Inside Funny Minds Tim Reid

Hi, I’m Tim Reid. I write comedy and coach teams in creativity and innovation. And I think we can all learn how to be more creative by finding out how comedians and comedy writers think, behave and the methods they use for coming up with a steady stream of new material. So I’m getting inside their funny minds to see where their ideas come from.
Today I’m talking to comedy writing duo, Marc Blakewill and James Harris. Marc and James have been writing together for a number of years and have an impressive list of credits to their names, inclusing CBBC’s Horrible Histories, Russel Howard’s Good News, White Van Man, Sorry I’ve Got No Head and the brilliant 4 o’clock club., or writing comedy for TV and radio, he runs his own PR company.
Here are three brilliant creative techniques you’ll hear about from Marc and James…

Forcing random connections, the UKIP cookbook, for example, an idea born from linking two ideas together.
Using famous people to create new characters by imagining how they’d behave in new situations – I’ve used this as ‘What Would Elvis Do’ to explore how they might approach a business problem… as a start point to finding a different perspective
Collaboration – they explain how, when collaboration works, you can’t tell who came up with any word as all words had both their input… idea generation is the same, when collaboration works brilliantly everyone helps build and shape the idea – you have to take egos out of the ‘writing room’, lose self-consciousness, no need to impress, or defend your own thinking, just be free to let things grow organically knowing no-one will say ‘that was my word’ ‘that was my idea’… that’s not how collaboration works.

Hi, I’m Tim Reid. I write comedy and coach teams in creativity and innovation. And I think we can all learn how to be more creative by finding out how comedians and comedy writers think, behave and the methods they use for coming up with a steady stream of new material. So I’m getting inside their funny minds to see where their ideas come from. 
Today I’m talking to Andy Ford. Andy has been a successful stand up for over 20 years and has been described by Matt Lucas as the funniest man alive. And according to ‘The Stage And Television Today’ Andy is one of the top ten comedians in Britain. His big break came in 1997 when he appeared on the Big Big Talent Show hosted by Jonathan Ross, which led to a Royal Variety Show appearance later that year.
Here are three brilliant creative exercises you’ll hear about from Andy… 

Using an old gag as a spark then building a story – form new tributaries, make it your own – take an existing idea then build a new world around it
The list format. Two start points – the new car and the fur coat, could be your product and your consumer, then list what you know about them and cross reference to make new links, new ideas, new opportunities – new communication campaigns, new places where the product and consumer can meet, anything…
Talking – like splurge, a way of pushing things from the back of your brain, your subconscious, to the front – talk for 4 minutes non stop about your challenge, see what comes out of your subconscious.

 

Hi, I’m Tim Reid. I write comedy and coach teams in creativity and innovation. And I think we can all learn how to be more creative by finding out how comedians and comedy writers think, behave and the methods they use for coming up with a steady stream of new material. So I’m getting inside their funny minds to see where their ideas come from.
Today I’m talking to the very funny stand up comedian Nina Gilligan. Nina is getting rave reviews and taking stand up comedy competitions by storm… a finalist in Reality Bites 2013, Kill For A Seat 2014 and winner of Liverpool Hotwater Comedian of the Year 2014. And when she’s not gigging, Nina hosts her own radio show, Gilligan’s Island, on Fab Radio in Manchester.
Here are three brilliant creative exercises you’ll hear about from Nina…

The washing machine of influence – all those voices in your head, people you know, experts in the field, spin them round then see how they’d approach your problem, issue, theme…
Leave the problem alone – have a bath, go for a run, sleep on it… let the programme run in the back of your head and see what unexpected connections your brain makes when you leave it to it
Panic as a catalyst – going off script – you can create, manufacture moments of panic – pretend the chief exec has burst in on you and wants an answer now!!! What do you say?

Hi, I’m Tim Reid. I write comedy and coach teams in creativity and innovation. And I think we can all learn how to be more creative by finding out how comedians and comedy writers think, behave and the methods they use for coming up with a steady stream of new material. So I’m getting inside their funny minds to see where their ideas come from. 
Today I’m talking to comedy writer and stand up, Paul Kerensa. Paul co-wrote the award winning BBC 1 sitcom Not Going Out, as well as working on scripts for Miranda. He’s authored books on comedy including “So A Comedian Walks Into A Church’ and ‘Genesis The Bibluffer’s Guide’. Paul regularly gigs in comedy clubs across the UK and Europe and can often be heard on Chris Evan’s Radio 2 show providing the ‘pause for thought’.
Here are three brilliant creative exercises you’ll hear about from Paul…

Zoom out, zoom in… Zoom out to get expansive, explore a world of possible ideas, zoom in, to get detailed, craft an idea… but prepared to kill it and zoom out again if you realize its not working
Are you a plan it out meticulously before you start writing, type of person, or a just get writing and see where it goes type? Work out what works best for you
Make the time and space to be creative, turn your phone off, find a place that works for you and start thinking… zooming out and zooming in