Quote: Lazarus Goldfinger @ 13th September 2015, 6:45 PM BST

Hello folks, quick question:

It says "2 sketch maximum" and "send them both in one email", but what about the extra "30 second Ad" sketch? I was going to send all three in this week, so am I meant to include the 30 second ad sketch in the same email as the 2 main sketches, or do I send it separately? I'm concerned that if I do send all three in in the same email, they'll just click on it, think I've sent in 3 sketches, shout "2 sketch maximum!" and delete it.

Also, how should I title the email? Put the names of all 3 sketches in the subject line? What way did you send yours in last week?

Sorry if this is already mentioned somewhere on here.

Thanks for any advice.

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Hello - the advert goes with the 2 sketches. When we send ours we put in the subject '2 sketches and 1 advert'.
Good luck!

Quote: Bonzo @ 13th September 2015, 9:19 PM BST

Hello - the advert goes with the 2 sketches. When we send ours we put in the subject '2 sketches and 1 advert'.
Good luck!

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Thankyou Bonzo!

Good luck to you as well!

Quote: Bonzo @ 13th September 2015, 9:19 PM BST

Hello - the advert goes with the 2 sketches. When we send ours we put in the subject '2 sketches and 1 advert'.
Good luck!

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Oops - I err'd then, as I put them in separate emails

At least I now have an excuse if I fail to get either broadcast!

Quote: Glauber Berti @ 12th September 2015, 7:02 PM BST

Bit of advice please!

I've written a joke for next week where the punch line includes the word 'shithole'. I've tried to use synonyms but can't get it to work without including the profanity. Is it worth keeping it in my 6 or will it just get rejected straight away?

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I would advise very strongly against using that word in a one-liner. If you're reading through about a 1,000 one-liners and you see that you'll think 'bin' and move on to the next one. Even if it's hilarious it'll be up against at least 100 other hilarious ones so why look twice at one that you can't broadcast and requires you to edit it.

Quote: Bonzo @ 13th September 2015, 9:19 PM BST

Hello - the advert goes with the 2 sketches. When we send ours we put in the subject '2 sketches and 1 advert'.
Good luck!

View original

Thanks again Bonzo!

I just about managed to bash the sketches and advert out, and hurl them through the slamming door.

Okay folks, here's my Sketch Virgin whine:

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that NJ only wants sketches with a maximum length of two pages? But I found that - after taking into account Nish's obligatory set-up intro (about a third of a page using their template) and various flavour-adding SFX or Grams (when put together, at least another two thirds of a page) - I'm left with barely a page on which to write the actual meat of the sketch?!

I can barely set the scene before I have to rap it up with a punchline. I cobbled together a couple of sketches, but they did have a feeling of ending rather prematurely, before the rhythm started to flow (well I did say I was a Sketch Virgin!).

It's really frustrating, because they have asked for a bit of action in the sketches rather than just talking heads, but when you pop in a bit of sound (e.g. a split-second balloon pop) it takes up a whole extra "space/line/space" chunk of the page, sacrificing potentially hilarious( he dreams!) dialogue space.

I timed the sketches that appeared on last weeks show to give me a decent idea of the desired length of time my own sketches should last, and they averaged 1:40 - 2 mins in length, but when I read my own sketches back (sketches that I barely crammed in over two pages) they lasted around 45 seconds??? Including Nish's intro, they're barely over a minute? (Actually, does Nish's intro count towards the "two page maximum" length, or is the 2 page maximum ruling only alluding the actual sketch itself?)

In other words, despite my best efforts, my sketches feel a bit too short for the required job and end very prematurely. Story of my life!

Has anyone else experienced this problem? Any tips on how to overcome it (I meant the SKETCH WRITING problem!)?

Thanks,

(End of whine)

LG.

Quote: StephenM @ 14th September 2015, 11:52 AM BST

I would advise very strongly against using that word in a one-liner.

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I would have thought so too, but they had "*rsehole" in the Queen's rap... bonged it out, seemed very un-Newsjacky to me?

Quote: Lazarus Goldfinger @ 14th September 2015, 1:18 PM BST

Thanks again Bonzo!

I just about managed to bash the sketches and advert out, and hurl them through the slamming door.

Okay folks, here's my Sketch Virgin whine:

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that NJ only wants sketches with a maximum length of two pages? But I found that - after taking into account Nish's obligatory set-up intro (about a third of a page using their template) and various flavour-adding SFX or Grams (when put together, at least another two thirds of a page) - I'm left with barely a page on which to write the actual meat of the sketch?!

I can barely set the scene before I have to rap it up with a punchline. I cobbled together a couple of sketches, but they did have a feeling of ending rather prematurely, before the rhythm started to flow (well I did say I was a Sketch Virgin!).

It's really frustrating, because they have asked for a bit of action in the sketches rather than just talking heads, but when you pop in a bit of sound (e.g. a split-second balloon pop) it takes up a whole extra "space/line/space" chunk of the page, sacrificing potentially hilarious( he dreams!) dialogue space.

I timed the sketches from last weeks show to give me a decent idea of the desired length, they averaged 1:40 - 2 mins in length, but when I read my own sketches back (sketches that I barely crammed in over two pages) they lasted around 45 seconds??? Including Nish's intro, they're barely over a minute? (Actually, does Nish's intro count towards the "two page maximum" length, or is the 2 page maximum ruling only alluding the actual sketch itself?)

In other words, despite my best efforts, my sketches feel a bit too short for the required job and end very prematurely. Story of my life!

Has anyone else experienced this problem? Any tips on how to overcome it (I meant the SKETCH WRITING problem!)?

Thanks,

(End of whine)

LG.

View original

Okay I'm going to offer my opinion based on being a little more established (in the pre-show briefings last 3 series, 7 credits in last 3 series, 4 of them sketches, and commissioned writer for one episode - yes I am boasting!)

They reserve the right, and inevitably will re-write your schetches if they use them, they may cut them down, but more often than not, expand them with better jokes.

The reason they prefer 2 pages to 3+ (and I say this as someone who has been in a writing group for a while now where we feedback on each other's sketches) anything that is longer than 2 pages gets boring to read - especially if you're reading 1000+ sketches per week. What you want is a killer premise with great jokes that pertain tightly to the premise, a strong through line, with a bit of action (rather than just conversational explanations of what's going on) and tight nice out joke. You want something that they can see the potential in, something that perhaps instantly inspires more jokes as they read them.

That's why brevity is so damned important. Brevity is funnier. Get in with the set up, a few top quality gags, and get out again.

The intro should be an opening gag, and a line to set up the premise, you should already be away by the time you start the sketch proper - any opening there is potentially just repetition, unless you need to set up the framing of the sketch, in which case make that as short as possible. By the 2nd/3rd line you should already be nicely into the middle of the sketch. The outro should be tight and short, but also funny, the funnier the better.

Hope that helps.

Managed to get a couple of sketches early in this time unlike last week, but now completely stumped on one-liners -cruel irony!

Quote: DeathbyMonkey @ 14th September 2015, 1:47 PM BST

That's why brevity is so damned important. Brevity is funnier. Get in with the set up, a few top quality gags, and get out again.

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It could be a interesting challenge to see how short you can get a sketch while still keeping it as funny as it can be (I guess like the Fast Show but with less catchphrases).

I've been thinking a bit about old comedy theories like the Rule of Three -maybe if you have a sketch with 6 or even just 3 jokes in, it could still be funnier than a sketch with 7 or 5 just because of the way the flow of the sketch is altered? Or is that just too old-fashioned/predictable to work on today's audience? Who knows!

Quote: kate to the party @ 14th September 2015, 2:11 PM BST

It could be a interesting challenge to see how short you can get a sketch while still keeping it as funny as it can be (I guess like the Fast Show but with less catchphrases).

I've been thinking a bit about old comedy theories like the Rule of Three -maybe if you have a sketch with 6 or even just 3 jokes in, it could still be funnier than a sketch with 7 or 5 just because of the way the flow of the sketch is altered? Or is that just too old-fashioned/predictable to work on today's audience? Who knows!

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I think what I found, is that as you work to build up jokes for a sketch, you end up writing jokes around, but don't directly pertain to the premise. And rather than making the sketch funnier, it distracts from the central joke - which should always be the premise. I think by forcing you to keep the sketches shorter, the hope is you'll cut those weaker/less relevant jokes - and that's why is makes for better sketches.

Quote: Lazarus Goldfinger @ 14th September 2015, 1:18 PM BST

I timed the sketches from last weeks show to give me a decent idea of the desired length, they averaged 1:40 - 2 mins in length, but when I read my own sketches back (sketches that I barely crammed in over two pages) they lasted around 45 seconds???

View original

When I read mine back I always make sure to add in extra pauses after the jokes to represent the audience's hysterical laughter/rapturous applause. You know, for accuracy.

Quote: DeathbyMonkey @ 14th September 2015, 1:47 PM BST

Okay I'm going to offer my opinion based on being a little more established (in the pre-show briefings last 3 series, 7 credits in last 3 series, 4 of them sketches, and commissioned writer for one episode - yes I am boasting!)

They reserve the right, and inevitably will re-write your schetches if they use them, they may cut them down, but more often than not, expand them with better jokes.

The reason they prefer 2 pages to 3+ (and I say this as someone who has been in a writing group for a while now where we feedback on each other's sketches) anything that is longer than 2 pages gets boring to read - especially if you're reading 1000+ sketches per week. What you want is a killer premise with great jokes that pertain tightly to the premise, a strong through line, with a bit of action (rather than just conversational explanations of what's going on) and tight nice out joke. You want something that they can see the potential in, something that perhaps instantly inspires more jokes as they read them.

That's why brevity is so damned important. Brevity is funnier. Get in with the set up, a few top quality gags, and get out again.

The intro should be an opening gag, and a line to set up the premise, you should already be away by the time you start the sketch proper - any opening there is potentially just repetition, unless you need to set up the framing of the sketch, in which case make that as short as possible. By the 2nd/3rd line you should already be nicely into the middle of the sketch. The outro should be tight and short, but also funny, the funnier the better.

Hope that helps.

View original

Very helpful, thanks so much for typing all that out, much appreciated! That's a great tip about trusting in a good premise and keeping it brief and tight (instead of stuffing it with flabby jokes)so that they can add extra meat to the bones of a good premise if need be. I think I need to be more ruthless with my fat trimming.

P.S. Congratulations on the successes! I don't see it as boasting at all, you're more like an old general with his medals on display. Well done for surviving three tours of duty!

Quote: kate to the party @ 14th September 2015, 2:28 PM BST

When I read mine back I always make sure to add in extra pauses after the jokes to represent the audience's hysterical laughter/rapturous applause. You know, for accuracy.

View original

So that's where my sketch went wrong! I should have cut out the encore after the 1 minute ovation!

Thanks for the tips Kate.

Quote: StephenM @ 14th September 2015, 11:52 AM BST

I would advise very strongly against using that word in a one-liner. If you're reading through about a 1,000 one-liners and you see that you'll think 'bin' and move on to the next one. Even if it's hilarious it'll be up against at least 100 other hilarious ones so why look twice at one that you can't broadcast and requires you to edit it.

View original

Thanks. I appreciate the advice and you're probably right.

In the end, I decided to leave it in. I think it's one of the stronger jokes I wrote this week and was about a news story that other people might not have picked up on. It took ages to come up with the right wordplay and, as it's a topical joke, I probably won't be able to use it again so might as well bite the bullet and go for it!

Thanks DeathByMonkey as well! Lots to consider for next week.

What sketch topics did everyone go for in the end? I only did one about a newsroom reporting on people resigning from the shadow cabinet. Can't see there being too many other sketches written about Corbyn this week!

Quote: skram @ 14th September 2015, 1:39 PM BST

I would have thought so too, but they had "*rsehole" in the Queen's rap... bonged it out, seemed very un-Newsjacky to me?

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( a) It's a sketch and if they like a sketch they are more willing to work on it and re-write it than a one-liner. Also it may have been a script editor who put it in who knows exactly how far they can push it.

(b) A-hole is a lot softer than s-hole so they might just get away with that

My view is if you can minimise their chances of rejecting you do that.

Hello - reporting back from the newsjack writersroom - we had a brilliant day yesterday, it started at 9.30 with a writers meeting where each person (or pair - last time there were 2 pairs, this time we were the only pair) pitched 3 ideas for sketches and everyone else offered suggestions and possible angles. This was really good fun. That took us to around 11.15 when the producers decided on 2 sketches each for us to work on. We then wrote up those sketches (you could either draft the whole thing, or just give the 'beats' - we did mostly the whole thing, just leaving some xxx's where we still had jokes to think up). We then sent these to the producers. After lunch we got notes back from the producers and made the changes they recommended before resubmitting the sketches. We were finished at around 6pm. It all felt very relaxed and we were with a really lovely bunch of writers - a fantastic experience.

Thanks for sharing your experience, Jane. Sounds like you're having fun.

Just sneaked my one-liners in on time this week. Also managed to submit one sketch and one advert on Monday. Fingers crossed.

Good luck everyone.