How To: Make Live Action or Stop Animation Sketch Comedy

I can give you a long list of things that I know a little about. Hell, I can give you an even longer list of things that I haven't got the faintest clue about, but if there is one things I am quite certain about, it's sketch comedy. Most specifically, it's Live Action Stop Animation Sketch Comedy, and I'm going to teach you how to do this.

Why would you want to know how to excel at a skill you weren't sure even existed until you got through the first paragraph? Because you're probably a lot like me. You grew up watching Saturday Night Live, SCTV, The Kids in the Hall, and The State. Hey, you probably found the sketches in the "Nick and Jessica Variety Show" to be a guilty pleasure. If you said "yes" to that last one, you probably live a sad and depressing life filled with emptiness and gloom, but if you said yes to any of the other aforementioned shows, then you absolutely love the art of sketch comedy.

Still, why Live Action Stop Animation Sketch Comedy? First, you have to understand it. It works the same way as any other prerecorded sketch comedy you might see. The rub is that instead of using video to tell a story, you use real time audio along with still images to tell the same story. If you're still a bit confused, take a look at the boys from ARTA Films. We've spent a lot of time perfecting this new and unique medium.

It's an art form that is bred out of necessity. It's easier to edit. It allows a lot more freedom, and it's significantly cheaper when you figure that everyone has a camera but not everyone has a digital camcorder.

So how do you take this new and distinct medium for being funny to a level of good quality? The answer: These five rules for making good live action stop animation sketch comedy.