Quote: Marc P @ October 17 2008, 10:07 AM BST

Presumably they'd want little quickies as they pay more for longer sketches?

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They always want quickies. Not because they're cheaper but because they're a staple of the show and they never have enough.

Quote: Pripyat @ October 17 2008, 10:05 AM BST

http://www.articlesandtexticles.co.uk/imgs/0710/first_life.mp3

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I wrote that!

If anyone wants a few tips on writing for RFTP...

I went to quite a few of the writers meetings for series 2. Sketches were largely rejected or rewritten for the folowing things:

'Show, don't tell'. Don't have your characters talking about things that have happened, have the action in the sketch.

Get to the jokes as quickly as possible. Don't waffle around setting the scene.

Know exactly what the target of your sketch is. So many times I heard, "there's something in that but I don't quite see what the specific target is."

Also the shorter and punchier the sketch, the better chance they have of fitting it into a recording and the better chance you have of it getting on air.

You may agree or disagree with any of those points regarding your sketch writing style or what you like to hear in comedy but all of them will give you a better chance of hitting the feel of this specific show.

Thanks Afinkawan. Sounds like useful advice.

Yup Ditto.

I am going to send in 3 very short ones just for the helluvit.

Yep.

I'd always send something short in. The writing team want all the time for themselves, whilst we must make do with the leftovers.

Well, if you're all aiming for that, I'm going to send in three 27-minute sketches in. See how they like that!

Dan

Ha!

Although, if you were to write a 3 minute genius sketch then it would be worth sending it in.

Unfortunately my genius:time ratio is rather low.

I already have two sketches written that'll be perfect for this.

I only need to write one more and I've got my set of three to send it.

May the best men/women win, ladies and gentlemen.

Quote: Winterlight @ October 17 2008, 8:50 AM BST

My only problem with attempting to write for this is:

Just how many voicemail, email, helpline jokes are there that you can do?

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The choice of subject doesn't exactly show much imagination on the producers part. Why do they always say "now, modern, different, new, fresh" and then carry on with the same stale lowest common denominator claptrap? Even for radio..

Yes I know, I know.. I am wasting my time.

Well, I am going to send the same 14 minute sketch about the great vegetable wars at Uncle Jim's Allotment that I sent last time. It has one gag per 9.5 minutes. It's mainly stream of cauliflowerness.

haha! That First Life sketch was briliant.

Quote: Afinkawan @ October 17 2008, 11:40 AM BST

They always want quickies. Not because they're cheaper but because they're a staple of the show and they never have enough.

I wrote that!

If anyone wants a few tips on writing for RFTP...

I went to quite a few of the writers meetings for series 2. Sketches were largely rejected or rewritten for the folowing things:

'Show, don't tell'. Don't have your characters talking about things that have happened, have the action in the sketch.

Get to the jokes as quickly as possible. Don't waffle around setting the scene.

Know exactly what the target of your sketch is. So many times I heard, "there's something in that but I don't quite see what the specific target is."

Also the shorter and punchier the sketch, the better chance they have of fitting it into a recording and the better chance you have of it getting on air.

You may agree or disagree with any of those points regarding your sketch writing style or what you like to hear in comedy but all of them will give you a better chance of hitting the feel of this specific show.

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Very useful tips ... indeed ... but when you say "target" of a sketch, what do you mean exactly?

Maybe I am answering this myself...

In your *superb!!!* sketch 'First Life' was the target the web site Second Life or the users of Second Life??? Or both???

The target was the people who spend all their time in virtual worlds. It had actually started out as a pisstake of Second Life but I got the 'there's something in that but I'm not sure what the target is' comment and it became the First Life sketch.

So: "Hmm, this whole Second Life thing is ripe for a pisstake" was a bit vague but "Perhaps if real life was advertised as if it was a computer game" allowed me to target it more precisely.

I know it's a bit difficult to explain, but it is a comment that gets made a lot by the script editors on RFTP, whatever it means.

Thanks for that, Afinka! Appreciated. And it helps.

Fx

I've already written three sketches for the show. I haven't sent them off yet incase I get any more ideas. So far, my sketches include a mobile phone company which offers a free phone mast with every phone, a 999 call centre, and a satrical sketch about satrical panel games.

I have no ideas. I am just trawling websites to nick other peoples..

[Not really.. I wouldn't know a good idea if it kicked me in the butt!]

Quote: Ian Wolf @ October 19 2008, 12:18 PM BST

I've already written three sketches for the show. I haven't sent them off yet incase I get any more ideas. So far, my sketches include a mobile phone company which offers a free phone mast with every phone, a 999 call centre, and a satrical sketch about satrical panel games.

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As always, feel free to ignore me but I would say that:

Mobile phone company - good idea but make sure you know what your joke is e.g. having to give the mast away free purely so your new 3G phone will have network coverage.
999 call centre - could go either way - make it quick and snappy, perhaps a 3 part runner
Panel games - not likely to be the sort of thing they want (but you never know).