TV Tropes
TVTopes.org is a great wikipedia-like that seeks to catalog all the tricks and conventions of TV and film. These are not cliches (that are, by definition, uninteresting), but rather - common archetypes that TV viewers subconsciously expect to see, and that a skilled scriptwriter can manipulate to make engaging stories. “We are here to recognize tropes and play with them, not to make fun of them.” Check out Evil Twin, Blessed With Suck, and Attack Of The 50 Foot Whatever.
Comedians regularly pay attention to tropes in art, films and TV. For instance, this is all you need to know to report the news.
Those Steps Again:
- Start witha lackluster establishing shot, of a significant location
- A walky talky preamble, pacing steadily towards the lens. Don’t forget the all important hand gestures. Ignore everyone ‘like you’re gliding through the f*&$% matrix’. Ask a questions/
- A filler shot to give you something to look on while the presenter babbles on about facts. (Optional monochrome, as more of those facts appear on the screen.)
- Obligatory shot of overweight people, with their heads cut off.
- Lazy and pointless vox pops.
- Another bit of dull visual abstraction to plug a gap.
- Some dowdy man opening letters in the kitchen (human interest).
- To wake you up after the boring man - some animated charts, and a lighthouse keeper being beheaded by a laser beam)
- A wry sign-off (with a bad pun if you’re lucky).
I’ll never look at those poor dull sods in their kitchens in the same way again.
