Is lack of trust in their comedy or they really think the public is that dumb they need to know when to laugh?

Or is a by product of its former format, the live laughs with a crowd while filming?

  • MeekerThanBeaker@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    I am not a fan of The Big Bang Theory by any means, but removing the laugh track on any show will make the jokes less funny due to the pacing for edits. They hold on shots longer to add in laughs… this makes for long uncomfortable silences when laughter is removed. And timing is very important in comedy.

    If someone removes the laugh track, they should also remove the long silences to give it a better chance. I don’t think it would help TBBT much for me, but comedy is subjective.

    • III@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      You are partially correct. The pacing is a thing, for sure.

      But if you do watch those videos there are plenty of non-joke pauses for laughs. I can recall one where one of the guys walks up to the others sitting in the cafeteria and says “hey guys”… pause for laughs. He wasn’t dressed funny, he wasn’t doing anything odd, just… “time to laugh, I guess”.

      IMO, canned laughs are the tool of those that aren’t really that good at writing comedy.