The Laugh Track in TV by Dom Apolloni
The Laugh Track in TV examines and criticises the history and purpose of the laugh track we all know and hate. Utilising a number of different examples of sitcoms and comedy television from the last 70 years, this short film aims to educate the viewer on the laugh track’s initial grounds for existence, and why its time should be up.
Created in the midst of lockdown in 2021, the creation of this short, educational film has opened my mind to how accessible filmmaking can be, even with limited equipment and software. I hope this record acts as a stepping stone for many more future short films to appear in my repertoire.
Academic References:
Bonjour Supermarché (2012), A Brief History of John Baldessari, directed by Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman, YouTube, available at <www.youtube.com/watch?v=eU7V4GyEuXA>
C. Nierenberg (2011), We may hate laugh tracks — but they work, studies show, NBC News, Healthmain, available at <https://www.nbcnews.com/healthmain/we-may-hate-laugh-tracks-they-work-studies-show-1c6436923>
J. K. Armstrong (2016), Where does canned laughter come from – and where did it go?, BBC Culture, available at <https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20160926-where-does-canned-laughter-come-from-and-where-did-it-go>
Film References:
VIDEO:
CBS (2011), ‘The Brady Bunch – Don’t Expect a Favour’, YouTube, available at <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqhCZMhIjxE>
Oscar Stinson (2021), ‘Every “It’s for the bride” – How I Met Your Mother’, YouTube, available at <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ML4vFoNwfSw>
Ryan Arthur (2018), ‘Big Bang Theory But Without the Laugh Track *CRINGE*’, YouTube, available at <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ib889nSZVU>
TBS (2014), ‘Seinfeld: Kramer’s Out (Clip)’, YouTube, available at <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61zJHstzOoY>
The Office (2014), ‘The Office US – Jim Impersonates Dwight’, YouTube, available at <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaaANll8h18>
AUDIO:
Bipwave (2020), ‘80 Synth Music 2’, Freesound, Synth Music 80, available at <https://freesound.org/people/bipwave/sounds/505985/>
Prabhat Singh (2017), ‘Wrong Answer Sound Effect’, YouTube, available at <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0Gl_yHeKNI>
TexasMusicForge (2005), ‘Austin Blues 2’, Freesound, Music Beds 1, available at <https://freesound.org/people/TexasMusicForge/sounds/2682/>