lost cause... It's just so much easier to come up with crazy and ridiculous ideas for a story, and it's much funnier to film, too. We're doing this mostly for fun, anyway, not to cry our eyes out when things don't work as they're supposed to.

And when I say I can't take fanfilms seriously, it doesn't mean that I mock them if I laugh at them. I appreciate a film that can make me laugh, whether it is an intentional effect or not. I understand it may be frustrating for someone who wants his/her film to be taken seriously, but one perhaps shouldn't associate serious films with star wars in any way.

 

Ladies and gentlemen, we are at Ripleycon 4.

 

nice.

 

I can't think of a single drama that I like that doesn't have something funny in it.