Edgar Wright — How to Do Visual Comedy

From Tony Zhou:

f you love visual comedy, you gotta love Edgar Wright, one of the few filmmakers who is consistently finding humor through framing, camera movement, editing, goofy sound effects and music. This is an analysis and an appreciation of a director so awesome that Marvel had to fire him on a holiday.

Here is the video and it’s quite illuminating:

While a screenwriter can’t ‘direct’ a script to the degree of specificity illustrated in the video, there are certain things we can indicate to up the humor in a visual way. For example, transitions from scene to scene, using continuity or ironic juxtaposition. Or suggest a close-up of a character’s face with a distinctive and humorous description of a reaction.

In general, the big takeaway is a reminder of something we have hit on countless times here: Movies are primarily a visual medium. Talking head scene after talking head scene does not constitute good visual storytelling. Embrace the unique possibilities of what film language offers, like Edgar Wright does in his movies… and do it in your writing.

For Tony Zhou’s Vimeo site, go here.
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