Are you aged 15-24? Do you love comedy? Do you like to have your voice heard? And would you like to see your ideas on screen? Well, this is an opportunity for you to have your comic writing performed by excellent funny people and have it broadcast on bbc.co.uk.
Deadline now extended to Monday 21 April!
What does the Referendum on Scottish Independence mean to you? How will the coming year affect you? Will it affect you at all? The BBC want to hear from you to create a range of comedy content on Scottish-ness, British-ness, voting – anything, in fact, which feels connected to the referendum.
They’re looking for:-
• Short jokes and one-liners
• Character monologues
• Staged/mocked up conversations
• Sketches- from the contemporary to the historical
• Self-recorded material
What’s funny..? is open for anyone between 15 and 24, whatever your level of experience. If you have a good idea then send it in- it might make it all the way to a TV studio this spring.
Be imaginative. Be provocative. Be creative. But be funny.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM THE BBC:
How does it all work then?
When we receive your material, the producers will read and view all of the submissions. We will only contact you if your material is being considered for a recording or to be broadcast (we might even ask you to film it again if it’s more like a demo). If it doesn’t get that far then I’m afraid you won’t get any detailed feedback.
Our favourites will be passed to our script editors, who will contact you individually with feedback and any re-write suggestions to help make it even funnier. The email will also confirm the final deadline for any re-written sketches to be sent back to us for consideration.
Any re-written sketches will then go through another script editing session, with the final cut of these making up our final selection.
Important bit: it is still possible that a re-written sketch may still not make the finished production recording.
Any self-recorded material will follow a similar process but it’s best if you can send us a private or hidden link to view your sketch online- YouTube or Vimeo or the like.
Lots of information and resources for budding comedy writers can be found on the BBC writersroom site, for example this Comedy Toolkit page
Do I get paid?
There are a range of fees depending on what kind of work you submit. So yes, you’ll get something if your material is commissioned. The fee will allow us to use the content in a range of ways but we won’t own it outright.
What else do I need to know?
I’m glad you asked that. There ARE a few other important things you need to know. Please read these very carefully as if you submit your work inappropriately we might not be able to consider it for the show.
• The submission deadline is 21 April 2014 at 09:00 – we will not look at sketches or material that arrive any later.
• Please limit your submissions to a maximum of two pieces. Please mark each of your sketches on every page with a header that includes: Your name, your email address and the title of your sketch. This is really important for making sure you get paid if your work is broadcast.
• Bear in mind your sketches may be edited and adjusted by our script editors, although as far as possible, we will endeavour to give you feedback and time to make changes to your work yourself.
• Finally, keep your sketches short — the funniest sketches are no more than three pages long. In fact, yes, let’s make that a rule: 3 pages max.
• Be imaginative.
• Submit your material to whatsfunny@bbc.co.uk
That’s it. Happy writing. Now make us laugh!
Source: BBC Writersroom