John Vorhaus, Author/Speaker/Artist/Screenwriter: He's a cop, she's a crook. Together they
are law and disorder.
Film Courage: What is the comic filter?
John: Comic filter is a character's way of viewing reality different from what reality really is. A
strong comic character has an identifiable and consistent comic filter, strong in the sense
that it's completely uncompromising. I think about everything this way examples abound let's
here's one I teach from he's a cop she's a crook together they're law and disorder
his comic filter is law and order he's a cop he wants to do the right thing in
all situations he's going to do the right thing her comic filter is break the rules
I'm going to do the wrong thing I'm a free spirit I'm an outlaw I'm a rebel I'm an anarchist
the world is good when the rules are broken so now you have one character whose comic filter is obey
the rules and you have another character whose comic filter is break the rules you put those
two characters together and give them strong comic filters they're going to fight forever over who
gets to be right and this is the heart and soul of a sitcom this is how you build two-hander sitcoms
what they call comic opposites in sitcom you take a comic filter exaggerate it to the end and then
pit it against a similar an opposite comic filter and have them go to war then if you're looking for
stories you can just look at any situation and ask how will this character filter this reality
through his or her comic filter the example that I use now it's a little outdated because it involves
stolen pirated DVDs which don't exist anymore but let's just imagine that she brings home a
box of pirated DVDs but it's DVDs that he really wants to see like it's the hot new movies what a
nice moral dilemma for him because he knows he's breaking the rules if he watches the DVDs but he's
drawn he wants to he has inner conflict I want to follow the rules but I want to watch the DVD
that's the story and resolving that conflict is the end of that story I don't know how it'll
end I have a feeling that he's going to end up watching those DVDs but somehow disavow them I
wasn't breaking the rules according to my own terms so that I can still feel good about my
comic filter going forward right maybe she got them at the swap meet and then he needs to watch
them so he can make sure that the entire thing was pirated and then he's going to go back and
and and we'll report to wherever wow I I I feel like you and I could work effectively because
you you have this knack for taking an idea and yes ending it to something you're you're
what if tool is working quite well thank you and especially because oh yeah I can see that
what he's doing on a psychological level is creating a rationalization now it might be my
job in our creative partnership to shine a light on what's Happening and then your job to make it
funny or the other way around or maybe we change roles but that's the way this collaboration is
working because I'm saying it's funny because he's got these DVDs and he has conflict and
then you're saying well based on that conflict he might try this strategy and then I'm saying
that strategy reflects this state of mind this psychology rationalization
and then I'm going to say let's make the bad situation worse let's make that strategy not
work how can we how can we block him from his piece of watching the video and not feeling bad
class ah well maybe his supervisor calls him and so now he feels a little bit torn because now
sure her supervisor or somebody says you can't do that that that way is not allowed right or
maybe she says that's a cheap rationalization if I ever saw one you can do it if you want
to I won't feel bad I want you to watch the movie right but he'll say no no I can't give
her the satisfaction I can't let her win this is something we find over and over again when comic
filters go to war with each other the the main motivation that every character has is I can't
let them win I have to win that's what makes strong comic characters going back to Kramer
if Kramer doesn't win he's not happy and because he has this strong comic filter it kind of gives
him super powers and he can use the superpowers to win in situations where you and I couldn't win
it we talk about comic filters but it's also useful to talk about superpowers comic superpowers
because if a character has a strong comic filter that character will do things that you and I
can't do that character has permission a great example of this is crossing against a red light
normal people will cross against a red light they won't they won't do it they'll wait for the light
to turn green two classes of people will cross against the red light with consistency one whose
comic filter is I don't know the rules and another whose comic filter is the rules don't apply to me
both of those characters will cross against the light they will achieve a goal that normal people
can't achieve because they filter reality through their comic filter sure yeah I've seen a lot of
that's great because there are certain people that are like these car dodgers and they just they feel
it's there just right to be it doesn't matter if it's the cars are stopped but they feel like this
is my universe as well and I'm gonna saunter through and you'll stop for me it's the cliche
it's a cliche of the New Yorker I'm walking here that's from Dustin Hoffman and Midnight Cowboy I
believe okay he's crossing the street in New York saying I'm walking here I'm walking here how does
a writer build a comic filter I start by looking within and asking myself what comic filters do
I have we've already determined that I'm playful I'm inquisitive I have curiosity I avoid conflict
I like to exercise let's take that last one now I know something that's true about myself I like
to exercise now all I have to do is exaggerate it what is the most extreme example of someone
who likes to exercise someone who can't stop running no matter what believes that all sports
are great all sporting activities are valid and nothing else in the world is worth doing
now we have a strong comic filter made strong by exaggeration so how do you make a come how do you
build a comic comic filter take normal reality and exaggerate it until it becomes comic reality
it's the same thing in creating a comic premise the comic filter is the comic premise of the
character it's the way the character differs from real reality right now I'm thinking about the
character in about up Shitt’s Creek the Eugene Levy character who just thinks he's going to
go to this small town and everything's going to be completely fine and cool and his comic
reality is I can cope but real reality fights against that and his comic reality creates the
comic premise city guy in the country because he's driven to prove himself in that new environment
I haven't seen the show I want to see it so it sounds like he still has his city sensibilities
about him other characters in the in the character map have their city sensibilities as you would
imagine but let's just take a different example let's look at Sheldon Cooper in Big Bang Theory
his comic filter is I'm better than everyone his superpower because he has that comic filter is
he can do things normal people can't do he can use his arrogance to achieve his outcomes the
reality that he lives in is Sheldon Cooper world it's not our reality we wouldn't put up with him
but because his comic filter is so strong it creates the comic premise that this guy
can fruitfully exist in this world hey one last five minutes in the real world he'd be unhappy
but in this world he can find happiness because he has this superpower
all of which requires that we look at it from underneath with psychological tools and from
above it with awareness and from the audience's perspective and all these other different angles
people think that the the idea is developed and then it's done a better way to think about it is
when you're pursuing a creative outcome you're like a detective who is simultaneously creating
clues and following them the more clues you create the more effectively you can follow and the more
effectively you follow the more discoveries you make the more discoveries you make the more
clues you surface and the more clues you surface the more you succeed in moving toward your goal
should someone know their own comic filter oh yeah is that the first as a starting point that's
starting as a starting point what do I think is funny and the way to think about it is this when
your friends say you're funny what do they mean this is I'm now speaking to people who would be
in my comic toolbox Master Class they're there because they want to be more funny than they
are so they have some they're interested in comedy somewhere along the way somebody told
them they were funny about something otherwise they wouldn't be here or they thought they were
funny otherwise they wouldn't be here so what brought them here what sensibility do they have
walking into the room that needs to be discovered and nurtured and expanded and exaggerated so that
it becomes a comic filter that's a platform upon which their work can stand I've had people say
I'm clumsy people know that I'm clumsy as an example where are you funny I'm funny when I'm
clumsy okay in the real world you're going to try not to be clumsy because you could get hurt
in the comic world you can be as clumsy as you want your comic premise is I can be clumsy and
not get hurt and now you're off and running you can take that anywhere you want you can build a
platform for stand-up comedy routine or you can endow that attitude on a character in a sitcom
or a comic movie or a player comic novel it's a building block it's not the end of the story but
it's a piece of the puzzle hence Kramer yeah but he always lands on his feet always lands
on his feet and it's built into the character so when we think about comic filter we're also
thinking about something right next door called controlling idea the comic filter is this is how
the character will be funny because he's always clumsy but the controlling idea is I'm not clumsy
I'm elegant I'm what's the word I'm looking for I'm
drawn a blank synonym not ambidextrous Siri give me some synonyms for clumsy for deft anyway you
get the idea his controlling idea is I'm going to prove to the world how cool and smooth I am
his comic filter is I'm clumsy and those two things fight against each other in an
interesting way and that's what makes the character interesting when his comic filter
is one thing and his controlling idea fights against it you have automatic inner conflict
Jack Tripper Three's Company yep what a great thank you I was trying to think of an example Jack
Tripper whose comic filter is women love me right and his control I get this I guess I have this
wrong his comic filter is I'm no good with women but his controlling idea is I'm great with women.