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Comedy is a serious business.
It’s easy to get it wrong and hard to get it right.
As Ricky Gervais once said about the state of comedy filmmaking in the UK: “We have a good tv comedy track record but it doesn’t usually translate to the big screen.”
This 2 day seminar-based workshop is for anyone who wants to direct comedy shorts or features.
It aims to reveal the crucial steps to making distinctive comedy films that will truly connect with an audience.
If you have a script or outline for a short or a feature you are invited to bring these along to work on.
Previous course feedback:
"Learned more in the past two days than in the past two years working in a commercials production house."
“Amazing course. Thoroughly enjoyed. Very practical - and left feeling inspired!”
The course is tutored by Col Spector whose short “New Year’s Eve” starring Keira Knightley won several prizes including Best British Short at the UK's largest short film festival.
His first feature film “Someone Else” starring Stephen Mangan was released in UK cinemas by Soda Pictures, shown on BBC2 and distributed by the Independent Film Channel and the Sundance Channel.
His second movie “Honeymooner” starring Gerard Kearns was released in the UK in January 2011 and broadcast on BBC1. His third feature film the dramedy "I'm Not In Love" starring Al Weaver was released in the UK in 2021 and the US/Canada in 2022.
DAY ONE
Looks at the first things you need to do as a writer and director: working on the script, writing great characters, finding the theme of your film (and subtext of your scenes), discovering who your characters are, and knowing what sort of film you are making.
DAY TWO
Looks at the final stages for you as a director; from casting, to rehearsing, to planning the shoot, to deciding the shots, to editing.
The course will also cover:
- Why writing a comedy is a serious business
- Writing your one-liner
- The difficulty of writing a comedy script
- The difficulty of reading a comedy script
- What do you have to say as a director?
- Directing the romantic comedy
- Casting your film
- The difficulty of finding a great leading comedy actor
- To storyboard or not to storyboard?
- Finding your appropriate visual style
Please fill in the application form, attaching your CV