What Screenwriters Can Learn from The Simpsons
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- Опубліковано 14 жов 2024
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Ever wonder how they wrote the hit longest running TV show ever, The Simpsons? Hear from Al Jean, Matt Groening, James L. Brooks, Conan O'Brien, Mike Reiss, and more about their writing process and how they created one of the best animated TV shows in history.
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The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of working-class life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The show is set in the fictional town of Springfield and parodies American culture and society, television, and the human condition.
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This channel is a way for me to share the best nuggets of knowledge for filmmakers I find. It's an attempt to take a look inside the greatest films and tv shows and learn from the creators themselves how they do what they do.
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LEARN MORE
The Simpsons Short - Good Night
• The Simpsons short - V...
"The Simpsons" Writers Reunion -- Serious Jibber-Jabber with Conan O'Brien
• "The Simpsons" Writers...
James L. Brooks Interview Part 10 of 11
• James L. Brooks Interv...
Al Jean Interview Part 1 of 3
• Al Jean Interview Part...
Al Jean Interview Part 2 of 3
• Al Jean Interview Part...
Al Jean Interview Part 3 of 3
• Al Jean Interview Part...
An Interview With Simpsons Writer Michael Price
• An Interview With Simp...
YES! YOU SHOULD TAKE CHANCES WITH YOUR CAREER... HERE'S HOW with Mike Reiss
• Video
& non-youtube resources here:
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How to Write an Episode of The Simpsons
• What Screenwriters Can...
#thesimpsons #fox
Talk about The Simpsons and filmmaking on our official Discord server: discord.gg/xxTqXXd
1. Story above all.
2. Don't be afraid of the quiet moments.
3. Love your characters.
12:58 Sam Simon's Rules
Now it's:
1) Fuck story, have celebrity cameos
2) Have it be a string of hacky jokes
3) Not understand the characters and come to resent them as a writer
@@jackxiao9702 your forgetting the all important final step:
Step 4) copy the previous weeks jokes and story from Family Guy.
Little known fact, The Simpsons is based on a similar cartoon from the 90s called The Simpsons which was a comedy.
Still is a comedy, so long as it stays away from song and dance it is entertaining and funny.
@@edibleresource7753 nah
@@edibleresource7753 New Simpsons is neither funny nor entertaining.
@@edibleresource7753 the old simpsons are entertaining and the musical sings were great, just look up Do the Bartman!
0:14
Rubber band reality. What an excellent way to describe the type of comedy that the Simpsons has created. I’ve adopted that style of comedy myself from The Simpsons. Cool hearing the legend himself.
It’s crazy that I could recite seasons 1-9 from memory, but so much of your b-roll I don’t recognize at all.
Yea he shouldn't have used the new seasons as footage, makes me think he doesn't get The Simpsons.
conradconradcon I don’t think it’s that. Most of the clips he showed with actual dialogue heard were from the golden era. The b-roll behind the writers talking was newer I’m guessing because the HD episodes just look better
@@cardred17 I found that pretty funny. Nearly all the footage was from new simpsons, but when it comes to showing the actual script (wich the video is about) they only showed Golden Age Simpsons. I felt that it was some sort of subtle involuntary insult.
Favorite channel: Behind the Curtain
Favorite show: The Simpsons
This: a match made in heaven
Wow that sounds great haha. Thanks for watching! Let me know what you think.
Love you're content you can tell it takes a lot of effort compiling this stuff and making it all fit and that effort definitely shows. It feels like one piece of work, not a bunch of different bits slammed together without a thought.
Thank you! Yeah, I don't consider myself just a compilation channel. I want to create a new narrative with the interviews I find to best explain the process, while still being entertaining. Thanks for watching!
Your videos just keep getting better and better. I absolutely love your animations and designs. Those coupled with such an informative, tight video essay make these so enjoyable to watch and learn from
The new animation is so drab and basic. I really miss the character of the old Simpsons animation. So full of life, thanks in part to the 'stretchy' hand drawn animation style.
Almost feels like the whole thing is go animated now, quite upsetting. Which you compare it to the 'worse' animation of the old seasons and the crappy animation was part of the charm as some of the faces that are pulled added to the comedy.
Quarter 55 either you’re an emotionless stick, or a blind deaf, because the earlier seasons of the simpsons were great.
Rip squigglevision
The fucked up part about that is that they could STILL do the same type of animation they had back in the 90s, the digital hand-drawn animation for the movie still shows that David Silverman directing the show's animation proves it. The problem is that no one gives a shit anymore thanks to shows like Family Guy presenting the message "anybody can make a TV show with the budget of a Hanna-Barbera production". It makes me depressed when something I loved turn into this.
@@bombabombom3603 Actually Fox forces family guy to keep the animation stiff. Also at this point I would rather a story be well written than have fluid movement.
It blows my mind how you are such a small channel uploading this genuinely brilliant content on such a consistent basis
"The process for the 2nd year looks exactly like the process for the 30th year"
Well, something sure changed because the show is shit now.
I think Super Eyepatch Wolf lays out a good argument for what happened.
Well if you do the same thing for 30 years, your going to run out of material eventually. Especially considering it was reliant on the comical ability of everyone in the
Group
They are doing there best it's just that they are very old and it's getting very hard to top themselves.
I've heard they stopped doing the writers retreats.
The difference between the 2nd year and the 30th year is the lack of quality of writers compared to the earlier seasons. After season 7, the bulk of the initial writing team dwindled and marked the beginning of the end of their reign at the top.
@@genexplore They stopped doing the retreats because it was stressing out the writters. They would rehearse when for when they present story ideas. Then they though if they have it all planed out whats the point of this. Personaly I think the writters retreats sond terrible and stuffy. I would much rather just sit in a room and day dream and tell everyone when I am good and ready a much more realaxed writters room sounds much better.
9:29 always loved that - felt like ur watching miniepisodes but theyre still connected which makes up for the shows lack of a progressing story - it is kind of like a beatflip in hip hop and a well executed one, fitting to the genre of comedy
Love these videos! Would be great to see how they wrote some classic TV like M*A*S*H, The Twilight Zone and All in the Family
I think you'd find the Twilight Zone was done the most differently than those other examples or any other show this channel has featured so far. Rod Serling wrote a huge amount of those scripts pretty much himself, and completely original ideas were few and far between. Many of the episodes were based off sci-fi/horror short stories, some themselves well known, some more obscure. Mind you I don't at all say that as a criticism, its one of my favorite series of all time.
How they wrote South Park would be a nice vid
You should watch the documentary "6 days to air"
@@misterdick796 I was gonna say isn't there a documentary on that already?
6:17 "Except for Swartzwelder" XD XD
Great analysis and in-depth look at a great show....... but i can’t get that remix of ‘Redbone’ out of my head playing in the background. it’s soo smooth
"YOU WERE AN ACCIDENT!"
"...get out."
*I could listen to their commentary, their DVD ones and the show, beginning to later seasons, through a lifetime*
Yes, I think I will
I didn't know Sam Simon had passed. Mmmm... Hope we'll see some sort of tribute to him on the show.
He died a few years ago. I believe they did do some sort of tribute at the end of an episode. Don't remember which one. Thanks for watching!
The Simpson's has made some interesting and accurate predictions...
I remember one where Maggie had a book at bedtime that was titled 'Ebola.'
Fascinating that every episode of the Simpsons takes months to produce, and South Park does it in a week.
Yeah, this was the longest process I've come across so far. Most only give their writers a week or two to write their scripts after they've been outlined.
Yet that burns out the team. If you’ve seen the making of South Park you see animators just waiting for Matt and Trey to finish the script like on day 5 or 6. Then to voice and edit and rush the master to the satellite I think right to the second. It was a fascinating insight but it seems soul crushing too and why seasons are short and have mid season hiatuses.
Shout out to Behind the Curtain from Armenia
Keep up the amazing job, folks!
So sad how far this show has fallen
I haven't watched it since it started pushing Twitter in every episode.
Agreed. The part where he said, "The first 10 minutes has nothing to do with the rest of the show" as if that's a good thing... it just makes the more recent seasons unwatchable.
HEA what he actually meant to say: “the first ten minutes is just filler, we couldn’t figure out how to make this story fit into an entire episode.”
@@kaylinnnic it's literally always been that way - that's the case in almost every golden age episode
@@partylikeits1066 has it?
1- the family goes to a sushi place, homer eats deadly sushi, he spends the rest of the day thinking he'll die
2- bart wins a radio competition, saying he can have 10,000 dollars or an elephant, they get the elephant, the comedy thereafter is elephant driven
3- mr burns has to pay money back to the town, the money is then used to build a monorail that nearly destroys the town.
The guy's making it sound like it's easy to write a bad Simpsons episode.
6:18
joke goes in laughs come out
00:22 oh there goes gravity
"Dental Plan. Lisa needs braces. Dental plan. Lisa needs braces."
I like how every story about the making of the Simpsons is filled with like bad omens
Awesome as always! Next: Deadwood
so crazy i did not know all of this!!! thanks for sharing
Thanks for watching!
Brilliant video. Absolutely amazing stuff
Thanks!
Yo you cover such good shit, instant sub
I appreciate that, brother.
2:50-2:52
Bart lipsyncs with the voiceover.
That was... totally intentional.
great video, to bad that "Purity" only existed in the first 10 seasons. then they became like any other show.
regardless hope you'll have a great day remember, you're all breathtaking.......
YOU'RE BREATHTAKING
In the past, The Simpsons was QUALITY.
Nowadays, The Simpsons is QUANTITY.
Subscribed and clicked the bell.
This was very interesting.
Thanks! I appreciate it.
This was great, thank you so much.
House M.D please
Homer:we didn't want the boy he was an accident
Bart:...
13:01 Well, I've got the "loving my characters" part down - I can tell you that. ;)
Thanks for making!
9:54 wow really made me think
I'm not sure if you've ever seen or heard of it, but it would be cool if you have to see how John Cleese and Connie Booth wrote Fawlty Towers, which is one of the best British sitcoms ever made and a personal favorite.
You don't make friends with salad
I love your show mate keep doing what you’re doing
Thank you!
I would love if you could do Avatar The Last Airbender next. You videos are very exciting to watch!
Best cartoon series of all time #Period
ARMOSPHERE yes indeed. Let’s not forget Bugs Bunny
Thanks for this!
I love you Behind the Curtain
Love your videos so much. Waiting patiently for U 2 work your magic on Six Feet Under and The Good Place.
Akbar and Jeff😎
Please make one with Futurama.
Great idea!
Can you please do "How they wrote Avatar: The Last Airbender?"
Don't worry, professor. I was an accident, too!
Everyday I thank my gods for Homer. Thanks to you all
That longevity reason was great
Wonderful job
Can you do a Godfather one
I know Mario puzo did a lot but Francis worked too.
Do seinfeld next
Good idea!
0:21 op there goes gravity
I love the Simpsons
I love this.
Dude me too. Woah.
@@mahartman Dude me TOO. What the heck!
Dude me TOOOOO
sorry but the BG music is bizarre
The 2nd year looks exactly the same as the 30th year only difference is quality of the entire show has went to shit
Never understood why the Simpsons was popular
Their best episodes are pretty funny
The first 8-10 years were some of the best and well-written comedy episodes that aired during that time. The show changed the way how comedy is written and influenced an entire generation of comedy.
"It's the same way I got a wife. I was not the first choice, but I was availble" 2:04
Bruh...
People need to make more sitcoms that is good to support loving strong happy families. Simpsons is a good show. Kind of offensive but it's still good for everybody. Harmless comedy. Just a thought
I've read so many comments, yeah, it's old, it's worn out, you can't beat the rest. How about a new show, new writers, new idea? Disenchantment, futurama? Yes, they should probably stop with the SIMPsons and try new things. It's sad to see an old time favourite go... F to pay respects
Thank you!!!!
I thought the simpsons was named after matt groening’s family?
The show was the greatest on TV for 8-10 years and then wore out its welcome for the next 20 years. It boggles the mind to think that both South Park AND Family Guy have been better for longer than The Simpsons.
No mention of The Tracy Ullman Show!??
That was the first minute of the video.
Anyone know what the background music is?
I gotta be honest people say the Simpsons are terrible now, but it’s made the same way it was, script wise. I do think the animation was absolute CRAP in a few newer seasons and comedy a lil dry, but the majority of the seasons in like 15-30 are actually golden IMO
Do how they wrote Rick and Morty
This will definitely happen. Probably once we get closer to the season 4 release.
Plzzzzz do arrested development
After minute 8 you can hear exactly why the Simpsons aren't funny anymore.
Yeah, I was listening to that and I thought "but that isn't funny, why are you setting up this unfunny, random situation as it was the best joke ever?", but then he started to talk about Bart's elephant and got why this way of thinking got the Simpsons to where it is now.
I don't see the issue, he's using a basic example to show a foundational kind of principle of comedy. He wasn't using some hilarious unexpected joke, just something basic that demonstrates what he's talking about. I thought it worked fine as an example
@@partylikeits1066 he's indeed using a basic principle of comedy, but taking it too far. He said that the writers had to come with a first act as detached as possible from the rest of the episode, while yes, surprise and unexpected outcomes can be used for comedy, here he's just saying that now every episode had to have an almost completely disconnected narrative just trying to outdo each other, that means that the narratives started to become less and less organic in their development. His example with the tombstone money used for a tennis court is so disconnected because in the end it's just the family getting money and using it for whatever. It's lazy and unfunny. The other example with the elephant episode, it being written back in the era where they had more sense, pointed directly to how stupid the elephant prize was (when literally being the dumb choice against money, which would have been the lazy answer). But even then, that opening was not the first half of the episode and if you check the others around that time, the plot was much more connected than the mandatory wackiness of today
@@Freaknkn The Simpsons always did that. It helps show off the background characters. I myself would rarely do that. I would do that if a story idea is funny but don't want to dwell on one joke for too long so it doesn't get tiresome. Usually I would add a subplot though.
@@icecreamhero2375 mam
I like all the episodes of the Simpson’s it’s just it’s the same plot line they should probably end the simpsons and restart it because I would absolutely love to see more of the golden age
great interviews. why u gotta put the crappy jazz behind the whole video. It's distracting. Every youtube video is like this now.
13:03
ofc hes talking about the golden era of simpsons, not modern day simpsons, bleh.
Of course. There's more value in understanding the writing process behind classic Simpsons rather than modern Simpsons
i dont like the music, every video essay has this type of music
Please do Futurama too😘
Wait I thought the simpsons wrote us
True
Make Simpsons great again
So the Simpson’s being written by Jews explains so much about the prophecies on the show that actually happened. Crazy shit like 9/11
advice from 6:25-
Why did we have to bring religion into this at 9:56?
Matthew Olsen
Jews are also a race.
Those new episodes sure are an accident
when are they going to write an episode where Homer goes water skiing?
Why doesn't the Simpsons end on a high note and retire? Does it really need to go on for 30 years? The later episodes were just terrible.
I agree that it's better to end on a high note. It may be too late.
The celebrity guests are getting annoying to the point I can’t watch anymore.
You should actually grow the kid up how long can they be kid and stop the singing it suck make it funny like back then keep bark bad keep Lisa, smart grow the baby up it a good show
Early af
true
So there's this show called the Simpsons. It's not funny and puts you in a world of weirdness. In fact, it's kind of mediocre.
Strange because it's a reboot of a great comedy from the nineties called the Simpsons.
I honestly think that The Simpsons should've ended after the movie cause it was the last time that the show was in it's full glory. I wouldn't really call the episodes after the movie shit, just an absolute snore fest with a few hit or miss visuals but shitty character movements
Second
Nice
Mike Reiss is really annoying. I read his book and he’s kind of full of himself honestly.
Mohamad Mahmoud that’s what you think
First
Last
too many Jews
Last episode I watched there were Trump jokes, the Simpson's were PC and it almost made me throw up how lazy and uninspired it was. Havent watched since and I most likely wont again.