Understanding The Difference Between Live “Funny” And Video “Funny” – It’s A Big Deal
Introduction
Most non-professionals are completely unaware that there are significant differences between how “funny” is determined in the live performing environment and how “funny” is determined when a stand-up comedy video is reviewed on an individual-by-individual basis.
It doesn’t take a $3 million government study to prove that comedians demonstrate their skill and ability to generate long, loud and frequent laughs in the live audience environment.
As a matter of fact, powerful stand-up comedy is DEPENDENT upon an audience when it comes to significant laughter generation.
But stand-up comedy videos present a completely different dynamic when it comes to what a viewer determines to be “funny” or not and here’s why:
1. Laughter is a shared response that has a contagious nature.
In the live performing environment, there are other audience members to share that laughter response with.
2. The audience dynamics that are present during a live stand-up comedy performance are not present when an individual views a stand-up comedy video alone.
3. Audience laughter generated by a comedian in a video does not impact an individual viewer of that video, due to the absence of the live audience dynamic.
The Bottom Line
Without the impact and influence of live audience dynamics when it comes to laughter generation as a comedian…
Non-professionals and casual observers will view a stand-up comedy video and make a determination on whether a comedian is funny or not based solely on subjective analysis while completely disregarding the audience laughter levels the comedian generated from the live audience as evidenced in the video.
In other words…
If an individual viewing a stand-up comedy video cannot relate to or appreciate the stand-up comedy material a comedian is delivering…
That individual will determine that the comedian in the video is not funny, even if that comedian is generating an average of 18+ seconds of laughter for each performing minute in the live audience environment (headliner level laughter generation).
Here is the link to a related article on my blog that covers this very topic in detail:
Why This Information Is Important
I am in the business to help talented individuals become high level, high impact stand-up comedy professionals.
Subsequently, you need to know that:
1. You will ultimately want to produce your own online videos — both for public consumption and for comedy agents, bookers and talent buyers to review.
2. You must realize that some casual viewers of your stand-up comedy videos can and will deem you “unfunny”, even if you are slaying in the live performance environment.
Note: The best you will ever do as a comedian will ALWAYS be in the live performing environment, which matters far more that any sort of “subjective” determination a non-professional will make from reviewing one of your stand-up comedy videos.
3. Most professional comedy agents, bookers and talent buyers DO pay close attention to the laughter response you are able to generate in the live performing environment, as evidenced in your online stand-up comedy videos.
Note: Professional comedy agents bookers and talent buyers WILL make a subjective analysis of your stand-up comedy material, primarily for the appropriateness of your material for their clients, events, etc.
But they don’t usually completely ignore or discount the laughter levels a comedian is able to generate in the live performing environment like the casual stand-up comedy video viewer will.
There are many comedians who I personally do not “like” on a purely subjective level.
But as a comedy professional (which I hope you are striving to become)…
I simply cannot ignore the laughter levels comedians are able to generate for the live audiences they perform for who appreciate their stand-up comedy — whether I personally “like” them as a comedian or not.
No matter how you slice it, headliner level stand-up comedy material generates an average of 18+ seconds of laughter for each performing minute (PAR Score 30+) — again, whether I or anyone else “likes” a particular comedian or not.
I use several YouTube video examples of popular comedians in the Killer Stand-up Online Course.
You may not subjectively “like” the comedians in those YouTube videos or their stand-up comedy material at all.
And you may not be able to fully appreciate the significant performance accomplishments of the Killer Stand-up comedians featured in the Success Stories section of this website — almost all of which contains YouTube videos of their performances.
But when it comes to reviewing stand-up comedy videos…
I hope that you be able to look any stand-up comedy video through the eyes of a comedy professional and acknowledge the laughs comedians are able to generate in the live performing environment — visible proof that they killed on stage, whether you “like” them on a personal and purely subjective level or not.
I’m telling you this now because…
I want you to be able to get the most value possible from the Killer Stand-up Online Course.
But that is not going to happen if all you can muster is a purely subjective determination on whether or not a comedian is “funny” from any online stand-up comedy videos that I use as examples.