Cryptography Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 21
Plain Sight
21.1 Laughtracks
To: Production Staff and Set Design
From: Jerry Brown, Asst. to the Executive Writing Arc Supervisor
Re: Meta-textual clues for audience.
Recent audience surveys show that the larger broadcast audience
fails to grasp the humorous possibilities of the narrative arc designed
by the office of theWriting Arc. To facilitate the absorbtion of our hu-
mor, we are asking that we construct a new set of neon signs that will
cue the studio audience to inject the kind of meta-narrative instruc-
tions that will allow our broadcast audience to, for lack of a bigger
term, laugh at the right places.
All future scripts from the Office of theWriting Arc Supervisor will
include cues for when to activate these lighted signs.
Snicker For use when a mild signal should be injected into the story
stream.
Snort We hope to limit this to the jokes told by our particularly cur-
mugeonly characters.
Please Groan Best used for puns and other cheap forms of humor.
This will indicate that we're not stooping to cheap tricks to get
laughs but approaching themwith an obviously ironic pose.
Knee Slapper For older jokes that we've borrowed from the old
school of comedy.
Through the Nose For physical comedy.
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